Put the water, yeast and honey in a bowl and stir to combine. Let sit for 10 minutes (bubbles will appear on the surface and it will look creamy)
Add the oil, salt, and half the flour to the yeast mixture and give it a mix. Add the additional flour 1/2 a cup at a time until the mixture no longer sticks then add the pancetta. Knead until smooth either by hand or with a dough hook. Cover and allow to rise for about an hour or until doubled in size.
Punch the dough down, then divide it into 12 pieces. Roll those in to balls and place on a baking sheet to allow to rise a second time. (They will double in size so leave a little room around each ball). Cover with a light cloth and allow to rise for another 30 – 40 minutes.
Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees C (400 degrees F). Sprinkle with parmesan and cook for about 15 – 20 minutes.
170 grams (6oz) good quality dark chocolate, I used Lindt 70% dark chocolate
100 grams (3.5oz) butter
4 large eggs, seperated
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon water
Bring a small saucepan of water to a simmer. In a bowl add the the chocolate and butter and sit it over the simmering water without letting it touch the water. Stir until melted, then set aside to cool slightly.
In another bowl add egg yolks, sugar, vanilla and water and also sit over the simmering water and whisk until pale; about 3 mintues (it will still be somewhat runny).Add to the chocolate and stir to combine.
Whick your egg whites until thick and glossy. (but not super stiff like you would with meringue)
Add a third of the egg whites to your chocolate and incorportate well. Add the remaining egg whites and fold though until well incorported. Add to invidiual pots or a large bowl and refridgerate.
These corn fritters are perfect as a starter to a main meal or they make a great light lunch or breakfast, just top with a poached egg and you have yourself a quick but healthy meal in a flash. You could also make them mini sized and serve them as finger food at your next party, topped…
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This is a really easy panna cotta to make, with much less sugar than normal – perfect for the little ones. You could top it with any fruit you like or simply enjoy as is
H and I went to the Northside Produce Market last weekend and bought these gorgeous fresh figs. It was our first time there but we will definitely be going back. We also bought a huge box of cherries, rhubarb, golden beets, zucchini flowers and H’s favourite, tomatoes… NORTHSIDE PRODUCE MARKET , NORTH SYDNEY
H and I recently visited Canoelands Orchard and picked our own nectarines and plums. It was a great day out and only a 50 minute drive from Sydney. H picked most of the fruit – about 4 kgs, and had so much fun doing it. They are truly the freshest, most delicious tasting nectarines and plums…
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This is a subtle tasting smoothie with blueberries and rock melon – perfect for younger babies. (Suitable for babies from 6 months of age, if you have introduced all the components individually)
It doesn’t get much simpler than this – Banana dipped in lemon juice and tossed in coconut. A nice easy snack for the little ones – it also makes it easy for them to grip.
1 tablespoon maple syrup , honey or your sweetener of choice
1 cup labneh – store bought is fine otherwise see my homemade recipe here
1 teaspoon orange blossom water combined with 1 tablespoon maple – for a quick glaze
For the raw base
1 cup hazelnuts
2 tablespoons coconut oil
5 – 6 dried figs
pinch of salt
1 tbls water * only if mixture isn’t coming together
For the raw base
Add the hazelnuts, coconut oil, 3 figs and salt to a food processor and pulse. Add extra figs one at a time until the mixture starts getting stuck on your food processor and you can form a ball. If it is still too dry add a little of the water teaspoon at a time.
Divide into 4 and press into 4 tart cases. Freeze until you’re ready to fill them.
For the toppings
Combine labneh and sweetener and adjust to suit your taste. Set aside.
Slice flesh from around the peach and then slice thinly.
Too assemble
Take tarts from freezer and bang them on the bench (hard) to get them out. Then fill with labneh and top with peaches. Make a little glaze of maple and orange blossom water to brush over the top. Serve immediately
Makes 4 tarts using approx 9cm (4 inch) tart cases.
Use 1 peach per tart
2 x 200-300g Barramundi Fillets or a fish of your choosing
1 lemon; zest + slice lemon for serving
1 large tomatoes; sliced
Chives or your choice of herb
2 teaspoons of butter
Salt and pepper
Parsley to serve
Pre-heat oven to 200 C / 400 F. Cut off enough baking paper to completely wrap around the fish. Place fish on baking paper and pat dry. Season well and top with lemon zest and the sliced tomatoes, herbs and butter. Wrap the fish so it is sealed and bake for 20 minutes.
Serve topped with parsley and a slice of lemon.
If using a thin piece of fish adjust cooking time accordingly
Be careful when opening the bags as the steam is very hot. My little guy likes to open the bag himself, so I cut a whole in the back for the steam to escape and cool before serving to him.
(halve the mixture and make 3 layers at a time. It is a lot easier to manage)
4 1/2 cups self-raising flour
2 1/2 cups caster sugar
500 g butter , melted
2 cups milk
8 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
food colouring in red , yellow and blue (see notes)
For the vanilla icing
500 g butter , softened (not melted)
4 cups (640g) icing sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the fondant lego
fondant in RED , YELLOW, GREEN and BLUE
For the cake
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F). If making 3 layers at a time, grease 3 cake tins; set aside. Place flour and sugar in a bowl and beat until fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs one at a time. Alternate adding the flour and milk and while beating ending in the flour.
Using scales, divide the mixture into 3 bowls. If you don’t have scales use a cup to scoop out the mixture, cup at a time into the 3 bowl until it is divided evenly. Add the food colouring for the suitable layer and pour into the greased cake tins. Bake for approximately 30- 40 minutes or until cooked through. Test with a skewer or sharp knife. Cool slightly in the tin and turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat steps to make the other 3 layers if necessary.
For the icing
Place softened butter in a bowl and using an electric mixer, beat for approximately 5 minutes or until creamy. Add icing sugar and vanilla and beat for a further 10 minutes until light and fluffy
To assemble the cake
Cut the tops of all the cakes. Place your purple layer on the plate you will serve it on and spread a good layer of the icing over the layer. (you can see from my pictures I didn’t use a huge amount of icing in-between each layer) Repeat with all the layers. Then spread a VERY thin layer over the entire cake (called the crumb layer). Fridge the cake now to set all the crumbs in this layer. Once cold the icing will set hard. This makes it a lot easier to ice and prevents you getting crumbs in your icing. Remove from the fridge and add the remaining icing and smooth using a large knife.
For the fondant Lego
Roll out the fondant to a thickness of about 12mm (half and inch). Then using a sharp knife cut it into rectangles about 30mm x 15mm (1 1/4 inch by just over 1/2 inch). With the off cuts roll it out so it is a couple of millimetres thick and using a round 7mm plunger cutter (available from baking shops) cut the 6 circle and place on top of the rectangles as you go. Use a little water to moisten the top if they aren’t sticking. The lego will stick to the cake icing no problems.
If making the cake a day or two ahead of time, keep in the refrigerator unit the day. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Please note an Australian cup is based on a 250ml cup.Food colouring for the cake layers: AmeriColor works really well to get the intense colours. I used colours: 106 Electric Blue, 107 Lemon Yellow, 119 Red Red. If buying small bottles I would recommend buying a larger bottle of the red as you will use the most of this colour.
Cake colour mixes: Red layer: just pure red. Orange layer: Yellow and Red. Yellow layer: pure yellow. Green layer: Yellow and Blue. Blue layer: Pure blue. Purple layer: Red and Blue – I used to much of both colours and it was too dark.
2 teaspoon cocoa powder + a little extra for dusting
(dark chocolate for dusting – optional)
Preheat oven to 160 degrees C (320 degrees F). Place the egg whites in a clean dry bowl. Whisk with an electric mixture until soft peaks are formed. Then gradually add the sugar and 1 teaspoon of the cocoa powder while you continue whisking until stiff peaks are formed (about 10 minutes). The sugar should be incorporated and the mixture should appear nice and glossy. Fold through the remaining teaspoon of cocoa powder to create a bit of a swirl
Line a baking tray with baking paper. Using a spoon and your finger, take a spoonful of the mixture and push it off onto the tray with you finger and shape it into a rough ball. Dust with the extra cocoa powder and grate a little of the dark chocolate on top if using
Bake for 20 – 25 minutes. They should be crispy on the outside and cracks should be visible
Makes about 6 – 8 mini meringues. Double the recipe if you would like more
50 grams butter; softened + 10-20 grams extra to rub on flesh
salt
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F). Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Using your fingers, separate the skin from the breast so you have a pocket to add your herb butter.
Combine the 50 grams of butter with the chopped sage place the entire amount under the skin. Use you hands to spread it around fairly evenly. Place the chopped lemon inside the chicken and tie the legs together with string. Rub the extra softened butter on the skin and sprinkle generously with salt.
Place into a large baking dish and add the chicken stock to the dish. Cook for an hour and a half.
Allow to rest for 15 minutes or so and serve
I served the chicken with roasted sweet potato, carrots, parsnips and eggplants. Toss in olive oil and roast when there is about 40 minutes remaining.
Add the eggs and milk to a bowl and lightly whisk; season well. Wash and snap off the woody ends of the asparagus. I kept the tips intact and using a vegetable peeler, I slice it into think strips.
Heat a frying pan over medium heat and add the olive oil peas, mint and strips of asparagus to the pan; cook for a few minutes. Slowly add the eggs and top with the asparagus tips and crumbled feta. Cook on the stove top until it is starting to firm up then place in under a hot grill (broiler) to finish cooking the top and to achieve a nice golden colour
150 g caster sugar , plus 2 tablespoons for sprinkling on top of cake
250 g plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
125 ml (1/2 cup) milk
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F). Wash the plums cut them into halves or quarters – discard the seeds. Lightly grease a 24 cm (9 1/2 inch) cake tin with butter.
Put the eggs into a bowl with the vanilla and the sugar and beat until pale and fluffy. Add the sifted flour and baking powder and mix to incorporate. Whisk in the melted butter and milk
Put a few plums in the bottom of the tin and tip the batter over the top. Top with the remaining plums and sprinkle with the extra sugar.
Bake for approximately 1 hour or until nice and golden. Remove from the oven and let cool in the tin before removing it.
Serve plain, sprinkled with icing sugar or with a dollop of cream, ice-cream or mascarpone cream
Adapted from Twelve ‘A Tuscan Cook book’ by Tessa Kiros
