Raspberry Jelly Ice Blocks

Summer has well and truly arrived here in Brisbane. It's steamy and sticky, the kind of weather where you're still sweating when you step out of a cold shower!

All that really means though is it's DEFINITELY ice block weather.

I've been making batch after batch of ice blocks and icy poles for the kids these holidays, nothing particularly fancy. Often just whatever fruit we haved whizzed up or even just fruit juice with coconut water.

We have a gorgeous set of stainless steel ice block moulds and a couple of sets of silicone icy pole moulds. These are much better options than plastic, even if they say BPA free.

These jelly ice blocks were an experiment, hoping they would fill the kids up a little with the addition of protein-rich gelatin plus, being jelly, they don't drip so much! A big plus when they start melting the instant they come out of the freezer.

I love the combo of raspberry and orange but you could use whatever fruit and juice you have. I added a couple of drops of Wild Orange essential oil to pump up the flavour, but that's totally optional (delicious though!).

The first batch I made I didn't bother straining the mixture but the kids definitely preferred it strained and seed-free.

If you make them let me know what you think!

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Raspberry Jelly Ice Blocks

1 cup fresh orange juice
2 cups frozen raspberries, thawed
1-2 tbs sweetener of choice (I use rice malt syrup)
2 ts good quality gelatin (I use Changing Habits or Great Lakes)
2-3 drops Wild Orange essential oil

Place the juice, raspberries and sweetener into your food processor or Thermomix and blitz for about 10 seconds until well combined.

Pour into a saucepan and set over low heat. Once just warm (not hot), sprinkle over the gelatin and leave for 1 minute. Using a whisk, whisk the jelly mixture until smooth.

Strain into a pouring jug, then pour into your ice block moulds.

Place into the freezer to set.

Enjoy!

Susan xx

Easy Apricot Ice Cream (Dairy Free)

We were lucky enough to score a big box of apricots for just $4 during the week! Now I love apricots but it did have me scratching my head wondering what on earth we would do with we would do with them.

I made a big batch of apricot chia jam (delicious!) and then decided to make some ice cream.

Rather than fuss around making a custard, I decided to start with the easiest ever ice cream, which is essentially just frozen fruit, coconut cream and a little sweetener.

It is soft-serve consistency straight away but you can also freeze until firm so you can scoop it.

So easy, so tasty and perfectly refreshing in this stinking hot weather at the moment.

I added a few essential oils to boost the apricot flavour but that's totally optional. A drop of cinnamon would be too much in this recipe, so just grab a toothpick and swirl it through your ice cream before giving it a final blitz to incorporate.

Feel free to use a different sweetener depending what you have on hand, and also to adjust the amount depending on how ripe and sweet your apricots are.

Remember you need to start this ice cream the day before you want to eat it. Enjoy!

Easiest Ever Apricot Ice Cream

500g ripe sweet apricots (weighed with stones removed)
1 x tin Ayam coconut cream (chilled overnight)
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 drops wild orange essential oil (optional)
1 toothpick of cinnamon essential oil, swirled through (optional)

Slice the apricots into quarters and freeze overnight in a single layer on a baking tray. Place your coconut cream into the fridge to chill at the same time.

When you are ready to prepare your icecream, place all ingredients into your food processor or Thermomix and process until as smooth as you like. I left a few chunks of apricot for texture.

While this apricot ice cream was completely delicious I have to say my all-time favourite ice cream flavour is choc mint and you can find my recipe here!

What's your favourite ice cream? xx

My Mango Coconut Custard

We may be officially in Autumn now but it hasn't cooled down one bit and we are still blessed with an abundance of summer fruit.

We've eaten our fair share of mangoes over the past few months - the kids always argue over who gets the seed and there are now lots of t-shirts with faint orange stains down the front. The last few mangoes in the fruit bowl were calling my name this week and I was determined to make something with them rather then just watch them get gobbled up.

Mango and coconut are a match made in heaven. Being dairy-free we use a lot of coconut milk and cream in this house, sometimes as a substitution for dairy but other times like this you really want that creamy lusciousness. My first thought was to make ice cream but our freezer has been a little unreliable lately and I wasn't sure the ice cream bowl would be frozen enough for it to work.


Anyone with a Thermomix will tell you it makes great custard, so that's what I decided to do.  And the result? Well this mango coconut custard went down a treat on a hot Autumn-but-feels-like-Summer afternoon.

My kids had theirs for afternoon tea but it would be the perfect dessert to serve after a Asian or Indian meal. Cool, sweet, fragrant and just delicious.

Enjoy!

My Mango Coconut Custard

2 ripe mangoes
500g coconut milk
3 eggs
40g arrowroot
75g rice malt syrup
20g coconut oil

Reserve half a mango and set aside.

Add the flesh of 1 1/2 mangoes and the coconut milk to the mixing bowl and process for 10 seconds / SP 8 or until completely smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add all remaining ingredients.

Cook for 8 minutes / 90 degrees / SP 4.

Pour into heatproof glasses and place in the fridge to chill completely

To serve, top with reserved mango (finely diced) and garnish with mint leaves or lime zest (optional).

Serves 5

My Summer Fruit Trifle (Thermomix)

For me trifle is the quintessential Summer, and therefore Christmas, dessert. It was my favourite thing growing up and I remember the excitement of helping mum assemble it with bought jam roll, red and green jelly, tinned peaches and lashings of bright yellow custard. There was nothing better on Christmas Day (although plum pudding with custard did come a close second and there is a story often told of me as a very young child asking for "a big piece please.")

Keeping with our no-roast Christmas lunch this year it went without saying that we would have trifle for dessert. I made a Maggie Beer raspberry and lemon curd one last year and although we enjoyed it I felt it was a bit too tart overall. This year I played around with flavours and came up with this Summer Fruit Trifle which we all LOVED. I will probably still make a few tweaks for next year (I can never leave a recipe alone) but this was pretty close to perfect.

I was too full to have any at lunchtime but I had a small taste at dinner and then a bowlful for breakfast on Boxing Day. Nothing wrong with that!

This is my final post for 2015 and what a year it's been! Looking forward to spending 2016 with you all.  Enjoy x

My Summer Fruit Trifle

Spelt Genoise Sponge 
Recipe from Jude Blereau's Wholefood for Children, Thermomix adaptation by me

130g white spelt flour, sifted
4 large eggs, at room temperature
100g golden caster sugar (made from raw sugar blitzed in the TMX 10 secs / SP 9)
1 ts vanilla extract
40g melted butter

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C / 160 degrees fan-forced. Grease and line the base and sides of an 8 inch cake pan and set aside.

Using the butterfly, whisk together the eggs and the sugar for 10 minutes / SP 4 until thick and pale.

Add the vanilla and beat again for a few seconds.

Remove the butterfly, add the flour and beat for 10 secs / SP 3.

Add the melted and cooled butter and beat again for another 10 secs / SP 3.

Use a spatula to scrape around the edges and fold through any remaining butter or flour.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 20-22 minutes. It will be golden brown, springy in the middle and pulling away from the sides.

Leave to cool completely in the tin. When ready to assemble the trifle, cut the cake into cubes.

Mango Jelly
2 large mangoes, seed and skin removed
2 cups coconut water
2 tbs gelatine (I use Great Lakes brand)

Place the mango flesh into the mixing bowl along with the coconut water and blend for 20 secs / SP 9.

Sprinkle over the gelatine and cook for 3 mins / 60 deg / SP 4.

Pour into a lightly oiled slice pan and place in the fridge. Cut into small cubes when ready to assemble the trifle.

Custard
1L rice milk
4 eggs
140g rice malt syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 heaped tbs arrowroot

Place all ingredients into the mixing bowl and cook for 10 mins / 80 deg / SP 4.5. Pour into a heatproof jug. Cool on the bench for 30 minutes before placing into the fridge to chill completely.

Lemon and Orange Curd
Adapted from Tenina

200g rice malt syrup
zest of 2 oranges and 2 lemons
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
240g cold unsalted butter, cut in cubes
2 heaped ts arrowroot 
4 whole eggs
2 egg yolks

Place butter into the mixing bowl and chop 5 secs / SP 5.

Add all remaining ingredients and cook for 10 minutes / 80 degrees / SP 5.

Cook for a further 3 minutes / 90 degrees / SP 6.

Pour into a large glass container. Place in the fridge once cooled.

Assembling the trifle

2 cups raspberries
2 cups sweet, ripe pineapple, cut into small thin slices

To assemble the trifle (best done at least a few hours ahead of time), place alternating layers of cake, fruit, curd, jelly and custard into a large trifle dish, finishing with a layer of custard and a scattering of raspberries over the top. Keep in the fridge until ready to serve. 

Serves 8-10

Cardamom Pear Muffins (SRC)

It's Secret Recipe Club time again! Each month a dedicated group of bloggers are assigned a blog in secret to peruse and cook from, and then we all post on the same day. Today is reveal day for group D.

This month I was assigned Nicole's blog Hapatite and wow was I in for a treat. Hapatite ("hapa" meaning half or of mixed racial heritage and "tite" meaning appetite) is an absolute treasure-trove of amazing recipes, all drawing upon her family's Chinese, Cherokee, German and Hawaiian American background. As you can imagine this makes for some fabulous food!

One dish that really caught my eye was Nicole's take on char siu chow fun which is served for Chinese New Year.  But then I also loved her Baked Onion Rings and homemade Filet-o-Fish which was my go-to late night meal back in my uni days!

Nicole is also something of a tea connoisseur and has reviewed some really interesting tea blends. My favourite was the Candied Chestnut Tea and I wish it was available here! I really love tea and have an ever-growing collection of herbal teas so this made for some great reading.

As usual though I was on the hunt for kid-friendly snack ideas and you can't beat a muffin. Enter these Cardamom Spiced Pear Muffins.

Cardamom is one of those spices that seems to get overlooked. I remember making a cardamom cake years ago that I absolutely loved but I haven't really used it since, apart from in curries.

These muffins were absolutely delicious. The cardamom added a complexity of flavour that I wasn't expecting yet it wasn't overpowering, probably because it was paired with cinnamon and nutmeg (and the clove that I added because I love it). My boys loved these and as usual I wished I'd made a double batch because they disappeared way too quickly.

Cardamom Pear Muffins
Slightly adapted from Hapatite

2 cups self raising flour (or 2 cups plain flour + 1 tbs baking powder)
1/2 cup coconut sugar
85g softened butter
2 large eggs
1 ts vanilla extract
1 ts ground cardamom
1 ts cinnamon
1/2 ts nutmeg
1/4 ts ground cloves
1/2 cup buttermilk (I used 1/2 cup rice milk soured with 1 ts apple cider vinegar)
1 large pear, just ripe, cut into small dice

Line a 12 cup muffin tray with paper liners. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius fan-forced.

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Add the spices and mix well.

Fold through 1/2 the flour followed by 1/2 the buttermilk, then repeat with the remainder.

Fold through the pear pieces.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tray and bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer comes out clean.

Cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely (or just eat warm as they are amazing straight from the oven!!).

Thanks for a great month and a delicious recipe Nicole!

An InLinkz Link-up

Easy Pear Tea Cake

This cake has been a lifesaver recently when I've been asked to bring something to share for morning tea and have had very few ingredients to choose from. This is a really simple tea cake and while it might not be fancy it is absolutely delicious!

I have made it with pears, apples and blueberries and each one was sensational. Pears are in season right now though and their flavour really shines in this simple cake.

I'm hoping it freezes well as I will be making another one this week and freezing it to have for afternoon tea on moving day (7 days and counting - aaahhh!)

Easy Pear Tea Cake

1 1/2 cups wholemeal spelt flour
2 ts aluminium free baking powder
1/3 cup rice malt syrup
1 egg
125g unsalted butter, melted and cooled*
1 ts vanilla extract
pinch salt
400g just ripe pears, peeled cored and diced
a squeeze of lemon
1 tbs coconut sugar
1 ts cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease and line the base of a 20cm (8 inch) round sping-form cake tin.

Peel, core and dice the pears and squeeze of some lemon juice, tossing to coat the pieces and prevent them from going brown.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt, then add the syrup, egg, butter and vanilla and mix to combine. It will form a dough rather than a batter. Press 3/4 of the mixture into the base of the tin and then scatter over the pears. Scatter the remaining dough over the top of the pears, like a crumble topping.

Combine the coconut sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle liberally over the top of the cake.

Bake for approx 40 minutes until it is golden brown, pulling away from the edges and a skewer comes out clean.

Allow to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before removing the sides of pan and sliding onto your serving plate. It is very delicate when warm but would be delicious warm for dessert with cream.

*Dairy-free version - use coconut or macadamia oil in place of the melted butter.

Apricot Chicken

When I was growing up, apricot chicken was one of my favourite dinners. There's just something so delicious about that combination of sweet and savoury.

Last week on Better Homes and Gardens, Fast Ed did a series of 'kid-friendly' dishes which included apricot chicken and I realised my kids have never tried it. This is an updated version of the one I would have had growing up, which almost certainly would have included a packet of french onion soup mix!

The boys actually love watching BHG with me. Oscar really likes the gardening and pet segments, Charlie likes the building and of course we all love the cooking. So when we saw this recipe and the boys wanted to try it, of course we had to.

I copied it down directly from the show but you can view the video with the recipe here. It doesn't give all the exact quantities so I have included what I used below. The recipe said to use a rice and quinoa blend which I have seen around but never tried. As it was on special this week we got a bag and it was great. Really filling and much more interesting and nutritious than regular rice.

Fast Ed's Apricot Chicken
Serves 6

3 tbs butter
2 leeks, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1kg chicken thigh fillets, cut into 2cm pieces
1/4 cup flour
1 x 400ml tin apricot nectar
400ml chicken stock
1 x tin apricot halves
salt and pepper to taste
fresh chives
rice and quinoa to serve

Melt 1 tbs of the butter in a large pan over medium-high heat and saute the leeks until they are starting to soften. Add the crushed garlic and cook together until the leeks are tender and collapsed. Remove from the pan.

Dust the chicken pieces in flour and set aside. Cook your rice or quinoa using your preferred method and keep warm until ready to serve.

Add another 1 tbs of butter to the pan and fry off the chicken in 2 batches until it is well browned. Use the remaining 1 tbs of butter for the second batch of chicken pieces. Return the leek mixture and all the chicken to the pan and pour in the apricot nectar and chicken stock. Stir well and simmer, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has reduced and thickened a little. Check for seasoning and sprinkle in some fresh chopped chives just before serving.

In a separate non-stick pan over medium-high heat, place the apricot halves in, cut side down, and fry until golden brown. Remove and keep warm.

Serve the apricot chicken with rice or quinoa and the fried apricot halves.

The taste test ... we loved this! My 1yo and 6yo went absolutely nuts for it and wanted seconds and then thirds. This is definitely going into our rotation of meals.

Kiwi Lime and Coconut Muffins (Secret Recipe Club )

This month I was assigned Chocolate and Chillies by Asiya, a stay at home mum of 2 from Toronto. She has a gorgeous blog where she posts not only the food she makes for her family but does reviews and giveaways. If that weren't enough she also has a second blog about all the arts and crafts she does with her kids called Keepin' 2 Boys Busy. Super woman!

Asiya's family is from India and her husband is Pakistani so I found some delicious sounding recipes like Mummy's Indian Spiced Shrimp and Mango Pistachio Kulfi which I have pinned to try later. What I was really looking for this time though was a kid-pleaser.

This month has been really busy for me with 2 exams, 1 assignment and lots of end of term festivities for school and kindy. Because I've been so busy I haven't been baking much so the boys have been having things like popcorn, cereal or just fruit for afternoon tea. When I saw Asiya's Kiwi, Coconut and Lime Muffins I knew the boys would love them and it would get me back into the baking groove.

I've never used kiwi fruit in this way before but it's such a great idea, and gave these muffins had a lovely tropical flavour which we loved. And yep, a big thumbs up from my 2 little taste testers!

Kiwi Lime and Coconut Muffins
Adapted from Chocolate and Chillies

1 ¼ cups white spelt flour
1 ¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarb soda
¼ tsp salt
½ cup desiccated coconut
3 tbsp coconut oil, room temperature
¾ cup dextrose
2 eggs (if using regular sugar only use 1 egg)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 kiwi fruits
zest and juice of one lime
extra desiccated coconut for topping

Preheat oven to 190 degrees Celsius. Line a muffin tray with 10 liners.

Peel the kiwi fruits and puree them in a blender or food processor. Pour the puree into a ½ cup measure and add the lime juice and enough water to make ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons.

Add the kiwi puree and all remaining ingredients to the food processor and mix until just combined.

Pour the mixture into prepared muffin tray and sprinkle each with some coconut. (I forgot to do this so toasted up some coconut and sprinkled it over the top once the muffins were cooked).

Bake for 14-16 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Allow to cool for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

Makes 9-10 muffins

An InLinkz Link-up

Roasted Strawberry Chia Seed Jam

The other night right before bed Oscar requested scones with jam for breakfast, and being the awesome mum that I am, I obliged! It's the school holidays after all, and really who wouldn't want to wake up to fresh scones with homemade jam??

Rather than make a typical sugar-filled jam (which I've only ever done once), I decided to make a chia jam instead. Chia seeds have become incredibly popular these days and why not? These tiny seeds are packed with fibre and omega-3 fatty acids, as well as calcium, manganese and phosphorus. We use them daily, sprinkled on porridge, in smoothies and in baked goods.

This jam worked brilliantly. The roasted strawberry flavour was delicious and it set beautifully. The kids loved it on their scones fresh from the oven and it was just as tasty the next day when we polished off the leftovers.  So easy and a great alternative. I will definitely be making this again and playing with different flavour combinations.

Roasted Strawberry Chia Seed Jam

1 cup sliced frozen strawberries
1 tbs rice malt syrup
1 tbs orange juice
3 tbs white chia seeds

Place the strawberries, syrup and orange juice in a small oven proof dish and stir together. Place in the oven and roast at 180 degrees celsius for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, add the chia seeds and mix well to combine. Set aside for 10 minutes before stirring again. Allow to cool and eat immediately or store in the fridge for a couple of days, if it lasts that long!

Gluten Free German Apple-Plum Cake (Secret Recipe Club)

Secret Recipe Club time again! Has it really been a whole month since the last one?

This month I was assigned Without Adornment by Bean. Bean is a chemical engineer, self-proclaimed nerd and fabulous gluten-free baker! I was intrigued by her blog's name but after reading her About Me page it all makes sense. I really admire Bean's quest to truly be herself without adornment. It's a great sentiment and something I most definitely relate to.

As for her baking and cooking, well I spent a very long time trying to choose what to make. I've been cooking more and more allergen-free food, so being assigned a blog where I didn't have to convert any recipes was wonderful! All her recipes are gluten-free and lots are also dairy and refined sugar free which fits in perfectly with how we eat at the moment.

So what to choose? Well, I bookmarked her Vegan Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies to try at Christmas, and I was really tempted by her Health(ier) Peanut (Not Quite) Brittle, but as I needed something for a morning tea with family I wanted something baked. Her German Apple Plum Cake sounded perfect.

And the taste test? Yum! Really moist, packed with fruity flavour and with all that crunchy streusel on top. Just delicious. Even better it was gluten and dairy free which meant happy tummies around here.

Thanks for a great recipe Bean! I really enjoyed spending time on your blog and will be back many times :)

Gluten-Free German Apple-Plum Cake
Recipe adapted from Without Adornment

For the cake:
125g dairy-free spread (or butter if you're not dairy free)
100 g dextrose (or sugar)
1ts vanilla
4 eggs
1 pinch salt
165g brown rice flour
65g tapioca flour
1 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp rice milk
1 tsp lemon juice
400g tart apples, peeled and diced
lemon juice, extra
200g plums sliced in halves (I used canned)

For the topping:
25g tapioca starch
50g brown rice flour
60g dairy-free spread (or butter if you're not dairy free)
60g dextrose (or sugar)
50g sliced almonds or walnuts
1 tsp cinnamon

Grease and line a 9-inch springform pan. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius/400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Peel and dice the apples and toss them in the extra lemon juice to stop them browning. Slice the plums in half and set aside.

To make the streusel topping, mix the dry ingredients together in a small bowl and then rub in the dairy-free spread with your fingers until crumbly. Set aside.

To make the cake, cream together the butter, dextrose and vanilla until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a medium bowl, whisk the salt, flours, baking powder and xanthan gum. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and then add milk and lemon juice and mix until just combined.

Fold the apple slices through the batter then pour into the prepared pan. Arrange the plum halves on top leaving a small space between the fruit and the edge of the pan. Sprinkle the streusel over the top.

Bake for approximately 40 minutes (mine took 50) or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.

An InLinkz Link-up

Johnny Cake Cobbler (Baking with Julia) + some news!

This week we had a choice of 2 recipes for Baking with Julia and I chose the Johnnycake Cobbler over the Raspberry-Fig Crostata, mainly because neither figs nor raspberries are in season here and even when they are, they're prohibitively expensive.

Unfortunately it wasn't quite the success I had hoped.

I used 8 smallish apples and 2 cups of thawed frozen blackberries for my full-size cobbler which I thought would be plenty but it seemed to shrink down to nothing. Or maybe it was just that there was at least twice as much topping as was needed. What I should have done is just turn it out on to a platter and call it an upside down cake!

What I liked - the combination of fruits, their jewel-toned colour and the texture of the cobbler thanks to the cornmeal.

What I didn't like - the quantity of topping, the saltiness and fact it took over 90 minutes to cook through!

I'm really not sure why it took so long to cook. Our oven has been even more unreliable than usual recently so it could be that, or it could be that I just stuffed up somewhere. This is actually a distinct possibility as we are expecting baby #3 and pregnancy brain has well and truly kicked in!

Not sure why I haven't shared the news before now but given I'm 30 weeks tomorrow it's about time. So in 10 weeks or less there will be a new baby in the food.baby family. We haven't found out the gender this time so we'll be getting an awesome surprise on this little one's birth-day.

Back to the cobbler, I served it with lashings of cream (probably unnecessary given the huge amount of cream in the cobbler itself) and my 3 taste-testers all enjoyed it, but the fact is there is still a large chunk in the fridge and no one asked for seconds which is pretty telling.

You'll find the recipe for the Johnnycake Cobbler on page 389 of Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan.

Baking with Julia - Berry Galette

After making a delicious (but boring) apple pie last time, there was no way I was passing on berries again this week! I did have to resort to frozen berries but honestly they worked just fine.

This is one of those cases where the end result is far greater than the sum of it's parts. The galette is a simple, buttery pastry folded around mixed berries. That's it. 

I made only slight changes to the recipe, based on what I had in the pantry. That meant using semolina instead of cornmeal in the pastry. After reading the P & Q this week I decided not to add any water at all to my pastry. I used 3 heaped tablespoons of natural yoghurt (instead of sour cream) and the dough came together perfectly. I also added the zest of 1/2 an orange in with the berries and sugar which gave a lovely citrus perfume when it came out of the oven. 

The resulting galette was insanely good and seemed far more special than just pastry wrapped around frozen berries!

I was surprised by how small the galette was, and I think next time I would use the full batch of pastry with double the fruit.

Our hosts this week are Lisa of Tomato Thymes in the Kitchen and Andrea of The Kitchen Lioness. They will post the recipe under today's date so make sure you check it out. Like Dorie says, this recipe is a keeper!

TWD BWJ - Pear and Apple Pie

Oh how I envy you all in the midst of summer right now. Not because of the heat, I hate hot weather. Just because of all that glorious summer fruit! There were definitely no blueberries or nectarines to be had around here, fresh or frozen. So I chose to make the most of two fruits which I think are perfect in winter, pears and apples. 

I upped the wintery-ness of my pie by adding the zest of a lemon, a splash of brandy and a generous pinch of allspice to the filling. Absolutely delicious and very warming!

My pie was baked in an 8 inch cake pan and I used 4 pears and 3 large gala apples for the fruit. I also replaced the shortening in the pastry with coconut oil (which is solid at room temperature) which gave a lovely flaky result. 

Served with a generous dollop of my best ever custard (which I posted a few weeks ago) this was the quintessential winter dessert. 

Our hosts this week are Hilary of Manchego's Kitchen and Liz of That Skinny Chick Can Bake. Make sure you check their blogs for the original Blueberry and Nectarine Pie recipe. It sounds delicious!

Fruit Scones

Apart from being absolutely delicious, what I love about scones is that they take no time at all to prepare! There are lots of scone recipes out there, most of which contain cream and most of which I find very rich and a bit heavy. This recipe is one I have been making since I was a kid. It's virtually foolproof. I even make it in a food processor and they still turn out well!

Fruit Scones

Recipe from The Australian Women's Weekly Original Cookbook, ACP 1977, p194

3 cups self-raising flour

1/4ts salt

1/4 cup sugar

60g cold butter, in chunks

1 cup milk

1 egg

1 cup sultanas or dried fruit of your choice (I used mixed fruit)

Preheat the oven to 270/250 degrees celsius fan-forced. Lightly grease a baking tray and set aside.

Sift the flour into a large bowl and rub the butter in using your fingertips. Stop when the mixture resembles rough breadcrumbs. Stir in the sultanas and sugar then add the beaten egg and most of the milk. Use a butter knife to bring the dough together, it should be soft and not too sticky.

Tip the dough out onto a floured surface and gently bring together, patting it out to approximately 2cm thick. Use a 5cm (2 inch) cutter to cut out rounds and place on prepared tray, leaving a centimetre or so between them. Gently press together the scraps and dough and repeat. Brush the tops with milk and bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until they are golden brown and smelling delicious.

Makes approx 12 depending on the size of your cutter.

These are also great to freeze for snacks. Scones do tend to dry out a little when frozen but if you don't overbake them, a quick zap in the microwave will freshen them up. A generous smear of butter also helps!

Sunday Baking - Hummingbird Slice

I've had Hummingbird Cake and Hummingbird Muffins but I've never had Hummingbird Slice. That's reason enough to get baking!

This is a Donna Hay recipe and I have to admit in the past I've found her food to be really hit and miss. Always visually stunning but often lacking in flavour or with wildly inaccurate cooking times or techniques. No complaints about this one though, it was easy to bake and really tasty.

Normally I like cream cheese icing with these but in the interest of saving a few calories and making them freezer-friendly I've left them plain. Perfect for morning tea, or just anytime really!

Hummingbird Slice

Recipe slightly adapted from Donna Hay

140g brown sugar

125ml oil (I used extra light olive oil)

2 eggs
1/2 cup canned crushed pineapple, drained
1 banana, mashed
1 cup grated carrot (about 2 carrots)
115g self-raising flour

1/2 ts bicarbonate of soda
1/3 cup sultanas

2 ts cinnamon
20g dessicated coconut
30g chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 160°C.

Sift together the flour and bicarb soda and then add the cinnamon, coconut and pecans.

Place the sugar, oil and eggs in a large bowl and whisk well. Add the pineapple, banana and carrot and stir together. Add the dry ingredients and mix well to combine.

Spoon into a greased and lined 20cm x 30cm tin. Bake for approx 40-45 minutes or until it springs back when touched in the centre and starting to pull away from the sides of the tin. Allow to cool in the tin before slicing.

Donna suggest serving this slice with honey but with brown sugar and all that fruit no extra sweetness is needed. They are moist and packed with flavour and just as good, if not better, the next day.

A great treat for the kids' (or husband's) lunchboxes so get baking!

TWD - Unbelievably Good Chocolate Blueberry Ice Cream

This week our fearless leader Laurie of Slush chose Dorie's Unbelievably Good Chocolate Blueberry Ice Cream. Now I love chocolate ice cream and blueberries but I have to admit I wasn't sure about this combination, especially when it involved mixing ice cream with jam!

As it turned out though, after forgetting to buy any blueberry jam (no really! I did forget!) I subbed in frozen blueberries and ended up with the most luscious chocolate ice cream punctuated by sharp icy berries. Delicious!

It took hubby a little while to hunt down our ice cream maker. We moved in to this house over a year ago and it never really got unpacked. This has reminded me just how good homemade ice cream can be and I foresee a whole lot more being made this summer!

You will find the recipe for this amazing ice cream on Laurie's blog under today's date.

TWD - Blueberry-Brown Sugar Plain Cake

It may be Thursday not Tuesday but I am so glad I decided not to skip this one. Cindy of Everyday Insanity chose Dorie's Blueberry-Brown Sugar Plain Cake and it was sensational!

In my opinion there is nothing 'plain' about this moist cake flavoured with brown sugar and studded with juicy blueberries. I didn't even bother with a dusting of icing sugar over the top. I think my tin was a little big because this looked more like a slice than a cake but it cooked in barely 25 minutes and I loved the dimply top.

We are having some really chilly weather here at the moment and this was perfect with a hot cup of tea. Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to grab another cuppa and curl up under the doona until the boys wake up!

Make sure you check out Cindy's blog for the recipe. This one's a keeper!

TWD Catchup

Hello? Is anyone still out there?? I'm embarrassed to say it's been over 6 weeks since I last blogged. That's not to say I haven't been baking along at home but life has well and truly gotten in the way of blogging recently. So it's time for another catchup post and another promise to do better this month!

For the 15th of March Lauryn of Bella Baker chose Citrus Currant Sunshine Muffins. Love citrus, love currants, love muffins and love Lauryn! These were really tasty and I have a little stash of them in the freezer.


For the 22nd of March Suzy of Suzy Homemaker chose Honey Nut Brownies. I really wasn't sure about these. I like honey on crumpets and in stir fries but that's about it. Still, my MIL gave me a bottle of roasted hazelnut honey which was perfect for this recipe. These had the texture of a chewy gingerbread rather than a brownie but they were pretty tasty and even better on the second day.



On the 5th of April Jessica of Domestic Deep Thought of the Day chose Coffee Ice Cream Tart. Sold! We weren't huge fans of the crust which set rock solid in the freezer but it tasted great. Next time I would just use a crumb crust and go crazy with different filling combinations. Yum!


For the 12th of April Sarah of Teapots and Cakestands chose Strawberry Rhubarb Double Crisp. I've never actually tried rhubarb and strawberries together before but have been intrigued after seeing it around. The verdict? Delicious! I should have just made a half batch but we ate it for breakfast and dessert over about 3 days and loved it. Definitely a keeper!

So that's it! At this stage I intend to post my Tourtely Apple Tart on Tuesday (gasp!) but as I haven't made it yet we'll just have to wait and see.

TWD Double Up

I'm back! Can't believe it's been almost 3 weeks since I posted but between moving and unpacking and some trouble getting our internet sorted it's kinda not surprising. We're all settled now in our new home and not a moment too soon as bub #2 is due in less than a month!

I have still been baking these past few weeks though, and with reasonable success given the variables of a new oven. So on to my TWD catch up ...

First up from 5th October, Lynne of Honey Muffin chose the Double Apple Bundt Cake.

Let me just say I adored this cake. Incredibly moist, packed with apple and spice flavours and not too heavy on the butter. I didn't bother with a glaze or even icing sugar. It was absolutely perfect on its own or warm with custard. Mmmmmm.

Next up was the Fold-Over Pear Torte chosen by fabulous fellow Aussie blogger Cakelaw.

I really wanted to love this tart. One of my all time favourite Dorie recipes was the French Pear Tart and I was hoping this would be similar. I love everything in it - pears, apricots, nuts, custard, pastry. Yum. But somehow the combination fell a little short.

Part of my meh-ness about this one has to be the fact it just took soooooo loooooooong to cook. After 2 hours in the oven the middle was still oozy even though the top layer of custard had burnt to a crisp (which actually didn't matter because my foil tent stuck to it and peeled it off making for one butt-ugly tart).

But the pastry, oh the pastry! We splurged on a new food processor (partly because I managed to break the old one while packing) and this baby rocks! This was seriously the. best. pastry. EVER. Light, buttery, flaky and just plain delicious.

I'm so sorry I butchered your pick Cakelaw! If you haven't already, make sure you visit her blog for how it should be done.

I'm looking forward to more cooking/baking (for the next couple of weeks anyway). I really need to get stuck into some freezable meals to get us through those first few insane new baby weeks. I'm also planning on starting my Christmas baking asap so we have some yummy treats to look forward to!

Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Summer Fruits

Happy Australia Day everyone! We're doing the traditional laze around at home followed by roast lamb on the BBQ thing today. Absolute bliss. Although it does make for a strange week having a public holiday in the middle.

I'm a little late jumping on the panna cotta bandwagon but better late than never. This is something you find on restaurant menus a lot but after seeing just how simple it is you'll be making it for yourself instead.

I couldn't think of anything more perfect for an Australia Day lunch than this cool and silky panna cotta paired with fresh pineapple and mango. If you're somewhere cold at the moment (lucky you!) than this would work wonderfully served with a warm fruit compote.

"A panna cotta should wobble like a Rubenesque woman wearing 5 inch heels"

Matt Preston on MasterChef Australia

As you can see from my photos the mixture split into 2 distinct layers while it chilled in the fridge. Apparently this is really common and can be caused by over-heating the cream (which did happen when I turned my back for a moment) and not allowing the mix to cool sufficiently before pouring it into the moulds. I actually quite like the effect although it does make the creamy bottom layer VERY creamy.

Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta
Recipe adapted from taste.com.au

1 1/2 cups (375ml) cream
1 1/2 cups (375ml) milk
1 vanilla bean (I used 1 ts of vanilla paste)
1/2 cup (115g) caster sugar
2 1/2 tsp gelatine powder

Place the cream and milk in a saucepan. Use a small sharp knife to split the vanilla bean lengthways, then scrape the seeds from inside the bean. Add the seeds and bean to the saucepan. Slowly bring to the boil over a medium heat. Remove from the heat and set aside for 10 minutes.

Discard bean from cream mixture. Add sugar and return to a low heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, or until sugar dissolves.

Place 2 tbs of boiling water in a small heatproof bowl. Sprinkle over gelatine. Bring a small saucepan of water to boil. Remove from heat. Sit the bowl of gelatine in the water and stir until dissolved. (I microwaved the combined gelatine powder and water in 5 second bursts until dissolved). Cool slightly, then stir into the cream mixture.

Lightly oil 6 x 1/2 cup (125ml) plastic dariole moulds or ramekins (I used spray oil). Place on a tray and pour in cream mixture. Refrigerate for 4 hours.

To serve, break the seal by inserting a small knife between the panna cotta and the mould. Turn onto a serving plate and shake to release.