One Minute Self Saucing Nutella Mug Pudding for One

Movie ticket for one. Table for one. Pudding for one.
Sounds lonely.
I don't like doing those sorts of things on my own. Never really have had to fortunately. But it sounds way too lonely to be any fun.
Until last night.
I did it.
I went solo.
My husband said it was the perfect night for pudding. It was cool--the type of night you just want to roll up in a ball in front of a log fire like a cat and bask in warmth and hibernate there forever.
But what to do when you can't be bothered cooking pudding for an hour because you're way too tired and it feels like a hundred hours past your bed time?
One minute self saucing microwave mug pudding. And even better, it's choccas with Nutella. Can't really go wrong there.
I can tell you I got a little excited seeing the pudding magically rising before my eyes in the coffee mug and it made its way slowly around the microwave carousel. Nothing really beats chocolate self saucing pudding made in the oven, but this came pretty close, and considering it took so little time, it turned out to be a winner. It's a self saucing pudding, and the sauce sits awaiting at the bottom of the mug, making it fudgy the further you dig the spoon down. Ooh laa la! So good with ice cream...and perfect consolation food for those damn heartbreaks and breakups most people suffer at least once in their lives. Forget eating out of a tub of ice cream. Get to it! It will only take two minutes of your time to put together, and another in the waiting for it to cook, and voila! Better than tall, dark and handsome? Yes...it's rich too.
This decadent recipe makes one generous serve in a large mug (my mug wasn't on the large side, hence the explosion)...so if you're in a wonderfully happy loving relationship, grab two spoons and share it with your significant other. You could even add walnuts to this recipe for something really special--and I also like to add a dollop of cream for nice contrast. Dessert tonight--sorted! In less than 5 minutes from beginning to end.

ONE MINUTE SELF SAUCING NUTELLA MUG PUDDING FOR ONE (from Live Love Pasta)

1 egg
4 tbsp self raising flour
4 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tbsp nutella
3 tbsp milk
3 tbsp oil

Place all the ingredients in a large mug. Thoroughly whisk with a fork until well incorporated and the egg is well broken down. Place in the microwave and cook on high, for approximately 1-1.5 minutes. Cooking time will vary due to the differences in strength from microwave to microwave. Serve with cream or ice cream if desired.

Mad Easy Jam Coconut Macaroons

Coconut, shmokonut, we all love it around here. Thanks to this subtropical climate I live in, such flavours are much desired and a great match for the other tropical fruits that grow locally here, such as mango and banana. But there's long been a combination I've desired to see together. I'm a terrible matchmaker-most matches I make end in tears, so I'm better of sticking with food rather than ill-suited couples. I give myself brownie points for trying though (lets make that dark chocolate fudgy brownie points).
The local Woolworth store here has these amazing coconut drops with strawberry jam on the top, and I have been long looking for a recipe. The coconut is sweet and moist, but the little drops hold together beautifully and hardly look cooked--how do they do it? Anyway, I have not been able to find any recipe to compare. But I'm back with the Secret Recipe Club after my post baby break, and I was given the blog A Couple In The Kitchen to cook from. They have a great 4 ingredient recipe for coconut macaroons--and I just had to try it. It's so simple, quick, and gluten free--exactly the type of recipe a new mummy like me needs between baby sleeping and waking. They're also strangely addictive, and are sure to disappear from the kitchen very quickly.

When you first inhale that warm coconut aroma, and the sweet scent of boiling strawberry jam, you will realise that eating these coconut jam drops straight out of the oven is well worth burning the tongue for.

I've adapted the recipe a little to see if I could make them anything like the Woolworth's coconut drops. (It turns out, to my absolute glee, that they are very much like those delicious morsels! They're soft, sweet and moist with a little crunch on the outer--divine!) My husband also has a strong aversion to almond essence, which was in the original recipe, so I made them just vanilla instead. I also did not have sweetened flake coconut (I don't think we even sell sweetened coconut here in Australia!) so I used dessicated coconut, and found that the sweetness from the condensed milk was enough to satisfy any sweet tooth. I think the addition of strawberry jam also added just a little more sugar, and made these darling little coconut jam macaroons the perfect addition to an afternoon tea platter or even a festive little treat for the Christmas table.
Please don't forget to check out  A Couple In The Kitchen's blog...they are recent award winning bloggers!

MAD EASY JAM COCONUT MACAROONS (adapted from A Couple in the Kitchen)

3 cups dessicated coconut (unsweetened)
300g sweetened condensed milk (approx. 3/4 can)
3 tsp vanilla essence
1/4 cup strawberry jam

Preheat the oven to 180C.
Line one large baking tray with non stick paper. In a large bowl, place the coconut, condensed milk and vanilla essence. Stir until well incorporated. Scoop amounts the size of a golf ball into your hand and gently form into a round shape. Using your index finger, make a small indentation to the top, and place on tray and lightly flatten. Repeat until all the mixture is used up. Then fill the indentations with a little jam. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned. Allow to cool on the tray before removing.

Makes approximately 18

Coconut Ice Domes with Roses

We've hit a million views. And that makes me want to come out and give a give hug to everyone who has ever been to visit the blog--unless you're some sort of creepy stalker type, then I will refrain. Politely.

Where have I been?
Am I alive?
Why am I posting less frequently?

There are a few reasons:

1. Every time I make or go to eat anything that could be classed as sweet, my husband reminds me I have to visit the dentist. (Random I know, but did you know the pickle in the cheeseburger is the only thing that stops it from being classed as confectionery?)

2. There's someone in this house that needs me more than my blog fans--oh yes, the precious new baby of the house! I would not miss those precious new born moments with her. Yes I am with her every waking hour, and do manage to cook a few things while she's sleeping every so often. So don't worry, I'm not going anywhere!

3. I wish baby weight melted away from eating lots of naughty food. I don't think I stand a chance. (Note to self: It's time to seriously start cooking for my husbands colleagues to keep the recipes rolling. The fat must be shared around.)

4. Blogger is posting my pictures with some sort of grainy, grey film over my shots...making them look super inedible. Slightly moldy, to be honest. (see pictures below for example) I don't know why or how to fix this problem--any ideas? The original shots are light and warm and just beautiful...why have they uploaded like this?

Anyway, now you know, I'm not among the deceased, and it's time to present a school fete favourite--Coconut Ice--all grown up this time, domed in shape and decked with pretty little fondant roses. These would make such a pretty addition to a high tea or girls party as they are definitely feminine and a bit of a show stopper, if I say so myself. They sport a vanilla infused coconut base, topped with a lightly strawberry flavoured pink dome (I had to find a way to use those gorgeous dome molds that have not been of much use so far...makes for a fancy looking dessert after all!) with a dollop of vanilla cream icing and a pink fondant rose. And they are incredibly delicious, and rich, and it is, I warn you, a little hard to stop at one...

COCONUT ICE DOMES WITH ROSES (Adapted from Delicious, October 2002 by Valli Little)

Domes:

2 cups icing sugar
pinch cream of tartar
395g can of sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla essence
3 1/2 cups dessicated coconut
1/2-1 tsp strawberry essence
15 small fondant roses (make your own here!)

Icing:

1/2 cup icing sugar, extra
a few drops vanilla essence, extra
2-4 tbsp. heavy cream

Sift the icing sugar and cream of tartar into a medium sized bowl. Add the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and coconut and stir until well incorporated. Divide the mixture between two bowls. Add the vanilla essence to one, and the strawberry essence to the other. Mix until thoroughly incorporated.
In the bowl containing the strawberry essence, add a drop or two of red or pink food colouring. Stir again until the colour saturates the mixture. (If you find that the addition of this extra liquid has made the texture too wet, add a little more icing sugar to the mixture. You don't want it to be too damp, but able to hold its shape when you press it together in your hand.)
Liberally grease your dome molds. Spoon the pink mixture into 15 molds until the mixture is evenly distributed between them. Firmly press the mixture into each so that it is firmly compressed and flat on the top. Repeat with the white mixture on top of the pink, filling each dome to the rim, and pressing down again firmly. Refrigerate for two hours before gently removing with the help of a spoon if necessary.
To make the icing, place the extra icing sugar and extra vanilla in a small bowl. Combine with just enough cream to get a nice texture that will not drip when applied to the coconut ice domes. Dollop a small amount on the top of each dome, and then top with a fondant rose.

Makes 15 domes

NOTES: If you do not have a dome mold such as the one used in this recipe, you can easily make this in a 30x20cm slice tin and cut it into squares.

Banana Cinnamon Puddings with Butterscotch Sauce

My kids are what I call faze-eaters or gorge-feeders. My daughter has a bird-like, grazing appetite, and my son is a heavy snacker and eats small main meals. But when they discover something new, they gorge themselves on it like they cannot get enough. I don't mind this when it's a healthy thing, and it always is, or I wouldn't let them do it. For the duration of a week it was strawberries. Now they wont look at them. For two weeks it was bananas. Now they wont touch them. It's been beans, chickpeas, pasta, mandarins and yogurt. The banana faze left me with tonnes of bananas I had to cut up and freeze, hence this recipe perked my curiosity and made me feel I could get a little condensing done from the freezer.
And who doesn't love that banana cinnamon and butterscotch combination? Its like a match made it heaven, and its also made with greek yogurt which makes it light and airy with a bit of a tang. Scrumptious!

BANANA CINNAMON PUDDINGS WITH BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE (From Taste)

100g butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup self raising flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 cup mashed banana
2/3 cup greek yogurt

Sauce:
1/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup cream
25g butter, chopped

Preheat the oven to 180C. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add one egg at a time and beat thoroughly between each addition. Add the flour and cinnamon and mix until combined. Fold in the mashed banana and yogurt. Divide between 6 greased ramekins or 6 greased Texas muffin tins.
Cook for 30-35 minutes or until the tops are golden and a skewer comes out clean.
To make the sauce, place the brown sugar, cream and butter in a small saucepan. Heat on low, stirring for 3 minutes or until the butter melts. Increase the heat and bring to the boil. Lower the heat again and continue cooking for a few more minutes until the mixture thickens. Pour over warm puddings to serve.

SERVES 6.

Banana Cinnamon Puddings with Butterscotch Sauce

Raspberry and White Chocolate Mousse

It's quite official that I can't see my toes when I look down.
The rotund, bulbous belly can no longer be mistaken as a sign of indulgence in my cooking though--if you've been following the blog, you will know that within the next five or so weeks, we're welcoming a new baby into the family. Cooking and baking and artistic creativity in the kitchen may be on the back burner for a while while I catch my breath and gather my feet. Nothing will ever take precedence over my babies---not even a great raspberry and white chocolate mousse.
It's a thick, creamy pink dessert swirled with cream and sweet, tangy raspberry sauce, a pile of berries and a grating of white chocolate. It's elegant and simple and fancy all at the same time and a perfect entertaining dessert that you can make ahead before a dinner party. Choose from small tumblers, bowls or ramekins to sophisticated champagne glasses to show off this delectable dessert that features the summer's first berries and cream. What a feast for the eyes and the taste buds!

RASPBERRY AND WHITE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE (Adapted from "More Please" by Valli Little)

500g raspberries, frozen or fresh
1 tbsp lime or lemon juice
2 tbsp sugar
1/3 cup boiling water
2 tsp gelatine powder
300ml cream
160g white chocolate

Puree the raspberries. With a spoon, push the puree through a fine sieve and discard the seeds. Set the sieved puree aside, reserving 1/3 of a cup for the sauce. To this 1/3 of a cup of puree, add the lemon juice and sugar. Stir to combine, then cover and refrigerate.
In a small bowl, place the hot water, and shower the gelatine evenly over the surface. Set aside for five minutes to soften and then stir to dissolve. Add this gelatine mixture to the the raspberry puree (not the raspberry sauce that you have refrigerated.) Stir to combine and set aside.
Place 1/3 cup of the cream in a microwave proof bowl with the white chocolate. Microwave on high, checking and stirring every 30 seconds until the chocolate has melted and the cream mixes in smoothly with the chocolate. Set this bowl aside to cool.
Whip the remaining cream into soft peaks. Fold the cooled chocolate mixture through, and then the puree. Divide among 4-6 glasses or serving bowls, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight to set.
To serve, drizzle the raspberry sauce over each portion with a little cream. Garnish with extra raspberries and grated chocolate if desired.

Serves 4-6

The raspberries are pureed and then pushed through a sieve to separate the seeds and skin. Whipped cream is folded through the chocolate ganache mixture, and then a great portion of the raspberry puree is also folded through to form the mousse.

Mini Boston Cream Pies

It's Lent and I'm not eating sweet things.
Promise.
Sundays are an exception though, we indulge a little and eat a little thing or two that's fancy. Something like these gorgeous little mini Boston Cream Pies. I've never had a Boston Cream Pie but I'm guessing it's sublime, because these were too. They reminded me of profiteroles--obviously the cake part was a different texture, but it's all the same mouthwatering flavours and explosions in one bite. Flavours I cannot resist!
There's the lovely, giving cake-iness of the cupcake, then that divine vanilla cream custard filling that oozes and slides down in perfect harmony with the bitter sweet fudgy chocolate ganache. They're rich, they're decadent and they're just glorious. Got to have another one.

MINI BOSTON CREAM PIES (adapted from Martha Stewart)

GANACHE:
1 cup chocolate chips
2/3 cup thickened cream

In a medium microwave proof bowl, combine the chocolate and cream. Microwave for one minute on high, then remove and stir until well incorporated. Refrigerate for an hour or two to thicken.

CUPCAKES:
6 tbsp butter
1/2 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a 24 hole mini muffin tray.
In a medium, microwave proof  bowl, place the butter and milk. Microwave on high for a minute or two, until the butter has melted. Remove from microwave and add the sugar, flour, baking powder and salt to the bowl. Whisk until well combined, then beat in the eggs and vanilla essence. Spoon this batter into the cupcake tins so that each is about 3/4 full. Bake for 15 minutes. Set aside on a cooling rack to cool.

CUSTARD:
1 cup milk
2 large egg yolks
3 tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 tbsp. cornflour
20g butter, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla essence

Place milk in a small saucepan and bring to the boil.
Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan, combine yolks, sugar and cornflour and whisk over a low heat. When the milk has boiled, add a few tablespoons into the yolk mixture and whisk. Gradually add the remaining milk and whisk vigorously on a medium heat. Custard will thicken. Continue to whisk until boils, and remove from heat. Scrape into a small bowl and sit in a few inches of cold water or ice, to cease the cooking process. When cooler, add the butter in two installments, stirring until combined. Add essence, mix and refrigerate until cool

ASSEMBLY:
When the cupcakes are cool, take a knife and hollow out part of the centre of each (don't remove the cake too closely to the bottom of the cake, as this makes them more difficult to handle when completed.) Spoon custard into each hollow, then pair with another cupcake so that the custard sides merge. Spoon the thickened ganache over the top of each doubled up cupcake. Serve immediately, or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes 12

NOTES: You could also make these in a regular 12 hole muffin tray. Instead of placing one cupcake on top of another, simply cut the top off with a serrated knife, hollow out a little of the bottom and fill with custard, then replace the "lid".
Custard stores for 2-3 days when refrigerated.

Baked Mini Red Velvet Cheesecakes

Anyone who has known me for more than a year knows that St.Valentine's Day and I have a love hate relationship. I'm a hopeless romantic. Yet The Man Up Stairs has a great sense of humor and has sent me disappointments on that day just about every year since I have been in love. Yes, I'm talking about you, ex-boyfriends. Just kidding. They never lasted till St.Valentine's Day.
I've only ever been wined and dined by my darling husband for St.Valentine's Day, seeing as we both met at 19. He's the sweetest man and always spoils me, and St.Valentine's Day is no exception. But what do you do when fate wants to put a damper on your romantic evening? Every year?
Like what if the waterfront restaurant you booked happens to float away down the river?
Or the dozens of Chinese lanterns you decked the veranda out with decide to only light up for half an hour?
The bouquet of chocolates you sent to his work didn't arrive at his work before he left?
These are just a few of the things that could go wrong on St.Valentine's Day, and for me they did. Yes, that restaurant literally drifted away down the river a few days before our booking. Ironically, the restaurant was called "Drift".
Anyway, from past experience I now know that I can't rely on anyone else to make St.Valentine's Day special--with the exception of my husband, he has planned the dinner and is cooking it himself, and I can't wait to see what he serves. As you might have guessed, I'm to create the dessert. So I've been trialing a few different recipes that would make lovely romantic St. Valentine's Day desserts. Here's one of them--baked mini red velvet cheesecakes with a chocolate crust bottom, topped with a swirl of whipped cream and a dusting of cocoa. Needless to say, I'm in love with these deliciously creamy morsels.

BAKED MINI RED VELVET CHEESECAKES

Base:
10 chocolate chip biscuits
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp butter, melted

Filling:
250g cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp red food colouring
1 egg
1/2 cup whipped cream to decorate
chocolate shavings to decorate if desired

 Preheat the oven to 180C.
Lightly great 20 mini muffin holes (I used a silicone mini muffin tray.)
In a food blender, place the broken biscuits and chop until they resemble fine bread crumbs. Transfer to a small bowl and add the cocoa powder and melted butter. Combine thoroughly, then divide the mixture between the 20 mini muffin holes. Press the mixture firmly into each hole using your fingers or the back of a spoon. Place in the refrigerator while preparing the cheesecake filling.
To make the filling, beat the cream cheese in a medium bowl until smooth. Add the sugar and cocoa and beat until fluffy. Add the vanilla and red food colouring and beat until well combined. Add the egg and beat until smooth. Divide the cheesecake mixture evenly among the muffin holes  so that the cups are almost full. Bake for 20-25 minutes until centres are firm, and leave for 15 minutes to cool in the tray. The cheesecakes may sink a little.
Cover and refrigerate for an hour at least, before garnishing with whipped cream and chocolate, if desired.

Makes 20 mini cheesecakes

Meringue Rave Swan

You know what makes me tick? Art. Food. Art and food combined. You can enjoy it visually, you can feel it, you can taste it, you can smell it...it appeals to all the senses.  It's practically perfect.
I know that visually unappealing food can be delightful to the taste buds. You know me--I think any really "good" food has to have two of three things to be truly successful:

Great Appearance
Great Texture
Great Taste

I believe any dish or dessert or edible can get away with only two of these three, and be a winner. For example, avocado. It  looks divine, and has a wonderful buttery, smooth texture, but doesn't really have much of a taste. I love it! (especially halved and paired with a large dollop of sour cream, and a sprinkling of lemon pepper) All the better if something looks amazing, tastes amazing and has great texture.
So here we have it, my signature dessert. I call it a Meringue Rave Swan because, well, not to blow my own horn too loudly, but it has got rave reviews every time it's been served. The name actually comes from a drink that is served at a quirky Melbourne bar called Madam Brussels. Mind you, if you're ever in Melbourne, do try and locate it. It's one of those bars that people only know about by word of mouth, and is an awesome terrace, garden-party style place on Bourke St. Anyway, we went there on my Hen's night, after a lovely time at a jazz bar, and we lovely ladies were served a giant cocktail in a porcelain swan. It is The Rave Swan. I don't know if they still sell them, but it has ever been impressed in me, and thus, the meringue swan has also taken on its name.

MERINGUE RAVE SWANS

2 egg whites
1/2 cup caster sugar
3oz flaked almonds, lightly toasted
6 generous ice cream scoops

Preheat oven to 150C.
Beat the egg whites on the highest setting until they form stiff peaks. Gradually add the sugar, beating well in between, until sugar dissolves,  and the mixture is thick, smooth and glossy.
Draw 12 tear shapes onto two sheets of baking paper to use as guides for the swan's bodies. Pipe meringue mixture onto these sheets to fill in the shapes, making the meringue thicker at the widest part of the tear. Insert the tips of almonds at a slight angle over the tops of these tear shapes to resemble feathers. Bake for one hour, alternating the trays at the end of the first half hour. Cool with the oven door slightly ajar.
With the remaining meringue, pipe S shapes onto another lined baking tray. Pipe a few extra in case of breakage. Bake in the oven until golden, and cool with the door ajar.
Just before serving, wedge two teardrops together with a generous ball of ice cream to assemble the body and insert the S shape to form the swan's head.

Makes 6 Swans

NOTES: Do not assemble swan and then store in the refrigerator, as the meringue will soften and the swan will not stand. Store meringue in an airtight container until ready to serve, then pair with ice cream on the serving plate.

Drinking The Rave Swan on my Hen's at Madam Brussels, Melbourne

Oreo Cheesecake Swirls

I did it. I ignored my queasy stomach, listened to my heart and mind and set about to create in the kitchen again, determined. It's probably been a month or more since I ventured in to make something I didn't have to make.
It was great, because I had an idea in my mind and just went with it, and within 15 minutes it was all completed before me. Except for the washing up, of course.
The cook should never have to clean up.
Unless you're a cook like me, and it appears a bomb has gone off in that room after you've finished. No one should have to deal with that sort of explosion. So I guess it's up to me. I'm beginning to think I ought to hire cleaners of some sort. Housework gives me blisters. Seriously. My baby hands probably need to do a bit more of it, I'm guessing.
Anyway, nothing worthwhile comes at an easy price, they say. We had some dramas, however not with the cooking (actually, there's no cooking involved in this recipe, it's bake free and summer friendly!) The drama came in the transportation of these gorgeous little morsels. We were headed to my parents in law's house, and I brought dessert. My husband is an exceptional driver, but the Oreo Cheesecake Bites did not stand much of a chance in my hands on that glass plate, with frequents stops at traffic lights and crazy drivers on the road. I figured there's a technique to keeping them on the plate--after we had several go zooming across the car, cheesecake flying and smearing in unimaginable, unreachable places like aircon vents and smooshing into the carpet. We can't wait for that creamy substance to start rotting in the summer heat in that oven like vehicle. Not.
When we stopped at the in-law's place, I promptly opened the door and tossed out the ruined Cheesecake bites, in a truly "un-epic" manner. I tossed them so badly, that the cream simply splattered straight onto the side of the car (where it remains). My husband couldn't believe it. We later found cheesecake smeared over the Christmas presents in the car on the way home. Don't ask!
Anyway, drama aside, the Oreo Cheesecake bites where a hit. The recipe makes approximately 25 (give or take a few depending upon the quantity you pipe on the top), and it's one of the quickest, simplest recipes you'll ever impress your guests with. It's a smooth swirl of cookies and cream cheesecake atop a decadent dark chocolate and vanilla Oreo biscuit.
Life doesn't get much sweeter.

OREO CHEESECAKE SWIRLS

3 packets of original Oreo biscuits
1 cup cream
250g cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup caster sugar
Chocolate chips to decorate (optional)

Beat the cream cheese in a medium bowl until smooth. Add the sugar and mix to combine.
In a separate, smaller bowl, whip the cream until firm peaks form.
Take one packet of Oreos and split the biscuits in half, removing and reserving the cream in the centre, by using a butter knife. Place the biscuit halves in a food processor or blender, and blitz until it all resembles fine crumbs.
Add the whipped cream, Oreo crumbs and the reserved Oreo cream into the cream cheese mixture, and fold through until well combined. Set out the remaining two packets of Oreo biscuits on a large serving platter. Fill a piping bag, set with a large star nozzle tip, with the creamy mixture. Pipe swirls of the mixture onto the top of each biscuit. Serve immediately or refrigerate until serving.

Makes approximately 25-30

NOTES: It is easy to make your own caster sugar if you don't have it in your pantry. Simply place the required amount of sugar in the blender and blitz for a few seconds until it becomes finer.For a less rich Oreo bite, you could omit the cream cheese.

Monte Carlo Cheesecakes

Is it just me, or has the silly season already begun? It's October, yet I feel time has escaped me and I am trying (and failing) to slow things down, resisting the thought of Christmas and all the things, events and people that are to be done, attended and seen before December 25.
In less than a month I am off to attend the unnerving, the exciting, the butterfly-in-the-tummy-filling cook off to find the next Blogger Come Chef at the Brisbane food and wine show. Holy Macaroly, how did I end up there? I am still asking myself. I have never done anything like this before, and I find my heart in my throat at the thought of cooking in front of a crowd of starring eyes and judges...and actually being in competition with another creative foodie mind. Yes Brisbane bloggers. I have been scoping you out, and hoping I am not up against one of you super mums who just seems to have it all figured out! My mind wanders thinking of what I'd put prize money towards...trying not to get too far ahead of myself. With the dream of publishing a cookbook in the forefront of my mind. I. Must. Win.
Having said that, I am not cooking anything sweet.
I know.
Insanity, Louise.
What ARE you thinking?
Well I cant disclose what I'm making in case I have Brisbane foodie stalkers, hoping they're up against me with their wizz-bang recipes that they have been practicing and preparing for months in order to beat me to the prize. You will not know until I'm standing there with my plated creation.
By the way, if anyone is interested in coming and watching me sweating like a pig over the stove in the middle of summer, you're welcome. I am slowly but surely gathering a very gorgeous cheer squad and you can get your pom poms out too. Okay. Rehearsals are every Friday night at my house, cheese and wine provided. Just kidding.
Bring your own wine.
I've had the last of it to steady my nerves.
In all seriousness, you're most welcome to come. Not to my house, to the event. I believe there are lots of exciting things to be seen at these food and wine festivals besides wannabe cooks like me, battling against other wannabe cooks.
I'll be there on Saturday the 10th of November at the Chopping Block stage 7, from 2pm until 2.45.
Phew. That sounds so official.
In the meantime, I'm calming my nerves by cooking everything but what I am meant to be practicing for the cook off. Smart, I know.
Anyway, I've come up with a new recipe, incorporating one of my all time favourites, Monte Carlos. Is there anything quite as delicious as that red line of jam tucking away a filling of vanilla cream? Only a Monte Carlo cheesecake could be that touch more delicious than that.
This is a real treat for the tastebuds. Two gorgeous, vanilla-y, coconut-y, jam-y Monte Carlo biscuits sandwiching a creamy strawberry cheesecake filling.  Oh my. Yes it's as good as it sounds.

MONTE CARLO CHEESECAKES (A Lick the Spoon Original)


3/4 cup sugar
250g strawberries
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp gelatin
150g cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup cream
20 monte carlo biscuits
10 8cmx25cm strips of acetate plastic/ projector film

Hull the strawberries and place in a food blender. Process until pureed. Place the puree and 1/2 cup of the sugar in a saucepan. Turn the heat on low and cook until it just begins to boil. While heating, place water and gelatin in a small bowl and let soften. When the puree begins to boil, add the gelatin mixture and stir, until the gelatin dissolves into the puree mixture. Remove from heat. Allow to cool to room temperature. Meanwhile,
beat the cream cheese and the remaining 1/4 cup of the sugar together in a bowl until well combined. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, whip the cream until firm peaks form. Add the cream cheese mixture to the cream and briefly beat to combine.
When the puree mixture has cooled to room temperature, gently fold it through the creamy mixture until combined.
Place half the monte carlo biscuits on a plate or tray. Firmly wrap one acetate plastic strip around each monte carlo, and fix with a piece of sticky tape to hold together. Spoon the cheesecake filling into each until all the mixture is used up. Top each cheesecake with another monte carlo. Refrigerate until set, for 3 or more hours.
Before serving, remove from the refrigerator and gently peel away the acetate from the sides of the cheesecake. Serve with strawberry puree and cream, if desired.

Makes 10

NOTES: The pictures show the monte carlo cheesecakes served with strained strawberry puree and rolled fondant roses. To make your own fondant roses, click here. Also, acetate plastic sheets (or projection sheets) can be found at your local copy shop or Officeworks. If you cant find any, you can cheat like I did, and cut up a few plastic folders like this one. You could possibly also use baking paper.

Apricot Tarts with Almond Crumble

If you're anything like me, your pantry will be stuffed with those odd ingredients you used once and don't know what to do with the remainder. Unless it comes time to make that special dish or dessert again, and by then you have forgotten you had that ingredient, and go out and buy more. It tends to accumulate. I should just go in and reorganise my pantry, I suppose, but I'm too busy blogging. Baking something new. Or blogging some more. Oh that's right. And looking after my darlings!
Well, I've had a bag of dried apricots in the cupboard for a while now and it has been sitting at the back of the pantry and my mind, just waiting to be used.  I was too lazy to find a recipe that involved them, so I made up my own.
It turned out beautifully--the perfect dessert to eat straight out of the oven, topped with ice cream and drizzled with a little cream or caramel sauce. It involves a crispy puff pastry crust, encasing a sweet apricot filling, topped with crushed almonds and brown sugar crumble with a simple lattice to decorate. I have to say I'm not a huge fan of apricots or almonds on their own, but the combination is surprisingly delicious and most satisfying. It's a winner! They're the prefect dessert for one of those chilly winter nights, and look particularly impressive with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

APRICOT TARTS WITH ALMOND CRUMBLE

1 cup dried apricots
3 tbsp. white sugar
2/3 cup water, plus 1/3 extra
1/3 cup whole almond kernels (or almond meal)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 sheet puffed pastry

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease 6 regular sized muffin holes, or use silicone for added ease.
Place the apricots, white sugar and water in a small saucepan. Cook on high until boiling, reduce heat to medium and continue to boil for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally, until apricots are tender and soft. You may wish to add an extra 1/3 cup water towards the end of this time if the liquid evaporates before the apricots are tender.
Meanwhile, place almond kernels in  a food blender and blitz until roughly chopped up into meal. Place in a small bowl and stir the brown sugar through the almond meal until combined.
When the apricots are tender, place them, undrained, into the blender and process until pureed into a smooth pulp.
Using a 9cm round biscuit cutter, cut 6 discs from the thawed puffed pastry sheet. Push these into the greased muffin tin holes. Place on heaped tablespoon of apricot filling into each. Top with 1 flatter tablespoon of the almond meal mixture. Decorate with remaining puffed pastry if desired. Bake until puffed and golden, about 45 minutes.
Serve with vanilla ice cream and a swirl of caramel sauce.

Makes 6 individual desserts

Faux Profiteroles

Delicious accidents--I love them. It makes me look pretty silly though in some ways, how I came to discover these puffy little balls of pastry, custardy, chocolatey yumminess. I admit to being totally incompetent in the kitchen sometimes. I have my days of being good, but let me share a little bit of news--I'm pretty crap sometimes. My husband can confirm this if you ask him.
On a very busy day I decided it would be nice to have cake, and turned to a packet mixture. I thought, how hard can it be to cook a cake in the microwave? I'd never done it before nor liked the sound of it, but cooking for 10 minutes right then sounded mighty tempting. For some reason the fact that it was to be artificially cooked didn't bother me, and I thought, "No one is even going to know". I followed the microwaving packet instructions and everything.
It came out of the microwave looking like vomit.
It was overcooked and dry in parts, and soft and gooey in other parts. Either my microwave has problems or I do. I wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter. Serves me right for using fake cake and fake methods.
Okay, that was pretty embarrassing. This other error I made gave me so much more joy and I actually worked with what had happened. It was a pleasant discovery.
I was attempting to make mini puff pastry tart shells for a party we were holding. I was going to fill them with curried tuna and cucumber but well, that never eventuated. I cut out small discs of pastry and pressed them into the bottom of the mini muffin tray and put them in the oven at 210C. The next time I looked at them, they were puffed up and very round, like pastry balls! I figured it must have been due to the higher temperature I set them at, as I had made shells before without a problem on a lower heat. Anyway I let them be, and waited until the tops had turned golden and crisped up, so that they wouldn't deflate when they cooled down. I ended up filling them with creme patisserie and dipping the tops in chocolate, sort of like faux profiteroles. Have mishaps with choux pastry and making the real profiteroles? This is probably a recipe for you then! They made great little petits fours at our cocktail party.

FAUX PROFITEROLES

1 1/2 sheets pre-rolled puff pastry, thawed
1 cup milk
2 large egg yolks
3 tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 tbsp. cornflour
20g butter, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla essence
150-200g chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 210C.
If you are not using a silicone mini muffin pan, grease a regular mini muffin tray (or mini cupcake liners would probably work too, see notes below).
Using a 5cm biscuit cutter, cut out 24 circles of puff pastry.Place each circle of pastry inside the mini muffin tray holes. Place in preheated oven and cook for 35-40 minutes, or until golden and crisp on the outside and have puffed up like balls.
Meanwhile, to make the patisserie creme, place milk in a small saucepan and bring to the boil.
While heating, in a separate saucepan, combine yolks, sugar and cornflour and whisk over a low heat. When the milk has boiled, add a few tablespoons into the yolk mixture and whisk. Gradually add the remaining milk and whisk vigorously on a medium heat. Custard will thicken. Continue to whisk until boils, and remove from heat. Scrape into a small bowl and sit in a few inches of cold water or ice, to cease the cooking process. When cooler, add the butter in 3-4 installments, stirring until combined. Add essence, mix and refrigerate.
When the pastry is done, remove from the oven and allow to cool.
With a sharp knife, pierce one side of each pastry puff and twist the blade to create a small hole. Wiggle the knife blade inside the puff so that some of the pastry inside crumbles away and makes it more hollow. Empty each pastry puff of any crumbs.  Fill a piping bag (fitted with a thin round nozzle that will fit in the hole) with the cooled patisserie creme. Fill each pastry puff.
Take the chocolate and place it in a microwave proof bowl. Heat for 20 seconds on high, remove, and stir. Repeat until the chocolate becomes smooth when stirred. The duration for this melting process will depend on the strength of your microwave.
Spread the tops of each pastry puff with chocolate and set aside until the chocolate becomes firm.
Serve.

Makes 24

NOTES: You can make these pastry puffs without a muffin tray, if you place them on a regular baking tray. They do not appear as round when made like this but still have the same sort of effect. When the pastry is cooked in a mini muffin tray, they tend to rise more and are ball shaped.
Patisserie Creme stores for 2-3 days.

Individual Strawberry Jelly Cheesecakes

It's been a very exciting month here on Lick The Spoon. Welcome to all the new followers, I hope you thoroughly enjoy the ride, wading through lots of gooey sweets and scrumptious savories.
I am very grateful to have received news that I have reached the second level in the Gourmet Garden Cook Off!
It all began with a blog off, and the eliminations have taken place. Thankfully I was not eliminated! So where to from here? I am to go to the Brisbane Good Food and Wine show in November and have a cook off against another lucky blogger. I'm calling on a cheer squad to give me confidence! Will you be there?
Apparently I will be cooking-off against another foodie blogger on The Chopping Block Stage, and the final product is to be judged by celebrity chefs. I hope they are kind upon my savory efforts when the time comes. I have no more details as of yet, but I will certainly keep you all updated.
I didn't think I would honestly get this far, so I want to thank all the people who helped me: my husband Luke in supporting me (he even told me not to get my hopes up, the sweetie!), the family in taste testing, and also to my mother in law Geraldine for coming to look after my babies while I had a cooking marathon to prepare for the Gourmet Garden Dinner Party. Phew! Without you all I wouldn't have gone to level two. So many, many thanks. I'm counting on you all to be there on the day to cheer me on! (it's my last favour) I am going to need all the luck I can get. Whipping up something and having it plated within a half hour time span will be quite a fete.
Anyway, that's still six months away. I hope my excitement won't have cooled down too much by then.
Well, to keep us going for the next six months of waiting and growing impatient, I have a whole stack of great recipes coming up. Keep your eyes and ears open!
Here is somewhat of a re-post. Well, the recipe is re-posted, with some tweaks made to the physical form of the original. The post went down so well the first time, and it got me thinking of the endless possibilities with this delicious recipe. It was originally a jelly slice, but I love making individual desserts and they are less messy to cut. With the aid of my silicone 12 hole muffin tray from Chef's Toolbox, I made these lovely layered desserts. They have a crispy sweet base, a tangy lemon cheesecake-like filling, and are topped in delicious red jelly in a flavour of your choice. Life doesn't get much sweeter than this. It really doesn't.

INDIVIDUAL STRAWBERRY JELLY CHEESECAKES

BASE:

1 cup Self Raising flour

1/2 cup plain flour

1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

125g butter, melted

1 tsp. vanilla essence

LEMON LAYER

1/2 can (200g) sweetened condensed milk

2 lemons, juiced

2 tsp. unflavoured gelatine

3/4 cup boiling water

TOP LAYER:

1 packet raspberry jelly

1 1/4 cups boiling water

Preheat the oven at 180C. To make the base combine flours and sugar in a bowl. Add melted butter and vanilla, and stir until well combined. Place a tablespoon of mixture into each of a 12 hole silicone muffin tray (or a well greased/lined metal muffin tin) Press down the mixture into each base using your fingertips, until compact and evenly covering the bottom of the tray. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. When cool enough to touch, press down the cooked bases with your fingertips to flatten.

To make the lemon filling, place the boiling water into a small bowl and gradually shower the unflavoured gelatine into it, so that it does not clump. Stir until dissolved. Add the lemon juice and condensed milk and stir until well combined. Spoon over each cooled base and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until set.

When the lemon layer is firm, take the raspberry jelly crystals and combine with the boiling water. Stir until completely dissolved and sit aside to cool for 15 minutes. Gently spoon the raspberry jelly liquid over the lemon layer, evenly amongst the 12 holes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set.

To remove the cheesecakes, smoothly run a butter knife around the sides of each cheesecake, careful not to pierce the silicone.  Dig the knife a little deeper until it is underneath the base and gently lift the cheesecake out, applying a little pressure to the tray base.

Garnish if desired, and serve.

NOTES: The above recipe makes 12 muffin sized cheesecakes. You can also use the Chef's Toolbox mini muffin silicone tray for a more miniature version, which are perfect to serve as petits fours. Use the 24 hole silicone mini muffin tray, only half the base recipe, the whole lemon layer recipe and half the amount of jelly.

If you want to purchase any Chef's Toolbox kitchen ware, head over to Pauline Phillip's facebook page and give her a holler! She's lovely.