This is from Marian Keyes' Saved By Cake. Delicious and very easy (if not the cheapest cake to make!)

100g dark (70%+) chocolate
250g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt (seems a lot!)
250g caster sugar
125ml sunflower (or other non-flavoured; I used grape-seed) oil
250ml sourcream
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
300g (approx) frozen rasberries, defrosted

The recipe says to make 2 23cm cakes, and stick together with rasberry jam; I made one, in a bundt tin, it just needed longer to...
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These cookies are adapted from the coffee snaps recipe. They're not gingernuts, but gingery.

125g butter, softened
1 cup (275g) firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
3/4 cup (110g) plain flour
3/4 cup (110g) self-raising flour
3 teaspoons powdered ginger
walnut halves

Preheat oven to 180°C (350° F). Line cookie/oven tray with baking paper.
In a bowl, beat butter, sugar and vanilla extract until pale and fluffy. Add egg and beat until just combined.
Stir in ...

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I went to an inspiring raw chocolate demo by Chef Rene at Wise Cicada in Newmarket, Auckland. He showed us how to make lots of chocolate recipes and we tasted them all! The energy in the food was amazing. Here’s his recipe for super fudge, which keeps nicely in the fridge. Just one piece in the afternoon is a great pick-me-up - packed with super foods!

3 c date paste (dates soaked in enough water to blend into a paste)
1 c chia seeds
1 c sultanas
1 ...

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This recipe is from Stoked, and makes the real deal, an old-skool proper buttery, crunchy, gingery slice. moreish in the extreme, finger-lickin' good! I tweak it with the addition of a bit of semolina which gives a slightly more textured base.

Base:
115g butter
1/2 C sugar (I use caster)
3/4 C flour
2 Tbs semolina
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground ginger

pre-heat overn to 180C, butter & baking-paper-line a 30x20cm slice tin.
cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Sift flour, baking powde...
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These are a lot like Anzac biscuits but the butter and sugar are creamed.
Makes about 20 sandwiched biscuits

65g rolled oats
160g softened butter
160g raw caster sugar
55g golden syrup
150g (1 c) plain flour
75g dessicated coconut
400g chocolate, chopped (I always use dark)

Preheat oven to 160C. Process oats in a food processor or coffee grinder until finely ground.
Beat butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Add golden syrup, stir, then add flour, coconut and oats. Form heaped teaspoons into balls an...
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Confession: my very first batch of hot cross buns was a disaster - I used nearly 100% gluten flour by mistake! They looked great, iced and glazed, but they were balls of elastic - totally inedible. I didn't bother reading the back of the gluten flour packet, which said to use only 2 Tbsp of the flour in a recipe. But I managed to salvage the cherries and choc bits to use on the next batch, which was a raging success.

Recipe from April's Mindfood

750g plain flour
1/3 c caster sugar (I just used s...
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Just look at this thing of beauty.
Adapted it slightly from the Rose Bakery recipe:

Sweet pasty (make your own or buy one)
3 egg yolks
2 eggs, 1 blended for basting the pastry (to then be used in the tart)
100g caster sugar
1 tsp natural vanilla extract,
grated zest of 3 oranges, 500g ricotta cheese
roughly 180g grated dark chocolate (70% or more)
1 tablespoon plain flour

Method
Preheat oven to 180 deg C

Pastry
Put pastry in 28cm (roughly) tart tin, chill for 30 mins, then blind bake for 10 minute...
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OK, this isn't baking, but it does use the oven and I just wanted to share my all-time favourite snack. Mama Chan used to make these in her childhood in China - sweet potato slices dried in the sun. Then she made dried kumara throughout my childhood and I always gobbled them up.
Boil a pot of kumara with the skins on until just cooked through. Drain and leave to cool. Scrape the skin off with a knife. Slice into 1cm-thick slices. Spread on to a wire oven rack. Dry for several hours at 50-100C...
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Welcome to Bake Club, Gertrud! Despite her modesty, Gertrud is a fabulous cook and baker and I've been egging her on for ages to contribute to Bake Club. Finally, she debuts with this delightful bite.
Gertrud says: While the original recipe used a 22cm bundt cake tin, I made eight cupcakes and a super-small cake. Watch the time carefully. My oven has a sweet spot and the cupcakes cooked well under 60 minutes.With no passionfruit at hand, I used Delmain Passionfruit Dessert Topping. I als...
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Step right up foodie bloggers! Bake Club is honoured to host the April 2012 Sweet New Zealand blogging event. Started by Alessandra Zecchini in 2011, this is a monthly gathering of sweet-minded cooks.

1 This blogging event is open to all bloggers living in New Zealand and Kiwis living and/or blogging overseas. This is not a competition and there are no prizes or winners: it is just a way for Kiwi bloggers to connect and share recipes.


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This is a very simple tart (especially if you use a bought pastry). The recipe is a bit loose as I made it up as I went along... So interpret as you will. The tang of the little purple guavas cuts through the richness of the ricotta; I don't think it needs a lot of sugar.

Pre-heat over to 180C

Pastry
I amount of sweet pastry

Put pastry in 23cm (roughly) tart tin, chill for 30 mins, then blind bake for 10 minutes.
Remove the weights from the pasty case, and baste it thoroughly with some egg. B...
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