Lebkuchen (Makes approximately 30) 60g butter, diced ¾ cup golden syrup 1¾ cups plain flour 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda 1¼ teaspoons ground ginger 1 teaspoon ground mixed spice Pinch ground black pepper (optional) 3 teaspoons milk 1 teaspoon lemon juice ½ teaspoon vanilla extract ½ cup firm set raspberry jam 150g dark cooking chocolate … Continue reading Baked Gifts from the Kitchen – 4. Lebkuchen (German Christmas) Spice Cookies

Spicys Date and Raisin Rolls These little parcels of goodness are a delicious treat that belie the fact that there is almost no sugar in the mix. The natural sweetness comes from the dates and raisins mixed with carefully selected spices and citrus. The texture has a pillow-like softness with merely a gentle crunch from … Continue reading Baked Gifts from the Kitchen – 3. Spicy Date and Raisin Rolls

Melting Moments Makes 12 joined biscuits, approximately 250g very soft butter ½ cup icing sugar 1½ cups plain flour ½ cup cornflour For the icing 1½ cups icing sugar 60g butter, softened 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind Juice ½ lemon, approximately Method Heat oven to 150 degrees C. Line two baking trays with baking … Continue reading Baked Gifts from the Kitchen – 2. Melting moments

Raspberry Butter Creams Makes 16 complete biscuits, approximately For the biscuits 250g butter 90g icing sugar 300g plain flour 50g cornflour 1 egg yolk For the Icing 20g butter, softened 1¼ cups icing sugar 2 to 4 teaspoons raspberry jam Method Heat oven to 150°C.  Line 2 x 30cm x 30cm baking trays with baking … Continue reading Baked gifts from the kitchen – 1. Raspberry butter creams

Gingerbread Christmas Pudding (no fruit) This pudding is delicious made just as is.  You could add ½ cup white and/or dark chocolate chips, but in that case you would need to increase the size of your pudding basin. For the pudding 110g very soft butter 100g brown sugar 125g treacle or golden syrup 2 eggs … Continue reading ABC Talkback requested recipes – fruit free Christmas Pudding and pickled garlic scapes

Morning tea for the Custard Club yesterday. A rather large raspberry lamington cake, filled with jam and cream, topped with yet more whipped cream, maraschino cherries and chocolate decorations (maybe the chocolate was goingg a little too far). No custard per se but its component parts were in there - cream, milk, eggs, suar so … Continue reading Raspberry Lamington Cake

Great fun last Sunday morning in the cooking school space. Good friend and neighbour Paul easily mastered baking a plain loaf a few days ago. Today it was ramped up to variations on rhat theme. A mere 2.25kg flour Paul converted into fancier fare: (At the start we sketched out a plan and then exceeded … Continue reading Sunday baking yeasted goods

Beautiful orange orbs of colour and flavour - cumquats, a generous 3 kilos given to me by a lovely friend yesterday. Already in the making are cumquat marmalade, cordial syrup and confit cumquats. Cumquat preserves are now completed completed. There's cumquat cordial syrup, preserved (confit) cumquats and a little marmalade. As an afterthought the cumquat … Continue reading Cumquats – plus recipe for Confit Cumquats

For morning tea for The Custard Club today, an oldie but a goodie, made in a trice. Pineapple upside down cake, in this instance with a large jug of creamy egg custard (of course). In the car going to its destination, it was glistening in the sunshine (like a sunrise, lol) Pineapple Upside Down Cake … Continue reading Pineapple Upside Down Cake plus recipe

Mango Chutney This makes about 2kg of chutney. 1.5 kg mango flesh chopped 500g onions, peeled and chopped 2 long red chillies 500ml vinegar 750g sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon nutmeg 1 teaspoon mixed spice 1 teaspoon ground cloves ½ teaspoon cayenne (optional) 1 teaspoon curry powder Combine all the ingredients in a large … Continue reading Mango recipes and ideas