Butterscotch Shortbread

There is something really comforting about Shortbread. I don't ever recall having home made Shortbread as a kid ( mum was a champion at peanut butter biscuits) but I do remember snacking on the home brand bikies and thinking they were way awesome!

I remember being told to go and stand on the back steps while I inhaled them because they made far too much mess in the house......I suppose that's exactly what a good shortbread should do. It should crumble at the slightest touch, be so buttery that it just melts in your mouth and always make you wish you had more.

And so we come to the Butterscotch Shortbread. It's just like a good old fashioned shortbread but with a butterscotch twist.

The sad part about this whole story is the fact that I am slowly morphing into my mother. All I did Sunday morning was bitch and moan that my family were dropping crumbs all over the floor. And while becoming my mother really isn't such a bad deal, no one wants to be reminded that that is exactly where they are headed.

Butterscotch Shortbread:

125g unsalted butter
40g dark brown sugar
20g castor sugar
125g plain flour
60g rice flour
Butterscotch chips, melted to decorate
sprinkles

• Beat butter and sugars until just combined.
• Add sifted flours and mix in to form a firm dough.
• Roll between 2 sheets of baking paper until 1/2 a centimetre thick. Cut into desired shapes.
• Place on lined cookie trays and bake for 10-15 minutes (depending on size) at 180C. Cool completely before dipping into melted butterscotch chips and rolling in sprinkles. 

Peanut Butter Crack Pie

I'm finally cooking in a functioning kitchen!!!! YAY!!! I have an oven with a door that stays on the hinges, and it actually cooks, at the temperature it says it is, all the time!!!

To celebrate being back in the baking game I made a Crack Pie!

Crack Pie....the name says it all. Once you have a little bit you will be utterly hooked, you will sell your soul for just one more bite, your life as you know it will be over!

As you all know, I am on a mission to eventually bake every recipe in the Momofuku Milk cookbook. This week I have tackled the famous Crack Pie but I've added a little twist.

The peanut factor is so wickedly rich in this pie and for any pb lover, I promise, you will be in heaven. Of course, you could leave out the pb and nuts but then it would just be plain old Crack Pie.....fabulous but not as awesome!

Peanut Butter Crack Pie - adapted from Momofuku Milk

Base:

1 quantity oat cookie (recipe follows)
15g brown sugar
55g melted butter
50g roasted salted peanuts

• Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until it resembles fine bread crumbs.
• Press evenly over the base and sides of a 10 inch loose based fluted tin. Set aside until ready to use.

Oat Cookie:

115g butter

75g brown sugar

40g castor sugar

1 egg yolk

80g flour

120g rolled oats

0.5g baking powder

pinch bicarb soda

pinch salt

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars until pale and fluffy.
• Add egg yolk and beat until the sugar has dissolved.
• Add the remaining ingredients and beat until well combined.
• Turn out on to a lined baking tray and press out until about 1.5cm thick.
• Bake for 15 minutes at 180C or until lightly brown and beginning to firm.
• Cool completely before using.

Crack Pie Filling:

150g castor sugar

90g brown sugar

10g milk powder

12g corn flour

3g salt

112g unsalted butter, melted

80g thick cream

vanilla extract

4 egg yolks

50g roasted, salted and chopped peanuts

• Combine the sugars, milk powder, salt and corn flour in the  bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low until evenly combined.
• Add the melted butter and paddle for 2-3 minutes or until all ingredients are moist.
• Add the cream and a splash of vanilla and beat for 2-3 minutes.
• Add the egg yolks and mix until combined, be careful not to aerate the mix. Fold through the peanuts.
• Pour into the prepared base and bake for 15 minutes only at 180C.
• After 15 minutes, turn down the oven to 160C and bake for a further 5-15 minutes or until the centre is ever so slightly jiggly. it should not wobble around the edges.
• Allow to cool to room temperature before placing in the freezer for 3 hours. (The freezing is what makes the centre all set and delicious).
• remove from the freezer and place in the fridge.

Peanut Butter Ganache:

150g peanut butter chips

50g smooth peanut butter

75g thick cream

• Combine in a small saucepan over low heat and mix until smooth.
• Pour over the top of the pie and allow to set.

I decorated mine with a little melted chocolate and some crushed peanuts.

Strawberry Ice Cream

Hey gang!

I'm finally back after taking a week off to move into our new place and battling without Internet for far too many days (withdrawals are a bitch and yes I actually kissed my ipad when I saw the flashing wifi logo that says we have a connection!)

So has anyone else been enjoying this crazy warm weather that we have been experiencing? It is so darn nice outside that it feels almost like it's still summer! Who would have thought we are almost half way through Autumn?

It's so nice outside that I just had to make another ice cream recipe! Because everyone knows that a warm day isn't complete without a scoop of ice cream!

This is another fabulous recipe from the Icecreamists. This man seriously is an ice cream genius and lets be honest, why try to improve perfection?

Strawberry Ice Cream

250ml full fat milk

125ml thick cream

2 egg yolks

60g castor sugar

200g strawberries, hulled and chopped

60g extra castor sugar

juice of half a lemon

• Place the strawberries, 60g of castor sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan over low heat and simmer gently until the strawberries just begin to soften. Remove from heat and cool until thoroughly chilled.
• Heat the milk and cream until just steaming but NOT boiling.
• Whisk the yolks and the remaining 60g of sugar until thick and pale. Pour the hot milk mixture over the eggs whisking continuously. Return mix to saucepan.
• Heat over medium heat stirring constantly until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Cool to room temperature before refrigerating for at least 6 hours......over night is best.
• Stir strawberry syrup into milk mix and pour into churn. Once churned turn out into a freezer safe container and freeze for 2 hours before serving.

Cafe Style GF Banana Bread

I love banana bread! That real sweet almost cake like type that you get in just about every cafe in Australia. Nicely toasted and smothered in butter, it really is a great treat.

Unfortunately for us gluten intolerant people there just doesn't seem to be anything that even remotely resembles a good cafe style banana bread. I was so sick of eating dry old cardboard tasting  slices that I swore I would create the perfect slice one day......that day has come people. This bread is so ridiculously good that I almost don't want to share the recipe! Even the gluten full people (as we like to call it in our house) will love it!

The added bonus to this is that it uses one bowl and it literally takes 5 minutes to prepare. The hardest part is waiting for it to cook.

Cafe Style Gluten Free Banana Bread:

230g gluten free plain flour

15g gluten free baking powder

10g Xanthan gum

7g bicarb soda

3 large super, super ripe bananas

350g castor sugar

2 eggs

125g unsalted butter, diced

100ml buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

A pinch of salt

• Preheat oven to 160C. Grease and line the base and sides of a deep loaf tin. Set aside.
• Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth.
• Pour batter into prepared tin and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until a skewer comes away clean when inserted into the middle. You may like to cover the top with foil half way thrugh cooking if you think it is getting a bit too coloured.
• Allow to cool for half an hour in the pan before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

I like to toast my bread in a flat sandwich press but it is perfectly delicious without toasting.

Strawberry Cheesecake

This past weekend we celebrated my Mum's birthday.

My mum is a pretty amazing woman, without getting all gushy let's just conclude that she is AWESOME!

I always try and make some kind of cool cake for her and I had the most amazing one planned out for this year......and then the stinkin oven broke. Seriously how is a girl to live without an oven. After a small tantrum all I could come up with was a cheesecake.

This actually worked in my favour a little. First of all, it helped me clean out some of the frozen strawberries I had stock piled, and second I used gluten free biscuits on the base (awesome mum bought them for me from this wicked cool cookie company) which meant that I could totally eat it.....winning!

With some basic decoration I managed to turn a fairly ordinary dessert into something a little more special. It wasn't quite what I had in mind but I was happy with it in the end.

Strawberry Cheescake:

500g Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened

225g castor sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup strawberry puree

1 tablespoon gelatine, dissolved in puree

300g white chocolate, melted

pink food colouring (optional)

1 1/2 cups thick cream

250g chocolate biscuits

50g butter melted

Strawberries and extra chocolate to decorate

• Line an 8 inch spring form tin with baking paper, set aside.
• In a food processor, crush the biscuits until they resemble fine crumbs. Add butter and mix until all the crumbs are moist. Press evenly over the base of the tin.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth.
• Add the gelatine to the puree and allow to bloom, heat in the microwave for 10 seconds at a time until the gelatine has melted. Add to cheese mixture and mix well.
• Add the melted chocolate and beat well to combine, scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Add the cream and food colouring if using and beat for 5-10 minutes or until you have a very smooth and light filling. Pour into prepared tin and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
• Remove from tin and decorate as desired.

No Bake Cinnamon Oatmeal Bars

I'm a little late with a post this week.....sorry gang. I'm a little late for a couple of reasons <Insert rant here>:

1. My oven door fell off......yep that's right completely fell off, on to the floor, never to be used again.  It has been balancing precariously on it's hinges for a couple of weeks now, however it has finally died a slow and painful death. No oven means no baking!
2. We are moving houses......again!!!! I HATE moving houses and I swore that next time we moved it would be into a house we have purchased, not so lucky this time. On the plus side, it means a new oven.....yay back to baking in a couple of weeks.

Moving houses means operation clean out. Besides all the household rubbish we accumulate (ok change we into I and rubbish into every kitchen gadget imaginable), our pantry is also over stuffed with half used or forgotten items.

Being that I didn't want to have to cart it to another house and the fact that I don't have a functioning oven, I figured I could turn our scraps into something edible.

Before I was diagnosed with Coeliac's Disease I bought some of those little quick cook oat sachets. Of course I can't eat them now and naturally Tom wouldn't touch them so they have just been kicking around for oh gee 12 months or so. I really hate to waste perfectly good food and Tom loves to snack on Muesli Bars so it seemed only natural to make some kind of bar out of them.

This turned out to be a super cheap alternative to the store bought variety and it used up unwanted 'stuff' in the pantry and while I didn't go to crazy with the add ins (my oats were already flavoured with cinnamon), you could mix in just about anything you wanted. I managed to use up all the oats, a half bag of cinnamon chips, a pile of raw sugar that is only enough for a cuppa except that I gave up caffeine and a bottle of golden syrup that has been in there for far too long. Everyone's a winner!!!

No Bake Oatmeal Bar:

100gr butter

100gr honey/golden syrup/treacle......whatever you like really

80gr raw sugar

315gr quick cook oats....they must be quick cook

50gr shredded coconut

choc chips, dried fruit, nuts

• Line a slice tin with baking paper, set aside.
• Combine butter, sugar and golden syrup in a small saucepan over low heat. Heat until melted and combined.
• Place remaining ingredients into a large bowl and mix well. Pour over butter mixture and mix until all ingredients are moist.
• Press into tin and scatter with extra choc chips etc etc. 
• Allow to cool at room temperature before refrigerating. Cut into desired shape.

I have stored mine in the fridge as the days here have been fairly warm however, you can keep them in an airtight container in the cupboard for up to 1 week.

Gluten Free Mudslide Pancakes

Since I made my delicious Irish Cream caramel sauce, I have been totally obsessed with everything Mudslide.

I generally don't eat breakfast but I had a craving for pancakes and I knew it was the perfect opportunity to make yet another Mudslide recipe.

This recipe is a perfect way to indulge in a delicious gluten free breakfast. It certainly isn't one to eat if you are counting your calories, but even if you are, it's always good to splurge once in a while.

Gluten Free Mudslide Pancakes: Serves 2

1/2 cup gluten free Self Raising flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup castor sugar

2 tablespoons Dutch cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon instant coffee

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup milk

Irish Cream caramel sauce (recipe can be found on the Mudslide Cupcake page)

Ice cream

• Place all dry ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine.
• Whisk in milk to create a smooth batter. Allow to rest for half an hour (or overnight if you are that organised).
• Heat a non stick fry pan over a medium high heat and lightly spray with canola oil. Pour batter in pan into desired size.
• Cook until bubbles start to form all over the surface, gently flip and cook until cooked through. repeat with remaining batter.
• Drizzle with Irish Cream caramel sauce and a scoop of ice cream, devour!!!

Carrot Cake Brownie

I've got an early post for you this week because it's EASTER!!!! Happy Easter everyone. I hope the Easter bunny was good to you all!

So the first thing that pops into my head when I think Easter is chocolate of course followed by a cute little fluffy bunny munching on a carrot. All of a sudden I can think of nothing else but a carrot cake brownie made from Easter egg chocolate, because we all know Easter egg chocolate is the best tasting chocolate ever!!! and mostly because I have an unnatural affection for brownies!

This is seriously one of those moments in life where you wish a light bulb would pop on above your head......it's that genius. This incorporates the best of two wicked cakes and makes a product of pure awesomness!!!!

I also like to think that it's healthy....duh it has vegetables in it!

Carrot Cake Brownie:

150g unsalted butter

300g Easter egg chocolate, preferably good quality but any leftovers will do

300g brown sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

110g plain flour

120g sour cream

100g chopped walnuts

1 large carrot, grated

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon mixed spice

• Preheat oven 10 180C. Grease and line an 8 inch round springform tin.
• Melt butter and chocolate in a large saucepan over low heat until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.
• Stir in all remaining ingredients and pour into prepared pan.
• Bake for 40 minutes or until the top just crusts over but the centre still has a slight wobble.
• Allow to cool completely in the tin before removing. 

I poured on a little white chocolate ganache because I had some left overs but it isn't necessary, this is a very rich brownie all on its own.

Mudslide Cupcake

This week I made a totally awesome Irish Cream caramel sauce.....it seriously rocks!!!

Now not everyone is like me and can eat a whole litre of caramel sauce......on their own.....in one sitting, so I had to make something to go with it.

Nothing beats a boozy caramel sauce and chocolate combination so I made some sweet little cupcakes and turned them into an edible version of a Mudslide cocktail.

These are pretty easy to make and are a perfect after dinner snack. I have used my favourite chocolate mud cake mix and spiked it with a good slosh of Irish Cream liquor but you could always use your own recipe. The booze is optional of course but honestly, who would not want to use it??? 

Mudslide Cupcake:

Cake:

187g unsalted butter

337g castor sugar

150g good quality dark chocolate

300ml boiling water

75ml Irish Cream liquor

2 teaspoon instant coffee

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

165g self raising flour

30g dutch cocoa powder

pinch salt

• Preheat oven to 160C. Line a two 12 hole muffin tray with cupcake papers.
• In a large saucepan combine butter, chocolate, sugar, water and coffee and stir over low heat until smooth. Allow to cool till just warm.
• Stir in all remaining ingredients. Carefully pour into the papers.
• Bake for 20-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes away clean. Allow to cool before decorating.

Caramel Sauce:

1 1/2 cups castor sugar

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup corn syrup

113g butter, softened

1 cup thick cream

1/2 cup Irish Cream liquor

• In a large saucepan combine the sugar, water and corn syrup. Stir over a very low heat until the sugar has dissolved.
• Increase the heat to medium high and boil until it is a rich dark caramel colour (not burnt). This can take up to 15 minutes.
• remove from the heat and carefully add the butter, cream and liquor. The steam is HOT, be very careful! Stir until combined and set aside to cool.
• Store in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Note: This is perfect on ice cream or waffles, be sure to come back and check out my gluten free mudslide pancakes later on in the week.

Icing:

75g unsalted butter, softened

500g icing sugar

Irish cream liquor

• Beat butter and icing sugar adding the liquor until it is a piping consistency. Beat until light and fluffy.

Popcorn Ice cream

The first two weeks of Autumn have delighted us with some fabulous weather and I can't help but hang on to those last dying days of sunshine. Soon the ice cream days will roll into hot pudding days so I thought I had better get in a sneaky ice cream recipe while it's still warm out.

This is possibly the bestest ice cream ever......yes I know I say that about a lot of things but this is some seriously good eats. Popcorn is my favouritest snack in the world so if I can successfully incorporate it into something else I'm all for it....this is a true WIN situation! 

This recipe is adapted from The Icecreamists by Matt O'Connor. If there ever was an ice cream bible, this is it. Full of absolute smut, it's the most fabulous concoction of recipes and is a fabulous read. 

Hot Buttered Popcorn Ice Cream: Adapted from Smack, Crack and Pop, The Icreamists

500ml full fat milk

250ml thick cream

4 egg yolks

176g castor sugar

pinch salt

1 bag triple butter flavour popcorn, popped

• Pour the milk and cream into a saucepan and heat gently until it is almost to a boil.
• Meanwhile, whisk the eggs with the sugar until thick and pale, slowly stream in the hot milk mixture whisking continuously so as not to cook the eggs.
• Pour back into the saucepan and cook over low heat stir constantly until it thinly coats the back of a spoon. DO NOT BOIL!!!
• Pour half into a bowl and set aside. Add the popcorn to the remaining half and blend with a stick blender. Allow to cool.
• Pass the popcorn liquid through a sieve making sure to push out as much liquid as possible. Add to the plain mixture, Allow to cool completely before refrigerating for at least 12 hours.
• Once chilled, pour into an ice cream machine and churn. Once churned pour into a container and freezer for 2 hours before serving.
• Allow to soften slightly before serving once it has been fully frozen.