Anzac Biscuits

This has got to be one of the easiest biscuit recipe ever. It's yummy. It's economical. It stores well. There is no egg, so it's safe to give to people with egg allergy. Did I mention that it's yummy too?

Think how happy your children/partners/friends/family/colleagues/neighbours will be when they taste this biscuit. And the pride and warm-glowy feeling it will give you, knowing that YOU baked it. Out of l.o.v.e for them. You'll feel like the genius-domestic-goddess/god-extraordinaire that you are.

And look, because I love you, I've baked some for you. I've even tied a ribbon too. Aren't I nice?

Happy Friday and have a great weekend.


Recipe from Donna Hay's Modern Classics Book 2:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup plain (all purpose) flour
• ½ cup sugar
• ¾ cup desiccated coconut
• 2 tablespoons golden syrup
• 125g (4 oz) butter
• ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 1 tablespoon hot water

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 160ºC. Place oats, flour, sugar and coconut in a bowl.
2. Place the golden syrup and butter in a saucepan over low heat and allow to melt.
3. Mix bicarbonate of soda with the water and add to the butter mixture. Pour butter mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well.
4. Place tablespoonfuls of the mixture on baking trays lined with non-stick baking paper, allowing room for the biscuits to spread, and flatten slightly.
5. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden. Cool on wire racks.

Notes:  

• Makes 22. (I usually get 20 or 21 only, each of my biscuits might be a bit bigger)

More Bento

Cooking for Miss Pantry, who is a "sometimes-fussy-eater" can be quite frustrating. Something she would eat with gusto one day becomes floor decoration another. I call it mealtime Russian Roulette.

Have you tried getting a toddler to eat something she doesn't want to? It's like trying to catch a dog and give it oral flea medicine. Only worse. Imagine a big, kicky, screaming dog who cries bloody murder and tries to propel herself into your arms when you attempt to buckle her into her high chair. So loud that you think the neighbours are going to ring the police.

But, being Mother of the Year that I am, I try to be patient and not get upset by food refusal. I also try to offer a balanced diet, and I make it a point not to cook Miss Pantry anything that I wouldn't eat myself..

Since half the time, I'm the one finishing up her lunches.

No wonder my pants are getting tight.

My First Bento!

Miss Pantry loves to feed herself. So I am always on the lookout for finger foods that are healthy and appealing to toddlers.

On a recent trip to Singapore, I bought a small and very cute lunchbox for me Miss Pantry. I wanted something to hold food that can be eaten cold/at room temperature while we are out and about. This lunchbox is just the right portion size. The picture above is my first attempt at bento, and includes all the food groups a growing child like Miss P needs. Though none of the food groups that her Mummy loves - like Cake, Chocolate and Candy.

And I have finally found another use for all those cookie cutters I just had to buy, they work just as well as veggie cutters! Stay tuned for more bento making!

Apple and Sultana Mini Muffins

It's Spring! It's Spring! It's finally here! Yippee! And a beautiful 24 degrees celsius it is too in Sydney.

To celebrate the arrival of Spring, and to celebrate my inner domestic goddess, I've slaved for hours in the kitchen to bake you some Apple and Sultana mini muffins.

Oh alright. I fibbed. You caught me out. The truth is, I had one lonely unloved apple that I wanted to use up, and a surplus of sultanas left over from the sultana and cornflake cookies baked last week.

But the muffins look lovely, don't they?

Recipe adapted from Taste.com.au
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (300g) self-raising flour, sifted
• ⅔ cup (150g) caster sugar
• 1 cups (250ml) buttermilk
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• ⅓ cups (80ml) vegetable oil
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1 finely chopped pink lady apple, skin on
• ½ cup (85g) sultanas

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Place flour and sugar in a large bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, oil and cinnamon. Stir through apple and sultanas.
3. Pour wet mixture into dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Spoon mixture into a lightly greased 12-hole, 1/2 cup muffin pan, taking care not to overfill.
4. Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Serve warm or cold.

Notes:

• I used a mini muffin pan, halved the recipe and got 12 mini muffins.
• I used mini cupcake liners, thus avoiding the need to grease the muffin pan. Less washing up!
• I sprinkled rolled oats over the top of muffin mixture prior to baking for some crunch and bite.

Happy baking!

Sultana and Cornflake Cookies

Are you one of those people who has bits of unfinished cereal lurking in your pantry? A handful of cornflakes, a handful of museli, bit of rolled oats here, bit of Weetbix there?

If you are nodding your head (or am I the only one?), then this recipe is for you!

Next time you decide to bake cookies, don't fall back on the predictable chocolate chip cookie (nothing against CCCs, I love them). Try this one instead. It has fruit (sultanas), and vegetables (corn-flakes)! It's healthy! Ok, stretching it a little. Much like the waistband of my tracksuit.

But enough about my weight issues.

Bake this. Today.

Recipe from Taste.com.au

Ingredients:

• 125g butter, chopped, at room temperature
• ⅔ cup caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1¼ cups self-raising flour, sifted
• 1 tbs milk
• 1½ cups cornflakes
• ½ cup sultanas

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line two large flat baking trays with non-stick paper.
2. Using electric mixer, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla essence in a mixing bowl until creamy. Add the flour and mix on low speed until just combined. Add milk and mix until dough comes together. Using a wooden spoon, stir in cornflakes and sultanas, and mix until well combined.
3. Using 1 tbsp of mixture, roll into balls. Place onto baking trays allowing room for spreading. Flatten slightly with a spatula. Bake for 12-14 minutes, swapping trays after 8 minutes or until light golden. Stand for 5 minutes on tray before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

Notes:

• Don't overbake, cookies harden on cooling.
• Mixture was quite crumbly, adding a little more milk might help.

Happy baking!

Apple Crumble Apologies

I was a witch of a wife to Mr Pantry last week. The poor man, I'd bet he was thinking he'd gotten a very raw deal indeed. He was great though, and tried his best to cheer me up, but eventually decided that the best and probably safest thing to do was to leave me alone to fume, while he pretended to be a churchmouse (Geddit? He was quiet).

So, to say Sorry, I made him a dessert. If only he has a sweet tooth for chocolate, I could just share my chocolate stash, that would be so convenient. But this isn't about me. I'm trying to do a bit of grovelling, show that I am sorry, and I resolve to be less of a witch... next time. This can be done in under an hour, not bad for grovelling.

Recipe from adapted from Donna Hay Modern Classics Book 2 and Quinn's Baking Diary:

Prep time 20 minutes

Cooking time 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 apples (I used Pink Lady apples), peeled, cored and chopped
• ½ tbsp caster sugar
• 1 tbsp sultanas
• pinch of cinnamon
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 20g butter (I used 25g)
• 1½ tbsp dark brown sugar
• 2 tbsp rolled oats
• 2 tbsp crumbled walnuts (I used almonds)
• 1 tsp lemon juice
  

Method:

1. 
   
   Preheat oven to 180°C. Place the apples, caster sugar, sultanas, cinnamon and lemon juice in a bowl and stir to combine.
2. 
   
   Transfer apple mixture into 2 small oven-proof serving bowls or ramekins.
3. 
   
   To make the topping, place flour, butter, dark brown sugar, rolled oats and crumbled walnuts in a bowl and mix well to combine. Scatter topping over the apples, covering the apples completely.
4. 
   
   Bake for 15- 20mins or until the toppings are golden brown and crisp and the apple is soft.
5. 
   
   Serve warm, with thick (double) cream or ice-cream.

Notes:

• Serves 2.
• This is a very forgiving dessert, so feel free to play around with the ingredients. Plain flour can be substituted with self-raising flour or wholemeal flour. I used Pink Lady apples, but usually Granny Smiths (green apples) are used instead. I don't have them in the house because I find them a bit tart for eating. Don't like apples? Use pears, berries, cherries, peaches, plums... the possibilities are endless. No nuts in the house? Use almond meal, or omit nuts. You can even substitute with muesli if you want to.
• Lemon juice can be omitted. Or use 1 tsp lemon rind if you like.

Have a sweet day (hopefully not filled with witchy witches!)

Crème caramel

Cream

Get on top

Cream
You will cop
Cream
Don't you stop
Cream
Sh-boogie bop

This song from Prince pops into my head everytime I use cream in desserts. You're rolling your eyes at me. Lame, I know. OK, moving on.

I'd always thought it was fiddly to make crème caramel, but it was so easy! It is now one of the desserts I never order in restaurants anymore, since I can make it myself.

When baking or making desserts, go FULL FAT all the way. The taste is superior when you use full fat products, and because of the higher fat content, they keep better too.

However, in the interest of my waistline (I gotta stop pigging out on the cookies I bake!), I've used light milk instead. Gasp! Forgive me, my Sweet Tooth Fairy, but Mr Pantry does not think the muumuu is sexy. I'm afraid he might divorce me if the only thing I can fit into is a muumuu. Haha. And perhaps also put a paperbag over my head when we go out.

Anyhoo, this crème caramel is so luscious, so smooth, almost melting in your mouth - it blew my tastebuds out of this galaxy. Like they say in Hollywood, I die!

Recipe from The Australian Women's Weekly cookbook: Cooking Class Basic
Prep time 20 minutes
Cooking time 50 minutes

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup (165g) caster sugar
• ¾ cup (180ml) water
• 6 eggs (60g each egg, but I used 70g ones)
• 2 tsp vanilla essence (I used extract)
• ⅓ cup (75g) caster sugar, extra
• 1¾ cups (430ml) milk (I used light milk)
• 300ml thickened cream (err... I used full fat)

Method:

1. Combine sugar and water in medium saucepan over medium heat; stirring constantly without boiling until sugar dissolves. Use pastry brush dipped in water to brush any sugar crystals down from the side of the pan before mixture boils.
2. Bring sugar mixture to a boil; boil rapidly, uncovered, without stirring, about 5 minutes or until sugar mixture turns a light golden brown.
3. Pour caramel into a deep 20cm round cake tin, hold tin using cloth. Quickly tilt tin to coat base evenly with caramel. Caramel will set at this stage.
4. Lightly whisk eggs, extract and extra sugar in medium bowl. Don't overwhisk. Combine milk and cream in medium saucepan, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, allow bubbles to subside from side of pan. Gradually whisk milk mixture into egg mixture; strain into cake pan over caramel.
5. Pre-heat oven to 160 degree celsius. Place cake tin in baking dish with enough boiling water to come halfway up side of the tin. Bake about 40 minutes or until custard is just set; it will set further on cooling. Remove cake tin from water, cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate overnight.
6. Run a knife carefully around the edge of the custard. Place a dish deep enough to catch the caramel over the cake tin, invert the tin, and serve!

Notes:

• Serves 8.
• Recipe must be made a day ahead, to allow the caramel to liquify. It will keep for up to 4 days, refrigerated and covered.
• Instead of a cake tin, you can use individual ramekins.

Have a sweet day everyone.

Rainbows

I am obsessed with rainbows these days. As you can see from the design of this blog.

I have a kazillion rainbow related ideas for Miss Pantry's second birthday next year (which is 6 months away), and I can't wait to try them out. Obviously rainbow coloured food is involved.

Now if I can just stop singing Rainbow Connection!

Sweetened Condensed Milk Coffee Pound Cake

Coffee and condensed milk. How can this combination ever lose?

I love condensed milk. When I was little, I used to eat it straight out of the can, or mixed with Nestum malt flakes (if you grew up in Southeast Asia, you'll know what I'm talking about) and Milo. It's one big sugar hit.

Gah, I really must iron the tablecloth, the SLR shows up every single crease!

Recipe adapted from Table for 2 or more:

Ingredients:

120gm good quality butter

45gm sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla extract*

120gm all-purpose flour*

3/4 tsp baking powder

2 large eggs

Method:

1. Sift flour and baking powder together. Set aside.

2. Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy, about 2 mins

3. Add in salt and vanilla and cream well.

4. Pour in condensed milk and cream till well combined.

5. Using the mixer on low speed, add in flour in 3 additions. Mix till batter is smooth.

6. Add in eggs one at a time. Make sure it's well mixed and smooth.

7. Bake at 170 degrees for 40 minutes.*


To make it coffee flavoured, dissolve 1 tbsp instant coffee with 1 tbsp hot water, and mix it in the batter after step 6.

* Original recipe called for vanilla paste and cake flour, which I don't have in my pantry. Must remedy! Baking time in the original recipe was 175 degrees C for 1 hour.


This cake is lovely with a cup of tea. It's fine crumbed, not too sweet and not at all heavy like mud cake. There's just a hint of coffee in the cake, so it shouldn't overpower non-coffee drinkers. I suppose you could jazz it up with a glaze of some sort if you wish, but I like it just as it is.
 
Yummy. Happy baking.

Chocolate Freckle Hearts

It's chilly today. Stay at home weather, with a nice hot mug of chocolate and a chocolate heart cookie, covered with dark chocolate glaze and sprinkled with hundreds and thousands.

One can never have too much chocolate in my house. :)

Hope you have a lovely day!

Come in and have a cupcake!

Hello and welcome cupcakes!

Come on in and sit down for a cup of tea and perhaps you would like a cookie (or two, or three) as well?

My Sweet Tooth Fairy visits often, so be sure to drop by to see what she's brought.