Apple Butterscotch Pudding



















Yummy!! This is the most delicious recipe - the almond meal gives the cake topping a really beautiful texture. The apples and caramel are a match made in heaven.

1. Apple Butterscotch Base
5 apples
60g butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup cream

2. Almond Cake Topping
100g butter, softened
1/2 cup castor sugar
1&1/2 cup SR flour
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup almond meal

Preheat oven to 180•C.

1. Peel, quarter and core the apples and slice in half. Heat butter and brown sugar in a medium heavy-based pot. Stir over a low heat until the sugar dissolves. Add cream and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute then add apples and cook uncovered 7-8 minutes until the apples are just tender. Place the apple mixture in a medium ovenproof dish.

2. Place butter and sugar in food processor and blend. Then add eggs, then sifted flour and just combine. Mix in milk and almond meal and spoon over the apple mixture.

3. Pop into the oven for 30-35 minutes or until well risen and golden brown.

Cheats Cheese & Tomato Scrolls



















My kids don't eat sandwiches on their lunch, not that the dogs mind - they come running whenever they hear the sound of tupperware being opened in the kitchen these days. These cheese & tomato scrolls were very well received this morning and very quick to make. Maybe I've found a solution...

1 cup SR flour
1 cup wholemeal flour
1 tsp baking powder
30g butter, chopped
3/4 cup milk
2 tsp dried oregano
handful of shredded cheese
pizza sauce

Preheat oven to 200•C
Sift the flour and baking powder, then rub the butter into it with your fingers. Add the milk, and a good seasoning of salt and pepper. Knead with your hands or a dough hook until just combined then dust a surface with flour and roll out into a rectangle.
Spread on the pasta sauce, sprinkle with cheese and oregano and roll up into a log, then cut into 1 inches pieces. Lie them onto a tray lined with baking paper and whack into the hot oven for 20mins.
I would like to try a grown up version of this too with rosemary and chopped olives and feta...

Red Velvet Brownies



















Red Velvet cake seems to be the trend at the moment, but the idea of colouring cake with food colouring seems very unappealing to me... Here is a healthy alternative - moist, dense, delicious and definitely worthy of such a beautiful name! The 'secret ingredient' - beetroot - gives the cake a lovely heavy brownie texture and a heavenly earthy flavour which goes so well with dark chocolate.

2 beetroot
100g butter
200g dark chocolate, minimum 70% cocoa, chopped
1/2 cup unbleached caster sugar
3 eggs
1 cup plain flour
2 heaped Tbs cocoa

Preheat oven to 180•C.
Peel and chop the beetroot with rubber gloves on or you'll look like you've murdered someone! Cover and microwave with a little water for 10 mins or until tender.
Grease and line a square cake tin.
Drain beetroot then put in food processor with blade attachment with butter and chocolate - the heat from the beetroot will melt the chocolate. Process until it all melts together and becomes smooth.
Using a spatular, pour the beetroot mixture into a large bowl, then replace the blade attachment with beater. Crack in the 3 eggs and caster sugar and whizz on high until thick and the sugar is blended thoroughly with the eggs. Pour into the beetroot mixture and mix well.
Sift flour and cocoa into bowl and gently fold through then pour into the prepared cake tin and bake 30mins, or until skewer comes out clean.
Cool in the tin, cut into squares and dust with icing sugar.

10 Minute Double Choc Muffins



















Simple enough to make before school, thrown together whilst eating a stand-up breakfast!

They are best eaten straight out of the oven - there's no butter which makes them very fast to make but the tradeoff is they don't keep so well, although the banana does make them deliciously moist! Freshen one up for your afternoon cup of tea by zapping it in the microwave for 10secs.


PS. This is a modification on a basic muffin recipe - if you omit the cocoa powder you can do almost anything. Swap half the SR flour for wholemeal, add nuts, sultanas, a chopped overripe pear or frozen blueberries, add a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar on the top, whatever... just keep in mind that frozen fruit will up the cooking time to about 60mins. 

Makes 6

2/3 cup SR flour
1/2 tsp baking powder (optional)
2 heaped Tbs cocoa powder
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 cup olive oil
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
1 ripe banana, mashed well

Preheat oven to 200•C
Prepare 6 squares of baking paper to line the muffin tin with - I find this works better than paper liners which stick to the muffins!
Sift the 'dry ingredients' into a bowl. (flour, cocoa & sugar)
Beat the egg and add the 'wet ingredients' (milk & oil).
Pour the wet ingredients into a well in the dry ingredients and mix quickly together - you might need to add a bit more milk if its a bit dry here, but don't overmix or the muffins will be tough.
Add the choc chips and banana and mix through briefly, then divide the mixture into the cases, putting the baking paper squares in as you go.
Pop them in the oven and in 20 minutes they're done!