Tag Archives: Home baking

Self-saucing Chocolate Pudding

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Ingredients

Topping

  • 1 cup brown sugar , loosely packed
  • ¼ cup cocoa powder
  • 1 ¼ cups boiling water

Pudding

  • 1 cup All Purpose flour
  • 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/3 cup fine (caster) sugar
  • ¼ cup cocoa powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • ½ cup milk, room temperature
  • 4 Tablespoons butte , melted
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 335°F
  2. Grease 8x 8x 2.5” baking dish
  3. Whisk brown sugar and cocoa in a bowl to make the topping mix. Set aside
  4. Whisk flour, baking powder, fine sugar, cocoa powder and salt in a bowl
  5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter and milk, then whisk in the egg and vanilla. Don’t worry if some lumps form from the butter- carry on whisking together
  6. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture. Mix until combined – it will be a thick batter
  7. Spread into baking dish. Sprinkle with topping mixture. Shake gently to spread out thinly
  8. Carefully pour the hot water all over the top of the pudding, trying to avoid any pooling
  9. Transfer to oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until the top of the cake springs back when poked lightly. The top will be a bit crusty, like the top of brownies
  10. Remove from oven, stand for just a few minute, then serve immediately
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Amarena Cherry Almond Loaf

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Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients

Loaf

  • 1 cup ground almonds, or almond meal
  • 1 ¼ cups, and 1 Tablespoon All-purpose Flour
  • 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
  • ½ Teaspoon Salt
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 Tablespoons Amaretto almond liqueur
  • 1 cup Amarena cherries, drained and cut into halves

Glaze

  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons Amarena cherry syrup
  • 1 teaspoon melted salted butter
  • 2 teaspoons whipping, or heavy, cream

To decorate

  • Toasted flaked almonds
  • Additional Amarena cherries, drained

Method

Loaf

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
  2. Prepare 9” x 5” inch loaf pan with baking spray, or grease with butter, and set aside until needed
  3. In a bowl, combine the flour, ground almonds, salt and baking powder. Whisk together well
  4. Beat the butter with the sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy
  5. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition
  6. Add the almond liqueur and mix to combine
  7. Add ½ the flour mixture and mix briefly
  8. Add the remaining of the flour mixture and fold just until no flour spots remain
  9. Toss the cherries in 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour and fold in the batter
  10. Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan and bake for about 55 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the center. *If the loaf begins to brown too much before it has completed baking, cover it loosely with aluminium foil
  11. Cool 15 minutes before removing the loaf from the pan. Allow to cool completely before glazing

Glaze

  1. Whisk together the powdered sugar, cherry syrup, and melted butter until just smooth
  2. Add in the cream one teaspoon at a time until you can pour the glaze

To finish

  1. Drizzle the glaze over your cooled loaf
  2. Sprinkle with the toasted almonds and dot surplus Amarena cherries to your liking
  3. Slice and serve

Loaf will keep best for up to three days at room temperature in an air-tight container

Easter Coconut Macaroon Nests

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Makes 12

Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 large egg white
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 3 1/2 cups sweetened coconut
  • 1 cup chocolate spread
  • Chocolate candy eggs

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat mat
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, egg white, vanilla extract, and salt. Stir until combined. Add in the coconut and mix well
  3. With a spoon, or cookie scoop, scoop up about 2 Tablespoons of the coconut batter and place onto the prepared baking sheet. Form the cookies into the shape of a bird nest. Press down the centre with your thumb
  4. Bake cookies for 17 to 20 minutes, or until slightly golden brown. Remove from the oven and press your thumb down in the centre of the nests again- carefully, they will still be a bit hot!
  5. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes or until they are firm and set. Remove with a spatula onto a cooling rack. Cool completely
  6. Pipe about a tablespoon of chocolate spread in the centre of each nest. Place 3 egg candies in the centre of the nest. Finish decorating the remaining nests and serve

Note: You can make these 2-3 days in advance. Store in an air-tight container on the counter. You can also freeze unfilled macaroon nests for up to 3 months. To defrost the macaroons, put them on a wire rack at room temperature for 2-3 hours to come to room temperature.

Strawberry & Rhubarb Coffee Cake

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(paid partnership post with Gay Lea Foods, recipe contains affiliate links)

Makes 1 sheet cake 9 x 13″

Ingredients

Strawberry & Rhubarb Filling

  • 5 cups frozen strawberry & rhubarb fruit pieces
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup cornstarch
  • 2 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 Tbsp cold water
  • pinch salt

Streusel Topping

Cake Layer

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • pinch salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups Gay Lea Gold Premium Sour Cream*
  • 2/3 cup whole milk*
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

To finish

*Gay Lea Original Sour Cream can be used. If doing so omit 2/3 cup whole milk from the ingredients

Method

  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a 9x13x 3 inch high baking pan with parchment paper and set aside

Strawberry & Rhubarb Filling

  1. In a medium-size saucepan over medium heat, combine the rhubarb & strawberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and water.  Stir frequently until the cornstarch begins to thicken and the fruit has softened – about 10-15 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside to cool

Streusel Topping

  1. In a large bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon.  Using a pastry cutter, or your fingers, the butter into the sugar and flour mixture until it resembles coarse sand.  Use your hands to squeeze handfuls of topping together, creating some larger clumps, then place on the fridge to firm up

Cake Layer

  1. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Using a pastry knife or your fingers, cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse sand. In a separate bowl, mix eggs, sour cream*, milk* and vanilla. Pour into flour mixture; stir until just combined. Try not to over-mix. The mixture will be quite thick and similar to a loose biscuit batter
  2. Spread half the cake batter evenly into the prepared pan. Top with the strawberry & rhubarb filling. Carefully spread the remaining batter over the fruit. Sprinkle with the chilled streusel topping, squeezing handfuls of topping to make sure there are at least some larger chunks of topping
  3. Bake until cake is golden brown and springs back when touched in the center, about 1 hour. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool slightly. Dust the top with powdered sugar. Serve warm or at room temperature, cut into squares, with a good squirt of Gay Lea Real Whipped Cream on the side

Irish Skillet Cookie

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Makes

  • 2 pints ice cream
  • 2 cups caramel sauce
  • 1 x 10″ cookie

The quantities in this recipe make more than enough ice cream and caramel sauce for this recipe. Any surplus can be stored as noted at the end of the recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Irish Cream ice cream

  • 2 1/2 cups whipping cream
  • 1 can (300ml) sweetened condensed milk
  • 3/4 cup Irish cream liquer
  • pinch salt

*before starting the ice cream ensure that your bowl, beaters and cream are chilled in the fridge for a couple of hours

Caramel sauce

  • ½ cup water
  • 2 Tablespoon light corn syrup
  • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter, cubed, room temperature
  • 1 cup heavy cream, room temperature
  • 2 Tablespoons Irish whiskey

Skillet cookie

  • 375ml Irish porter stout
  • 1 cup brown sugar, divided into 1/4 and 3/4 quantities
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 3/4 cup butter, room temperature
  • 2 Tablespoon rendered bacon fat
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoon hot water
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 2 Tablespoons milk powder
  • 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 Tablespoon butter

Method

Irish Cream ice cream

  1. In a medium bowl add the sweetened condensed milk, Irish cream and salt, whisking to combine. Set aside until needed
  2. In a large bowl whisk the whipping cream until soft peak stage
  3. Add in the Irish cream mixture, folding gently so as not to deflate the whipped cream
  4. Pour into a freezer-proof container and freeze for at least 5 hours, or overnight, until the ice cream has set. Keep in the freezer until ready to serve

Caramel sauce

  1. Combine the sugar, corn syrup, cream of tartar and water in a large saucepan set over a medium–low heat, swirling the pan until the sugar melts. Bring to the boil and cook for 10–12minutes until it becomes a deep gold colour, but not dark brown. DO NOT STIR at any point. If you need to you can gently swirl the pan to make sure the mixture is melting evenly. When the caramel begins to colour, it will darken quickly so keep a close eye on it
  2. Once it reaches the correct color, quickly, but carefully, remove the pan from the heat. Add the butter cubes and using a wooden spoon gently stir until the butter has melted and is well combined. It will bubble a little and release steam so take care not to burn yourself
  3. Next, add the cream and again slowly stir, again taking care not to burn yourself from the rising steam
  4. Once well combined, add the whiskey, and whisk to combine. Return to a medium heat and cook for a further minute, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and transfer to a heat-proof bowl. Allow to cool completely

Skillet cookie

  1. In a pan combine the porter stout and 1/4 cup brown sugar. Heat over a medium heat and reduce until 1/3 cup remains. Remove from heat and set aside to cool fully
  2. Preheat your oven to 375 degree F. Heat a 10″ cast iron skillet in the oven while making the cookie batter
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter, white sugar, remaining brown sugar and bacon fat, beating until well creamed, pale and fluffy
  4. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating to combine thoroughly before proceeding. add in the vanilla extract and cooled porter stout syrup, beating until uniform in color and well combined
  5. Dissolve the baking soda in the hot water and add to the batter along with the salt, stirring to combine
  6. Add in the flour and milk powder, stirring to combine well. Finally fold in the chocolate chips
  7. Carefully remove the hot skillet from your oven, and melt the butter in it, swirling it to coat the bottom and sides of the skillet. Add the cookie batter and carefully spread it out using a spatula or spoon to fill the skillet
  8. Return the filled skillet to the oven and bake for 20-22 minutes until cookie is deep golden brown color
  9. Remove from oven and allow to cool to serving temperature

To serve

  1. To serve, finish the warm cookie with scoops of Irish cream liqueur and drizzle generously with the whiskey caramel sauce

To keep

  • The baked cookie can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days
  • The ice cream should be kept in an airtight, freezer-proof container for up to 3 months.
  • The caramel sauce can be stored in an airtight, sterilised container for up to 2 weeks in the fridge. If it sets too much in the fridge, remove and allow to come to room temperature