Sam's Kitchen

Category: Sweets

• Minty Avocado Choc-Chip Ice Cream

  Posted at 2:14 pm by samskitchen, on January 15, 2017

  

  I’m not sure if it is the best way to keeping cool in summer, but this is how we do it in our house, we eat ice-cream! Minty ice cream with luscious creamy avocado and dark chocolate.

  We loved the cooling effects of the peppermint in combination with the slight bitterness of the dark chocolate in the mixture. I used condensed milk to add sweetness and to keep the recipe as simple as possible since simple is the only way to go on school holidays.

  My oldest child is the biggest fan of this minty flavoured ice-cream, in fact, it was her idea to make this ice cream, and she was the one who devoured most of it!

  

  Ingredients

  2 large ripe avocados
  1/2 tsp natural green food colouring (optional)
  1 1/2 tsp peppermint essence or to taste
  450ml whipping cream
  1 can sweetened condensed milk, chilled
  1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

  Method 

  1. Peel and deseed avocados, then whizz them till smooth in a food processor with food colouring and peppermint essence.
  2. In a large bowl or bowl of stand mixer, whisk whipping cream till stiff peaks.
  3. Gently fold avocado and condensed milk with the whipped cream. Add chocolate chips and gently fold to evenly combine.
  4. Move mixture to a container or a bread pan. Freeze for 6-8 hours or overnight.

  

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  Posted in Recipes, Sweets | 2 Comments | Tagged avocado ice cream, choc-chip mint ice-cream, condensed milk ice cream, easy recipe, homemade ice-cream, ice-cream

• Cranberry Pound Cake

  Posted at 12:54 pm by samskitchen, on December 22, 2016

  

  It’s been all about sweets lately. Cakes, biscuits, ice-cream, bliss balls and some more sweets. I’m trying hard not to overdose on the sugary treats, but it’s a mission impossible when I’m the one making them all sweet goodies and the one tasting them all!

  This Cranberry Pound Cake is one of the latest creations born in our new kitchen. It has a loveliest soft texture with plenty of fluffiness to it and a good zing to its taste.
  I used frozen cranberries in the batter, but I’m sure fresh cranberries will be fine, if not better, to use as well. Lemon juice and zest added the extra tang to compliment the cranberries and mask any slight bitterness they may have.

  It’s a gorgeous tasting and looking little cake and I believe it will make a perfect Christmas foodie gift for any cake lover out there.
  I hope you are all enjoying the festive season and all the perks that happen to come with it. Have a wonderful Christmas folk and enjoy the festivities!

  

  

  

  Ingredients

  150g butter, room temperature
  1 1/2 cup caster sugar
  3 eggs, room temperature
  200ml sour cream
  1 tbsp lemon juice
  1/2 tbsp lemon zest
  1 cup self-raising flour
  1 cup plain flour
  1 cup frozen cranberries

  For the icing

  1 cup icing ( confectioners sugar )
  2 tsp milk
  1 tsp lemon juice ( see notes )

  Method

  Preheat oven to 180C
  Prepare 21cm diameter bundt cake pan. Butter it well ensuring every nook and cranny is greased.

  1. In a bowl of a mixer cream butter and sugar until white and fluffy.
  2. Add eggs one at a time, beating for up to a minute between each addition and scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
  3. In a separate bowl mix sour cream, 1 tbsp lemon juice and lemon zest.
  4. In another separate bowl mix both self-raising and plain flour together.
  5. Mix 1/4 of the flour into the butter, egg and sugar mixture.
  6. Add 1/2 of the sour cream mix and mix well.
  7. Add rest of the flour and sour cream mix and mix well to combine.
  8. Fold frozen cranberries through the batter, then spoon the batter into the prepared bundt pan spreading it evenly.
  9. Bake in a preheated oven for 45-50 minutes. Keep an eye on the cake and rotate it if one side is browning more than the other.
  10. Once cake is removed from the oven, leave it to cool for 5 minutes before turning upside down onto a cooling rack. To help the cake to pop out of the pan easily, gently run a sharp knife around the edges of pan and cake. Let cake cool completely before icing it.
  11. To make the frosting, mix icing sugar milk and lemon juice in a bowl. Whisk well to ensure there are no lumps, or best of all sieve the icing sugar prior mixing it with the liquid ingredients.
  12. Pour the icing on top of the cooled cake in a circular motion letting it drop down naturally.

  Notes

  Getting the thickness of the frosting right can be a little tricky since it is very easy to make it a bit too runny. To prevent that, I recommend starting with making a frosting a little thicker to begin with and add more liquid to it if required so or until it reaches desired consistency.

  

  My very patient little assistant has his eyes on the slice.

  

   

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  Posted in Sweets | 13 Comments | Tagged baking, cake, christmas baking, cranberry cake, festive baking, lemon and cranberry cake, pound cake

• Cranberry and Crushed Chocolate Christmas Cookies

  Posted at 4:55 pm by samskitchen, on December 17, 2016

  

  Christmas is fast approaching. We are in full swing in preparation for the upcoming festivities. Making homemade edible gifts, baking cookies (they disappear even before I manage to move them from the cooling trays!), baking fruity sourdough bread, cranberry pound cake, chocolate rocky road and so much more!

  I love this time of year no matter how hectic it can be. Seeing the happy little faces of the munchkins when Christmas Carols are playing, the excitement of putting the Christmas tree up, and many other delights are definitely worth any little discomfort that gift shopping, wrapping, card writing and extra cooking can bring.

  I recognise, it can be a sad time of year for the families who have lost their loved ones, those who are struggling with personal issues, for those who have financial problems and those with illnesses or have close family or friends who are not well. I’m sending a lot of strength and love to you all, stay strong, I know it is not easy.

  Often baking came to my rescue when things got a little or not so little downwards. It is a simple act, but I find much comfort in baking. Hearing the humming of the oven fan, making dough or a cake batter, the scents of the baked goods all of that has a magical calming effect on my restless soul.

  Today we are baking with joy, and there is a lot of craziness going on in the house, YAY to school holidays! 7 weeks of non-stop fun! I’m suspecting there is a big chance this summer of me overdosing on caffeine in the bid to keep up with my energised bunnies. They can be relentless!

  

  The gorgeous hand-drawn cards seen in these photographs are the artwork of the loveliest friend, Alana. Alana draws many beautifully elegant pieces. You can find more about Alana’s’ fabulous work from her Instagram page @sheeatspaper, the page is truly amazing!

  

  Ingredients

  250g chilled unsalted butter, cubed
  2 1/2 cups plain flour
  1 cup caster sugar
  1/2 cup dried cranberries
  1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
  1 large egg, lightly whisked

  Method

  1. Pulse the chocolate chips in a food processor until they resemble chunky crumbs.
  2. Roughly chop the dried cranberries.
  3. Crumb the chilled butter and flour in a food processor or using a knife, then mix with sugar, chocolate crumbs and cranberries.
  4. Add the egg and knead into a dough. If the dough is too soft, add a little extra flour.
  5. Divide the dough into 2 equal size pieces, shape into balls. Wrap the dough balls in cling film and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
  6. Preheat oven to 170C Fan forced
  7. Roll out the cookie dough ( 1 dough ball at a time ) between two lightly floured baking paper sheets. Cut the shapes out using cookie cutters. Bake on a lined cookie tray for 12-15 minutes or till edges are golden. Cool on a cooling rack.
  8. Repeat with the remaining dough.

  Notes

  Collect the cut outs of the dough (there will be pieces left over) shape them into another dough ball, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 1 hour, then repeat step 7.
  Store cooled cookies in an airtight container or a cookie jar.
  These cookies are freezer friendly. Freeze in an airtight container for up to 2 months.

  

  

  This is our furbaby Marley, who often falls victim to bad haircuts and to his own cookies thieving tendencies. As you can see here by the expression on his furry face, he has been CAUGHT! Stealing cookies from the prop table is the straight road into trouble land!

  

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  Posted in Sweets | 4 Comments | Tagged buttercookies, chocolate cookies, christmas baking, christmas cookies, cookies, cranberry cookies, short breat cookies, shortbread

• Mango Ice-Cream Sandwiches

  Posted at 11:17 am by samskitchen, on December 7, 2016

  

  Simplest homemade ice-cream sandwich recipe a cook of any skill level can master! The hardest part when making these sandwiches was finding a suitable size dish for the wafers and biscuits to line up without big gaps between them.
  It took a little bit of fiddling with the containers and baking dishes before I decided to let go of my perfectionist tendencies and just do it. And!? The wafers expanded as the ice-cream was setting and the gaps nearly disappeared. The biscuits didn’t expand, so I simply cut out all the uncovered bits of the ice-cream once it was frozen and ate them, what eventuated in a total sugar overdose!

  Since I made two batches of the ice-cream, I decide to experiment a little and folded frozen raspberries through into one batch. Perhaps, even adding white chocolate chips would have been a good idea, but since there were none in the pantry (kids…) I left them out.

  

  Which one of the two is better you will ask, the wafers or the biscuits? There has been a division of opinions. Kids prefer the biscuit version, and adults the wafer version. I like them both. The batch with raspberries tasted very summery. I loved the sour zing of the raspberries in contrast with the sweetness and creaminess of the ice-cream.

  It has only been a few days ago when I made these goodies, but they have been swiftly disappearing from the freezer. It’s a good thing the mangoes are getting cheaper, we can stock up and make a few batches for the approaching summer school holiday break.

  There are few other ice-cream ideas I’m pondering with right now, but I shall share them later.

  

  

  Preparation time 20 min
  Chilling time 6-8 hours
  Yield 10-15 (depending on a size of the tray and the thickness of sandwiches)

  Ingredients

  20-30 Plain Wafers or Latisse biscuits (see notes)
  450ml whipping cream
  1 can sweetened condensed milk, chilled in the refrigerator
  1 cup mango puree (see notes at the end of the post)
  1 tsp natural yellow food colouring (optional)
  2-3 handfuls frozen raspberries (optional)

  Square or rectangular dish for freezing

  Method
  

  1. Arrange a layer of the wafers or biscuits (facing down) at the bottom of a prepared dish.
  2. In a chilled bowl of an electric mixer whip the cream until stiff peaks form.
     Gently fold condensed milk in with the cream.
  3. In a separate bowl mix mango puree and food colouring to combine.
     Gently fold the mango mix into the cream and condensed milk mixture. Fold in raspberries if desired
  4. Pour the mixture over the biscuits and arrange the remaining biscuits on top.
     Freeze for up to 6-8 hours or overnight.
  5. Once frozen cut the sandwiches out, move to an airtight container and keep in the freezer.

  Notes
  

  Use any type of biscuits you think will be suitable for the sandwiching of the ice-cream. When lining the bottom of a tray with the biscuits, try leaving very little space between them. With the wafers, the gaps can be a little bit bigger since they expand as they soak up the moisture.

  I used two small ripe mangoes to make the mango puree. To make the puree, I peeled the skin, removed the seed and processed flesh in a food processor.

  

  

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  Posted in Sweets | 8 Comments | Tagged christmas, condenced mil ice-cream, cream Ice-cream, easy Ice-cream recipe, festive, homemade ice-cream, ice-cream, mango ice-cream, recipe, summer

• Spiced Fruit Mince

  Posted at 3:58 pm by samskitchen, on December 4, 2016

  

  The end of year celebrations are only a few short weeks away. It seems to me that the Christmas month has crept on completely unnoticeable. Was it the fault of the longest winter that is having trouble leaving us poor starved for warmth folk of the south-west alone, or have I been so preoccupied with all that has been going in my life that I have completely lost track to time?

  I’m hoping this post isn’t coming out too late and still has a chance to be useful for the fast approaching Christmas bake-race.

  I have adopted a tradition of spicing the dried fruit a couple of years ago. Doing so definitely makes the baked goodies taste so much better. Infusing the fruit with the spices gives them a rich, piquant flavour. The cakes, fruit mince pies, bread, fruit mince and chocolate truffles all taste so beautiful.

  My little munchkins and I have already been baking bread and muffins using the spiced fruit. The last bake was a honey flavoured fruit bread, where honey was added to the buttery dough. It makes a great breakfast and snack to go with the afternoon cuppa.

  

  

  Ingredients

  1 kg mixed dried fruit
  200g dried apricots, diced
  200g dried dates, diced
  200g glazed cherries ( green or red )
  100g nude ginger, diced
  100 dried prunes, diced
  100g dried cranberries
  1 orange, peeled
  2-3 star anise
  2 cinnamon sticks
  2 vanilla pods
  1 1/4 cup brandy

  Method

  Place dried fruit, orange peel, spices and vanilla pods into a large bowl. Pour brandy in and mix well to combine. Transfer the mixture to an airtight container or a large airtight glass jar. Keep on the counter or a pantry to mix every few days. If keeping in a jar, turn the jar upside down and leave for a few days to then turn back upright again. Repeat every few days until ready to use the fruit.

  Notes

  It is best to soak the fruit at least a week ahead of cooking with them. Soaking for up to a month ahead will allow scents and flavour to develop into a richer fruit mince.
  Discard spices, vanilla pods and orange peels prior using the fruit mince.

  

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  Posted in Pickles & Preserves, Sweets | 7 Comments | Tagged cake, christmas, christmas sweets, fruit mince, fruit mince pies, spiced fruit mince

• Turmeric Spiced Banana and Pumpkin Muffins

  Posted at 11:12 am by samskitchen, on October 31, 2016

  

  These sunny looking spiced pumpkin and banana muffins with the piquant scents of turmeric and cardamom made a cute addition to our breakfast and lunchbox menus.

  They are loved by all members of our fam bam including our furbaby Marley. Who, sometimes falls into the trap of his food thieving tendencies and steals muffins right from under my nose!

  I loved the fact that turmeric worked well along with the other spices. I’m fond of turmeric for its incredible healing and anti-inflammatory properties and  am excited to introduce it into my kids’ diet by adding it in small quantities into sweet and savory meals.

  

  The crunch from the seeds and walnuts added a great contrast to the soft texture of the muffins.
  I used some wholemeal flour in the batter, for its earthy flavour and the additional wholesomeness and nutrients it brought into this already incredible combination.

  

  I had a bit of help when making the muffins. My little pumpkin who was channelling a pussy cat for the Halloween, lend me his helping hand to clean up the bowls and taste the muffins. His big sister did the face-art for him, and what a good arty-job she did with a pinky nose, little whiskers and all! I was relieved she didn’t paint his face black, or we might have ended up all over the news!

  

  

  

  

  

  Preparation time 30 minutes
  Cooking time 25 minutes

  Ingredients

  350g grated butternut pumpkin
  1 ripe large banana mashed (175g peeled)
  1/2 cup filtered water
  100g butter
  3 eggs lightly whisked
  1 cup self-raising flour
  1 cup self-raising wholemeal flour
  1 cup caster sugar
  1 tsp bicarb soda
  2 tsp cinnamon
  1 tsp ground ginger
  1/2 tsp turmeric
  1/2 tsp cardamom
  1/2 tsp ground cloves
  1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
  1/2 cup mixture of pepitas ( pumpkin seeds ) and coarsely chopped walnuts

  Method

  1. Preheat oven to 175-180C
     Prepare a 12 hole muffin pan and line it with muffin wraps.
  2. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl, leaving the walnuts and pepitas out.
  3. Stir grated butternut, mashed banana and water in a large pot and cook over a low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure the mixture doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
  4. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the butter until it melts and blends in with the butternut and banana. Stir in the lightly whisked eggs and the dry ingredients. Do not overstir, keep the batter lite and airy.
  5. Spoon the batter into prepared muffin wraps, 2-3 soup size spoons each so the are just a little more than half full.
  6. Sprinkle with the walnut and seed mixture and bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes or until cooked through.

  Notes

  Use spatula in a circular motion to fold the flour into the batter. The batter should be light and airy for the muffins to rise.
  To check if they are cooked through, insert a skewer and it should come out clean.

  Leave the nuts out if planning for lunchboxes, in case your child’s school has a no-nut policy.

  Store the muffins in an airtight container. Freeze or refrigerate. Heat in a microwave to warm up prior serving.

  

  

  

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  Posted in Breakfast, Sweets | 6 Comments | Tagged baking, easy muffin recipe, muffins, pumpkin and banana muffins, recipe, wholemeal muffins

• Avocado and Dark Chocolate Gooey Brownies with Coconut Ganache ( gluten and nut free )

  Posted at 3:39 pm by samskitchen, on August 12, 2016

  

  Avocados and chocolate – match made in heaven, who would’ve thought!? Whoever came up with this remarkable idea truly is a fine mind!

  I don’t think I could gush enough about these light, decadent chocolate delights.
  So silky-smooth they melt in the mouth with their gooey richness. Pair them with fresh strawberries – heaven!

  I believe they make a great snack. These little chocolaty squares literally work as power bars.
  Since the need to power myself is so great right now, we are in the midst of packing and moving EVERYTHING out of the house for a big renovation to take place, I had to make two batches just to get myself through this stressful week of unpacking-packing, decluttering and heavy lifting. Though, I do see a lot of positive in doing all of the above. I feel rather fitter from all the lifting, and it’s fun bumping into many old, well-forgotten memories.

  For now,  I’m leaving you to continue with the recipe and for me, I better rush back to my current job of packing, the deadline is Monday!

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  Preparation and cooking 1 hour 30 minutes

  Ingredients

  80g butter
  200g good quality dark chocolate
  500g avocado flesh
  1/3 cup maple syrup
  2 eggs
  1/2 cup coconut sugar
  1 tbsp dutch cocoa powder ( unsweetened cocoa powder )

  Coconut Ganache

  150g good quality dark chocolate
  1/2 cup coconut milk ( see notes )
  1 tbsp maple syrup
  1 tsp vanilla bean paste

  Method
  

  Preheat oven to 170C
  Prepare and line a square 14x14cm baking pan

  Break chocolate into small pieces and cut butter into cubes.
  Place butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl and melt over a double boiler or over a pot of gently simmering water, ensuring the bottom of the bowl is not getting into contact with the hot water.
  Once the chocolate starts to melt, stir it gently mixing with butter until mixture is glossy.
  Turn the heat off and set the bowl aside to cool.

  Cream avocados and maple in a food processor.
  Move the mixture into a large mixing bowl and fold cooled melted chocolate and butter in.
  Sieve cocoa powder into the mixture and fold in.
  Beat eggs and sugar till pale and fluffy, about 10 minutes on high speed.
  Gently fold the eggs into avocado and chocolate mixture.
  Pour the mixture into a lined baking pan and bake for 50 minutes.
  Remove from oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan and cooling further on a cooling rack.
  Cool completely before icing with ganache.

  To make coconut ganache:

  Break chocolate into small pieces.
  Place all ingredients into a heatproof bowl and melt over a double boiler or a pot of simmering water or microwave for 30 seconds, stir and microwave for a further few seconds if chocolate hasn’t melted completely.
  Bring ganache to room temperature before icing.

  Ice the brownie with the ganache.
  If desired, using a vegetable peeler shave some chocolate curls over the ganache.
  Let the ganache set before cutting brownie into 2-inch squares.

  

  Notes

  I chilled coconut milk in the refrigerator for 1 hour, it makes it much easier to scoop the creamy part of the milk for the ganache.
  Vanilla bean paste can be substituted with vanilla essence.
  You can make the brownie a night before and ganache the next day
  Keep refrigerated for up to 5-6 days.
  Freezer friendly. Freeze in an airtight container.

   

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  Posted in Sweets | 12 Comments | Tagged avocado chocolate brownie, avocado recipe, chocolate brownie, easy recipe, recipe

• Carrot Cookies with Pecans and Maple

  Posted at 6:15 pm by samskitchen, on July 27, 2016

  

  Ok, I think I’ve had a cookie overdose after a full week of cookie manducation!
  I baked and baked and baked and ate and ate…until I was content with flavours, textures, and the appearance.
  There was a lot of experimenting going on with these cookies. They were made with more butter, less butter, less sugar and more sugar, with peanuts,  with almond meal and in the end with pecans to which I settled and am very happy with the final result, at long last! Phew!

  While carrying out all the cookie baking experiments I somehow went back to drinking coffee aah! I wasn’t even fully certain why I was not supposed to drink it in the first place? Although it does make me buzz around ( not literally of course ) like a little bee for a while after drinking it, and I can never settle on one cup either and can drink up to 4 giant cups in one day. So, I decided to take on a little research and, well, there is so much conflicting information out there that it would cause a complete confusion to any expert! Still, I thought to share a few of the good “side effects” of this addictive drink:

  1. Coffee Makes You Smarter! – I like that
  2. Coffee Can Help You Burn Fat and Improves Physical Performance! – That’s good
  3. Coffee May Drastically Lower Your Risk of Type II Diabetes! – Great news since I have a predisposition ( Yes, I know totally crazy considering I only weigh 47 kg, but apparently weight doesn’t play a role)
  4. Coffee May Lower Your Risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s! – Good news
  5. Coffee May be Extremely Good For Your Liver! – I always thought caffeine was bad for liver
  6. Coffee May Decrease Your Risk of Premature Death! – That’s of comfort
  7. Coffee is Loaded With Nutrients and Antioxidants! – Great

  Since all of these “side effects” of coffee sound so promising I may as well continue the consumption of it, of course, partnered with my cookies.

  

  

  

  

  

  Yield – 40 cookies

  Preparation time 15 minutes
  Cooking time 15 minutes

  Ingredients

  2 cups traditional oats
  1 1/4 cup plain flour sieved
  1 cup self-rising flour sieved
  1 1/3 cup raw sugar
  1 cup pecans finely chopped
  150g grated carrot ( 1 large carrot )
  150g butter cubed and softened
  1 large egg, room temperature
  1/3 cup maple syrup
  2 tsp vanilla essence

  Method

  Preheat oven to 175C
  Prepare and line 2 cookie trays.
  Place all ingredients in a bowl of a mixer or any large bowl and mix well making sure there are no lumps of butter left.
  Roll about a tablespoon of cookie dough at a time into balls.
  Place each cookie ball on a prepared tray leaving about 2cm distance between each ball.
  Lightly pat the balls with the back of the spoon or simply use your hand to very slightly flatten them.
  Bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes or until golden.
  Cool on a cooling rack before moving into a cookie jar or any other airtight container.
  I usually line my cookie jar with a layer of paper towel for these cookies, to absorb any leftover moisture.

  

  

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  Posted in Breakfast, Recipes, Sweets | 4 Comments | Tagged baking, breakfast, cookies, easy recipe, maple and carrot cookies, oat cookies, pecans, recipe, sweets, treats

• Citrus and Apple Rose Tea Cake

  Posted at 4:40 pm by samskitchen, on May 7, 2016

  

  It’s Mothers Day tomorrow. A wonderful day that gives us the opportunity to thank our Mothers for all they gave and are still giving us, make them feel special, loved and cherished. A day to celebrate motherhood, give gifts of love and receive them back. Share the joy and pride of being a mother with our mothers, grandmothers, sisters and girlfriends. It’s the day that celebrates giving life!

  This rosy cake is for all you darling Mothers and Mothers to be.
  Wishing you all a day filled with love and happiness, and may you all feel cherished and appreciated. Happy Mothers Day!!!

  

  

  

  The cake is made with both lemon and orange zest and juice and has a delicious citrus aroma and taste. The texture is light and soft.
  Tastes exceptionally delicious served warm with a generous dollop of double cream.

   

  Ingredients

  200g butter cubed and brought to room temperature
  200g caster sugar
  4 eggs room temperature
  1 tbsp orange and lemon zest mix
  1/2 cup orange and lemon juice mix
  1/4 cup milk
  350g self-raising flour
  1 cup almond meal ( ground almonds )
  4 apples halved and cored

  To Serve  

  Icing sugar
  Double cream or thickened cream

  Method

  Preheat oven to 175C.
  Line and grease a 24cm round cake pan.

  In a bowl of a stand mixer beat butter and sugar until white and creamy.
  Add eggs one at a time ( ensure eggs are at room temperature ), beat for 1 minute with each added egg.
  Add self-raising flour, almond meal, lemon and orange zest and juice.
  Fold gently with a spatula.
  Pour the mixture into prepared cake pan.

  Slice apples thinly using a mandoline or a very sharp knife.
  Place in a bowl, add lemon juice and enough water to cover the top.
  Microwave for 1 minute on high or till apple slices are pliable.
  Drain and leave to cool.

  Arrange apple slices into different size roses. To make roses, swirl one apple slice into a little tube and place it into the cake batter, then keep adding one “petal” at a time till the “rose” reaches the desired size.

  Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes or till middle is set and a skewer comes out clean.

  Dust with icing sugar if desired.
  Serve warm with double cream or thickened cream.

  

  

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  Posted in Sweets | 21 Comments | Tagged afternoon tea cake, apple cake, apple roses, baking, beautiful cake, cooking, dessert, easy recipe, morning tea, mothers day, recipe, sweets, tea cake

• Hazelnut and Chocolate Biscuits

  Posted at 10:52 am by samskitchen, on March 27, 2016

  

  Happy Easter to all you lovely folk! This is what my inner Easter Bunny brought us this Easter – four ingredient chocolate cookies; made with just hazelnuts, egg whites, sugar and cocoa. They are light, a little bit chewy and have a yummy chocolatey – nutty taste.

  

  And they make the perfect foodie gift!

  

  Ingredients

  3 large egg whites
  300g icing sugar sifted and extra for coating
  350g hazelnut meal ( ground hazelnuts )
  4 tbsp dutch cocoa ( or any other good quality unsweetened cocoa )

  Method

  Preheat oven to 160C.
  Line a cookie tray.

  In a bowl of a stand mixer beat the egg whites to a soft peak stage, then gradually add the icing sugar and continue beating for a few minutes. The mixture will resemble a soft runny marshmallow.

  Sieve the cocoa and mix with the hazelnut meal, gradually add it to the egg white and sugar mixture while folding in gently. You will end up with a soft cookie dough.

  Roll out 26-28 little balls (about the size of a walnut) and roll them in icing sugar.

  Place them on a lined cookie tray and bake in a preheated oven for 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven and move to a cooling rack.

  Cool, and enjoy. They go beautifully with both coffee or tea.

  

  The mixture will resemble a soft runny marshmallow.

  

  Sieve the cocoa and mix with the hazelnut meal and gradually add it to egg white and sugar mixture while folding in gently using a spatula.

  

  

  

  Roll out 26-28 little balls and roll them in icing sugar.

  

  Place them on a lined cookie tray and bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes.

  

  Remove from oven and move to a cooling rack.

  

  A perfect yummy gift 🙂

  

   

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  Posted in Sweets | 5 Comments | Tagged afternoon tea, baking, biscuits, cookies, dessert, easy recipe, glutenfree, hazelnuts, nut cookies, recipe, sweets

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  From my garden. Fermented green tomatoes. Normally I do it at the end of summer, but few mornings ago a little bird got into my veggie patch and picked on some of the tomatoes. (Summer has been on a cooler side and so my tomatoes are still green, in the middle of summer that is! ) To make the tomatoes I used a 2% ratio salt to vegetables; so for 500g sliced tomatoes, 3 cloves of garlic, 1 dried red chilli, zest and juice of 1 lemon and a small bunch garden herbs (basil, mint, parsley) I added 12g of salt and once packed in jars covered it all with good quality extra virgin olive oil. Too much salt will not allow the fermentation and too little salt will be too risky due to bad bacteria taking over, and so 2% is considered the optimal amount to ferment and let the good guys (lactobacillus) thrive. Coming to the photo. As many of you message and ask who takes my photos; I do 🥰 and I love it (the photography and the visual storytelling) it’s my passion 🙌 and so glad to hear that some of you enjoy it 💓 thank you!!! For the background of this photo I used one of my printed images, it’s one of my favourite. Also, I still learn a lot and strive to be better at what I do everyday 💕 #foodphotography #fermentedfood #guthealth #beautifulcuisines #stilllife #lifeandthyme #feedfeed #f52grams #food52 #still_life_gallery #foodstyling #margaretriverfood #perthfood #eatseasonal #foodfromscratch

  Rose scented Persian Love Cake Recipe. I made two versions yesterday; one with oranges and one with rose. Both are equally delicious. There are as it seems to be a plethora of different ways to making this cake, some are gluten free and call only for almond meal and even with the addition of buckwheat flour. I went with traditional Middle Eastern ingredients such as almonds, semolina, yoghurt, cardamom and rose water. I love how fuss free making this cake is, much like most of the Middle Eastern cooking 🙌 it’s all about enjoying the process and then the outcome. What went in: 120g butter, 1 cup raw sugar, 4 small eggs (about 200g), 1/2 cup yoghurt, 100g semolina, 250g almond meal, juice and zest of 1 small orange, 1 tsp rose water, 1/4 tsp ground cardamom. Whip butter and sugar until pale, add eggs one at a time, then add rest of the ingredients and fold well to blend without lumps. Preheat oven to 180C fan. Generously butter cake or bundt pan ( I used small bundt pan, round cake pan should be about 20cm-22cm diameter, the smaller your pan the higher will be your cake, also this cake has a minimal rise) spoon the cake mixture into the pan, give it a few good taps on the counter to remove any bubbles and bake for 45 min to 1 hour. Remove from oven, wait 5 minutes and then turn out onto the cooling rack. While your cake is baking make orange syrup by boiling thinly sliced 2 oranges in a simple syrup of 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup water, cook for 30 minutes on low, then cool. You can use cool syrup to drizzle the cake and decorate with orange slices. To make rose water using use 1 1/2 cup icing sugar, 1 tsp rose water, about 1 tbsp milk ( when adding milk add less and then add if mixture is too thick, whisk well for a few moments before adding more liquid). I blended my using sugar in a blender and sieved it to remove any lumps, blending cuts the time of sieving. #foodphotography #beautifulcuisines #lifeandthyme #homebaker #food52 #cake #foodstyling #pursuepretty #liveinspiration #onmytable #perthfoodgram #perthfood #f52grams

  The enchanted Persian Love Cake. Recipe is coming 💕💐 #cake #valentine #homebaker #foodphotography #lifeandthyme #margaretriverfood #sweets #citrus #feedfeed #beautifulcuisines #food52 #sbsfood #f52grams #perthfood

  Blueberry muffins recipe 💝. These are so simple, yet I had to make a few batches to bullet proof them! I might even look like a muffin after this muffin making marathon! Preheat oven to 180C Prepare your 12 hole muffin tin lined with muffin cases. Ingredients 120g butter 1 cup sugar 3 eggs (about 70g each) 1 tsp vanilla or lemon juice ( zest if you like) 3/4 cup full cream milk (warm) 3 cups (450g) self raising flour 1 generous cup of fresh or frozen blueberries ( about 300-350g) I saved a few and placed them on top just before popping them into oven. Method: Beat sugar and butter until creamy and pale add eggs one at a time and beat well, add vanilla or lemon juice-zest. Using a spatula gently fold milk and flour in two batches add blueberries at last. Try not to over mix. Spoon mixture into muffin cases and bake for 25 minutes or until golden and centre is set when touching. Enjoy! I sprinkled mine with blueberry sugar I made a few days ago. To make the sugar I blitzed handful of blueberries with 1 generous cup of granulated sugar, spread it to a thin layer on a tray and dried in oven at 85C for nearly 5 hours then cooked and blitzed again to break it down. #muffins #foodphotography #margaretriverfood #perthfood #baking #f52grams #food52 #lifeandthyme #foodgawker #stilllife #homebaker

  He was trying to catch them in case they fall 🥰. I love this image and that my boys hand is in it. When he was a baby and then toddler I had his hands in most of my images. We were together all the time! Now, my babies have grown a bit and having interests of their own more and more everyday and I so treasure the moments like this one so much 💕 #bagels #foodphotography #thefeedfeed #f52grams #lifeandthyme #food52 #foodgawker #stilllife #margaretriverfood #perthfood #baking #weekendbaking

  Recipe💝 300ml lukewarm water 1 sachet active dry yeast (7-8grams) 1 tbsp honey 2tsp salt 500g all purpose unbleached flour (I used 200 plain flour and 300 strong bread flour) Oil for the bowl and work surface... 1 tbsp honey for the water ( to boil the bagels before baking in the oven) 2 tsp baking soda (to alkalise the water for chewiness that is characterised to bagels) 1-2 tsp salt 1 egg for egg wash Seeds, such as sesame, poppy and any other seeds that you might like. First make the yeasty sponge by mixing 300 ml water, yeast, 1 tbsp honey and 200g flour ( I used my stand mixer bowl) cover and set aside in a warm spot for 30 min or until bubbly and has risen a bit. Then, add salt, rest of the flour and knead into a stiff dough. Knead for 5 min or until smooth and elastic. Move to an oiled bowl, cover and set aside in a warm spot for 1 hour, 1 hour and a half ( I refrigerated my dough overnight and shaped about 1 hour after removing from fridge). Knock the dough down, weigh it and divide into 10 equal pieces (about 80+ grams each) shape them into balls and set aside to rest for 10 min. Gently make a hole in the centre using your fingers ( I suggest lightly oiling your hands and the surface to avoid sticking) place each dough ring on a lined tray leaving enough space between each other ( they will rise) cover with a damp cloth and set aside for 45 min. In the mean time, bring large pot of water to boil with 1 tbsp honey, baking soda and salt. Prepare the egg wash, seeds, lined baking tray or two if your trays are small, preheat oven to 215C fan forced. Once your bagels have risen (you can do a float test in a bowl of water, it will float when it’s ready) drop into simmering water and cook for 1 minute on each side (the longer you will boil them the chewier will be the exterior of your bagel) using a slotted spoon move the bagels into a baking tray (shake the excess water off) brush with egg and sprinkle with chosen seeds. Bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a cooling rack and enjoy using for sandwiches or even burgers (that’s what we did with kids).They work a treat in a lunch box! #bagels #foodphotography

  Bagels are a new favourite in our household. I will share the recipe in the next post. To make them I slightly modified one of my bread recipes to match the bagel dough. They work a treat in a lunch box and kids love them 💕 #foodphotography #stilllife #margaretriverfood #lifeandthyme #bagels #homebaking #homebaker

  Sourdough Bread. For the start I would like to note again that to achieve a successful rise in the sourdough you will need a very lively starter. Also would like to note that this is not an overly high hydration bread that is so trendy right now due to the possibility of the large crumb. Instead, this is a humble, basic sourdough that I believe is achievable to make for most who love to bake. 300g bread flour 50g whole meal flour 252g water 70g young (about 4-5 hours) starter 8g sea salt Patience Mix flours and water in a bowl until completely incorporated. Cover and set aside for about 1 hour or a bit longer. Have your starter fed to fit the schedule. Once hour has passed, add 70g of starter and mix well for about 5 minutes( I hand mix everything). Cover and set aside for 30-45 min, then add salt and mix well 2-3 minutes. Cover and set aside for 30-45 min then preform first lot of stretch and fold. Repeat 2-3 more times within the same interval (30-45 min). Wetting your hands prior to each stretch and fold will help avoid sticking and will add a little more moisture to your dough. After your last stretch and fold cover and leave your dough to rise for another 2 hours. It should be around 6-7 hours from the time of addition of the starter. I bulked mine for up to 8 hours as it all depends on number of factors; temperatures, how active starter is, humidity, amount of yeast spores in the air. The ambient temperature for starter and the dough range from 24C to 26C. Once your dough has sufficiently bulked up ( 50% ) it’s ready to be shaped. My favourite is the stitching. Handle your dough gently but firmly, you don’t want to degas it. I often skip preshape since there are plenty of stretch and folds to strengthen the dough. Shape the dough, place into proving basket and allow to rest in a basket for 20-30 min then move into the fridge. My fridge is very cold and so all activity stops once the dough is there. Retard in the fridge for 12-16 hours. Bake in preheated to 245C cast iron pot. Lid on for 20 min, drop temp to 230 lid off for another 20-25 min. Hope this info is helpful. Will be sharing more and in the stories as usual. Will try helping with questions 💕

  At the very basis of a successful bread is a well fed starter. Regularly feeding your starter makes it more predictable and reliable. Prior to baking with your starter, give it attention by feeding 2-3 times within 6 hour intervals or once it reaches its peak (slight doming at the top). Feeding and watching your starter will teach you to understand it too. Feed it with good quality wheat flour, preferably fresh organic or biodynamic flour. One part whole meal and one part white mixed in a large container and set aside to use to feed your starter will save time and hassle of mixing and weighing at every feed. 24-26 C are the best temperatures to keep starter happy and bacteria count high ( oven with the light on is a good place). #starter #sourdoughstarter #margaretriverfood #foodphotography #margaretriverfood #bread #baking #sourdough #feedfeed #food52 #f52grams #lifeandthyme

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