Lemon Meringue Pies

 

I am absolutely in love with everything lemon at the moment. Especially lemon & lime tarts. I see them & my heart starts beating double time. Something about the sweet & tart is so appealing. Because of this, I decided it was time to bake up a storm - lemon meringue pie style!

Ingredients:

1 packet of store bought shortcrust pastry shells/cups

1 can of skim condensed milk

The juice of 3 lemons (or you can use store bought lemon juice)

5 egg whites (we saved our yolks and added them to the next day's scrambled eggs - yum!!)

1 tablespoon sugar

Method:

1. Bake pastry shells according to packet instructions (about 5 minutes in a hot oven). Leave to cool.

2. Combine condensed milk & the juice of 1 lemon in a bowl. Mix & taste. Add the lemons & mix, tasting each time, until you reach your preferred level of lemon flavour.

3. Whisk egg whites in a clean, dry bowl until it makes firm peaks - adding the sugar as you whisk.

4. Divide mixture evenly amongst cold pastry shells. Top with egg whites (I have tried both piping the egg whites on - above- and spooning it on, spooning wins hands down every time for a light & tall meringue). Place in a 200C oven for about 3 minutes or until the meringue is lightly golden. Serve immediately or refrigerate for another day.

For the little tarts you see in the above picture, I used shortcrust pastry shells and spooned in the lemon mixture without any meringue on top - delicious :)

Sunny xx

Mini Caramel Tarts

These are a great treat to bring to a picnic, high tea or morning tea. I make these either as the mini way seen below, or with store bought shortcrust pastry cups (from the frozen section of your supermarket).

Ingredients:

1/2 can Nestle Top'n'fill
2 sheets shortcrust pastry (or pre-bought pastry shells)
Canola oil spray
Flake crumbs (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 180C. Spay a mini muffin tray with canola oil spray.

2. Cut pastry sheets into 12 squares. Slightly stretch each square and place into a mini muffin hole. Use a knife to cut around any edges to make perfect little cups - or leave as is if you want a more rustic look. Repeat with remaining pastry.

3. Prick bottom of pastry rounds and place in oven. Cook until golden. Remove and set aside until completely cool. If you rush this step the caramel will melt & leak all over!

4. Place caramel into a small mixing bowl. Whisk until smooth (it may take a minute or two). Using a teaspoon, place caramel into cooled pastry shells. Serve immediately, or later that day.

Sunny xx

Baked French Toast! (aka Bread & Butter Pudding)

Growing up I hands-down hated bread and butter pudding. It was boring & bland & covered in sultanas (which I am most definitely NOT a fan of). Whenever it was on the menu, I was suddenly full after dinner and couldn't fit in another spoon full.

It wasn't until a couple years ago, when I saw the Pioneer Woman's recipe that I thought it was worth giving it a try. Her recipe (thank god) did not contain sultanas. When I tried it I was bowled over, it takes just like french toast! Here is my adapted version of the recipe -

Ingredients:

2 eggs
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups milk
1 cup sugar
3 1/2 to 5 cups sourdough bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/3 cup nuts, chopped finely - pecans, walnuts or slivered almonds are my favourite
1 tsp cinnamon sugar
Maple syrup & thickened cream to serve

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 160C. Lightly grease a large pie baking dish or a 9 inch regular baking dish.

2. Beat together eggs, butter, vanilla, milk & sugar. Mix until all the sugar has dissolved.

3. Arrange your bread cubes tightly in the baking dish, keeping the crusts facing upwards around the rim. Pour the wet ingredients over the bread. Top with nuts & sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the top. Bake in the oven for 55 - 70 minutes or until crust is golden on top. You'll notice the bread puffs up whilst cooking.

4. Drizzle the pudding with maple syrup, serve with thickened cream.


Sunny xx

Cake Pops!

Cake pops are all over the internet & are quickly becoming the new cupcake! They are tiny morsels of cake covered in chocolate & popped on a lollipop stick. My journey to cake pop mountain began last week when I made a batch of brownies that were less than perfect (far too cakey!). I also had some left over vegan chocolate cake and with no other way to use up the cake ruins (I HATE wasting good food) I decided it was time to make cake pops.

They are super easy & they were delicious! I took the 50 pops I made to work as an Easter treat for my team & they were gobbled down!

Ingredients:

1 cooked & cooled cake (I used my unsuccessful brownie batch - but you can use any box mix or cake mix you like)

2 cups icing

600gm Melted chocolate mixed with 1 teaspoon canola oil

Lollipop sticks - I bought 100 on eBay for $3

Method:

1. Crumble cake into a large bowl. Add icing & mix until combined.

2. Roll into balls and refrigerate for 2 hours (or freeze for 1/2 - 1 hour)

3. Dip lollipop sticks into melted chocolate & stick into balls.

4. Dip balls into melted chocolate mixture and set on a plate. I find its best to only do a few at a time otherwise they get too warm & will fall off the lollipop stick.

5. Decorate & serve! I decorated mine with coloured sugar, sprinkles, coloured melted chocolate etc.

You can let your imagination run wild with the decorating & flavour combo's!! I think the next combo's I'll try are red velvet with cream cheese frosting, vanilla cake with very vanilla frosting & chocolate with peppermint flavouring... so many flavour possibilities it makes your head spin!

I also have plans to make these as dessert finger food for my sisters 18th birthday party.

Enjoy your pops! Sunny xx

Vegan Chocolate Cake & Icing!

I was recently in a position where I had to make a cake for someone who is lactose intolerant & another who is vegan. It goes without saying, I was pretty stumped on what to make. All the vegan cakes I have tried before were quite shocking with a flavour that resembled cardboard! So I started googling & found these recipes on Best Recipes. The reviews were decent so I thought I'd give it a shot - I figured if it was truly terrible I could simply blame the recipe!

Needless to say, I was quite surprised when people started complimenting me on my baking prowess (figuring at first they were simply being kind) but once I took a bite it all became terribly clear - IT WAS DELICIOUS! One of the best chocolate cakes I have ever had - for those in Australia, a good example would be that it tastes very similar to the Sara Lee chocolate sheet cakes.

The below recipes are adapted versions of those that I found on Best Recipes.

Cake Ingredients:

3 cups self raising flour
2/3 cups cocoa
2 cups caster sugar
2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup coffee (I used espresso from our coffee machine, but you could use strong instant coffee)
2/3 cups canola oil (you can use vegetable oil)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 180C (375F).
2. Sift flour, cocoa, sugar and salt in a large bowl.
3. Add all remaining ingredients & combine well.
4. Pour mixture into a greased cake tin - this cake pops out of the tin so easily once its cooked!
5. Bake until cooked through - I believe mine took about 40 minutes.

Icing Ingredients:

1 cup icing sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa, level
2 teaspoons nutelex (nutelex is a non-dairy spread made from canola oil. If your not a vegan or lactose intolerant you could use soft regular butter)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon boiling water

1. Sift icing sugar and cocoa.
2. Add nutelex (or soft butter) and vanilla. Pour in boiling water and beat well until combined.
3. Spread over cooled cake and refrigerate until needed (I made mine late at night whilst the cake was still warm & it ended up dipping all over the edges!).

You could also make this recipe into cupcakes, just divide the mixture into patty cases & cook for about 15 minutes. Either way, its super delicious so give it a try!

Sunny xx

Donna Hay Brownie Mix

I recently tried Donna Hay's new Brownie Mix and OMG it was flipping fantastic. It has shot to the front of the queue to become my new favourite brownie - pushing its way in front of all my non-packet-mix recipes. Yep, its that good.

But in the name of fairness, I took the brownies to work & gave some to my boyfriend to get an impartial opinion. All I received back were rave reviews and requests for more. At $8 a packet, it's worth every cent!

Also, the smell that wafts from the oven as they are cooking is ammmaaaaaazing!

Love Sunny xx

Tres Leches Cake (the cheats version!)

Picture source

Tres Leches cake (or ‘Three Milks’ Cake) is a Spanish cake usually made by soaking a sponge or butter cake in three kinds of milk – evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and heavy cream. It’s super yummy and completely addictive. My boyfriend who hates cake LOVES it!

Now whilst I am all for the authentic taste of starting from scratch, I prefer the shortcut for this recipe. And let’s face it, why make yourself slave in the kitchen all day if you don’t have to?

Ingredients:
1 box of vanilla butter or sponge cake
1 can evaporated milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tub thickened cream

Method:
1. Make the sponge or butter cake as per instructions on the box. I like to leave some of the butter out (if not all of it) to keep it dry.

2. Once the cake has cooled completely, get a skewer and poke some holes throughout the cake.

3. Pour the three milks into a container that is bigger than the cake – I like to use a large Tupperware container. Leave the cake to sit in the fridge for about 6 hours.

Depending on the size of the container you may need to either weigh down your cake in the liquid or baste it every hour or so. When the cake is done serve it as is, or ice it & top with strawberries. Just make sure you take into account the sweetness of the cake before icing!

Love Sunny x

Coconut Creme Caramel

Photograph by Steve Brown

I first saw this recipe on Taste.com & thought I'd give it a try as I LOVE creme caramel (or flan as we call it in my family). I was shocked at how quick & easy this version was & it is silky and delicious! It's so good, my boyfriend just aboiut wet himself with delight when he tried it!

Ingredients (serves 8)

1 1/2 cups caster sugar
300mls thickened cream
400ml can coconut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 eggs

Method

1. Place 1 cup sugar and 1/4 cup cold water in a saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until sugar has dissolved. Increase heat to medium. Cook, without stirring, brushing down sides of pan occasionally with a wet pastry brush, for 8 to 10 minutes or until deep golden. Remove from heat. Pour caramel into a 6cm-deep, 20cm (base) round cake pan. Set aside to cool and harden. (Before pouring your caramel, make sure you have a pan that will fit in a bigger dish because the caramel will harden quickly once poured into the pan).

2. Preheat oven to 160°C/140°C fan-forced. Place cream, milk and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes until hot and small bubbles form at edge of pan. Remove from heat.

3. Whisk eggs and remaining sugar in a large bowl. Slowly add cream mixture, whisking constantly. Strain mixture into cake pan.

4. Place cake pan in a baking dish. Pour boiling water into baking dish until halfway up sides of pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until firm and just set and the custard has a sexy jiggle to it. Remove pan from oven and water bath. Set aside to cool. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

5. Run a thin knife around edge of custard. Turn out onto a plate - To turn out, place plate over top of pan. Carefully turn pan over, pressing base of pan to release creme caramel - and serve.

x Sunny x

Turtle Brownies

Today is Sunday and I had no plans. I woke up, kissed my lover goodbye & settled in for a day of cleaning, cooking & watching bad Sci-Fi television. Then I remembered seeing this recipe that The Pioneer Woman put up on her blog last week & I knew I had to try it!

Turtle Brownies (as the Americans call them) are brownies with a middle layer of caramel goodness. I amended Ree's recipe to suit my tastes and what was available at the time. Here's my version:

Ingredients
■1 box Chocolate Cake Mix (I Used White Wings Chocolate Cake)
■1 cup Finely Chopped Walnuts
■⅓ cup Evaporated Milk
■½ cup Butter, Melted
■½ cup Nestle Caramel Top'n'Fill (adjust to your own taste)
■⅓ cup Chopped Dark Chocolate or Chocolate Chips
■¼ cups Powdered Sugar

1. Preheat your oven to 160C degrees.

2. In a large bowl, mix together cake mix, chopped walnuts, 1/3 cup evaporated milk, and melted butter. Stir together until totally combined. Mixture will be very thick & similar to cookie dough.

3. Press half the mixture into a well-greased 9 x 9 inch square baking pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and set aside.

4. Mix caramel until it is smooth. Layer over brownie base. Sprinkle chocolate/chips as evenly as you can over the caramel.

5. Turn out remaining brownie dough on a piece of baking paper. Use your hands to press it into a large square a little smaller than the pan. Flip the paper over the mix to easily lay the brownie top on top of the caramel and chocolate. You could also create the square top on your work surface and move it across with a spatula.

6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from pan and allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for several hours. When ready to serve, generously sift powdered sugar over the surface of the brownies. Cut into twelve helpings and carefully remove from the pan.

Enjoy! But remember, make the servings small as it is devilishly rich!

x Sunny x

Sunny's Easy Caramel Pie

This is a quick and easy dessert that is sure to please! Perfect for dinner parties as 3 ingredients is all it takes to have dessert ready, leaving you plenty of time to concentrate on your other courses.

Ingredients:
1 sweet tart shell (available in the freezer section, near the pastry)
400 g can Nestle Top n Fill Caramel
1 cup thickened cream



Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C.

2. Cook pastry shell in the oven until it is golden brown. Allow to cool completely.

3. Pour caramel into a bowl and stir until smooth. Scoop into pastry shell & and smooth into an even layer. Refridgerate.

4. Whip cream until it creates firm peaks. Spoon whipped cream generously over caramel. Serve.

To decorate you could use cocoa powder dusted over the top, toffee chips sprinked on top or crumble a flake bar on top.

x Sunny x

Chocolate Fudge

I made this on the weekend for a bake sale & received rave reviews. It is the best fudge recipe I've ever come across & was given to me by my good friend Emily.

1 packet milk chocolate melts

1 tin sweetened condensed milk

1 cup nuts (macadamias, walnuts, almonds)

2 Tablespoon butter

Method:

1. Put chocolate melts, condensed milk and butter into a microwave container. Microwave in 1 minute lots, stirring in between, until you reach a smooth consistency.

2. Chop nuts, roughly. Add to smooth chocolate.

3. Line a tin or container with baking paper. Pour in chocolate mixture and refrigerate until hard. When hard, cut into small pieces and serve.

x Sunny x

Chocolate Risotto

OK so after posting my risotto & risotto ball recipes I was inspired to try making a sweet risotto. It’s something I’d heard of & read about but hadn’t actually tried yet. Whilst it was verrrry yummy, I’m not a fan of rice deserts because of the texture. But for those of you who are, I would greatly recommend it!

Ingredients (serves 4)
1 1/2 tbsp. cocoa
1 vanilla bean, split or 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste
1/2 cup Arborio rice
2 cups (500ml) milk
1/2 cup caster sugar or brown sugar depending on your preference
30g unsalted butter
250ml (1 cup) thick cream
60ml (1/4 cup) brandy or alcohol of your choice. Baileys or Kahlua also work quite well.
Ice cream and biscotti, to serve

Method:
1. Place cocoa in a saucepan with 1 cup water and vanilla bean, bring to the boil.
2. Add rice then turn off heat and allow to soak for 5 minutes.
3. Return rice to low heat, add the milk and cook very gently, stirring occasionally until rice is tender.
4. Add sugar, butter, cream and brandy, and cook over low heat, stirring for a further 5 minutes. 5. Remove vanilla bean pod (if used). Serve immediately with a biscotti & some ice cream.


Change it up by adding some coffee or cinnamon!

x Sunny x

85 Degree Bakery, Chatswood

If you haven't been to 85 Degrees Bakery, then you haven't lived! Its full of carby, sugary goodness! Me & my friend Amanda frequent the Chatswood store (326 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood, NSW, 2067) and every time we go we like to see if they have these adorable sheep & naughty bear cakes! I haven't tried one but they would totally make your birthday that much brighter!! One day I'm going to try make one at home... one day haha.

Basic Crepes

I was the very lucky recipient of a crepe maker for Christmas (it's basically a round fry pan thing) and have been eager to use it. It was a gift from my parents, and holds a lot of sentimental value to me as my grandma's most famous dish is her crepes & now I can recreate them in my own home!

So this morning I opened the box, made a couple batches of batter & got cooking! There were a few recipes for crepes online so I tried a couple different ones. I found a batter containing sugar made them a bit rubbery & another batter took forever to unlumpify. Just like Goldilocks & the three little bears, the third batter was just right! Perfect, in fact. This is my favourite crepe recipe & I found it on Taste.com (one of my favourite places to trawl for new recipes).

Ingredients:
1 cup (150g) plain flour, sifted
a pinch of salt
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups (310ml) milk
15g butter, melted


1. Place sifted flour & salt in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre. Use a whisk to mix together the eggs, milk & melted butter.

2. Pour milk mixture into flour & whisk until smooth. Cover & refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3. Heat your crepe maker or crepe pan to medium. Lightly grease with butter. Pour about 1/4 cup mixture on to your pan, spread out or swirl pan until batter is thinly covering most of the surface. Cook until golden, then flip & cook for another 30 seconds or so. Serve.

Suggested toppings:
- This morning I spread a bit of Nutino (Italian nutella) on my crepe, rolled it up & served it with whipped cream.
- Squeeze some lemon on top & sprinkle with sugar.
- Top with maple syrup & ice cream
- Serve with strawberries & whipped cream.
- Recreate yum cha Mango Pancakes by filling with mango & cream then rolling into a delicious package.

xSunnyx

My Favourite Chocolate Cake

(serves 8)

Ingredients:

200g butter, chopped
300g good-quality dark chocolate
1/4 cup hot water
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup caster sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup self-raising flour
pure icing sugar, to serve

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Grease a 6cm deep, 20cm (base) round cake pan. Line with baking paper.

2. Place butter, 200g chopped chocolate and hot water in a heatproof, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave, uncovered, on HIGH (100%) for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring every minute with a metal spoon, or until smooth.

3. Add cocoa to warm chocolate mixture. Stir until smooth. Stir in vanilla, caster sugar and egg. Sift flour over chocolate mixture. Stir gently to combine.

4. Pour half the batter into cake pan. Chop remaining chocolate and sprinkle half over batter. Top with remaining batter and chopped chocolate. Bake cake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre has moist crumbs clinging.

5. Allow cake to cool completely in pan. Remove and dust with icing sugar. Serve. This cake keeps well for up to 1 week stored in an airtight container lined with baking paper.

I hope you enjoy it as much as i do! i like to heat my slice in the microwave for 40 seconds and then top with cream or ice cream and suddenly nothing else in the world matters! Its quite a rich & moist cake so a little goes a long way!

Love and sunshine,

xSunnyx

Sunny's Chocolate Snowballs

These are a great idea for cheap Christmas presents, put them in a box & tie it up with a beautiful ribbon. Voila! A beautiful gift for someone you love.

Ingredients

2 Packets of Milk Arrowroot Biscuits
2 Cans of Sweetened Condensed Milk
4 Tablespoons of Cocoa
A splash of Baileys (or your preferred alcohol)
2 Cups Dessicated Coconut or grated white chocolate

Method

1. Smash up the milk arrowroot biscuits. By smash, i mean really hack into them. I prefer to put them in a freezer bag and have at them with a meat mallet or rolling pin. Picture your boss's face in the bag and that will get you going! You can also alternatively put them in a blender and blend until there are small chunks about the size of a fly. You can completely process if desired but i prefer a bit of texture in them.

2. Combine condensed milk, smashed arrowroot biscuits, Baileys and cocoa powder in a bowl. Make sure your hands are clean and then get in there and get dirty mixing it all up. You can try and do it with a spoon or utensil of some variety but I'm telling you, its futile. Hands are the only way to go!

3. When the mixture is well combined and nice and sticky (and your hands are completely covered in it!) roll them into balls and then roll the balls into the dessicated coconut or grated white chocolate until evenly coated.

4. Chill for about half an hour and them eat until your heart is content or your chocolate craving is gone :)

Makes about 30-50 truffles depending on the size of the balls.

For something different - roll them in cocoa powder, your favourite chopped nuts or smashed honeycomb.

Enjoy my darlings!

x Sunny x

The Easiest Chocolate Mousse

I just adore this chocolate mousse and it usually takes me about 10 – 15 minutes to make and an hour in the fridge which is a dream come true when your already buzzing around cooking a million things for a dinner party!

Ingredients (serves 6)

125g good-quality dark chocolate, roughly chopped
125g good-quality milk chocolate, roughly chopped
3 eggs
1 ½ tbs caster sugar
1 tbs good-quality cocoa powder, sifted
300ml thickened cream, plus extra whipped cream to serve

Method

1. Place chocolate in a microwave safe bowl & cook in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir. If chocolate isn't fully melted yet, put it back in for another minute. Set aside to cool slightly.

2. Place eggs and sugar in a large bowl and beat with electric beaters for 5 minutes, or until mixture is pale, thick and doubled in volume. Fold in cooled chocolate and cocoa powder until combined.

3. In a separate bowl, whip cream until thickened (be careful not to over-beat but make sure if forms stiff peaks). Use a large metal spoon to carefully fold the cream into the chocolate mixture, trying to keep the mixture as light as possible. Spoon into 6 serving glasses and chill in fridge for at least 1 hour. When ready to serve remove from fridge and top with extra whipped cream and grated chocolate or some extra cocoa.

4. Eat it like its going out of fashion.... trust me, you'll love it.

Variations

~For a yummy nightcap add your favourite spirit. To keep it French, go for Cognac (or another quality brandy) or Grand Marnier, adding 1 tablespoon to the melting chocolate.

~For a flavour twist, add a tablespoon of vanilla extract to the chocolate as it melts.

~Chocolate and coffee make a great pairing, so if your feeling like a pick me up try adding two tablespoons of prepared strong black coffee to the chocolate when melting.

~For a cool treat, serve the mousse as a semifreddo - freeze for about 3 hours (but don't freeze solid). Its great for summer!

Enjoy my fellow chocolate lovers!

Love & kisses on both cheeks,

Sunny xxx