Recent Recipes
Easter Cupcakes
Comments (1) | Friday, March 21, 2008
Happy Easter to you all!
Sorry I have been very slack with blogging, been very busy this week.
These are my easter cupcakes! Now before you judge I'm not much of a cupcake extrodinaire... but i'm going to get there one day! This is probably only the 3rd batch of cupcakes I've ever decorated properly!
Just used a basic cupcake mix and icing mix from a recipe I found on www.taste.com.au
Makes 12
Ingredients
- 325g unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup (220g) caster sugar
- 1 1/2 cups (225g) self-raising flour, sifted
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (125ml) milk
- 3 cups (450g) icing sugar, sifted
- Food colouring of your choice
- 12 coloured chocolate Easter eggs, to garnish
Method
- Preheat the oven to 190°C. Line a 12-hole, 1/3-cup (80ml) muffin pan with paper cases.
- Place 225g butter in a food processor with the caster sugar, flour, eggs, vanilla extract and 1/4 cup (60ml) milk. Process until the mixture is smooth, then divide among the muffin cases. Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until risen and golden.
- Meanwhile, to make the icing, place the icing sugar, remaining 100g of butter and remaining 1/4 cup milk in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium-high speed for about 5 minutes or until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add a few drops of food colouring of your choice and beat to combine.
- Remove the cupcakes from the oven, allow to cool slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. When cakes are cool, scoop the icing into a piping bag with a star nozzle, then use to ice cakes. Garnish each one with an Easter egg, then serve.
Read More......
Delicious Magazine: chicken breast stuffed with spinach & ricotta
Comments (2) | Friday, March 7, 2008
Well I made it into the kitchen again mid week to try out a new recipe.
Whilst my photo may not look as appetizing as the glossy magazine, I assure you, it DEFINITELY made up for it in taste. My dad couldn't stop raving about it when he was eating it, and this is a man who never raves that much about food! So I took it as the ultimate compliment!
I altered it a bit. I didn't cut them up, I just left the chicken as a whole and made some tiny pasta bows to go with it.
2.5 cups chopped English Spinach
1 cup (240g) low-fat fresh ricotta
2 tbs grated parmesan
1 tbs finely chopped basil leaves
zest of 1 lemon, plus wedges to serve
1 small eschalot, finely chopped
1 eggwhite
4 chicken breast minute steaks (thinly sliced chicken breast, about 120g each)
2 cups quality good-chunky tomato pasta sauce
Dressed rocket leaves, to serve
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
Blanch the spinach in boiling salted water for 1-2 minutes. Drain. Squeeze to remove water.
Mix in a bowl with ricotta, parmesan, basil, zest, eschalot and eggwhite. Season.
Using a meat mallet or rolling pin, pound chicken breasts to about 8mm thick. Place each breast on a square of foil. Place 4 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture at one end of the chicken, then roll up tightly in foil and twist the ends to secure. Place on a baking tray, then bake for 20 mins or until cooked. Leave the chicken (in foil) to rest in a warm place for 10 mins.
While chicken is resting, warm through the pasta sauce over medium heat. Remove foil from the chicken and slice into 1.5cm rounds. Divide the sauce amongst the plates, top with chicken, then serve with rocket leaves.
Serves 4.
Read More......
Bill Granger's: Coconut & Lime Macadamia Cake
Comments (1) | Friday, February 29, 2008
I made 2 of these on Wednesday night do de-virginize mum's new KitchenAid mixer!
Very light and fluffy, everyone in the office and at my aunty's birthday party loved it! The icing has a nice tang that compliments the cake.
200g macadamia nuts
40g self-raising flour
a pinch of salt
6 eggs, separated
165g sugar
finely grated zest of 1 lime
45g desiccated coconut
lime icing (below)
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Place the nuts, flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor and process until the nuts are ground. Place the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and beat for 3 minutes, or until the mixture is pale and creamy. Fold through the zest and coconut then the nut mixture. Place the egg whites in a clean, dry stainless steel bowl and whisk until stiff peaks form. Using a large metal spoon, fold lightly through the nut batter.
Spread the batter evenly into a 23 cm greased or non-stick springform cake tin.
Bake for 40 minutes, or until the cake is lightly golden.
Remove from the oven and leave to sit for 10minutes in the tin. Turn the cake out onto a serving plate. Spread the lime icing over the warm cake, allowing it to drizzle down the sides.
Lime Icing
125g icing sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 teapsoon finely grated lime zest
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until smooth and glossy.
Read More......
