6 egg whites
1 ½ c caster sugar
1 c chopped hazelnuts

Preheat oven to 100 C. Trace 3 x 20cm round circles onto baking paper. Turn over and place on baking sheet.
Beat eggs for 1 min. Then add sugar and beat further 6-8 mins until peaks form.
Add the hazelnuts or any other kind of nuts or almond meal.
Divide mixture in 3 and spread over circle shapes. Bake at for 3-4 hours until crispy.

Assemble together with sweetened cream and berries. Our bottom layer was strawberri...

Continue reading ...

On the last day of deadline week I made these for the work team, hence their new name – ‘deadline cupcakes’. This easy recipe is from Annabel Langbein’s Free Range in the City.

120g butter, in small cubes
½ c neutral oil
1 c water
100g dark chocolate, chopped
½ c cocoa, sifted
1 ½ c caster sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 c yoghurt or buttermilk
2 c flour
¾ c raspberries (or any fresh or frozen berries)

Preheat oven to 180C. Line 24 m...

Continue reading ...

From the good ol’ Edmonds Cookbook

3 eggs

175 g sugar

1/8 tsp salt

125 g flour

1 tsp baking powder

50 g butter

2 tbs boiling water

Beat eggs with salt , add sugar and beat until thick. Fold in sifted flour and BP lightly. Add melted butter in boiling water. Bake in greased 20cm tin or sandwich tins for 25-30 mins at 190 C.

Serve with cream and strawberries. I also spread strawberry jam in between the layers.

Continue reading ...

What a fantastic debut on Bake Club, Anna! The tofu was a real surprise ingredient - delicious.

Cake Ingredients:
1 ¾ cup flour
1 cup cocoa powder
1 ½ t. baking powder
1 ½ t. baking soda
¼ t. salt
1 12.3-ounce box firm silken tofu (I get the ‘fresh’ tofu from the Tofu Shop on the North Shore)
1/4 cup maple syrup or golden syrup
1 cup brown sugar
3 Tablespoon oil
1tsp vanilla essence
1 cup almond milk or soya milk
1/3 cup boiling water
At least 1 cup of mixed ...

Continue reading ...

I wanted to find a recipe to use my homemade yoghurt. I adapted Heidi Swanson’s buttermilk cake from her latest book, Super Natural Every Day. Her summer version uses sliced plums and she recommends a winter version of 12 chopped Medjool dates and 1 c toasted walnuts. I had neither so I used dried goldenberries, cranberries and hazelnuts.

 

1 ½ c spelt flour
1 c white flour
1 tbs baking powder
½ dark muscovado sugar
½ tsp sea salt
2 eggs
1 ½ c yoghurt or buttermilk
6...

Continue reading ...

I bought two fantastic chocolate moulds in Venice - rose shapes and leaf shapes. No baking involved, but I thought I'd include my first batch to show you how easy it is.
Just melt dark and white chocolate. Filled the moulds halfway then added a toasted hazelnut or pistachio, and topped with more chocolate. For the leaves I mixed in chopped pistachios and dried cranberries.
Lately I've also made some batches of Annabel Langbein's espresso hazelnut chocolate ripple  - pouring dark and white choc...
Continue reading ...

Mama Chan used Annabel Langbein's crumble topping from her Free Range Cook book.

Line pie dish with store-bought puff pastry. Blind bake at 170C for 20-30 mins.
Mix tin stewed apples or stew 3 apples yourself. Add a cup or so of fresh or frozen berries, 1/2 c sugar and 2 Tbs cornflour. Pour into pie dish.
Make crumble topping by mixing:

2 c flour
1 c ground almonds
1 1/2 c brown sugar
2 c rolled oats
1 c almonds, chopped or slivered
2 tsp mixed spice
together with 250 g melted butter
Put the topping on ...
Continue reading ...

125g plain flour
pinch salt
90g butter
2 tsp icing sugar
1 tbs water or lemon juice
egg yolk

Sift flour and salt into a bowl. Place butter in the middle. Add sugar and water/juice and yolk. Stir with blunt knife until mixed together then knead with your hands in the bowl until you have formed a dough. Put in fridge for 20 mins.
Roll out and cut into the shapes for your pastry tins. Refrigerate for another 20 mins. Oven to 180C. Prick pastry and blind bake for 8-10 mins, then 3 mins normal baking.
Fil...
Continue reading ...

This recipe used lemon curd to make butterfly cupcakes but Mama Chan just used strawberries in season and whipped cream.

125g soft butter, chopped
1 tsp grated lemon rind
¾ c caster sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ c self-raising flour
½ c milk

Line 24 patty pan trays with paper patty cases. Mama Chan got some real cute ones with animals from the $3 Japan shop in Queen St.
Combine butter, rind, sugar, eggs, flour and milk and beat with electric mixer.
Divide mixture among the patty...

Continue reading ...

I had some bananas that needed to be cooked with. These sounded healthy and they were surprisingly moreish and delicious. I could have eaten about 6 in one go.

1.5 cups bran
0.75 cup boiling water
0.25 cup brown sugar
0.75 cup plain yogurt
1 egg, beaten
0.25 cup oil
2 bananas, mashed
1.25 cups flour
1.5 tsp baking soda
(approx 1 c frozen blueberries)

makes 12 'standard' muffins... grease a muffin tin
oven to 190C
mix bran with boiling water and leave to cool.
add yogurt, egg, oil and banana to br...
Continue reading ...

Like a giant cream puff donut, this ring measured more than 30 cm in diameter - bigger than an LP!

1 c water
75 g butter
150 g flour
1 dessertspoon sugar
4 eggs

Bring butter and water to the boil, add flour and beat until the mixture leaves the sides of the saucepan. Remove from heat, add sugar, then beat in eggs one at a time. Make into a wreath shaped on a greased tray. Bake at 200 C for 30 mins.
Slit ring in half while hot. When cool, fill with whipped cream with a bit of rum and freshly sliced f...
Continue reading ...

Mama Chan usually only makes pavs at Christmastime, but when granddaughter Sophie came to visit from Melbourne, she pulled out all the stops with a huge family dinner and dessert.

3 egg whites
1/2 c castor sugar
2 tsp cornflour
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 tsp vinegar

Beat egg whites until stiff. Add sugar and keep beating until shiny. Add vanilla, vinegar and cornflour.
Bake for 125 C for 1/2 hour then 100 C for 2 1/2 hours.
Must serve with cream and fruit in season.

Mama Chan has experimented over th...
Continue reading ...