Showing Tag: " frances" (Show all posts)

Almond butter cookies for Santa

Posted by Bake Club on Tuesday, December 23, 2014, In : cookies 

I made these with our 2 year old to put under the tree for Santa tonight. Super easy recipe from Ceres:
1 c almond butter
1/2 c brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 sea salt
chopped or slivered almonds for topping

Preheat oven to 180C. Line an oven tray with baking paper.
Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl until smooth. Scoop out tablespoon portions onto the baking sheet, allowing room for spreading. Flatten slightly with moistened fingers. Sprinkle almonds on top.
Bak...
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Pumpkin spice muffins

Posted by Bake Club on Sunday, June 22, 2014, In : small cakes 

By Frances
Cheap pumpkins! So this week I made pumpkin soup, pumpkin granola bars, pumpkin muffins, and froze a batch of pumpkin puree. These muffins are an easy alternative to the carrot version. The cream cheese icing really sets it off.
This recipe is adapted from The Pioneer Woman.

  • 1 cup All-purpose Flour
  • 1/4 cup Sugar
  • 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon Ground Ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon Salt
  • 4 Tablespoons Butter, cut into pieces
  • 1 cup (heaping) Pumpkin Puree
  • 1/2 c...

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Mango & coconut chia pudding

Posted by Bake Club on Monday, June 9, 2014, In : desserts 

By Frances
A super easy breakfast or dessert from MoveNourishBelieve.com. Most fruits will work well, frozen or fresh, eg banana, berries, peach. You can add whatever fruit or nuts you like on top too.

2 c coconut cream or milk
1.5 c mango (frozen or canned, drained first)
8 Tbs chia seeds

Combine cream and mango in a blender until smooth, Mix in chia seeds, Evenly divide mixture between 4 jars/ramekins/bowls and leave in fridge overnight. I topped with banana and chocolate shavings.

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Cornbread

Posted by Bake Club on Sunday, June 8, 2014, In : savoury 

By Frances
I've had this cornmeal sitting in the pantry for AGES so had to make something to go with a lovely ripe avocado and chill adzuki beans. It was a little crumbly but still lovely and moist. I adapted the recipe from Simply Recipes.

  • 2 cups cornmeal OR 1 1/2 cups cornmeal and 1/2 cup flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/4 cups buttermilk (I used yoghurt)
  • 1 egg (optional)
  • 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 180C. Line ...


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Crusty no-knead bread

Posted by Bake Club on Friday, June 6, 2014, In : bread 

By Frances
I've made no-knead bread before, but this one has a real good crust by baking it in a casserole dish in the oven to form steam. It's from simplysogood.com.

3 cups unbleached all purpose flour (I used wholemeal spelt)
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon yeast
1 1/2 cups water

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt and yeast. Add water and mix until a shaggy mixture forms. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 12 - 18 hours. Overnight works great...

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Pistachio cake

Posted by Bake Club on Thursday, June 5, 2014, In : big cakes 

By Frances
I'm on a roll with Julie Le Clerc's Favourite Cakes. I love cakes with nuts in them!
90g butter, softened
1/3 c sugar (I used organic golden)
2 eggs
1/3 c plain yoghurt
1 c gluten-free flour (I used rice)
1 tsp baking powder
2/3 c ground pistachio nuts
2 Tbs extra ground nuts
honey to drizzle

Preheat oven to 180C. Line a 20cm cake tin.
Cream butter and sugar until pale. Add eggs and beat well. Stir in yoghurt then sifted flour, baking powder and nuts.
Spread mixture into tin. Bake for 60 min or...
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Raw chocolate strawberry truffle pie

Posted by Bake Club on Monday, May 26, 2014, In : desserts 

By Frances
Found this recipe on Chocolatecoveredkatie.com. Very nice and went down well at a vegan party.
  • 2.5 cups strawberries, or other berries (250g) (I used frozen and Fresh As strawberry slices)
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cocoa powder or cacao
  • 1.5 cups cashews (150g)
  • 1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup virgin coconut oil
  • 3 NuNaturals stevia packets, or 1/4 cup agave or pure maple syrup
  • 1/8 tsp salt

Chocolate pie crust:

  • 2 tbsp cocoa powder (or cacao powder)
  • 1/2 cup raw cashews (or almonds, w...

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Upside-down caramelised banana cake

Posted by Bake Club on Sunday, May 25, 2014, In : big cakes 

By Frances
This was the second cake I made for Tui's 2nd birthday, also from Julie Le Clerc's Favourite Cakes (Penguin, 2011). My first attempt at an upside-down cake so was pretty chuffed it worked out. I'll be making more!

Caramel topping:
50g butter, melted
1/2 c firmly packed brown sugar
2 large bananas, sliced on an angle

Cake batter:
125g butter, softened
3/4 c caster sugar
1 very ripe banana, mashed
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 c self-raising flour
1 tsp ...
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Giant chocolate lamington cake

Posted by Bake Club on Sunday, May 25, 2014, In : big cakes 

By Frances
This was one of Tui's 2nd birthday cakes from Julie Le Clerc's Favourite Cakes (Penguin, 2011).
4 eggs
pinch salt
1 c caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c plain flour
2 Tbs cocoa powder
1 c cream lightly whipped
1/2 berry jam, to fill
Chocolate coconut coating:
150g dark chocolate
100g vegetable shortening or coconut oil
1 1/2 c coconut thread

Preheat oven to 190C. Line 2 x 20cm sponge tins. Lightly butter the sides and dust with flour.
Whisk eggs, salt, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with ele...
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Vegan peanut butter muffins

Posted by Bake Club on Friday, May 9, 2014, In : small cakes 

By Frances
Here's another recipe adapted from Egglesscooking.com. I used honey instead of sugar.
  • 1 cup All Purpose Flour
  • 2/3 cup oats
  • 1/3 cup Cocoa Powder
  • 3/4 cup Sugar (I used honey)
  • 1 tablespoon Baking Powder
  • 1/2 cup Peanut Butter (I used smooth)
  • 1 cup Rice Milk
Procedure:
  1. Preheat the oven at 400F/200C for 15 minutes. Grease with little cooking spray or line the muffin tins with paper liners and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl combine together the flour, oatmeal, cocoa powde and baking powder.
  3. In a sm...

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Vegan double chocolate banana muffins

Posted by Bake Club on Monday, May 5, 2014, In : small cakes 

By Frances
Found a great website called egglesscooking.com as I wanted to do some egg-free baking for our coffee group, as one of the toddlers has an allergy. Easy to make these vegan recipes sugar-free too. I adapted this vegan double chocolate banana muffin recipe.

Dry Ingredients:
  • 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup cocoa
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup white sugar (I used agave syrup and honey)
  • 1 cup mini vegan chocolate chips (did not use)
Wet Ingre...

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Vegetarian marshmallows

Posted by Bake Club on Friday, April 18, 2014, In : sweets 

By Frances
Found this great recipe for marshmallows on Be Miam that uses agar agar instead of gelatin! Turned out really well. The only thing I would change next time would be less sugar. I rolled mine in toasted coconut.

  • 3 egg whites
  • 250g/8,82oz sugar
  • 100ml/3,38fl.oz water
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 5g/1 teaspoon agar-agar
  • Icing sugar
  • 1 point of a knife of powdered red food colouring (optional)

In a small bowl, dissolve agar-agar into 100 ml of cold water.

In a small saucepan, boil the sugar, h...


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Apricot brioche breakfast plait

Posted by Bake Club on Saturday, April 12, 2014, In : bread 

By Frances
My first attempt at brioche turned out very well! Thanks to the straightforward recipe by Dean Brettschneider in Global Baker (Random House, 2007). So nice when fresh and still good toasted.

250g bread flour (1 3/4 c)
5g salt (1 tsp)
25g sugar (2 Tbs)
5g active dried yeast
4 small eggs, lightly beaten
125g butter, softened
100g dried apricots, diced
additional flour for dusting
1 egg, for egg wash
2 Tbs water for egg wash
50g flaked almonds

Place flour, salt, sugar and yeast into large bowl, ad...
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Lime shortbread

Posted by Bake Club on Friday, April 11, 2014, In : cookies 

By Frances
I wanted to use my stevia powder again so I found this recipe at I Quit Sugar. I must admit I still haven't likened to the taste of stevia so I'll just use agave or maple or rice syrup if I want a sugar-free treat.

150g
unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 tablespoon
granulated stevia (I used 1 tsp powder)
2 teaspoons
good quality vanilla extract, or vanilla bean paste
1 1/4 cups
plain flour
1 teaspoon
finely grated lemon rind (or lime)
2-3 tablespoons
...
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Raspberry agar agar jelly

Posted by Bake Club on Tuesday, April 8, 2014, In : desserts 

By Frances
This superquick recipe is by Alessandra Zecchini and featured on these very pages in the March Sweet New Zealand roundup! I had never made jelly before because I don't eat gelatin but agar agar is easy to find in Asian supermarkets and works perfectly well. Watch this space for my first attempt at marshmallows using agar!

You only need:
500ml water
1 tsp agar agar powder
1 Tbs Sweet As raspberry powder
1 Tbs sweetener (I used agave syrup)
Bring to the boil in a saucepan, pour into jelly m...
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Tamarind, date and sour cherry muffins

Posted by Bake Club on Saturday, April 5, 2014, In : small cakes 

By Frances

 

I started out wanting to make lemon poppyseed muffins. A quick flick to the index of Marian Keyes’ Saved By Cake (Penguin, 2012) didn’t have what I wanted but I saw these muffins under M - mmm, tamarind, interesting. Indeed, Marian says tamarind is her ‘thing’ and these muffins have a ‘wonderfully intriguing sourness’. I used cranberries instead of sour cherries but they still tasted yummy and tangy.

 

100g dates

100g dried sour cherries (I us...


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Sourdough bread

Posted by Bake Club on Thursday, March 27, 2014, In : bread 

By Frances

This is my first sourdough loaf from a starter. Not too bad, didn’t rise very much, but definitely more flavourful than commercial sourdough loaves. The second loaf was a little better. This recipe is from Michael Pollan’s Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation (Penguin Press, 2013), which is a brilliant read. So much info to digest, so to speak. Michael adapted this recipe from Chad Robertson’s country loaf in Tartine Bread, which I found here on Mart...


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Florentine cake

Posted by Bake Club on Sunday, March 16, 2014, In : big cakes 

By Frances

A rich nutty cake by Annabel Langbein from the February issue of Life & Leisure magazine.

Base:

¾ c flour

¾ c wholemeal flour

¾ c oats

¾ c brown sugar

180g cold butter, diced

 

Process all ingredients in a food processor until it resembles a fine crumb. Press into a 20cm round cake tin.

 

Cake:

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla essence

¼ c brown sugar

½ c walnuts

½ c flaked almonds

¾ c almonds

¾ c dates

¾ c apricots

¾ c choc melts

¾ c coconut

...
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Chocolate goji slice

Posted by Bake Club on Tuesday, March 11, 2014, In : slices 

By Frances

Don’t you just love it when you come across an inspired recipe in a most unlikely source? I was randomly looking through Look real estate freebie and Buffy-Ellen Gill of Be Good Organics had contributed this recipe for a raw goji chocolate slice.

Makes 16 slices

Crunchy base:

1 c caramelised buckinis

1 c goji berries

½ c raw cacao powder

¾ c melted coconut oil

1 Tbs coconut nectar (I used maple syrup)

 

Chewy topping:

½ c raw cashews

1/3 c raw c...


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Coconut oatmeal cookies

Posted by Bake Club on Sunday, March 2, 2014, In : cookies 

By Frances

This is from The Coconut Oil Miracle by Bruce Fife (Avery, 2005). It explains all the amazing benefits of coconut oil and includes recipes. I do a lot of raw baking with it and usually put a bit on my porridge. I made these cookies for our 21-month-old mainly, so she can have a sugar-free treat.

 

½ c melted coconut oil

¾ c sweetener (I used honey and agave syrup)

2 eggs

½ tsp vanilla extract

1½ c flour

1 c oats

½ c dried coconut (shredded, grated, d...


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Banana & chocolate chip loaf

Posted by Bake Club on Monday, February 24, 2014, In : big cakes 

By Frances
Long time no bake! Today I decided to peruse my collection of cookbooks to find a banana cake I hadn't tried before. Ravinder Bhogal's Cook in Boots had this decadent banana loaf - with lashings of chocolate chips and walnuts. I used chocolate drops, which could have been chopped, and I could have used less, as the batter overflowed in the tin. It was the perfect treat to take to visit a friend.
I'm entering this in February's Sweet New Zealand, hosted by Alessandra Zecchini. Enter t...
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Raw vegan chocolate brownie

Posted by Bake Club on Sunday, January 5, 2014, In : slices 

By Frances
This is from a Harvest Wholefood newsletter. The recipe is from Gabriel Power from nomnomnosh.com. Really rich! I'm entering this into this month's Sweet New Zealand, hosted by Alessandra Zecchini.


For the brownie:
1 c almonds (preferably activated)
1/2 c raw cacao powder
2 Tbs coconut sugar (or any sweetener - I used maple syrup)
2 Tbs cacao butter
1/2 c coconut oil
1 Tbs espresso coffee (I used decaf)
1 tsp vanilla extract
zest of one orange (I only had a lemon on hand)
pinch sea salt
sprink...
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Everyday chocolate cake

Posted by Bake Club on Sunday, January 5, 2014, In : big cakes 

By Frances
This is from The Complete Vegan Kitchen by Jannequin Bennett (Thomas Nelson, 2001). The foreword is an enlightening piece by Olympian Carl Lewis who attributes his athletic success to his vegan diet.
The cake turned out well, you'd never know it was dairy free.

3/4 c boiling water
1/2 c cocoa powder
1 Tbs instant coffee powder
1 c soy mayonnaise (but I made the substitute version combining a block of tofu, 2 tsp lime juice, 1 tsp lecithin, 1 Tbs vege oil, 1/2 tsp salt)
2 tsp vanilla extra...
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Raw chocolate raspberry slice

Posted by Bake Club on Saturday, December 14, 2013, In : slices 

By Frances
Got this one from the Amazing Paleo website. The banana gives it a softer texture than other raw slices I've made. Eat it straight from the freezer.

  • 2 ripe bananas
  •        ¼ cup fresh raspberries
  •        12 medjol dates
  •        ¾ cups unsweetened cocoa (divided)
  •        ½ cup almonds
  •        ½ cup walnuts
  •        5 tablespoons almond butter
  •        5 tablespoons RAW honey

Steps:

  1. Place dates, almonds, walnuts and ½ cup cocoa powder in food processor. Process for about 3-4 minutes, until all i...

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Raw caramel slice no. 3

Posted by Bake Club on Monday, November 18, 2013, In : slices 

By Frances
On my quest to find the perfect raw caramel slice, here is version no. 3 from Keilanaskye. The caramel part is particularly good - just tahini and maple syrup really. For the base I used sunflower seeds and activated buckwheat (buckinis) instead of cashews (just over 1/2 c each). I find the buckwheat gives a nice crunch that I really like.
I'm going to enter this in November's Sweet NZ monthly blog event, hosted by Toast.

For the base:
1 1/2 cups raw, organic cashews (pre-soaked for...

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Sesame honey kisses

Posted by Bake Club on Monday, November 11, 2013, In : cookies 

By Frances
These use a lot of sesame seeds! But they make a tasty crunch in the chewy biscuit. The recipe is from Annabel Langbein.
  • 2¼ cups flour
  • 2 cups sesame seeds, toasted
  • ½ cup desiccated coconut, toasted
  • ½ cup soft brown sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp ground cardamom
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 eggs
  • ¾ cup neutral oil
  • ½ cup light honey
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 160°C and line a baking tray with ...


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Raw ginger cashew slice

Posted by Bake Club on Sunday, November 3, 2013, In : slices 

By Frances
An easy raw slice by Petite Kitchen.
for the base:
2 cups cashews (I used roasted, but raw is fine)
1 cup medjool, or soft pitted dates
2 tbsp water
1 tsp ground ginger

for the icing:
3 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp honey
2 tsp ground ginger

*this slice needs to be keep in the fridge. if you would prefer a slice that can be kept at room temperature, you can bake the base in the oven at  160°C until golden, then leave to cool before icing.

In a food processer, blend the cashews until...

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Coconut lime cookies

Posted by Bake Club on Friday, August 30, 2013, In : cookies 

By Frances

I've been making 'healthy' cookies for my 15-month-old so I can freeze them and have them on hand. This is another great sugar-free, gluten-free recipe by Dr Libby.

24ml coconut oil
1/4 c honey
juice and zest of a lime
1 c almond meal
12 c spelt flour (or any flour)
1/2 c dessicated coconut
2 tsp baking powder

Heat oven to 180C. Gently melt oil, honey and lime juice in a saucepan. Place all dry ingreds and lime zest in a bowl and mix well. Heap tablespoons onto a lined baking tray and bake ...
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Frances's chocolate chip, cranberry & almond cookies

Posted by Bake Club on Sunday, July 21, 2013, In : cookies 

The cranberries add a welcome tartness to these cookies. Quite a stiff mixture so flatten the cookies how you like, they won’t change shape much.

 

125g butter
¾ c sugar (I used a mix of demuera and golden)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 ¾ c flour (I used mix of spelt and plain)
½ tsp salt
1 c dark chocolate chips
½ c cranberries
½ c flaked almonds

Preheat oven to 190C. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.

In a  medium bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg and va...
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Savoury pinwheel scones by Frances

Posted by Bake Club on Thursday, June 6, 2013, In : savoury 

This recipe is from Gran’s Sweet Pantry by Natalie Oldfield (HarperCollins, 2013). I didn’t have cream cheese or parmesan on hand so I used a bit of sour cream, pesto and brie.

3 c self-raising flour

½ tsp salt

50g butter

½ c grated parmesan

1 ½ c milk

250g cream cheese

1 Tbs capers, chopped

1 c rocket, chopped

200g hot smoked salmon

Preheat oven to 210C. Line a baking tray or cake tin with baking paper.
Sift flour and salt into a bow. Rub in butter until...


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Frances’s rosewater chocolate cake

Posted by Bake Club on Thursday, June 6, 2013, In : big cakes 

I made this cake for Tui’s first birthday. It’s adapted from Julie Le Clerc’s Favourite Cakes (Penguin, 2011). She decorated hers with crystallised rose petals – fancy – but I just did ganache for another chocolate hit.

125g butter, really really softened

1 c caster sugar

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 c sour cream

1 Tbs rosewater

1 c self-raising flour

¼ tsp baking powder

½ c cocoa

filling:

200g marscapone

¼ c pouring cream

¼ c icing sugar

½ tsp v...


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Triple chocolate cookies by Frances

Posted by Bake Club on Sunday, May 19, 2013, In : cookies 

This is Nigella's evily good recipe for her Totally chocolate chocolate chip cookies. I have never made anything with three types of chocolate before. Seems so indulgent but just what the mental health doctor ordered on a rainy day with a hot cuppa and a lie down.
I always use less sugar than Nigella in all her recipes.

125 grams ...
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Frances's chocolate cherry louise cake

Posted by Bake Club on Friday, April 26, 2013, In : slices 

I adapted this recipe from Fiona Smith's chocolate, raspberry & coconut slice in A Treasury of New Zealand Baking (Random House 2009).

125g butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs, separated
1 1/2 c flour
2 Tbs cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 c jam (I used cherry)
50g chocolate, grated
1/2 c dessicated coconut (or long threaded)

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a 18cm x 28 cm cake tin with baking paper.
Cream butter and half the sugar till light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks, Sift in flour, cocoa and...
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Molasses spice cookies by Frances

Posted by Bake Club on Thursday, January 24, 2013, In : cookies 

Just the word 'molasses' conjures up deep, hearty flavour, and I really felt like a spiced biscuit with my coffee so I looked it up in the index of The Cookie Book and there was the recipe.

1/2 c / 250g butter
1 c sugar
1 egg
1/4 c molasses
2 1/2 c flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground cloves
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 190C. Line baking sheets with baking paper.
Beat together the butter, sugar, egg and molasses>
Sift together the flour, soda, spices and salt. Add to...
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Frances makes panforte

Posted by Bake Club on Friday, December 21, 2012, In : sweets 

My first attempt at panforte turned out pretty good. I used this recipe from the Healtheries website. Have wrapped up wedges for wee Xmas gifts.


250g oven-roasted mixed nuts (I used hazels, blanched almonds and pistachios)

1/3 cup each: glacé mixed peel, figs, apricots; roughly chopped

75g 70% dark chocolate, roughly chopped

1/3 cup Healtheries Gluten-free Rice Flour

1 tablespoon cocoa

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon mixed spice

½ cup each: honey, caster sugar...


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Raspberry yoghurt muffins by Frances

Posted by Bake Club on Saturday, July 28, 2012, In : small cakes 

I adapted this from a loaf recipe. You can put this batter in any size tin, really. I like the tanginess the yoghurt adds to the mix.

cooking oil spray

1 cup frozen raspberries

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 cup low-fat vanilla yoghurt

1 3/4 cups self-raising flour

1/3 cup ground almonds

 

Preheat oven to 180ºC. Spray an 11x21cm loaf pan or 12 muffin tins/cases with cooking oil. Line the base and two long opposite sides with n...


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Frances makes Mairi's sticky date pudding

Posted by Bake Club on Monday, January 30, 2012, In : desserts 


Nothing like a steaming hot date pudding with caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream!


Recipe from Toast: http://www.toast-nz.com/2010/09/supper-club-4.html

Sticky Ginger Date Pudding with Caramel Sauce
200g dates, chopped
1 1/4 cups boiling water
60g butter
3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3/4 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup golden syrup
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 1/3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
50g crystallised ginger, finely chopped (I added powde...


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Frances gets into the Xmas spirit – meringue wreaths

Posted by Bake Club on Tuesday, December 6, 2011, In : sweets 


At one of my jobs they like to decorate their offices with Christmas decorations. This is mainly because there’s a decorating competition at ACP Media and prizes to be won. Anyway, my contribution was these meringue wreaths from Alessandra Zecchini and Arantxa Zecchini Dowling’s book Party Food for Girls.

She says the recipe contains lots of sugar as the meringues are designed to be long-lasting Xmas decorations. They will keep for weeks. I haven’t done much icing in ...


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Frances makes Nigella's macaroons

Posted by Bake Club on Friday, November 11, 2011, In : small cakes 

These turned out pretty good - firm on the outside and chewy on the inside.

Preheat the oven to 200 C.

In a bowl mix together:
200g ground almonds
1 cup of caster sugar
1 teaspoon ground cardamon
2 egg whites

You can use a mixer but just a fork or spoon does fine. My paste was a bit gloopy so I added some rice flour. Drop teaspoon fulls onto a greased baking sheet. Leave room for spreading. Press a blanched or sliver of almond on the top of each macaroon, bake for 10 minutes.
Thanks ...


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Frances makes Heidi's brown sugar rosemary nuts

Posted by Bake Club on Saturday, September 24, 2011, In : sweets 


Mmm. Nice sweet-savoury snack to take down to Party Central tonight to see the All Blacks beat Les Bleus! (Postscript: NZ 37: France 17 woo ha!) See the full post on Heidi Swanson's site, www.101cookbooks.com. She just uses walnuts but I used walnuts, almonds, hazels and brazils.

1 cup / 5 oz / 140 g brown sugar or natural cane sugar
2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
1 teaspoon chopped rosemary leaves
1/4 cup / 1 oz / 30g sesame seeds
2 large egg whites
1 lb / ~4 cups shelled walnut halves
1/...


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Frances makes mocha shortbread

Posted by Bake Club on Sunday, July 3, 2011, In : cookies 

Great to try a different kind of shortbread. The coffee/chocolate flavour came through really well. Took them to a function and they went like hot cakes.


1 c butter, softened
2/3 c icing sugar
2 c flour
1 tbs cocoa
1 tsp instant coffee granules
½ c chocolate bits

 

Preheat oven to 160 C. Line or lightly grease a baking sheet.
Using electric beaters, cream butter and sugar until light and creamy. Sift together flour, cocoa and coffee. Use a metal spoon to fold four mixtu...


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Frances makes polenta bean bake

Posted by Bake Club on Saturday, June 18, 2011, In : savoury 


This recipe is from Healthy Food Guide. It turned out really well and leftover lunch tasted good too.

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled, chopped
2 stalks celery, trimmed, chopped
1 red capsicum, chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, crushed
pinch dried chilli flakes
1/4 cup no-added-salt tomato paste
400g can no-added-salt diced tomatoes
1⁄3 cup chopped fresh basil
75g fresh baby spinach
400g can borlotti beans, drain...


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Frances’s spelt loaf with caramelised onions and apricot & walnut bread

Posted by Bake Club on Sunday, June 5, 2011, In : bread 

Spelt is one of my favourite grains to make bread with and I often use Alessandra Zecchini’s recipe from her book, Savour.

400 ml warm water
2 ½ tsp active yeast granules
¼ tsp sugar
250g spelt flour
250g white flour
pinch salt

Place warm water in bowl, add yeast and sugar and set aside for 5 mins until the yeast starts to bubble. Add flour and salt and mix with your hand then turn out onto a floured board and knead for 7-8 mins. Roll into ball, but back in the bowl,...


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Frances makes proper lentil pie

Posted by Bake Club on Thursday, May 26, 2011, In : savoury 

What to do with leftover cooked lentils and ready-rolled pastry? Make a good ol’ pie with bottom and top crust.
I blind baked the bottom crust for about 20-25 mins at 180 C.
I made the filling by sautéing these finely chopped veges:
1 onion
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 carrot
1 stick celery
1 pepper
few sundried tomatoes
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander powder
salt and pepper

To the cooked veges I added 2 cups cooked brown lenti...


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Super Size Me 5 – Taking bites of the Big Apple

Posted by Frances Chan on Tuesday, May 17, 2011, In : food blog 


Spring has sprung in NYC - tulips at the Rockefeller Center; view from the Top of the Rock

My final instalment of this trip is about our five holiday days in New York. Accommodation hassles and pounding the pavement tired us out somewhat, so we sought solace in good food, and weren’t disappointed. We arrived at Greenwich Village on a spectacular sunny Sunday and Bleecker St was buzzing. I had a hankering for comforting Italian and we fortuitously came across the original Ra...


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Super Size Me 3 – Chez Panisse Special Edition

Posted by Frances Chan on Wednesday, April 27, 2011, In : food blog 


Chez Panisse - climb the stairs to food heaven

Now that our US tour has come to an end, I can say without a doubt, that nothing surpassed our dining experience at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, San Francisco.

Owner and organic/slow food guru, Alice Waters, first saw a MAU performance in Venice in 2003 and has been a supporter ever since. Eight years later, we perform in her town and she graciously invited us to lunch at her famous cafe and restaurant, founded in 1971. When the ni...


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Super Size Me 2 – I heart San Francisco

Posted by Frances Chan on Friday, April 15, 2011, In : food blog 


Spring blossoms in Union Square

What a joy to spend eight days in SF and NOT have a bad meal! First lunch off the plane was at friends Nick and Sabrina’s place in the Castro for homemade lentils and tortillas with all the trimmings – fresh avo, salsa, rice, chutney. It replenished our stomachs and our souls. Then Nick whipped up a Trader Joe’s brownie batch and even used vegan buttery sticks – moist and chocolatey.


Nick and the ingredients of his bodacious brownies

We...


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Super Size Me 1 – Lalaland and Hollyweird

Posted by Frances Chan on Saturday, April 9, 2011, In : food blog 


Downtown Los Angeles skyline around Pershing Square

Here is my first food report from the US while on tour with the dance group MAU. Nothing fancy, just miscellaneous observations on what I find as I travel across this great state…

In a nutshell, I had a week of very uninspiring food in Downtown LA. Broadway was the place of glamorous stars and movie premieres during the 1920s to the 50s but now it’s a wide treeless street of faded glory. It’s a primarily Hispanic area...


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Kumara sesame balls – fabulous friedness de Frances

Posted by Bake Club on Wednesday, March 2, 2011, In : sweets 

Mama Chan taught me how to make these and I am pleased to have been able
to show a few friends the technique, and now I can share it with the world wide web!

Makes about 20.
1 c boiled kumara, peeled and mashed (purple flesh but you can use the orangey ones if you like)
1 ½ c glutinous rice flour (available at Asian grocers. This does not have gluten in it;
it’s called glutinous because of the sticky nature of the flour when it’s cooked)
½ c sugar (could be icing, ...


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Roasted tomato and paprika soup by Frances

Posted by Bake Club on Tuesday, March 1, 2011, In : savoury 

I'm on a roll with soup. I know this one looks a bit like the gazpacho I made (tomato is tomato is tomato)
but this one is roasted, and uses tomatoes from Nabby, a very special suburb in Auckland
(Nic and Ben’s Back Yard). The recipe is adapted from Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Cooking.

5 tomatoes, cored and quartered
1 large red capsicum, seeded and quartered
3 onions, quartered (Heidi uses brown onions)
salt and pepper
5 cloves garlic, unpeeled
3 c vegetable s...


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Gingerbread by Frances

Posted by Bake Club on Monday, February 14, 2011, In : small cakes 

Oh Nigella you do a scrumptious moist gingerbread! Even my partner Justin thought it was one of the best things I've made. No wonder, it's got butter, sour cream and stout in it!
melt in pot:
150 g butter
200 g golden syrup
200 g dark muscovado sugar
take it off the heat and add:
250 ml stout (I used Guinness)
whisk in 300 g flour (I used rice, buckwheat and spelt)
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp cinnamon
3 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
300 ml sour cream
2 eggs
Pour into tin lined with baking paper. Bak...
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Frances's new chocolate moulds

Posted by Bake Club on Thursday, February 10, 2011, In : sweets 

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...
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Lentil as anthing by Frances

Posted by Bake Club on Friday, February 4, 2011, In : savoury 


This lentil loaf was easy to make. I actually made two to feed 10 people. Start with 2 c of cooked lentils (I used puy).

Saute:
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed

Mix in:
1 c carrot, grated
2 Tbs tomato paste
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried parsley (or any herbs you like)
black pepper
salt

Put everything in a bowl with the lentils. Mix in 2 eggs, 1 c dried breadcrumbs, some chopped nuts (I used hazels). If you need more moisture add water or vege stock.
Pour into loaf tin and whack in an oven at...
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For the love of RAW - Frances's rice rolls

Posted by Bake Club on Tuesday, January 18, 2011, In : savoury 

OK, I'm branching out here on Bake Club by including something not baked at all! I am embracing raw food much more these days - we try for 50% raw in most main meals. I've been to some great raw/superfood talks and learnt a bit about the importance of enzymes in raw food and fermented foods. So here are some supereasy Vietnamese-style rice rolls. I had them once at my friend Lizzie's dinner party - she laid out all the fillings and we just made them up ourselves. I brought along some ajo blan...
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Frances's first macarons - rustic as!

Posted by Bake Club on Tuesday, December 28, 2010, In : small cakes 

Here they are, my first attempt at the fancy French macarons. They look pretty rustic with their cracked surfaces. I didn't have time to leave them for 20 mins before baking, hence the crackling, but you know what - I like this look. And it didn't affect the taste, it was still an intense sugary buttery mouthful. I followed the same recipe as Ginny used except I used lemon instead of lime and only put basil in the filling. Not as tangy but I still have plenty of ground almonds so will be mak...

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Frances makes ugly but good - brutti ma buoni

Posted by Bake Club on Friday, December 24, 2010, In : cookies 

I made these GF cookies for our Bake Club meet. The recipe is from my friend Sarah, via Ray McVinnie in the NZ Herald, thank you, and I used a technique from another recipe re heating up the egg whites. I bought bulk ground almonds from Davis Trading in Mt Wellington - very reasonable price for 1kg. I forgot to dust icing sugar on top. I think that's why they became sticky by the end of the day. But still tasted great.

1 c ground almonds (or hazelnuts. You can also finely chop instead of using...
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Frances's self-crusting quiche cake

Posted by Bake Club on Monday, December 20, 2010, In : savoury 

At the 2nd Bake Club meet I made a quiche in a fancy cake tin.

4 Free Range Eggs
1C Milk
1C Rice Flour
1t Baking Powder
1C Grated Cheese
Salt & Pepper
Any vegetables you like cut into small pieces. I used mushrooms, asparagus, tomatoes and purple basil

Mix together eggs, milk, salt and pepper, then add flour and baking powder until just combined. Add in vegies and cheese. Pour into 20/23cm greased tin and bake at 220 C for 20-25 mins. Leave 5-10 mins before turning out.

Recipe f...


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Frances doubles the fun - cinnamon rolls and parmesan buns

Posted by Bake Club on Monday, December 13, 2010, In : bread 

Aaaah…freelancing. In my world, it means more time to bake! I hadn’t made bread with gluten for a while so I thought I’d use up some spelt that I have at the back of the pantry. And if you’re going to make one batch you might as well double it and do two – one sweet and one savoury.

2 c warm water
4 tsp active dry yeast
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp butter or vegetable spread
2 tsp salt
6 c flour (I used 2 plain white and 4 wholemeal spelt)

savoury filling:
2 Tbs butter,...


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A plate of pakoras by Frances

Posted by Bake Club on Tuesday, December 7, 2010, In : savoury 


Now that I’ve set a precedent by adding the deep fried frittelle di pere to Bake Club, here’s another fried snack featuring a new favourite flour at the moment, chickpea flour (aka garbanzo, gram, besan) or pea flour. This recipe is from Annabel Langbein.


Prep time:  5 mins + standing
Cook time:  3-5 mins per batchjk
Serves: Makes approx 30

 

2 cups chickpea or pea flour
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp coriander seeds or mustard seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds, roughly ground o...


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Frances gets brownie points for GF vegan brownie

Posted by Bake Club on Sunday, December 5, 2010, In : slices 

I adapted this recipe from Miyuki McGuffie, the vegan baker on the Good blog. I made mine extra indulgent by using espresso coffee.

1 cup strong espresso
1 ¼ cup rice flour
1/4 cup muscovado sugar
½ cup brown sugar

¾ cup cocoa powder (I used fair trade cocoa but Valrhona from Sabato is excellent)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips (you can get them at New World and Pak 'N Save but I used...


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Frances’s gluten-free focaccia

Posted by Bake Club on Friday, December 3, 2010, In : bread 


I was inspired by Birg (see previous post) and Alessandra (from her own blog) to make a gluten-free olive focaccia. This was the first time I had used GF flour to make bread – my favourite recipe is usually spelt bread. I decided to use Healtheries GF bread mix and the result looks good but is quite firm throughout. After I baked it I realised the yeast I used was best before 2008! We’ve been enjoying it as toasted slices with pesto.

450 ml warm water
3 tsp yeast
3...


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Frances's frittelle di pere

Posted by Bake Club on Wednesday, December 1, 2010, In : desserts 


OK, these aren’t officially baked goods, they are fried, but definitely worth the effort. I made them for a little dinner party. They looked posh and went down a treat.

2 ½ cups flour (I used gluten free)
¼ c caster sugar
pinch salt
2 eggs, separated
1 Tbs olive oil
about ¾ c ice water
4 firm yet ripe pears, peeled, cored and cut into ½ inch thick wedges
½ c vin santo (I used port)
canola oil for frying
icing sugar for dusting

In large bowl whisk together 1 ¾ c of the f...


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Frances makes Ginny's pumpkin pie and adds kumara

Posted by Bake Club on Tuesday, November 30, 2010, In : desserts 

Hard not to be impressed by the deep, malty colours of Ginny's pumpkin pie (see below). So when I just happened to have some leftover roast pumpkin and orange kumara I decided to make a gluten-free version.
I followed Ginny's recipe and used cream instead of evaporated milk. I also made g-f pastry for the first time with butter and a g-f flour mix. I blind baked the pastry shell for about 15 mins. It turned out a bit too buttery and crumbles easily but still nice. I think the kumara and pumpki...
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Baked apples deluxe by Frances

Posted by Bake Club on Wednesday, November 24, 2010, In : desserts 


Don’t get me wrong – I’ve got nothing against Annabel Langbein’s recipes as featured on her TV programme The Free Range Cook. I just wish this obviously bright and successful woman could add a few more adjectives to her vocabulary! Her superfluous gushing of ‘so good’, ‘so delicious’, ‘so easy’ and ‘so yum’ send me into a groaning fit. On the other side of the culinary coin, Nigella finds ways to promote food porn unlike any other TV chef: everythin...


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Frances satisfies craving for gingernuts

Posted by Bake Club on Friday, November 19, 2010, In : cookies 


Contentment is: blogging on Bake Club while dunking homemade gingernuts into a big mug of peppermint tea. Don’t they look cute in my kilt-shaped biscuit tin?! I feel like a decidedly flat-chested Asian version of Nigella Dawson tapping away at my laptop, extolling the virtues of homebaking with a smug look on my face.

But there is a genuine reason for my domestic bliss – our oven has finally been fixed, six months after moving into our house! I have been surviving with ...


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Frances takes the easy road and makes gluten-free cookies from a packet

Posted by Bake Club on Tuesday, November 9, 2010, In : cookies 

These cookies using Sway's GF cookie mix are quick to make - just add some oil and an egg to the premixed organic ingredients and Robert is your father's brother. The packet made 17 little chocolate chip cookies. I tried it out because it was on special for $6.50. Not a cheap afternoon tea, considering you can get a packet of GF gingernuts for under 5 bucks, but you get a kick out of shaping the mixture and baking it yourself.



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Frances makes Ginny's cardamom and cashew shortbread gluten free

Posted by Bake Club on Monday, September 27, 2010, In : cookies 

This is what Bake Club is all about: getting inspired by what your friends have baked, and customising the recipe to suit what you have available. I only have a bench-top oven at the moment so the only baking tin that can fit is 28 x 22 cm.

I adapted GInny's original recipe a little:

250g butter, softened
1 cup icing sugar
1 cup cornflour
1/2 cup rice flour flour
1 cup gluten free flour mix
1/2 cup cashews, roasted and finely chopped
1 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp ground pepper (I only had black...
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Lamington love by Frances

Posted by Bake Club on Monday, September 20, 2010, In : small cakes 

I started out with a Genoese sponge by Alessandra Zecchini from her book Sweet As. Then used the Edmonds recipe for the chocolate icing.

I halved this recipe for the lamington sponge.

5 eggs, separated
140g sugar
grated lemon zest
120g flour (I used a bought gluten-free flour mix)
50g butter, melted

Preheat oven to 180C. Line base of 23 cm baking tin with baking paper, then grease and flour sides of tin.
Partly fill a small saucepan with hot water and set over medium heat. Set bowl over the simmering...
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Frank's feta, cashew & sundried tomato mini bites

Posted by Bake Club on Monday, September 20, 2010, In : savoury 

My muffins tend to come out dry because: I bake them too long, I probably don't use enough eggs and I need to adjust temps and times for my wee benchtop oven. Still edible though.

375g (2 1/2 cups) gluten-free flour
1 tsp baking powder
150g feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup chopped sundried tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped toasted cashews
finely chopped parsley
330ml (1 1/3 cups) milk
90g butter, melted
1 egg
Finely grated parmesan, extra

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease 2 mini muffins trays (12 muffins in each).
Sif...
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Frances 'baked' a 3-minute cake in the microwave

Posted by Bake Club on Thursday, September 16, 2010, In : small cakes 

I got this recipe from a Trade Me newsletter and had to give it a go.

It's called: The most dangerous cake recipe 5-minute chocolate mug cake

4 Tb flour, 2-4 Tb sugar, 2 Tb cocoa, 1 egg, 3 Tb milk, 3 Tb oil 3 tablespoons, chocolate chips (optional), a small splash of vanilla extract, 1 large coffee mug
Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again. Put your mug...
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Baked Mushroom Risotto - one of Frances' fave meals

Posted by Bake Club on Tuesday, September 7, 2010, In : savoury 

No more slaving over a hot stove waiting for risotto rice to cook! Bake it!

2 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, drushed
300g button mushooms, sliced or mix of dried porcini mushrooms that have been dehydrated and fresh shrooms
2 tsp thyme leaves or 1 tsp dried thyme
2 c arborio rice
5 c vegetable stock
grated parmesan
bunch of spinach leaves if you wish

Preheat oven to 200C. Heat large frying pan and add oil. Add onion and garlic and cook for 1 min. Add mushrooms and thyme and cook for 4-5 ...
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Frances' first attempt at a gluten-free, sugar-free cake (ok it's got chocolate bits in it)

Posted by Bake Club on Tuesday, August 10, 2010, In : big cakes 

I just freestyled this recipe so feel free to make up as you go along too!

1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup carrot pulp (from my Oscar juicer)
1/2 cup beetroot pulp
tsp each cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger (whatever spices you like)
1 tsp gluten-free baking powder (or make your own with 2 parts cream of tartar, 1 part baking soda, 1 part cornflour)
1/2 cup dark choc bits
another version I added chopped toasted hazelnuts and coconut
1 tsp vanilla essence
3 eggs
1/2 cup oil or 1/2 cup melted Olivani
about 4 tbsp Fre...
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WELCOME 2 BAKE CLUB -
MAY THE CAKE B WITH U

EST. 2010

Frances C loves to bake. She's also a freelance editor and DJ. She shares some of her adventures, culinary or otherwise, on Instagram.


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CAKE — THE FINAL FRONTIER

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