Cupcakes

This is one of those basic recipes that you need on hand, especially when you're a mum!  These cupcakes turn out perfectly every time and are always a hit with the kids :-)  This recipe makes 2 dozen.

Ingredients
200g butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup caster sugar
3 eggs
3 cups self-raising flour
1 cup milk

Method
Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced oven. Line 2 muffin pans with paper cases.

Beat butter, vanilla and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition.

Mix in half the flour on low speed, followed by half the milk, then repeat.

Divide mixture evenly between pans. Bake for 18 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Buttercream
150g butter, softened
3 cups icing sugar mixture
2 tablespoons milk

Method
Beat butter in a bowl until pale.

Gradually add icing sugar mixture and milk, beating constantly until combined.  Add colour if desired.

Spread cooled cupcakes with icing and decorate.

Guilt-Free Lamingtons

Making lamingtons for Australia Day is a tradition my sister Fiona & I started many years ago.  There's something really satisfying about the process and they taste SOOO much better than store-bought.  Here's my go-to lamington recipe, which I entered into the Ekka two years ago.  Sometimes, I like to mix things up with lamington cake or cupcakes, which are great options too.

But this year, I'm on a stint of clean eating, meaning traditional lamingtons are out of the question.  So I started hunting around for a suitable version, but had no luck.  Well, we all know what to do in that situation - make up your own!

I was pretty impressed with the end result - the cake is light & moist & delicious, the chocolate icing is to DIE for and the whole package is practically perfect (trust me, I've eaten three today...oops!)  Who knew lamingtons could be guilt-free!  Make sure you give these ones a go :-)

Ingredients
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup coconut cream

Chocolate Icing
1 cup cocoa
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 cup shredded coconut

Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius / 160 fan-forced.

In a food processor, combine the dry ingredients.  Mix well.

Add the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla, oil, honey and coconut cream.  Process for about 30 seconds, until well combined.

Line a 20cm x 20cm square tin with baking paper.  Pour mixture into tin and bake for about 40 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through.

Leave to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate.

Combine cocoa, coconut oil and maple syrup until it's a coating consistency.  Add hot water if necessary.

Slice the cake into bars.  Coat with chocolate icing then coconut.  Place on a wire rack to set, then keep in the fridge.

If you want an easier and cleaner option, simply spread the chocolate icing over the top of the uncut cake, then sprinkle with coconut.  Refrigerate and slice to serve.

Caramel Banana Cake

This is no ordinary banana cake!  Give it an extra kick by adding white chocolate, brown sugar and golden syrup, and you have a delectably delicious dessert!

Ingredients
125g butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
100g white chocolate, melted
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons golden syrup
2 over-ripe bananas, mashed
2 cups self-raising flour

Icing
125g butter
100g white chocolate, melted
2 cups icing sugar

Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius/160 fan-forced.

Cream butter, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl until light and fluffy.  Gradually add white chocolate.  Add eggs, golden syrup and banana, continuing to beat until well combined.

Stir in the flour and mix well.

Pour into a lined 20-25cm round baking tin.

Bake for about 50 minutes, until golden brown on top and cooked through.

Allow to cool in tin for 5 minutes, then remove and cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, make the icing:  cream butter until light and fluffy.  Gradually add white chocolate, then the sifted icing sugar.

Cut cake in half horizontally and spread with icing.  Spread remaining icing on top, then dust with cocoa powder and serve.

White Chocolate & Gingerbread Cheesecake

I've been thinking about this recipe all of December and finally got a chance to make it - WOW!  I love love love it - the gingerbread base is to die for, the white chocolate is divine and the lime just gives it an extra little punch.  It's just so Christmas - you'll love it too!

Ingredients
250g gingerbread biscuits (can be bought or home-made) + 6-8 extra biscuits to decorate
100g melted butter
250g cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup caster sugar
3 eggs
180g white chocolate, melted
300g sour cream

zest & juice of 1 lime

1 teaspoon ground ginger

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Crush biscuits in a food processor until ground finely.  Add melted butter and mix well.

Spread over the base of a lined 7 or 8-inch springform pan.  Press down firmly.

Using a food processor or electric mixer, beat cream cheese with caster sugar for about 30 seconds.

Add eggs, one at a time, then melted chocolate, sour cream, lime juice, zest & ginger.  Mix until smooth and well combined.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Allow to cool until warm, then refrigerate until cold and set.

Top with biscuits and serve.

Spiced Choc-Cherry Brownies

These delicious brownies are just Christmas through and through, with the added spice and fresh cherries!  Very decadent - perfect for a gift!  They're pretty amazing :-)

Ingredients
250g dark chocolate
150g butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup plain flour (can use gluten-free)
1/3 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon mixed spice
15 fresh cherries, halved and pitted

Method
Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius fan-forced.

Place chocolate and butter in a heat-proof bowl.  Microwave for 1 minute on medium (50% power), stir and return for another minute, or until melted.

Add the brown sugar and stir until well combined.  Allow to cool slightly before adding eggs & stirring well.

Add flour, cocoa and spice & mix.

Spread into a lined square baking tin.  Place cherry halves on top, cut-side down.

Bake for about 30 minutes (baking time depends on if you prefer them on the firm side or a bit more gooey!).

Remove from oven and cover with alfoil.  Allow to cool, then slice and serve.

Wholefood Caramel Mudcake

I've been doing my best lately to get back to "real food" eating - cutting back on processed and pre-packaged food as well as refined flours and sugar. It's really not hard when you get into the swing of things, and it was perfect timing that I came across a wonderful blog called Wholefood Simply. It has some fantastic recipes and great ideas. My sister told me about this Caramel Mudcake and I just had to give it a go!

Amazingly, as hard as it is to believe a cake made with sweet potato and dates that has no chocolate and no sugar can resemble anything like a real Caramel Mudcake, this one kind of does! The sweet potato, along with the coconut flour and eggs makes for a smooth, moist texture and it actually tastes good! It isn't and never will be the usual Caramel Mudcake - but as a super healthy alternative, it's really good!

The icing (which I made my own alterations to) is a great addition too - and I still can't believe that the tahini/honey combo really makes a caramel alternative! If nothing else, try this one out of curiosity, and you might just be pleasantly surprised :-)

Ingredients
650g sweet potatoes, peeled, chopped and baked until tender
12 medjool dates, seeds removed
2 tablespoons tahini
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup coconut flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs
Pinch of salt

Method
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celcius or 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and line a round 20cm cake tin.

In your blender or food processor puree the sweet potato flesh and dates until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients in the order listed above, mix until well combined.

Pour the mixture into a prepared tin and bake for 45 minutes or until the top is golden and an inserted skewer comes out cleanly. Allow the cake to cool slightly before removing from the cake tin and placing the cake onto a cooling rack. Cool the cake completely prior to icing.

Caramel Icing
1/2 cup unsalted cashews
3 heaped tablespoons hulled tahini
3 heaped tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla

Blend cashews until smooth and pasty.  Add remaining ingredients and mix until until smooth (I added a touch of water to thin it out a little). Pour the mixture directly over the cooled cake for a runny icing or refrigerate the mixture and allow it to set slightly for a thicker consistency.

Mini Steamed Christmas Puddings

Yes, it's October.  And I'm talking about Christmas.  But just bear with me for a bit!

Last December, I felt so busy with cooking and preparing for the festive season, that I vowed to be more organised this year - and here we are!  Christmas Puddings are perfect to prepare ahead, because they freeze well and the flavour gets even better with time.  I prepped these up this week, wrapped them in calico I picked up from Spotlight - and now I have 30+ puddings in my freezer ready for Christmas!  I feel so organised!

You can use any dried fruit you like to make up the quantity - tailor it to your taste.  This method gives you that steamed texture, but is so much easier than steaming in a saucepan in the calico.  So get organised - December is just around the corner!

Grab your dried fruit, eggs and oranges from Charlie's!

Ingredients (makes about 34 mini puddings)
1kg mixed dried fruit
250g dried cranberries
250g dried apricots, chopped
150mL brandy
juice and zest of 1 orange
250g butter
2 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons Parisian browning essence (optional)
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 cup self-raising flour
2 teaspoons mixed spice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
4 eggs

Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius/160 fan-forced.

Combine dried fruit in a bowl and add brandy and the orange juice.  Cover and leave for 2 hours (or up to overnight if you have the time).

Place fruit in a large saucepan and add butter, sugar, orange zest, maple syrup, browning essence and water.

Heat at medium-high, stirring regularly, until butter has melted and sugar dissolved.  Bring to the boil then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Cool slightly.  Add dry ingredients then eggs and mix well to combine.

Grease 3 muffin pans with oil.  If they are not silicone, place a circle of baking paper in the bottom of each to prevent sticking.  Divide mixture between pans.  Place each pan in a roasting tray and fill to half-way up muffin pans with boiling water.  Cover pans with baking paper then alfoil, gathered tightly around edges.

Place in oven and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until cooked through.  (I did 2 trays for 1 hour, then 1 tray for 45 minutes).

Cool to room temperature, then wrap in squares of calico and tie with ribbon.  Reheat in the microwave.

Orange Puddings

These delightful little puddings were made by my wonderful husband Dean.  He insisted on doing dinner last weekend and after delicious chicken satay burgers, he produced these from the kitchen.  They were delicious!  He found the recipe at www.taste.com.au and they were perfect served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  I've copied the recipe exactly as it was but included Dean's changes down the bottom.  Pass on this recipe to your husband - he might just surprise you!

Ingredients
1 cup self-raising flour, sifted
1/3 cup caster sugar
1 orange, rind finely grated
60g butter, melted, at room temperature
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 egg

Sauce
2/3 cup caster sugar
1 1/4 cups freshly squeezed orange juice

Method
Lightly grease an 8cm deep, 6-cup capacity, heatproof, microwave-safe dish.

Combine flour, sugar and orange rind in a bowl. Whisk together butter, juice and egg. Stir into flour mixture until well combined. Spoon into prepared dish. Smooth surface.

Make sauce: Place sugar and orange juice into a heatproof, microwave-safe bowl or jug. Cook on MEDIUM (50%) power for 3 minutes, stirring every minute, or until sugar dissolves. Cook on HIGH (100%) power for 1 to 2 minutes or until sauce comes to the boil. Pour hot sauce over the back of a large metal spoon to evenly cover pudding.

Place pudding onto a microwave-safe rack or upturned dinner plate. Cook, uncovered, on MEDIUM (50%) power for 8 to 9 minutes or until a skewer inserted around edges comes out clean but centre is still a little sticky. Cover tightly with foil. Stand for 5 minutes or until centre is no longer sticky. Serve with ice-cream.

DEAN'S VARIATION:

He only made 1/2 quantity of the sauce.  He divided the mixture into a greased friand pan, to make individual puddings.  He baked it in the oven, rather than microwave - for about 20 minutes at 180 degrees.

Black Sapote Muffins

So I got my online order from Charlie's Fruit Online the other day and was curious about a random fruit that was in my box - I had absolutely no idea what it was!

It looked a little like this:

After a bit of research, I discovered it's Black Sapote, which is also known as Chocolate Pudding Fruit.  Sounds pretty good!  However, I have to admit that the taste didn't really float my boat.  So I started the hunt for a recipe and found a super easy one here at Best Recipes and tinkered with it a little.

The result was great!  It's amazing that these actually contain no cocoa or chocolate, because you'd never know - that chocolatey taste is definitely there!

Next time you have some Black Sapote hanging around, you should definitely give these a go :-)

Ingredients
60g butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup black sapote pulp, pureed with ⅓ cup orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour

Method
Place everything in a bowl and mix together.

Spoon into a non-stick muffin tray and cook at 200°C for about 20 minutes.

Optional: once cooled, spread with buttercream icing.

Banana Cake (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free & Sugar-Free)

I saw this recipe the other day posted here at The Healthy Chef.  It really appealed to me, because while it's a really healthy alternative to standard Banana Cake, it doesn't use strange, expensive, hard-to-source ingredients.  I've made it twice since and it's been a big hit!  I made a couple of changes, but feel free to also check out the original recipe for some other alternatives.  I also made it once in my food processor and once in my neighbour's Thermomix (including making the almond meal) - and it was so quick and easy.

As always - almonds, bananas, honey & eggs from Charlie's!

Makes 1 loaf - 12 slices (193 calories per serve)

Ingredients
300g over-ripe, mashed banana
3 eggs
60g honey 

1 teaspoon vanilla
60 g olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda

1 tbsp lemon juice
150g almond meal
50g desiccated coconut

25g chia seeds

Method
Preheat oven to 160 C.

Combine banana, honey, oil, cinnamon, vanilla, eggs, bicarb and lemon in a food processor.

Add the almond meal, coconut and chia and mix well.

Line a loaf tin with baking paper and spoon in the batter. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour (a skewer inserted into the centre should come out dry).

Allow to cool before turning out the loaf.

Peach Blossom Cake

Wrapping up a week of cakes, I'm sharing with you one of my favourites!  It's called Peach Blossom, but it's not the traditional style of peach blossom that you see in show baking competitions etc.  This is from one of my mum's old-school cook books, and is one I always used to request as a birthday cake.  I tried out this giant cupcake mold I was given and it worked a treat!

Ingredients
250g butter
1 1/2 cups caster sugar
1 cup milk
3 cups self-raising flour
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon raspberry essence
2 tablespoons raspberry jelly crystals

Method
Beat butter and sugar to a cream, then add eggs and essence.

Add flour and jelly crystals, then milk and beat until well combined.

Pour into prepared tin and bake in a moderate oven for about 45 minutes.

When cold, ice with pink icing and sprinkle with more jelly crystals and shredded coconut.

Hummingbird Cake

This amazingly moist & flavoursome cake got rave reviews at my Big Cake Bake earlier in the week.  It has 2 types of fruit in it, so must be healthy ;-) and nothing - NOTHING - beats cream cheese icing.  Do yourself a favour - make this cake!

Ingredients
400g can crushed pineapple - or fresh pineapple, crushed in a food processor/Thermomix
1 cup plain flour
½ cup self-raising flour
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup desiccated coconut
2 large over-ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs, beaten lightly
¾ cup vegetable oil (or other oil of your choice)

Cream cheese icing
25g butter, softened
100g cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ cups icing sugar mixture

Method
Preheat oven to moderate. Grease and/or line a medium square/round or ring cake pan.

Drain pineapple over medium bowl, pressing with spoon to extract as much syrup as possible. Reserve ¼ cup syrup.

Sift flours, soda, spices and sugar into large bowl. Using a wooden spoon, stir in drained pineapple, reserved syrup, coconut, banana, egg and oil; pour into prepared pan.

Bake cake in moderate oven about 40 mins. Stand cake in pan 5 mins before turning onto wire rack; turn cake top-side up to cool.

Spread cold cake with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Icing
Beat butter, cream cheese and extract in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy, gradually beat in icing sugar.

Lime & Pistachio Cheesecake

This morning I took part in the Red Cross "Big Cake Bake".  Basically, it's an excuse to eat cake and support a great cause!  So, I got baking, had some friends around - and it was a big success.

This was the most popular cake of the day.  I'm a bit proud of it, because I made this one up all by myself and was so happy with the result!  I'm sure you'll enjoy it as much as we all did today :-)

Ingredients
250g arrowroot biscuits
1/2 cup pistachios
150g butter, melted
3/4 cup caster sugar
4 eggs
500g cream cheese, at room temperature
300g sour cream
1 large lime, zested & juiced
4 drops green food colouring (optional)

Pistachio & Lime Brittle
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
juice 1 small or 1/2 large lime
1/4 cup pistachios, crushed

Method
Grease a 9 inch round springform tin.

Place pistachios in a food processor and crush until fine.  Add biscuits and process until it's a fine crumb.  Add butter and mix well.

Press mixture into the base and sides of tin.  Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together eggs and sugar in a small bowl.

In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, sour cream and zest & juice until well combined.  Add the food colouring (if using) with the egg mixture and beat well.

Preheat oven to 140 degrees celsius, fan-forced.

When the base is firm, pour the mixture over.  Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes.  The top will be firm but the cheesecake might have a bit of wobble - that's okay!

Leave in the oven to cool, or at room temperature.  Refrigerate for about 3 hours.

Meantime, make brittle:
In a small saucepan, combine sugar, water, salt and lime juice over high heat.   Don't stir until it starts to bubble around the edges.  Stir to make sure sugar has dissolved.  Reduce heat slightly and boil, without stirring, for about 10 minutes, until it browns and thickens slightly.

Remove from heat, stir in pistachios and pour onto a baking tray/tin lined with baking paper.  Leave to set.

Break into pieces.  Scatter brittle over the cheesecake just before serving.

Fire Truck Cake

My gorgeous little man turns 2 this week - how did that happen?!  Seriously, it feels like he was just born the other day!

He is a stereotypical little boy through and through - he loves anything with wheels.  Cars, trucks, tractors, motorbikes, planes...you name it!  So for his 2nd birthday, he requested a fire truck cake.

There's no fire truck in the good old Women's Weekly Kids' Cake Book, so I turned to the internet for inspiration.  I gathered ideas from here and there, and was really happy with the end result.

It's certainly not as professional as many you see (namely, the fondant ones!) - but my heart lies with butter cream icing, so that was my weapon of choice!

I baked the cake and made the icing the day before, so when I came to actually create the fire truck, it only took me just over an hour.  It was pretty straightforward really, so I'll take you through it step by step!

Start with a slab cake.  I used Women's Weekly Butter Cake (triple recipe) - I used my deep roasting pan which is about 40cm x 30cm.

Level the top, then cut into half length-ways, to have two long rectangles.

Place one on a cake board.  Cut the other into halves, then one of those into halves again.  Arrange into fire truck shape, as below (use a bit of icing in between each part to help it stick in place).

Make a double batch of buttercream.  Tint two thirds red (I used pillar box red).  Split the rest in half, keep one part white and tint the other part grey (using black food colouring).

Ice as shown.

Decorate as desired.  I used chocolate biscuits, red & orange jelly lollies, licorice rolls, smarties and white buttercream.

Put in the candles and enjoy!

The happiest little birthday boy you'll ever see :-)

Clown Cupcakes & Ekka Results

It's Ekka time again - one of my favourite times of the year!  For those not in Brisbane, it's the Royal Queensland Show.  I love going to the show and getting in the spirit of it!  Nothing can keep me away from the Ekka - not even 2 years ago when I was 39 weeks pregnant!

We had an Ekka theme at our Mainly Music group this week, and I had some cupcakes leftover from the Pine Rivers Show, so I decided to make them into these cute clowns!  I just used plain buttercream icing on top, and secured the ice cream cones upside down.  I tinted the leftover buttercream red, yellow & blue and just piped on the faces and hat decorations.  They were very popular with the kids!

And as revealed on my Facebook page, I entered two categories in the Ekka baking competition this year - carrot cake and red velvet cupcakes.  Here they are, ready to submit:

And the exciting news is, I came 2nd in the red velvet cupcakes!  Hooray!  It was very exciting to go and check them out :-)

It's one better than the 3rd place I got for carrot cake 2 years ago, so next year, I'll be pushing for a first!

Also, here's the link to my Ekka treats from last year (Strawberry Icecream Cupcakes) - they were a super popular post, so check it out!

Hope you're having a great day in the Kitchen!

Kidney Bean Chocolate Cake

I couldn't believe the results of this chocolate cake (or cupcakes as you can see in the photo)!  I'd heard about "magic bean" cake before but this was my first go - and I actually was quite impressed!  I scoured the internet and brought together a couple of recipes - for a bit of an adult twist, you can also add a shot of coffee.  They're fantastic for a gluten & dairy-free options.  I used raw sugar, but you could try honey for an even better-for-you option.  Give these a go, you'll be surprised!

Grab your eggs, honey & kidney beans from Charlie's!

Ingredients
400g tin red kidney beans
5 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/2 cup raw sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon bi carb soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.

Combine kidney beans and eggs in a food processor.  Process for 5 minutes until smooth and aerated.

Add remaining ingredients and process for another minute, until well combined.

Pour into a lined cake tin, or cupcake pan, and bake for 20 minutes (cupcakes) - 40 minutes (cake).

Dust with icing sugar to serve.

Cheese & Pumpkin Loaf

I adapted this recipe from one on www.taste.com.au and I loved the result!  It's moist and delicious and savoury and easy and just perfect fresh out of the oven!  Perfect spread with butter or a bit of herbed cream cheese.

Ingredients
2 cups self-raising flour, sifted
2 teaspoons paprika

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1/2 cup grated tasty cheese

1/2 cup chopped dates
75g butter, melted
1/2 cup reduced-fat milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup cold, mashed pumpkin

handful of fresh sage leaves

Butter, to serve (optional)

Method
Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced. Grease and line a loaf pan.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, paprika, oregano, cheese and dates.  Add butter, milk, eggs and pumpkin. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon mixture into prepared pan. Place sage leaves on top. Bake for 40 minutes. Stand in pan for 5 minutes. Lift out onto a wire rack to cool. Serve with butter, if using.

Lemon Ricotta Cake

This recipe is from www.taste.com.au and it's SO super easy because it's basically all done in the food processor!  The ricotta and almond meal give it a delicious texture, while the zing of the lemons is delicious!  I drizzled it with an icing just made of icing sugar and lemon juice - delicious!

Ingredients

250g fresh ricotta
2 eggs, at room temperature
160g (2/3 cup) caster sugar
90g butter, melted
3 lemons, rind finely grated, juiced
225g (1 1/2 cups) self-raising flour, sifted
60g almond meal

Method
Preheat oven to 180°C. Prepare a 22cm round cake tin or kugelhopf.

Place the ricotta, eggs and sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Process until well combined and the ricotta is smooth. Add the butter, lemon rind and lemon juice, and process to combine.

Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Add the self-raising flour and almond meal, and use a spatula to fold in until combined. Spoon the cake mixture into the prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. 

Set aside for 5 minutes, then remove the side of the pan and turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.

White Chocolate Mud Cake

My father-in-law turned 80 on the weekend and I was commissioned to do the cake.  He is a farmer, so it was a bit of a John Deere theme - which really suits any age or generation!  I went with a white chocolate mud cake, with the recipe from Exclusively Food - it was divine.  I love white chocolate, so this cake is right down my alley - it was moist and dense but not too heavy - and the flavour was perfect!

The recipe below gives you white chocolate ganache, but I just used buttercream for ease of colouring and decorating.  I used fondant to do the logo on top.  It was a hit and I would definitely make this cake again (it's definitely one just for a special occasion!)

After consuming this cake, please go straight to Charlie's and get some vegetables  to counteract all this butter, sugar & chocolate!

Ingredients
300g white chocolate (I used Cadbury Dream)
200g butter
250ml (1 cup) milk
165g (3/4 cup) caster sugar
2 teaspoons (10ml) vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
100g (2/3 cup) self-raising flour
150g (1 cup) plain flour

Sour Cream and White Chocolate Ganache
200g white chocolate
88g sour cream

Method
Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius (145 degrees Celsius fan-forced).

Grease a 20cm square cake pan and line the base and sides of the pan with baking paper.

Place chocolate, butter, milk and sugar in a large saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently. Remove from heat when chocolate and butter have melted, and stir mixture until completely smooth. Allow mixture to cool at room temperature for 15 minutes.

Add vanilla and eggs to chocolate mixture and stir until well combined.

Stir flours together in a large bowl. Add one cup of chocolate mixture to the flour and stir until a smooth paste forms.

Repeat with another cup of the chocolate mixture.

Add remaining chocolate mixture and stir until mixture is smooth. This gradual method of combining the wet and dry ingredients helps prevent lumps.

Pour mixture into prepared pan.

Bake for about 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes. When the cake is ready, a fine-bladed knife inserted into the centre of the cake should come out without any batter attached.

Loosely cover cake with greaseproof paper or a clean tea towel and allow it to cool to room temperature in pan.

The cooled cake can be iced with the white chocolate ganache immediately (see directions below), or stored and then iced on the day of serving.

Store cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving. The cake is suitable to freeze iced or uniced.

Sour Cream and White Chocolate Ganache
Melt white chocolate in a small saucepan over very low heat, stirring frequently. When chocolate has completely melted, remove from heat and quickly stir in sour cream. Use immediately, or if your ganache is quite runny, set it aside at room temperature to thicken slightly before using.

Gluten-Free Savoury Muffins

I adapted this recipe from www.taste.com.au and really enjoyed the results.  You don't have to use gluten-free flour, but if you do use standard self-raising, just lower the milk quantity a bit.  Add anything to these - carrot, corn, other herbs, or whatever you like!  They freeze well, so they're a handy little lunchbox snack.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups gluten-free self-raising flour
2 cups grated tasty cheese
100g milk salami, chopped
1 zucchini, grated

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1 cup milk
1 egg
1/4 cup fruit chutney

Method
Preheat oven to 200°C. Grease and/or line a 12-hole muffin pan or 24-hole mini muffin pan.

Sift flour into a large bowl. Add cheese, salami, zucchini and basil. Whisk milk, egg and chutney in a jug until well combined. Make a well in centre of dry ingredients. Pour in milk mixture. Using a large metal spoon, gently mix until just combined. Spoon into muffin holes.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Stand in pan for 3 minutes. Turn onto a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.