Sour Cherry Blondies

With Mother's Day just around the corner, I took it upon myself to think of a yummy treat that is not only delicious but a sinch to make. And what better way to celebrate mother's day than a pretty pink Sour Cherry Blondie. 

I've come to realise that a Blondie is simply a white chocolate brownie. Who knew?! And until yesterday I had never, ever actually eaten one before. Let alone made one. So I decided to give it a crack. 

White chocolate (which to some critics is not even considered chocolate) can be quite sweet. However, Morello cherries are quite sour and when combined together they really balance each other out. Being a brownie type slice, cook as much or as little as you like. But in my personal opinion, the fudgier, the better. 

Whatever your personal preference, you're sure to be in your mum's good books if you surprise her with these blondies this Mother's day. 

INGREDIENTS

125g Butter

220g White Chocolate

3/4 cup Sugar

2 tsp Vanilla Essence

2 Eggs

1 cup Plain Flour

1/2 cup Morello Cherries, drained

To make the Blondies...

Preheat oven to 170°C. Grease and line a 20cm cake tin with baking paper. 

Firstly, drain the cherries and allow to sit while you make the blondie. 

In a saucepan, melt together the butter and white chocolate until smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar and vanilla. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes. Once cooled, whisk in the eggs one at a time. Add in the flour and mix well. Lightly fold through the cherries. 

Pour into prepared tin and bake for 35-40 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin before cutting. 

A small note of the cherries...

While eating one of the blondies, I discovered that some of my pitted cherries were not actually pitted. So just double check them before you fold them through the batter, your teeth will thank you for it

Orange Glazed Sand Cake

While talking to my mum the other day, I was trying to work out my next post for you guys. I often bounce ideas off her and she makes suggestions about what tasty treats I could bake up. 

Anyway, I was gaining some wisdom from my forever wise mother and she'd asked me if I'd used my new Bundt tin yet. This was a gift from Mum and Dad for Christmas and sadly, 6 months later, I had not used it. So, she suggested that maybe I make a Sand Cake (which has always been a favourite of mine) and given it's simplicity the Bundt tin pattern really gives it more of a wow factor. 

Before you totally freak out, there is no, I repeat, NO sand in this cake! You can all breathe a sigh of relief that I wouldn't dare encourage the consumption of sand (although I can't say the same for those of you with kids as they eat whatever they want when no one is watching). 

I'm not sure why a cake would ever be named after a gritty, teeny, tiny grain of sand. But perhaps with the addition of custard powder, it is more to do with the colour rather than the texture that this cake gets its name. But whatever the story behind it, this cake is buttery, crumbly and when teamed with a tangy orange glaze, it is a winning combination. 

INGREDIENTS

185g Butter, softened

2 teaspoons Vanilla Essence

1 1/4 cup Sugar

3 eggs

1/3 cup Milk

1 1/2 cup Self-raising Flour

1/3 cup Custard Powder

Orange Glaze

1/2 cup Sugar

125g Butter

Zest of 1 Orange

1/3 cup Orange Juice

To make the Cake...

Preheat oven to 170°C and grease and flour your Bundt tin. Make sure you do this very well to prevent sticking and ultimately ruining the Bundt tin pattern (feel free to use any cake tin you like). 

Simply throw all ingredients into an electric mixer and beat on a low speed until combined then beat on a medium to high speed for 3 minutes, or until pale yellow in colour. 

Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 40-50 minutes or until the skewer comes out clean. You may need to cover to foil to prevent the top from burning. Remove from the oven. 

To assemble the cake...

Once the cake is removed from the oven, gradually pour over half the glaze while the cake is still in the tin (allow glaze to soak into the cake with each addition).  Cool cake completely in the tin. Once cooled, remove from the pan and pour over the remaining glaze. 

To make the Glaze...

Place all ingredients into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium and allow to boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Caramel Slice

There's no point in denying it, I'm a lover of chocolate. 

If you look back at my blog, at least 70 percent of my recipes include chocolate in some way or form. I'm not ashamed and I only do it so all you chocoholics out there can reap the benefits of my chocolate addiction. 

So in carrying on with my chocolate affair, this recipe came to me the other day after I made a visit to one of my favourite little hot spots Servery and Spoon. This place does amazing breakfast and lunch. But more importantly unbelievably delicious cakes (and being a cake snob I don't say that very often). But with over a dozen varieties I swear I have sampled all of them. 

Anyway, I went in there the other day for a coffee and as I was eyeing off these delicious cakes the barista asked me if I had tried their Salted Caramel Slice. HANDS DOWN one of the most amazing pieces of food I have ever put in my mouth. Soft, sweet with a hint of savoury...my mouth is beginning to water at the thought

This outing inspired my own variation of the infamous caramel slice. Although, I didn't add salt and typically caramel slice has a butterscotch base, I am convinced that you guys will not be able to stop at just one piece. 

INGREDIENTS

Base

250g Butter, melted

2 cup Plain Flour

2/3 cup Cocoa

1 cup Coconut, toasted

1 cup Brown Sugar

Caramel

1/3 cup Golden Syrup

125g Butter

2 x 400g tins Sweetened Condensed Milk

Topping

200g Dark Chocolate

4 teaspoons Vegetable oil 

To make the Base...

Pre heat oven to 180°C. Place the coconut on a baking tray and toasted for 5 or so minutes or until slightly golden. Keep a good eye on the coconut as it can burn quickly. 

In a bowl, mix all the ingredients together until a soft dough forms. Press down in a lined 20 x 30cm slice tin and bake for 15-18 minutes. Allow to cool slightly. 

Coconut before toasting.

Coconut after toasting. Some bits toast more than others, but don't worry it all aids in the flavour. 

To make the Caramel...

Place all the ingredients in a saucepan and stir over low heat for 7 minutes or until the caramel thickens slightly. It is important to do this over a very low heat to ensure the caramel doesn't catch on the bottom of the saucepan. 

Once thickened, pour over the base and bake for 20 minutes or until the caramel is golden. Set aside to cool. 

To make the topping...

Melt together the chocolate and oil until smooth. Pour over cooled slice and allow to cool completely in the fridge before cutting. 

Monte Carlos

Well, it has been awhile since my last post. 

With a trip to the country for easter, my recent university graduation and my home care job it has been one busy month. But not worry I haven't forgotten about you guys. And I hope this recipe more than makes up for my absence

I absolutely LOVE these biscuits (in all seriousness I love all my recipes) but there is something about Monte Carlos that gets me excited. 

When I first started baking, I always had a soft spot for these biscuits and they got made quite often. I remember waking up at my ridiculous time of day and have them ready before I headed off to school. I must say there is nothing like having a freshly made biscuit for play lunch....one of my many small pleasures in life. 

I think what I love about Monte Carlos is the coconut! I can't quite put my finger on it, but coconut is just one of those ingredients that gives a certain something no matter what you add it too. Sitting here now these biscuits would be even more AMAZING if you toasted the coconut beforehand (mental note for next time). 

I also love the contrast of the jam and vanilla icing. Whenever my mum made these she'd mix the jam into the icing. But I didn't think it had the same effect. And the good thing about doing it this way is you can use as many different flavour jams as you like without having to make umpteen different icings.

Much like an Oreo, Monte Carlos are fun to split apart and eat the two biscuits separately (well that's how I do it anyway). But no matter how you eat them, these biscuits will soon become one of your all time favourites as they are one of mine. 

INGREDIENTS

185g Butter, Softened

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 egg

1 1/4 cup Self-Raising Flour

3/4 cup Plain Flour

1/2 cup Coconut

Icing

60g Butter

3/4 cup Icing Sugar

1/2 teaspoon Vanilla

2 teaspoon Milk

Jam (Any Flavour of Your Choice)

To make the Monte Carlos...

Pre heat oven to 180°C

With an electric mixer, beat together the butter and brown sugar. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until light and fluffy. Stir in the dry ingredients until well combined. 

Roll mixture into balls of your size, place on a baking tray lined with baking paper and press down with a fork. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool before sandwiching together with icing and jam. 

To make the Icing...

Simply beat all ingredients together until fluffy. 

To assemble the biscuits...

Pair up biscuits so they matched roughly for size. On half the biscuits place the vanilla icing and other  half the jam of your choice (you should use approx. half a teaspoon of both, depending on the size of your biscuits). Gently press the two sides together, being mindful of slight oozing. 

Hot Cross Buns

I am a very festive person. Especially when it comes to food. 

If you remember at Christmas time, I dazzled you all with Fruit Mince Pies, Sherry Balls, my Christmas Cassata and how could I forget my Gingerbread House. I also am fond of making a birthday cake or two as I believe it is not a birthday without one. 

So naturally, with easter coming up since week it was only fitting I get into the holiday spirit with these hot cross buns. 

This is another one of my Mum's recipes and it wouldn't be easter unless I didn't keep up the tradition. When I was growing up, Mum would always be up bright early making these buns in time for either breakfast, for those other early risers, or morning tea. 

As I was usually up with her, I would sit on the bench, watch and wait until it was time to glaze the steaming hot buns with the sugar syrup as it was always my job to do so. I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these buns!! Spicy, soft, fluffy and the lingering smell of baking bread through the house. And let me tell you, there is absolutely nothing better than a freshly baked bun, with lashings of butter slowly melting over the top.... except maybe when served with a cup of tea as well. 

INGREDIENTS

5 cups Plain Flour

5 1/2 teaspoons rapid rise dry Yeast

1/3 cup Sugar

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

2 teaspoons Mixed Spice

1 cup warm Milk

3/4 cup warm Water

90g Butter, melted

1 cup Currants

Crosses

1/2 cup Self-raising Flour

2 teaspoon Castor Sugar

1/3 cup Water

Sugar Glaze

1/4 cup Water

1/4 cup White Sugar

To make the buns...

Pre heat the oven to 190-200°C.

Combine yeast, 2 cups of flour, sugar and spices in a large bowl. Add milk, water and butter and stir well for 3 minutes. Add the currants and most of the rest of the flour and mix until a soft dough forms. (You may not need the entire 5 cups of flour). 

Knead on a floured surface for 5 minutes or until dough is smooth. 

Divided and roll into 16 balls. Place in 2 round 20cm cake tins that have been greased with butter. Allow to rise in a warm area until they have almost tripled in size. Once risen, pipe crosses over the top and bake for 20 minutes. 

Turn out onto a wire rack and glaze with sugar syrup while still warm. 

To make the crosses...

Simply mix all ingredients together. 

To make the Sugar Syrup...

Place water and sugar into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove once all the sugar has dissolved. 

This is what the dough may look like BEFORE kneading...

...5 minutes later you should get a nice round, smooth ball of dough. 

Here are the buns before they have risen...

...and after. They should take up most, if not all, of the cake tin.

Honeycomb

I love honey!

Probably nearly as much as Winnie the Pooh...

...actually probably more. Give it to me on toast, porridge, even in my tea and I'm happy. In fact, honeycomb just gives me another excuse to eat honey without being perceived as a crazy person for sometimes eating it straight out of the jar. 

I also love the process to which this honeycomb is made. I love how the sticky, sugary goo transforms into a frothy mass once you add the bicarb soda (I could've nearly eaten it at this stage but I resisted...this time). 

Crushed over ice-cream, added to muffins or simply eaten as it is, this honeycomb is sure to be hit for all you honey lovers out there. Coat it in chocolate and it can be made part of your gift giving this Easter. 

INGREDIENTS

2 cups White Sugar

1/3 cup Honey

1/3 cup Maple Syrup

120g Butter

1 Tablespoon Bicarb Soda

To make the Honeycomb...

Place the sugar, honey, maple syrup and butter into a large saucepan. Over medium heat, stir with a metal spoon until the sugar as dissolved. 

Place a candy thermometer in the saucepan and simmer or 7-8 minutes or until the mixture reaches 150°C. Remove the mixture from the heat and remove candy thermometer. Add the bicarb soda and mix until golden and foamy. 

Pour the mixture into a lightly greased 20cm x 30cm tin lined with baking paper. Set aside for 30 minutes or until set. Remove from the tin and break into chunky pieces. 

Blueberry and Lemon Syrup Cake

What a beautiful day!!

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping...

...well I imagine they are considering my Ipod is filling my ears with the sweet, sweet sound of Ewan McGregor and the Moulin Rouge soundtrack. Could my legs get anymore jelly as I am swooned by his amazing voice. I think they should have cast me instead of Nicole Kidman or, better still, can I just marry him? 

'He is already married' I hear you say. Ahh, ye have little faith.............oh wait, I have a boyfriend, don't I? Oh, hmmm, a girl can only dream. 

Oh my! That got a bit heated, didn't it? 

I should probably get back to the subject at hand and that is this very delicious Blueberry and Lemon Syrup Cake. 

When I was still living at home, I used to make this cake (minus the blueberries) and no matter how well I greased the cake pan, it would always stick. And I mean ALWAYS! My Mum would do exactly the same thing and for whatever reason it would work for her and not me. However, this cake is so yummy I kept baking it anyway.

Lemon and blueberry is just one of those pairings that just works so perfectly. And as I was pondering my next post for you guys, I came up with the idea of adding blueberries to this already fantastic Lemon Syrup cake. Not only do I think it works, but I think it is even better than the original...not to mention very pretty. Combined with a tangy syrup, dust with icing sugar for a tea party or serve with cream for a decadent dessert. 

INGREDIENTS

250g Butter, room temperature

1 Tablespoon grated Lemon Rind

1 cup White Sugar

3 eggs

2 cups Self-raising Flour

1 cup Buttermilk

1 1/2 cups Frozen Blueberries 

Lemon Syrup

1/3 cup Lemon Juice

3/4 cup White Sugar

1/2 cup Water

To make the Cake...

Preheat the oven to 170°C. Grease and line either 2 loaf tins or a 23cm square cake tin. 

In an electric mixer, cream together the butter, lemon rind and sugar until pale in colour. Beat in the eggs one and a time, beating well with each addition. Add in the flour and buttermilk and mix until just combined. Gently fold in the blueberries, ensuring you don't over mix otherwise you'll end up with a blue mixture 

Place in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes for the loaf tins and approximately 60 minutes for the cake tin. Once cooked, cool slightly for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Drizzle the warm cake with warm lemon syrup. I recommend placing the wire rack over a tray to catch the excess syrup that runs off. Dust with icing sugar and serve

To make the Syrup...

Place all ingredients into a small saucepan. Without stirring, bring syrup to the boil. 

Here is where I have placed the cake rack over a tray before drizzling the syrup over the cake. OR alternatively you could use an old newspaper and simply throw away when you've finished. But believe me, whatever you use, it will definitely help with keeping the mess to a minimum.