C IS FOR CARROT HALVA

C IS FOR CARROT HALVA
Carrot is such a versatile vegetable. Carrot cake, Carrot pickle, Carrot rice, Carrot juice....... so many options and all completely different from the other. Crunchy and healthy or soft and smooth once cooked.
One such delicious dish that can be made from this yummy versatile vegie is Carrot Halva. A sweet dish that can be served warm or cold. With cream or custard or alone.... With nuts and dried fruit or without. See what a versatile vegie this humble carrot is!!!!

WHAT YOU NEED:
2 cups of grated carrot
2 cups of your choice of milk (soy, skimmed, rice, almond etc)
3 tbs of ghee
Sugar to your liking... aprox 1/4 cup but feel free to add more or less
6 cardomon pods (again you can add more or less to your liking)
Fried cashews, raisins, sultanas etc your choice and as much or as little as you like.

WHAT YOU DO:
1. In a large pan heat the milk.
2. As the milk is heating add the ghee to a pan and melt then add the grated carrot and fry for 3 to 5 mins.
3. Add the milk to the fried carrots and keep stirring over low to med heat till the milk is almost fully absorbed.
4. Now add the cardomon and sugar (ajusting amount of sugar to suit).
5. Keep stirring over low heat till throughly combined and suagr has melted into carrot/milk mix.
6. Now add the dried fruit and nuts and stir to evenly distribute.
Enjoy yummy carrot halva

J IS FOR JAGGERY! SWEET JAGGERY RICE

J IS FOR JAGGERY! SWEET JAGGERY RICE
I am not a fan of jaggery I prefer the brown sugar or white sugar substitute however brown sugar does not begin with J nor does much else!!! So here is my version of a jaggery dessert.... sweet rice pudding made with jaggery and coconut. This one is for you Jane....

WHAT YOU NEED:
1/2 cup uncooked medium grain rice
Aprox 130g shaved jaggery (you can adjust this amount to suit your tastes)
Aprox 50g of coconut desicated (again you can adjust this or even omit it to suit your tastes)
2 cups of water
1 cup of milk (you may need more milk to ensure the rice is cooked properly)
Small handful of peanuts or cashews (unsalted and roasted)
2 to 3 tsps of ghee
Optional: dried fruit like currants or sultanas or even small pieces of apricot
WHAT YOU DO:
1. Heat the water and add the rice. Over low to medium heat.
2. Allow to come to boil and add the jaggery and coconut.
3. Stir in and continue to stir every couple of mins to prevent sticking to bottom of the pan.
4. Add the cashews and or peanuts and optional dried fruit.
5. Add milk and continue to simmer until the rice is cooked.
6. Adjust the consistency with milk until you get the desired dessert. Serve warm or cold.....

LEMON, LIME AND COCONUT CAKE!

LEMON, LIME AND COCONUT CAKE
I was craving cake but not the normal sweet cake that you normally think I felt like something different maybe orange almond cake but upon looking in the pantry and fridge I had no oranges or almond meal so that was a no go...... I so did not want to go to the shops it not always that easy towing a 4 and 1 yr old for a "quick trip to the shops".... Spying just one lemon and a lime in the bottom of my fridge i started thinking... For some reason the song "She put the lime in the coconut and she drank them both up" started playing in my head... Ahh it was a sign quickly checking the cupboard I am happy to find a bag of dessicated coconut... Yay This cake is super easy and super yummy! The tartness of the lemons and limes match perfectly with the sweet taste of coconut. A must try!

WHAT YOU NEED:
180g unsalted butter (softened but not melted)
3 large eggs (beaten slightly)
175g caster sugar
150g self raising flour
85g desiccated coconut
1 large lemon and 1 lime grated rind and the juice
For the icing:
150 g icing sugar
Some of the grated lemon and lime and the juice.

WHAT YOU DO:
1. Preheat the oven to 160 celcuis and prepare your chosen cake tin. (about 20cm round tin is best)
2. Beat the softened butter and the sugar together until it goes pale and light and fluffy.
3. Slowly add the eggs and continue to beat until combined.
4. Now add the sifted flour followed by the coconut and half the rind of the lemon and limes. Fold in until combined and add the lime/lemon juice.
5. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin. This is a rather thick mixture unlike most cake batters that level themselves  you will need to level the surface yourself.
6 .Bake in the oven for aprox 1 hour. Rotate half way so not to overcook the back. Remove from the oven when cake is firm to touch and lightly golden brown.
7. Allow to cool completely before icing.
8. For the icing; Whisk together the sugar and rind and juice until thick. You may need to add a little water to adjust the consistency. And spread on top....

SUNUNDULU WITH JAGGERY

SUNUNDULU WITH JAGGERY
Both my daughter and I are big fans of sunundulu. I, however, always made my sunundulu with white sugar but recently we had a dinner and our friend's mother came bearing sunundulu. Upon trying this I realised that this was no ordinary sunudulu that I knew. After both my daughter, son and I consuming serveral sunundulu balls I decided I had to make these myself. Chasing down the recipe from our friend who had explained to me that in the area of India that they are from the sweets are made mostly with jaggery and not simple white sugar.
So here is our attempt to make jaggery sunundulu. Dedicated to our friends and family! Thank you

WHAT YOU NEED:
2 cups of urid dal
1 1/2 cups of jaggery
Up to a cup of ghee

WHAT TO DO:
1. In a large pan roast the urid dal over low heat. Keep stirring and dont be tempted to up the temp or leave the room because if this burns then you have to start again with some fresh urid dal.
2. You are looking for the urid to become lightly golden. Remove and allow to cool.
3. Once cool grind the urid into a powder. You can fine grind or if you prefer you can super fine grind. Purely up to your preference.
4. Grate the jaggery and add to ground urid dal and blend a little longer to allow the two to thoroughly combine.
5. Heat the ghhe till runny and slowly add this to the jaggery/urid mix stirring as you go. Only add enough ghee to combine it too much as too much ghee will make making the ladoo shapes a little difficult.
6. Once cool enough to handle shape the ladoos and allow to cool completely.
Optional: Add some crushed cardomon
Enjoy

CHICKPEA AND CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

CHICKPEA AND CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Inspired by Jerry Seinfield's wife and her amazing recipes for hiding vegies in yummy treats to trick unsuspecting little ones! Although the idea of having kids eat vegies is great I am not so sure if I really like the idea of hiding vegies as I am all for encouraging kids to eat their vegies as is.. My daughter's favourite meal is vegie mash with corn tortilla and it is just that nothing added and nothing hidden just vegies cooked and mashed with a little salt and sometimes grated cheese.
Anyway weekend cooking with my daughter had started again and we decided that today we should make cookies. Now thinking that this would make a great little dessert or treat I wanted it to be filling but not too fattening. Protein!!!! Would be the answer. But what protein... Lentils hmmm maybe another time but not this time as wanted something quick. Just then my one yr old handed me a can of chickpeas. Whether he knew what he was doing or not I took it as a sign and that is how we came to make chickpea and chocolate chip cookies....... and guess what they were yummmy.
This is a very versatile recipe and I would probably say that you could take any favourite cookie recipe and add a can of chickpeas to( you may need to add a little bit more moisture to some recipes)!
After doing a google search this is a big thing many different recipes out there for this tasty delight!

WHAT YOU NEED:
1 can of chickpeas (Drained and washed) - If you want to squish some of them then you can but else just leave them whole.
1 cup of firmly packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup room temp butter - unsalted
2 large egg whites
2 tsp pure vanilla extract or a generous splash of imitation vanilla essence
2 cups semisweet dark or milk chocolate chips - I prefer dark as find milk adds more sugar and these are already super sweet.
2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup oats or if you have a child who will not eat anything with an oat in grind this to make oat flour
1 tsp of baking powder (make sure it is not past its best before)
1/4 tsp salt

WHAT TO DO:
1. Preheat oven to 180 celcuis and line a cookie tray.
2. Beat the sugar and butter together till light and fluffy.
3. Add the egg whites and vanilla essence and beat for a min or two.
4. In another bowl mix all the flour, salt, bkaking powder and oats or oat flour.
5. Mix the two bowls together till combined.
6. Now add the chickpeas and chocolate chips and mix till throughly combined.
7. Dollop tablespoons  of the mixture spaced apart on tray and bake for aprox 12 mins. Longer if you like them crunchy but becareful not to burn.

Badam halva - Almond Pudding

BADAM HALVA - ALMOND PUDDING

A sweet almond dessert. Great served warm or cold. (Serves aprox 4 unless you have an uncontrollable sweet tooth then it serves 1)

WHAT YOU NEED:
2 cups of whole almonds (you will need to soak these overnight and deskinn and process to a powder/paste  alternative buy ready made almond meal)
Aprox 1/3 to 1/2 cup of milk ( up to you skimmed, whole or soy)
Aprox 14 tbsp of white sugar (if you like it sweeter add more but beware can become overly sweet very quick. I myself prefer to make it with less sugar but hubby and the kids like it sweeter.)
6 to 8 cardomon pods crushed to fine powder (should make aprox 1 tsp of cardomon powder.
Up to 11 tbsp of ghee
Optional - pinch of nutmeg
              - crushed almonds and/or sultanas

WHAT YOU DO:
1. Take the almond paste or meal and mix to a smooth paste with your choice of milk. You want it too be a wet paste but not too runny and not to dry so adjust the amount of milk to suit.
2. In a large pan add the ghee over low to med heat and add the almond paste. Stirring continously till the almond paste is lightly golden. Be careful not to burn. This took me about 20 mins on a low heat.
3. Add any remaining milk that you have and mix in the sugar.  Keep stirring till the suagr has completely dissolved and the extra milk has been absorbed. Keep stirring so not to burn.
4. Now add the cardonomon powder and mix in.
5. Optional: Add pinch nutmeg, crushed almonds and/or sultanas.
Serve warm

GULAB JAMUNS

GULAB JAMUNS
Deliciously sweet and squidgy balls of fried dough. Somewhat like a doughnut soaked in sugar syrup.
A wonderful dessert either served hot or cold.

WHAT YOU NEED:
For the jamuns:
1 cup milk powder (I used non fat milk powder)
1/4 cup plain flour
1/4 milk
3 tablespoons  butter (Brought to room temperature)
Pinch of baking powder (Dont be tempted to add too much as they make the balls get too big and loose their shape)
For the syrup:
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup water
4 coarsely grounded cardamom seeds

WHAT TO DO:

1. In a large mixing bowl add the milk powder, flour and baking powder.
2. Rub in the softened butter followed by the milk and set aside for 15 mins.
3. If the dough is dry, add more milk, as the dough should be soft and a little stretchy.
4. Knead the dough. (I spray my hands with oil before this as it gets messy and sticky)
5. Divide the dough into equal portions and roll into smooth little balls. Dont be tempted to make them too big as they will not cook properly in the middle.
6. Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium heat and fry the balls. Keep rolling them in the oil so they get evenly cooked. Cook till deep golden brown and maintain low to medium heat or the outside will brown too quickly and the inside will not be cooked properly.
7. Set aside the balls and make the sugar syrup as directed below.
8. To make the sugar syrup add the sugar, water and cardomon to a sauce pan and heat on med for about 15 mins till all sugar has dissolved.
9. Take the sugar syrup off the heat and add the gulab jamuns to the sugar mixture and roll them about for about five mins till the swell and absorb lots of the syrup.
10. Remove the jamons and serve.

Serving tips:
1. Hot or cold
2. With Cream, Ice cream or alone.
3. Add slivered almonds or pistachios.

LIME, COCONUT AND POLENTA CAKE WITH A LIME SYRUP

LIME, COCONUT AND POLENTA CAKE WITH A LIME SYRUP
I have to admit that I have a slight addiction to syrup cakes at the moment. The texture is totally different to the texture of normal flour based cakes..
The sweetness of this cake is slightly off set by the tang of the lime and the polenta gives a slight crunch to the outer edges.
All in all a very yummy syrup cake.

WHAT YOU NEED:
-250g softened butter
- 250g of golden or white caster sugar
- 5 large eggs
-140g polenta
-200g plain flour
-2 generous tsp of baking powder
-50g dessicated coconut
-4 limes ( juice and the zest) You may need a little extra lime juice.

For the syrup you will need equal amounts of lime juice, water and sugar.

WHAT YOU DO
1. Cream the butter and sugar together till light and fluffy meanwhile preheat the oven to 160 celcius conventional oven and aprox 140 fan forced.
2. Slowly add the eggs and lime zest and juice.
3. In a seperate bowl sift the flour, polenta, baking sugar and coconut.
4. Combine the lot add fold together till combined. You may need to add a little extra lime juice here to make sure the mixture is not dry. (This mixture is different from the sloppy textures of flour based cakes)
5. In a prepared pan or mini pans spoon the mixture in. Due to the texture you will need to spread this mixture out evenly as it will not do this itself like most cake batters.
6. Bake in oven till a skewer comes out clean from the centre. This took about 30 mins in my oven but my oven is not so reliable on  the temperature to be sure to watch your cake and test for readiness with a skewer is my best advice. In actually fact rarely do I actually look at the time for my cakes always realying on the good old skewer in centre of the cake method.
7. Allow to cool for ten mins before removing from pan.
8. To make the sugar syrup add the equal parts of sugar, lime juice and water to a pan and heat for aprox ten mins till all sugar has combined and thickened.  Prick the cake and pour the warm syrup over the cake.
Yum

ORANGE, ALMOND, COCONUT AND SEMOLINA SYRUP CAKE

ORANGE, ALMOND, COCONUT AND SEMOLINA SYRUP CAKE
This delicious and moist cake is one of my new favourites. Just love the sticky moist texture with the hint of almond through. Totally different from normal flour based cakes and totally worth it.

WHAT YOU NEED:
-250g butter
-200g caster sugar or brown sugar (in an attempt to make my cake a little less processed I used brown sugar)
-50g of fine coconut
-2 oranges, finely grated zest and juice (You can increase the zest if you want a more dominant flavour )
-4 large eggs
-50g plain flour
-2 generous tsp of baking powder
-250g semolina
-200g ground almonds
-120g Greek or Natural yoghurt.
-275 g of caster sugar, 500mls water and a splash of orange juice for the syrup

(NOTE: Because oranges are often different in size and juicy-ness you may need to use some extra orange juice as needed. You need the batter to be smooth and almost spreadable. It is not as runny as most cake batters so dont add too much juice. Remember the majority of the moistness comes from the syrup poured on later)

WHAT TO DO:
1. Preheat the oven to 160 celcius or about 140 celcius if using a fan forced oven. In a 20 cm pan or serveral smaller pans (like I did) grease and line (if you like - I rarely line my pans as basically I am a little lazy and my baking trays are all non stick.)
2. Cream the butter and sugar together till pale and light. Slowly add the eggs and keep whisking to combine.
3. Sift in all the dry ingrediants (flour, semolina, baking powder and almond meal) and add the fine zest from your oranges.
4. Now mix the orange juice and yoghurt together and whisk slightly to combine.
5. Fold this till combined then pour into the prepared baking trays and spread over the top to smooth and even out.
6. Bake in the oven till a skewer comes out clean. (remember to test the centre of the cake and rotate the cake if you see one side getting too brown -just like in my uneven oven)
7. Heat 500 mls of water and add a spalsh of orange juice and the caster sugar and heat (on low to med) till all the sugar has dissolved and the syrup has started to thicken. You can add orange zest if you like.
8. Prick the warm cake and pour as much of the syrup evenly over the top.
Now eat! Yummm. This dessert is great served with vanilla yoghurt or sweetened plain yoghurt.

CHOCOLATE SLICE WITH HIDDEN SPINACH AND CARROT

CHOCOLATE SLICE WITH HIDDEN SPINACH AND CARROT
Dont be deterred by the name and the fact that there is hidden vegies all you can taste is a dense chocolate yummy slice. I am not a fan of hiding vegies to get kids to eat them but if it makes something healthier then why not. MY daughter loved this slice and she knew there was carrot and spinach in it cause she helped me make it.

WHAT YOU NEED:
100 grams of steamed and pureed spinach
130 grams of steamed and pureed sweet carrots
3 egg whites slightly whisked
3 tsp of vanilla essence ( I used the replica not the real stuff)
80 grams of dark chocolate
pinch of salt
25g of cocoa - unsweetened
2tbs margerine (I used lactose free spread)
110g of plain flour
1/2 tsp Baking powder
110g light brown sugar

WHAT TO DO:
1. Preheat the oven to 180 celcuis and rub butter and cover with a light layer of cocoa your chosen pan (square or circle)
2. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler and remove from the heat and stir in spinach and carrot purees and the vanilla. Followed by the cocoa, margerine and the sugar.
3. Slightly whisk the egg whites and fold in.
4. Sift the flour and baking powder and add to the mix followed by the slat.
5. Here is when you can add walnuts, glace cherries or bits of plain biscuits.
6. Spread in the pan and bake for aprox 40 mins or until skewer comes out clean in the centre.
7. Allow to cool before serving.

Meringue Nests

MERINGUE NESTS
So easy and delicious. Crunchy on the outside and chewy and moorish on the inside. Hard to stop at one.

WHAT YOU NEED:
2Egg whites
1/2 cup of caster sugar (can be adjusted slightly if you prefer a sickly sweet meringue)

WHAT YOU DO:
1.Preheat the opven to 150 celcuis.
2. Beat the eggwhites till soft peaks are formed and then slowly add the caster sugar till combined and the mix is glossy and thick with stiff peaks.
3. Pipe, spoon or spread onto a baking sheet to desired size and bake in the oven for aprox 50 mins and then turn off oven and leave to cool in the oven with the door ajar. (If meringues are getting too brown on top reduce the heat to 100 c and continue cooking till done)

APPLE MERINGUE PIE

APPLE MERINGUE PIE
A kid-yourself healthy tart. Shortcrust pastry filled with tender caramelised apple chunks and topped with soft fluffy meringue. Easy tart to adapt to different sizes.

WHAT YOU NEED:
Sweet Shortcrust pastry tart shell. (Either make yourself or buy) Aproximate size of round 22cm, or rectangle pan (like I used) or individual tart shells. 
Aprox 675g of Green apples (peeled and cored and sliced it wedges then tossed in some lemon juice - the thickness is up to you but thicker wedges will take longer to cook and you will need more to layer the tart.)
Brown sugar (from 50g and upwards the more apples you have the more sugar you will need to caramalise)
25 g Butter (you will again need more if you are using more apples or tart shells)
2 egg whites
115g caster sugar I actually used icing sugar as I had no caster sugar)

WHAT YOU DO:
1. Take the prepared tart shell.
2. Peel, core and slice (or dice) up your apple into desired sizes.
3. In a pan place the butter, brown sugar, apples and cook till apples are just tender. Set aside to cool.
4. Take the prepared tart shell and place the apples and caramal into it. Layering the apples nicely.
5. Preheat the oven to 220 c
5. Whip the egg whites till thick and add the sugar and continue to beat until stiff and glossy.
6. Pipe, spread or spoon the meringue onto the apple tart.
 7. Bake for aprox 6  to 7 mins till meringue in lightly browned. Watch closely.

LEMON MERINGUE PIE

LEMON MERINGUE PIE
A sweet crust pastry filled with a sweet yet tangy lemon curd topped with light and fluffy meringue.

WHAT YOU NEED:
For the Sweet Crust Pastry::(this is for a 23 cm pan)
225 grams plain flour
2tbs confectioner’s sugar
Grated zest of ½ lemon
125 grams of butter at room temp plus extra for greasing the tart pan
21/2 tablespoons cold water
For the lemon curd filling and meringue topping:
50g (1/3 cup) cornflour
125ml (1/2 cup) water
250ml (1 cup) fresh lemon juice
1 to 2 tsp of lemon rind
430g (2 cups) caster sugar
60g butter, coarsely chopped
4 eggs, separated

WHAT YOU DO:
 To make the sweet crust pastry:
1. In a large bowl sift the flour, salt and sugar.
2. Add the zest of one clean lemon.
3. Combine the egg yolk and water and add to bowl.
4. Break up the butter and rub into the flour mix and keep rubbing it in till it all comes together and knead till smooth.
5. Chill in fridge for 30 mins and turn your oven on to aprox 150 celcius.
6. Brush tart pan with butter and roll out the pastry to aprox 3mm thick and use the rolling pin to roll up the pastry and place on tart pan. Tuck in and cut off extras and blind bake (using a weight) for aprox 25 to 30 mins or until entire tart is lightly golden (dont cook it too golden as it does have to go back in the oven once filled)
7. Remove and allow to cool on a wire rack.
To make the lemon curd filling:
1. In a small saucepan place half the sugar, the cornflour, lemon juice, lemon rind and water and heat till mixture boils and thickens whisking continously. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter and the egg yolks one by one. Then cover and allow to cool completely.
To make the meringue part:
1. Whisk the egg whites until light and fluffy and then gradually add the remaining sugar and beat until the egg whites are thick and glossy.

To assemble the tart:
1. Preheat the oven to 200 celcuis. Take cooled pastry base and spread the lemon curd into it.
2. Take the beaten eggwhites (meringue) and spread over top and form peaks all over.
3. Place in oven for 5 mins till peaks are slightly golden.
Remove and  serve hot or cold.

CREME BRULEE

CREME BRULEE
Smooth and creamy hidden under a caramel crackable topping. YUMMY

WHAT YOU NEED:
600ml of cream
Vanilla essence
1/4 cup caster sugar
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup brown sugar

WHAT YOU DO:
1. Preheat an oven to 120 celcuis.
2. In a small pot heat cream and vanilla over med heat to scalding point. then remove and set aside to allow vanilla to infuse.
3. In a bowl beat egg yolks and sugar together till light and pale. This takes about 2 to 3 mins.
4. Pour the warm cream over the beaten and whisk together till thoroughly combined.
5. Skim off any foam that is on the top.
6. Place ramekins in a roasting pan and fill each with the mixture and then pour boiling water around them in the roasting pan and loosely place foil over the top.
7. Place in oven for 40 mins till the custards have a slight wobble when touched.
8. Remove from oven and allow to cool then cover and place in fridge overnight to chill.
9. Sprinkle each chilled custard with aprox 2 tsp of brown sugar and use a blow torch to heat the sugar up until it melts and caramelises.....

MORELLO CHERRY AND FRANGIPAN TART

MORELLO CHERRY AND FRANGIPAN TART
This was my first attempt to make a tart from scratch. The sweet almond taste of the frangipan and the sourness of the morello cherry all nestled in a delicious sweet crust pastry is a combination which will keep you coming back.
This recipe does involve multiple steps but comes together quickly and is so worth it. I used a 22.5 cm tart pan and had leftover pastry (throw it in the freezer and your pastry part is done for next time of if you have extra tart pans blind bake the pastry and freeze the tart shell to make next time even quicker)

WHAT YOU NEED:
For the sweet crust pastry:
330 grams plain flour
100 grams confectioner’s sugar
Grated zest of ½ lemon
pinch of salt
180 grams of butter at room temp plus extra for greasing the tart pan
1 egg yolk from 1 large egg
2 tablespoons cold water

For the Almond frangipan:
8 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
2/3cup confectioner’s sugar
1 cup ground almonds
4 teaspoons cornflour
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk

Morello cherries - I used a quater of a 680g jar of destoned morello cherries but you can use fresh and the quantity is up to you)

WHAT YOU DO:
For the sweet crust pastry:
1. In a large bowl sift the flour, salt and sugar.
2. Add the zest of one clean lemon.
3. Combine the egg yolk and water and add to bowl.
4. Break up the butter and rub into the flour mix and keep rubbing it in till it all comes together and knead till smooth.
5. Chill in fridge for 30 mins and turn your oven on to aprox 150 celcius.
6. Brush tart pan with butter and roll out the pastry to aprox 3mm thick and use the rolling pin to roll up the pastry and place on tart pan. Tuck in and cut off extras and blind bake (using a weight) for aprox 25 to 30 mins or until entire tart is lightly golden (dont cook it too golden as it does have to go back in the oven once filled)
7. Remove and allow to cool on a wire rack.

For the Almond frangipan.
1. Mix the sugar and butter till light (either by hand or with electric whisk)
2. Add the almond meal and combine.
3. Add the corn flour and mix followed by the egg yolk and egg.
4. Combine thouroughly.

To assemble the tart:
1. Preheat oven to 180 celcius.
2. In the cooled pastry tart pan pour the frangipane and spread till smooth.
3. Arrange cherries in the frangipan.
4. Bake in oven till a skewer comes out clean and the top is lovely and golden. (Aprox 30 mins)

GINGERBREAD MEN

GINGERBREAD MEN
A fun time spent with kids to make a delicious treat. Lots of fun and yum for the tum!!!!

WHAT YOU NEED:
125g butter (at room temperature)
100g  brown sugar
125ml golden syrup
1 egg yolk
375g  plain flour
1 tbs ground ginger (you can adjust this is you like a  more or less intense flavour)
1 tsp mixed spice  (again you may adjust this to suit your tastes)
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Decorations. I used smarties.

WHAT YOU DO:
1. Preheat the oven to 180 celcuis and grease a cookie tray.
2. Beat the butter and sugar in a bowl till the mix becomes light and fluffy.
3. Slowly add the egg yolk and the syrup till the mix comes together.
4. In a seperate bowl sift flour, ground ginger,  mixed spice and bicarb soda. Slowly combine the butter mixture and the flour and knead till the dough becomes smooth.
5. Wrap in plastic and refridgerate for 30 mins.
6. Dust surface with flour and roll out dough and use a cookie cutter to cut shapes. Bake in oven for aproximately 10 mins or until brown.
7. Remove cool and decorate.

SWEET POTATO HALVA

SWEET POTATO HALVA
With bag full of sweet potato in my cupboard and a craving for something sweet and delicious I decided to make carrot halva sweet potato style.....
A delicious dessert served warm or cold...

WHAT YOU NEED:
2 cups of finely grated sweet potato
13/4 cup to 2cups of milk (i used lactose free milk but you can use full fat, skimmed, soy, almond,oat or rice milk)
1 to 2 tbs of ghee
Sugar to taste (Sweet potatos are quite sweet in flavour so adjust the sweetness till you get your desired sweetness) I used about a quater cup of raw sugar.
2 to 3 Cardomon crushed (again adjust to your desires)
Additional add roasted unsalted cashews, sultanas, nuts etc whatever you like)

WHAT YOU DO:
1. Heat pan and melt ghee. Add the grated sweet potato and toss in the ghee and cook for 5 mins.
2. Add the milk and sugar and continue to cook on low heat till sweet potato is tender and cooked and the milk has been absorbed. Adjusting the sugar as the sweet potato is cooking.
3. Add the desired additions and serve warm or cold anytime ....

PINEAPPLE AND VANILLA COOL CAKE (INDIAN COOL PASTRY)

PINEAPPLE AND VANILLA COOL CAKE (INDIAN COOL PASTRY)

For my hubby's birthday I attempted to make him a cake which he would love. Success he loved it!!! (Too sweet for me but if you have a real sweet tooth it is a must try).

WHAT YOU NEED:
Vanilla spong (either make it your self or buy a premade unfrosted one. It is better to make it yourself because the syrup will be absorbed better if the syrup  poured on when the sponge is warm)
1 can of pineapple pieces in natural juice (aprox weight 400g)
2 cups of white sugar
600 mls of thickened cream
Enough Icing or caster sugar to sweeten cream to desired sweetness.
glace cherries to decorate

WHAT YOU DO:
1. Bake a sponge and allow to cool (not completely as syrup is absorbed better when poured over warm sponge)
2. In a small sauce pan place a cup of pineapple juice and up to two cupsof sugar and heat. Keep stirring to allow the sugar to dissolve and the syrup to thicken. Set aside and allow to cool slightly.
3. Place first layer of sponge on serving tray and prick with fork. Pour half the syrup over half the sponge and the other half over the other half. Refrigerate.
4.  Whip the cream and some icing or caster sugar till thick. (adjust till desired sweetness).
5. Spread sweetened cream over first layer of sponge and layer bite sized pineapple pieces over the sponge.
6. Place the second syrup soaked sponge on top of the first. Cover the entire cake with the sweetened cream and pipe decorations or place glace cherries to decorate.

ORANGE, ALMOND AND POLENTA CAKE WITH CARDOMON YOGHURT

ORANGE, ALMOND AND POLENTA CAKE WITH CARDOMON YOGHURT
A gluten free cake made deliciously moist by drizzling warm orange syrup over the top and served with a light yoghurt spiced with cardomon.

WHAT YOU NEED:
150g unsalted butter
6 eggs
200g almond meal
180g polenta
160g caster sugar
1 orange (finely grated and juiced) (you will need aproximately quater cup of orange juice)
1/2 cup of white sugar
1 tsp of lemon juice
1 tsp of orange rind
160 g greek yoghurt
6 cardomon- skin removes and seeds crushed
WHAT YOU DO:
FOR THE CAKE
1. Preheat the oven to 170 celcuis and grease and line a small round baking pan.
2. Beat the butter, sugar and orange rind until light, palew and fluffy.
3. Slowly add the eggs and continue beating for a few mins after last egg added until mixture well combined.
4. Fold this into the polenta and almond mix and pour into the pan.
5. Bake in the oven for aproximately 40 mins or until top in lighltygolden and a skewer comes out clean.
FOR THE ORANGE SYRUP
1. In a small pan heat the sugar, orange rind, lemon juice and orange juice untill the sugar has completely dissolved and the syrup begins to thicken.
2. Prick the warm cake and pour this syrup over the cake and allow the cake to absorb the delicious syrup.
FOR THE CARDOMON YOGHURT
1. Whisk the yoghurt and cardomon seeds together and add some sugar if desired. Keep in the fridge for at least 60 mins before serving.

COCONUT AND VANILLA PANCOTTA (QUICK VERSION)

COCONUT AND VANILLA PANACOTTA (QUICK VERSION)

WHAT YOU NEED:
400ml coconut cream
14g gelatine powder or agar agar (refer to ratio on pack as is different but generally 1 tsp of agar powder to one cup of liquid so adjust amount according to how much cream you have and how firm you wish you panacotta to be)
1/2 cup sugar (more or less to taste)
dash of vanilla essence

WHAT TO DO:
1. In a small pan heat the coconut cream, sugar and essence.
2. Once warm and the sugar dissolved add the gelatine powder/agar agar powder and whisk continously till the gelatine powder has dissolved.
3. Allow to cool slightly before pouring into the moulds and place into the fridge for at least 4 hours or until set.
Serve with a light fruit medley