Food – 3and3quarters

May 7th: Mum’s Chewy Chocolate Slice!

If you already couldn’t tell, I love baking! And there’s nothing better then to make a classic recipe you grew up with your mum making!

So I thought, in lieu of Mother’s Day coming up tomorrow, I’d share with you a wonderful memory from my childhood and of my wonderful Mother in the form of this delicious Chewy Chocolate Slice!

Enjoy!

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You will need:

125g (4 ounces) of melted butter

220g (1 cup) of brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (or essence)

75g (1/2 cup) of plain/all-purpose flour

35g (1/4 cup) of self-raising flour

2 tablespoons of good quality cocoa powder

40g (1/2 cup) desiccated coconut

For the chocolate icing you will need:

160g (1 cup) of icing sugar

2 tablespoons of good quality cocoa powder

10g (1/2 ounce) of melted butter

1.5 tablespoons of hot water (approx.)

Method:

First, preheat the oven to 180C or 350F. Grease a 20cmx30cm slice pan and then line it with baking paper, extending it about 5cm (2″) over the sides.

Combine together the melted butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla extract in a medium-sized bowl.

Neatly sift the two flours and the cocoa powder over the wet ingredients and then gently mix them together.

Add in the coconut and stir to combine.

Carefully spread the mixture evenly into the pre-prepared tin and then bake for about 30 minutes or until it is firm to touch.

Meanwhile, make the chocolate icing by sifting the icing sugar and cocoa into a small bowl. Add in the melted butter and hot water and stir until it becomes a spreadable consistency.

While the chocolate slice is hot, evenly spread over the chocolate icing, finishing it with a sprinkle of some extra coconut.

Allow the slice to cool in the tin before cutting it into 12 or so slices, depending on how you choose to cut it!

Store the slice in an airtight container for up to a week.

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I always get such a huge rush of nostalgia when I make (and eat) this lovely slice and I really hope you enjoy making it!

Happy Baking, Friends!

Inspiration: Baking Day by The Australian Women’s Weekly.

May 2nd: The World’s Most Delicious Banana Bread!

Here’s a fab little recipe to get your week on track!

Over the weekend, we had a very sad looking bunch of bananas that begun ripening way too quickly before we could even contemplate eating them! Boo!

So what better excuse than to use the best Banana Bread recipe that I’ve come across in years! (A highly subjective opinion of course!!) And big bonus: It tastes great too!! It’s super dense and moist, rich in flavour and colour and is surprising (and quite satisfyingly) crunchy around the edges!

This recipe has been sourced from one of my favourite baking books…

Baking Day by The Australian Women’s Weekly.

Here’s what you’ll need…

1 cup of mashed (overripe) banana (I used four smallish bananas but you can use two larger ones)

1 cup (220g) of brown sugar

2 eggs

40g (1.5 ounces) of melted butter

1/2 cup (125ml) of buttermilk (use full cream milk as an alternate)

1/4 cup (90g) of treacle (you can also use golden syrup or honey)

1.5 cups (225g) of plain/all-purpose flour

1 cup (150g) of self-raising flour

2 teaspoons of mixed spice

1 teaspoon of bi-carb soda (baking soda)

And now to make…

First, preheat your oven to 180C or 350F. Grease a 14cmx21cm (5.5″x8.5″) loaf tin and then line it with baking paper, extending it about 5cm (2″) over the sides.

Next, combine the mashed banana, brown sugar, both eggs, the melted butter and buttermilk as well as the treacle in a large bowl.

Gently sift both of the flours, the mixed spice and bi-carb soda over the wet ingredients and stir them together. Try not to over mix – the lumpier the better!

Carefully pour the batter into the pre-prepared tin and place it into the oven to bake for about 1 hour.

Leave the bread in the pan for about 10 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack so that it can cool.

This hearty banana bread can be served as is or toasted with a dollop of butter and accompanied with a hot cup of tea!

Serves 10-12 (depending on how generous you cut your slices!)

Happy Baking, Friends!

September 17th: Birthday Celebrations!

Today was my 28th birthday! 🙂

I spent the day rugged up at home (my favourite place) joyfully playing with my youngest nephew and niece! We sung songs, played with balloons, ate doughnuts and built Duplo towers!

Amelia: 'Auntie, what is that big thing you're shoving in my face?' (I took the picture using my big DSLR camera!) — Amelia: ‘Auntie, what is that big thing you’re shoving in my face?’ *(I took the picture using my big DSLR camera!)*

Oh, those big brown eyes and pouty lips!! Too cute!

Xavier singing his ABC's! — Xavier singing his ABC’s!

More of my family came over this evening where we had our traditional party tea, with homemade chocolate cake, lollies, Chocolate Crackles* and yummy fresh fruit!

And because I work from home (which means that technically I’m my own boss) I gave myself the day off! I do feel slightly bad that I did, as it means that Friday’s tutorial has now been pushed back a day or two! Sorry! But today’s little breather from everything has really helped clear my head and get a few things back into perspective!

Although, I do have one very exciting thing to tell you about! Last night I finalised everything for my next Quilt-Along Series!!! Yay! It’ll be a HST Sampler, made up of nine different blocks, all at different levels of difficulty and layout. This time around I’ll be using a beautiful fabric collection from RJR Fabrics that has some of the most loveliest colours and patterns that I’ve seen in quite a while! As soon as I saw it, I knew it was the perfect one to use for the quilt! I’ll announce what the range is and the whole story behind it once I receive it! Eek!! (Although, some of you might be able to figure it out with some of the clues in the picture below!)

Here’s a sneak peak of the blocks we’ll doing…

I guess this also gives a little insight into how I design and work out all the maths for my quilts! I must always draw them out and colour them in to be able to get a true understanding and visualisation of the block/quilt I want to make! At the moment, I don’t have a date for when this will begin, but know that it’ll be very soon! (Like ‘weeks’ soon!)

I hope your day was as lovely as mine!

*PS. Curious to know what Chocolate Crackles are?? Here’s the recipe if you would like to try them! Every Aussie kid has been brought up eating these, especially at birthday parties, cake stalls, picnics and as special treats!

Chocolate Crackles

Ingredients:

4 cups of Rice Bubbles

1 cup of desiccated coconut

1 cup of icing sugar (powdered sugar)

250g of Copha (a type of vegetable fat made from coconut oil)

3 tablespoons of cocoa

To make:

First, slowly melt the Copha in a saucepan over a low heat.

Meanwhile, mix together the rice bubbles, icing sugar, coconut and cocoa in a large bowl.

Carefully pour the melted Copha into the rice bubble mixture and stir until well combined.

Spoon the mixture into a cupcake tray filled with paper cases and place in the fridge until set.

Enjoy!

Makes 24+

Store in an air-tight container in the fridge.

September 9th: Baking Day!

Happy Hump-Day!

We’ve made it to the middle of the week and now we’re on the down-hill to the weekend! Yay!!!

Today I thought I would share with you a most beloved and favourited recipe of mine that I absolutely love to bake as the warmer Spring days slowly come back into our lives!

And that recipe is… Shortbread! Usually, I make it with a good handful of orange zest, but today I was feeling brave and choose to see how well it tastes with lemon zest instead! (Oh!! The fresh sweet smell of lemon filling my kitchen was just simply devine!) By adding the lemon or orange zest, it will just give the Shortbread a lovely subtle fresh fruity flavour that will make you go back for more and more!

So here’s how to make this delicious and fail-safe Lemon Shortbread!

You will need:

To make:

Begin by preheating your oven to 150C/300F/gas2. Then butter well a square slice tin measuring about 22cm or 9″.

Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and cream them together using a wooden spoon until it looks light and fluffy.

Add the plain flour, cornflour and lemon zest to the buttery mixture and gently fold them together with your spoon. Then get your clean hands into the bowl and mix until you have a lovely smooth dough.

Place the dough into your buttered tin and press it evenly throughout the tin and into the corners using your fingers. (The rougher looking the better!) Before popping it into the oven, grab a fork and prick the surface all over.

Place it into the oven for about 50 minutes until the top of the Shortbread is looking lightly golden brown.

While the Shortbread is still oven warm, cut it evenly into squares and sprinkle a generous amount of caster sugar over the top.

This Shortbread is best enjoyed with a lovely hot cup of tea!

Recipe adapted from one by Jamie Oliver called ‘The Best Shortbread in the World’ from his book, Cook With Jamie, published in 2006.

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Let me know if you’re going to give this recipe a go! Even if you’re not the best chef in the kitchen, this Shortbread is insanely easy to make and just as easy to eat as well!!

Happy Baking, Friends!!

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Chocolate Crackles

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