[volcano cake]

It's my youngest boy's 8th birthday today, and the cake request was a volcano!! Mmmmm, challenge accepted.

Here's the recipe:

VOLCANO CAKE

6 eggs (separated)

1/2 cup stevia

2 tbs cocoa powder (for the egg whites)

2 tbs cocoa powder (for the egg yolks)

2 tbs almond spread

1 1/2 cups SR flour

1/2 zucchini (peeled and finely grated)

1/2 carrot (peeled and finely grated)

1/4 cup choc bits

1/2 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius.

2. Whisk the egg whites, stevia and 2 tbs cocoa powder until it forms soft peaks. (This may take a while, so be patient.) Hint: The mixture goes lighter in colour as you get close. :)

3. In a food processor mix together egg yolks, 2 tbs cocoa powder, almond spread, flour, zucchini, carrot, choc bits and milk. Blitz until thoroughly combined.

4. Set aside 1/3 of the egg white mixture.

5. To the remaining egg whit mixture fold in the rest of the ingredients you'd mixed together.

6. Pour this mixture (gently) into a 25cm spring form cake pan.

7. Then gently scoop the egg white mixture you saved into a mound on top of the centre of the cake. Use a spatula to pull up and smooth the sides of this mound to form a slight ridge around a depression at the top (this is the crater at the top of the volcano).

8. Bake for approx. 1 hr (until a skewer tests clean).

9. Once the cake is cool, drip melted chocolate around the rim of the 'top of the volcano' allowing it to run down the sides. As the chocolate starts to set, draw it up to the rim of the crater with a bamboo skewer and sculpt/mould the volcano into your desired shape. Chill the cake until the chocolate fully sets.

10. Make a red jelly separately and when set scoop into the crater (and put some flowing down the side) before serving. 

(The red jelly with the chocolate is very Black Forest-like. Delish.)

The texture of the cake was wonderfully 'cakey' and moist, and the choc bits sunk to the bottom making a great 'sedimentary layer'. The meringue layer of the cake under the crust was gooey and sweet, and although the chocolate top was at least 2-3cm thick at it's centre, a hot knife and cracking sections off worked a treat to distribute to my boy and his two friends ... they even came back for seconds!! (Not that I told them there were vegetables in the cake!!)

[butter & sugar free cupcakes]

I've been experimenting in the kitchen the past few weeks trying to find a 'healthy' cupcake. Last week's attempt was tasty, but didn't rise at all, so was very dense and more like a pudding, so I froze them and have been eating them as a warm dessert with a dollop of vanilla yoghurt (or icecream).

This week I am proud to say I have had some success with a much lighter 'cake-like' cupcake, rather than a banana bread! It's not exactly the same texture as a regular buttery and sugary cupcake, but that's because it has oats in it, so think of it as the 'multi-grain' version of a cupcake.

GUILT-FREE 'Z' CUPCAKES

Ingredients:

3 eggs (separated)

1/4 cup stevia (sugar alternative)

1/2 zucchini (peeled and finely grated)

1 tsp (heaped) almond spread

3/4 cup rolled oats (processed to a fine meal)

3/4 cup self-raising flour

1/4 tsp vanilla

Method:

(Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius)

1. Separate eggs - keep whites in a large bowl, put yolks into a food processor (or mixing bowl).

2. Add stevia to egg whites and whisk until soft peaks form.

3. Add grated zucchini, almond spread and vanilla to egg yolks and mix until well combined.

4. Then add rolled oats (meal) and flour, and mix to a paste.

5. Add paste to egg white mixture in small portions and gently combine with a folding action.

6. Once the paste is evenly distributed, place spoonfuls into patty pans (almost to the top) and bake until slightly golden on the edges and when a skewer comes out clean when you test.

7. To add a little 'guilt' to your 'clean' cupcake, wait until totally cool before icing with a small dollop of cream cheese frosting.

Ahhhh, stealth vegetables, don't you love 'em!

[home-made soft tortillas]

Rather slack on the blogging of recent times, but have picked up a great recipe for soft tortillas courtesy of a Facebook friend - thanks Tracey! 

My kids love this as we haven't had soft tortillas for ages as the store bought ones have preservative 282. We found out last year how much preservatives, artificial colours and MSG affected their behaviour, and since we've avoided these foods I've had calmer kids who can concentrate at school and sleep well at night! Just back to basics cooking really, without the crap! 😊

SOFT TORTILLAS

Ingredients:

300g plain flour

1 tbs oil

185ml water

1/4 tsp salt

Method:

Combine ingredients and knead into a dough. Rest dough for at least half an hour, divide into eight portions and roll into rounds. Dry fry in a non-stick pan on both sides until they colour slightly (and look like the ones from the shop), and serve with taco mince and salad.

They also freeze well (great for making 'wraps' for the kid's lunches) - just interleave each wrap with baking paper and then seal in a freezer bag. This way you can easily get one out at a time as you need them.

Happy preservative-free baking!

[Masterchef-fest month of dinners]

Been a Masterchef-fest at our place for a while now. Here's the past month's efforts...

Homemade chicken lasagne (even made the pasta from scratch)

Baked veggie tasting plate with Rosemary Lamb Mince and homemade slaw - (Veggies: clockwise from top baked potato crisps, slaw, zucchini chips, roast pumpkin, popcorn cauliflower)

Corned beef with three veg

Moroccan lamb and feta DIY tacos

Chicken breast two ways with zucchini chips, cauliflower noisettes and tarragon-infused veggies

Spinach and feta tart with salad

Satay pork pies with potato bake, garlic roasted pumpkin, honey carrots, peas and corn

And to finish, a dessert: Strawberry tartlets

[my kitchen almost rules]

Well it tasted liked it ruled, but it was almost a disaster... My culinary vision...Ground Beef Roulade infused with spinach cream cheese served with corn on the cob, peas, maple syrup carrots and garnished with potato rosti.

I experienced first hand only a glimpse of the pressure, so sorry, I ain't gonna nominate for any of those cooking shows full stop - and I only had four meals to make, not a dozen - and only one course!!

There was a bit of everything that seems to happen on My Kitchen Rules for me tonight, well, except for me resorting to tears, but then again, my meal was still edible and not a complete failure.

Firstly, I got that glimmer of cooking nirvana where everything goes to plan - the spinach cream cheese with minced garlic, tarragon and basil blended beautifully with the stick mixer (and had a lovely flavour), and then my ground beef mix with fresh breadcrumbs, onion, zucchini, an egg and a dash of the previous herbs came together nicely in the food processor and then rolled out into a nice rectangle without sticking to the rolling pin.

And then my perfect service came crashing down into a flaming heap, literally! Talk about dramas on top of dramas!!! My mince wasn't rolling around the cream cheese tightly enough (I reckon it needed time to refrigerate out flat first), and then when I finally got it to roll, the filling spewed out the ends and on the final join, which was totally NOT what I had in mind. I rolled it using cling film like I'd seen on Masterchef and set it aside in the fridge to firm up. It turned out I really needed to allow another hour for this roll to chill and firm up, but as I wanted the kids to eat before 8.30pm I thought I'd better get onto cooking it after only a measly 10 minutes (in the freezer!)

My next drama was that I didn't have a frypan (or hotplate) big enough to a accommodate my entire 'roll', so I had to straddle a stainless baking dish across two hotplates to fry it off on the outside before putting it in the oven. While holding the baking dish with an oven mitt and attempting to flip/roll the meat over, it flopped onto the other side splashing oil at the back of the stove and onto one of the hotplates...which then caught fire! A quick smother with a tea towel and the cooking could continue. ...and then the top of the roll split open...arghhhh! I carefully drained the excess oil from the baking tray and then disguised the split on the top with some strategically sprinkled mozarella cheese and then put it in the oven.

Fortunately my roll of meat 'set' so I could cut a large slice for each plate, and thankfully the veggies weren't an issue, as they steamed perfectly in the microwave.

I did have one major technique that was a big success though - my potato rosti. After peeling the spuds I used the potato peeler to make 'shavings' and then splashed some vinegar on top and gave it a good mix up. Just like lemon juice, the acidity of the vinegar ensured the potato didn't turn brown before I got to fry it off in 'clumps' of golden crunchiness.

I guess this meal was just fancy meatloaf with veggies and crispy chips, but hubby and I thought it tasted fabulous. The kids weren't entirely convinced though, oh well, sometimes you've just gotta give it a go. Don't know if I'll bother with such fussiness again, as plated up it didn't look all that spectacular; but I'm mostly glad there wasn't a film crew following me around! Here's to experiments in the kitchen!! ;)

[butterflies & dessert]

I'm getting back into the groove of home baking for school lunches ... and made the cutest butterfly cupcakes today ... and as an added bonus, they're sugar free! I used Xylitol in the recipe instead of sugar, and dusted the top with Stevia (Stevia was also used to sweeten the whipped cream). I can't say the whipped cream is super healthy, but it's a teaspoon's worth, so not too much, and it's oh so delish, and so light and fluffy.

I used my favourite Patty Cake recipe from my Grade 9 cookbook, Everyday Cookery (by Helen Bunney) ... I keep going back to this resource ... just back-to-basics cooking, it's great, no frills, just practical recipes with ordinary ingredients. As a personal triumph, I think I've finally found the technique to get these little beauties so they work every time ... a food processor to mix everything together! I don't know what is different to using my electric beaters, but it just seems to turn out so light and fluffy using the food processor. Maybe I've just had dodgy beaters all this time? Who knew? I thought it was the oven that was too hot/not hot enough that made my previous attempts little lumps of lead. Apparently not.

An accidental dessert...

I had some ripe bananas in the fruit bowl, so was contemplating making banana cake to use these up. I also had some mangoes (from the tree in our backyard) that were starting to get almost past their use by date, and thought, 'I wonder if I swapped mango for the banana would it work?' Feeling brave after the cupcakes turned out so well, I decided to bite the bullet and give it a go.

My mango cake turned out quite dense, and I sandwiched it with a whipped cream filling ... which looked pretty, but was a bit too strong (flavour-wise) on it's own. I was a little disappointed, and thought I'd serve it up as dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream - it was just what was needed to balance out the stronger taste of the pudding/cake. Winner! And there are 10 more servings in a container in the freezer for us to enjoy periodically over the coming weeks. Happy days.

[naked tacos]

A late start on dinner, and what to cook? Looking in the fridge I surveyed what leftovers we had ... taco mince and some roast chicken... My youngest son wanted pizza, but it was too late to start on making a base, but I remembered a recipe of Nigella’s for Meat-za, which is basically a meat base with pizza topping. Inspired by that, I decided I might make tacos on a plate without the taco shell (as we only had three taco shells left!)

Yum, Yum!!

Taco mince, mozarella cheese and tomato slices topped with salsa and then put under the grill until the cheese is golden and melted.

Left: after grilling, top the dish with grated carrot, shredded lettuce and a dollop of sour cream. Serve with a broken toasted taco shell so you can dip into the yummy mince like nachos.

Right: a chicken version (without tomato) for my hubby’s ‘anti-gout’ diet.

[mini cupcakes for the teenager]

My eldest son turns thirteen tomorrow, so a day with his mates at the indoor skate park is planned, and I shall merely tag along as the food and drink carrier.

I have yet to make the famous 'scooby snacks', that went off a treat at my Mum's wedding in April, however, I have triumphed with mini cupcakes. I used my new food processor to make the cake mixture, and whatever magic it wielded resulted in the most delicious, moist and perfect textured cakey mouthfuls of yumminess!

No doubt the boys will 'inhale' these little cakes inbetween carving it up on the quarter pipe and the mini bowl...

[rediscovering my Tupperware]

I do love Tupperware ... so much so, that on the rare occasions I've been to a party I always get asked if I'd like to be a demonstrator. Not my thing I'm afraid, but I'll happily sing its praises to all that'll listen.

Wednesday night is always a bit mad in our house, as the boys have a TaeKwonDo class at 5.30pm, which unfortunately wreaks havoc with either eating or preparing dinner at a decent hour. Rather than have them pig out on bikkies before training, tonight I decided to make a 'Jel-Ring' pizza for them. I could prepare the 'pizza' ahead of time, and put it in the fridge until it was time to turn it out on a tray and cook in the oven (which only took 15 minutes). 

JEL-RING PIZZA

1 loaf of bread

1 tub pizza sauce* 

crushed pineapple

diced ham

1 small onion chopped

grated Mozarella cheese

(and any other filling you'd like)

*I made my own pizza sauce with tomato sauce, minced garlic, oregano and basil

Remove crusts from bread and spread with pizza sauce. 

Place a generous layer of cheese in the gel-ring. 

Cover the cheese layer with a layer of bread, sauce side to the cheese. 

Add another layer of cheese and a layer of each of the fillings. 

Cover with another layer of bread, sauce side to the fillings.

Push the bread down so the ingredients 'squash down into the mould'.

Repeat with another layer of cheese, fillings and finish with a final layer of bread.

Seal and refrigerate for at least half an hour. 

Turn out onto an oven tray (lined with baking paper), and place in a moderate oven until crisp.

So if you have one of these goodies that you 'bought on a whim' at a Tupperware party, why don't you try this quick snack or rush-hour dinner and you can rediscover your Tupperware too!

[reminiscing with cake]

Bought a plain sponge at the shops, topped it whipped cream and sprinkled it with jelly crystals just like my Mum-in-law used to. Hubby took a bite and then smiled, as all the memories of his Mum came flooding back. Sometimes it's just nice to 'reflect' on what once was.

[muffins in the mail]

I have a very dear friend from my art college days who I hardly see, but we still stay in touch for birthdays, Christmas etc. Yesterday I happened to be thinking about her and how she was going, and then as if by magic the postie delivered a parcel from her. Serendipity!

I received a lovely card, and on the back was a recipe for Chocolate Muffins - so I made them this morning.

Here's the recipe:

p.s. I did find an error in the recipe though, in that they don't mention when to add the melted chocolate. I ended up just throwing in the chocolate buttons to make it a a choc chip version, but in hindsight, perhaps I should've either added a little more milk so the mixture was less ‘lumpy’ and I would've gotten a smoother and more rounded top to each muffin. Nevertheless, I'm sure they'll taste scrummy!

[brekky bars & chocolate hedgehogs]

I have a new ‘toy’ in the kitchen. A Tupperware ‘T-Bar’ set, which is basically a mould for home-made muesli bars. I've been experimenting with the recipes in the book that comes with it ... and the result must have turned out OK, because the bars I made last Saturday have been eaten already!

BREKKY BARS

3 vita-brit bars

1/4 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup rice bubbles

2 tbs LSA (Linseed, Sunflower & Almond Meal)*

40g butter

2 tbs golden syrup

Method:

Break up the vita-brits and mix with rolled oats, rice bubbles and LSA.

Melt the butter and syrup together and then combine with the dry ingredients.

Press into the mould and set for one hour in the fridge.

*You could always use some other crushed nuts instead.

I've been having a Brekky Bar broken up in a plate with vanilla yoghurt for breakfast - YUM!

CHOCOLATE HEDGEHOGS

100g granita biscuits

1/4 cup (45g) almonds*

180g milk or dark chocolate

40g butter

2 tbs golden syrup

Method:

Put the biscuits and almonds into a sandwich bag and then crush with a mallet (I use a meat tenderiser).

Melt the chocolate, butter and syrup together and then combine with the dry ingredients.

Press into the mould and set for one hour in the fridge.

I recommend cutting these bars into 3 pieces - they're a bit rich to have an entire bar in one sitting - plus it makes them last a few days longer before you have to make more! Great morning tea snack for the kid's lunchboxes, or with a cuppa at home. I think next time I make these I won't crush the biscuit up as finely as I have so far, then these hedgehogs should be even more ‘fudgier’.  :)

*I replaced the almonds for cashews the first time I made it, and also added a couple of tbs of diced tinned raspberries.

[quiche recipe]

Just over a week ago I shared my baking afternoon of lovely winter comfort food. 

Well, I was asked by a very dear friend for the quiche recipe (and also had to give it to my brother's partner as it was a loved meal we shared on my visit the other weekend), so thought I'd post it here on my blog for all to enjoy!

Cauliflower Quiche

CRUSTLESS QUICHE

3 eggs

1 and a half cups of milk

half a cup SR flour

half a diced onion

1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

3 bacon rashers of bacon (or ham)

quarter cup of melted butter (optional if you have a non-stick dish)

salt and pepper

Method:

1.   measure milk into a Tupperware shaker, add 3 eggs and then shake. 

(If you don’t have a Tupperware shaker, a bowl is fine, just whisk instead.)

2.  set milk/egg mix aside

3. into a bowl put the rest of the ingredients – 

flour, onion, cheese, bacon, butter and season with salt and pepper

4.  add the milk/egg mixture to the bowl and mix thoroughly

5.   pour mixture into a quiche dish or pie plate

6.  Bake for approx. 30 minutes on 200°C until egg is set and 

quiche top/edges starts to go golden brown.

Makes a great light lunch, or serve with a salad for dinner. Can be eaten hot or cold.

OPTION – MINI QUICHES

Use the same mixture, but pour into a muffin tray. 

Makes approx. 12 - great for picnics, party finger food, or lunchboxes.

OPTION – MIX AND MATCH FLAVOURS

Experiment with your own flavours. A vegetarian version with raw cauliflower instead of bacon works well. Sprinkled with paprika, it’s even nicer. Mushrooms, baby spinach leaves, or capsicum are great  too. Just watch your volume of ‘bulky’ ingredients (so your dish doesn’t overflow).

OPTION – GLUTEN FREE VERSION

Just replace the SR Flour for a Gluten Free flour.

[winter comfort food]

I thought I'd make some more home-made pea and ham soup this afternoon, then got a bit carried away...

Almost three hours later, I had several warm and tasty meals to see us through the weekend... (clockwise from top left) — pea and ham soup, chicken chasseur casserole, tarragon & garlic butter roasted chicken thighs, a cauliflower quiche (which my youngest had to have a wedge of as soon as it came out of the oven), and in the centre a tasty garlic white sauce.

The kids and I are heading up to Nanango to see my brother and celebrate my nephew's 10th birthday for the weekend, so the soup and quiche will be packed to keep us warm as the temperature dips closer to freezing overnight. What a good wifey I am too, as hubby has to stay home to run an event for his model flying club, so he's all set while we're gone. :)

But wait, there's more... I had some overripe bananas, so also whipped up a hummingbird cake, and as I'd planned to make some home-made LCM bars earlier in the week and had the ingredients already waiting for me, they also got thrown into the mix of things while other meals were simmering on the stove top. YUM YUM!!

[my boy's cake rocks]

It's my little man's 7th birthday today, and he just loves fossils, rocks, and all things geology... So, I thought I'd make a 'rock' cake with polished gemstones (aka chocolate rocks from Lollyworld), with Malteser boulders and muddy chocolate icing. Doesn't look too bad I reckon and individually the ingredients certainly tasted great, so altogether they should be sensational!

[catering for the wedding]

Been a very busy girl and a very slack blogger – no telephone or internet for a whole week last week didn't help! Anyway, only a quick moment to take a breath, as this Saturday my Mum is getting married at her home, and I will be doing the catering for around 50 guests! 

Over Easter I pre-made many of the savouries and sweets and stocked up the freezer so only the fresh items like sandwiches and fruit platters need to be assembled on the day. I also recruited my Apprentice MasterChef to assist with this task – and he did a splendid job!

Here's the menu:

 

First platter of savouries:

Finger Sandwiches

Prawn or Tomato & Avocado Blinis 

(yes I know the photo has Caviar on it, but let's be realistic here, kids aren't going to eat that!)

Carrot sticks with French Onion or Hommus Dip

Second platter:

Lamb Meatballs (aka Baa Baa Balls)

Spring Rolls

Spinach & Feta Triangles

Served with Mint Sour Cream, Sweet Chilli Sauce or Tomato Sauce

Third platter:

Mini Quiches

Tomato, Cheese & Spinach Skewers

Carrot sticks with French Onion or Hommus Dip

Fourth platter:

Pigs in a Blanket (aka Scooby Snacks)

Spinach & Feta Triangles

Baa Baa Balls

Served with Mint Sour Cream, Sweet Chilli Sauce or Tomato Sauce

Sweets to be served with Tea & Coffee after cutting of the wedding cake:

Frozen Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake Cups

Almond Macadamia Nut Cheesecake Cups

Scones with Jam & Cream

Lemon Slice

Chocolate Slice

Rocky Road Slice

Fruit Platter

Oh well, no time to rest – off to buy some last minute ingredients today before I go claim the kitchen as my own at Mum's place tomorrow – and get things exactly how I want them for Saturday!