Tuna Fish Cakes

I hate tuna. I would really love to love it. It is apparently like some sort of super food ....how is tinned fish a super food? I find it consistently disappointing and "too fishy" .....if that is even possible. I'm picky with fish.

In a bid to save a few more dollars each week I am trying to introduce some more tuna meals to our dinners. Each fortnight I sit down and figure out what our dinners will be for the next 14 nights. It can be a pretty involved and time consuming process but doing so for the last year has really paid off for planning and saving. I have tried to include my husband in this process but he always says that I'm doing a fine job and that he doesn't really care. So when he asked what we were having for dinner Saturday night and I announced Tuna Fish Cakes....gosh, the overwhelming disappointment I was met with was shocking. Apparently he also dislikes Tuna. However, when I served up our fish cakes we LOVED them. This truly is the Tuna Fish Cake recipe for people who hate Tuna.

Tuna Fish Cakes
425g tin of tuna
2 eggs
1/2 cup parsley
1/4 cup garlic chives
1 cup breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons mayo
1 tablespoon mustard (I used seed)
1 teaspoon lemon juice (I used bottled)

Combine all the ingredients, then divide into pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and squash into a pattie shape. Lightly fry patties in a little olive oil until browned and crisp. Serve over salad with tartare sauce.

Mum's Birthday Cake

A week ago it was my birthday, now it is mum's turn.

I have always thought that it is so cool that our birthdays are only a week apart, however, in my adult life, I feel like I've done less and less for my mum's birthday. For a while there I totally forgot a couple, which is silly considering mine is only the week before. I remember taking some late night drives to Night Owl or 7/11 to get day old flowers and a box of chocolates in preparation for the next morning......what a horrible surprise that must have been for her. Last year she forgot my birthday though, which is clearly much worse so I think that makes us even!!!

This year I wanted to keep with the "simple" theme of my birthday. My mum has also had a pretty hectic year. Having us shack up with her, our dogs causing all kinds of issues in the neighbourhood, massive changes with her job....2013 has really been one of those years. I wanted to do something basic for her but also nice. After the success of my chocolate cake last week I thought I would try the butter cake option and paired this cake with a lunch cruise on the Brisbane River and a gift voucher. Birthday Gifting Win.

Basic Butter Cake
1 cup self raising flour
1 tablespoon custard powder (or corn flour)
3/4 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup milk
125 grams butter
2 eggs

Heat the oven to 180 degrees. Put all the ingredients into a bowl and mix for about 5 minutes until the mixture if fluffy, smooth and super creamy. Spoon the mixture into a prepared tin (20cm square tin or 24cm round). Place in the oven for 30 minutes (check with a skewer and remove from the oven when the skewer comes out clean).

This cake is quite fragile so be careful when removing from cake tin and when icing.....or moving it in general!

I added some finishing touches just so it wasn't SO simple. My very steady hand and skilled husband was able to slice the top layer off this cake. I then whipped up some cream and mixed through some finely sliced strawberries. I finished the top layer off with some white chocolate ganache. Added some birthday candles and it was birthday-tastic!

White Chocolate Ganache & Strawberry Cream Filling
1/2 cup pure cream
handful of strawberries, thinly sliced and diced
250g white chocolate (I used "melts" instead of "chips" as chips have a bad rep with ganache)
125ml pure cream

Whip the 1/2 cup of cream until fluffy and stir through the strawberries. Spread this on the bottom layer.

In a large saucepan bring the 125ml of pure creme to the boil. Remove from the heat and add the white chocolate. Stir until all of the chocolate has melted into the cream then refrigerate until mixture is a firm and spreadable consistency. Spread over top layer. This ganache thickens very quickly (it is basically all chocolate) so when you come to eat the cake take it out of the fridge for about 10 minutes to let the ganache melt slightly before serving.

Old Skool Simplicity

Yeh, I spelt it like Skool. Remember MSN? I'd like to say "those were the days" but...I'd be lying.

Tomorrow is my birthday and, for a couple of reasons, I am doing nothing special. Traditionally my husband goes all out on birthdays. Particularly while we were living in Northern Queensland, birthdays became quite an event. This year however, we have been fairly busy, what with the move from country back to city, the trip to India, me starting at a new school and having 3 different admin teams in as many terms, my husband studying and changing job locations about 5 times, buying a block of land and building a house, planning another 2 international holidays......we've got stuff goin on so it's low key this year.

Being a primary teacher means that every few weeks I'm subject to singing "Happy Birthday" and forced to stuff my face with whatever delicious treat a hardworking parent has sent along. Can't you tell how much I hate it!? In fact I hate it so much I have added "Master Chef" as a homework option making it practically compulsory to bring me food on a weekly basis. Obviously I have to have a piece of everything because I am "the judge". Naturally, everybody wins except my waist.  So I thought, being my birthday, something nice would be to bring in some cake to share with the kids.

Now, it is that time of year where report cards are looming. Piles of marking and assessment are beginning to clutter my desk, car, couch. It's becoming easier and easier to select chocolate and coffee over gym and fruit (okay, honestly this has always been a problem for me). I really wanted to make some kind of impressive cake but it's midweek and for all the reasons listed above (and a bunch more) I just needed to do something easier.

I remember when I was growing up mum would make cakes that were really simple but still delicious. They had simple icing and simple decorations and they just did the job. You could cook it, whack a few candles in, sing the song and cut the thing in an afternoon. That's the kind of cake I wanted.

Old Skool Chocolate Cake
1 cup self-raising flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 cup brown sugar (or white if that's what you've got)
75 grams butter (cubed and softened)
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs

Heat the oven to 180 degrees. Place all the ingredients into a bowl and mix for about 5 minutes until the mixture is fluffy, smooth and super creamy. Spoon the mixture into a prepared tin (I used a 20cm square but a 24 cm round would also work just as well). Place in the oven for about 30 minutes (check with a skewer and remove from the oven when the skewer comes out clean).

Allow the cake to cool and add chocolate icing and hundreds and thousands for that old skool touch.

October in the Garden

I took these photos last weekend and I already feel like everything has changed so much! It seems to change every single day.

Despite how quickly things are changing I still feel like, after undertaking all my planting early on the in the season, I just have a great big waiting game ahead of me.

Everything looks like it's just about to pop......but it still takes so long. Gardening is a true game of patience.

 I've harvested two more zucchinis and the corn is starting to form, what I believe to be, husks. My tomato plants have come back to life which is exciting.

Caterpillars are still wreaking havoc in some areas but frequent squishing sessions seem to be keeping them under control for the most part. The beetroot, lettuce and lemon-coriander are starting to take shape. My poor old chillies just are not coming to the party. I wonder if perhaps it is still too cold, but I've managed to kill about 8 seedlings now. I'll try again in a few weeks......it will give me something to do while I wait for everything else to happen.

Wholewheat Pikelets

Wholewheat Pikelets 

1 cup self-raising wholewheat flour

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1 egg

pinch salt

almond milk

butter (for cooking)

Whisk the egg in a bowl then add the flour, sugar, egg and salt. Mix to combine, add almond milk until mixture is at desired consistency (thinner mixture = more crepe like or pancake like consistency). Heat butter in a frying pan, ensure pan is hot before adding dollops of mixture to pan. Usually, as pikelets cook bubbles form to indicate that it is time to flip, but it didn't seem to happen with this mixture! So carefully check after they have had a little time to cook. There are great to make on the weekend then freeze in preparation for delicious and quick week day breakfasts. 

These are totally delicious with berry compote 

3/4 cup of berries (I used raspberry, blackberry, strawberry)

5 tablespoons lemon juice

1/8 cup castor sugar 

Place the berries and lemon juice into a small saucepan over a low heat. Heat, stirring until berries have released some of their juice then add sugar and mix until dissolved. Allow to simmer until sauce has thickened slightly. This is also easy to freeze in small portions to be defrosted and tipped over the pikelets. 

Zucchini Bake

My first zucchini was ready last week. I was practically bursting to cut it off about 2 weeks ago, but I have been very patient and it was totally worth the wait.

Check out the size of this lovely thing!

Look at those beautiful colours!! Is it wrong to be so in love with zucchini?!

It was so fresh, all the moisture started to ooze out in droplets. The whole thing was sparkling. Damn my poor camera skills, this photo doesn't even begin to show how gorgeous it was.

Zucchini Parmesan Bake
1 egg
Zucchini
Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon paprika
Cheddar cheese, grated


Whisk the egg in a small bowl. Slice the zucchini in wedges and coat in the egg.

In a small bowl combine the parmesan, breadcrumbs and paprkia. Place the egg coated zucchini into an oven dish. Sprinkle over the breadcrumb mixture and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes until tender. Then top with the cheddar and allow to melt in the oven for a further 5 to 10 minutes.

October in the Garden

This is my favourite time of year. The sun comes up around 5:30am, my dogs see it and immediately want to be outside. They wake me up and we all head down stairs. It is cool, slightly damp, lightly lit, quiet. Perfect.

Lots of things are happening in my garden at the moment.  We've put in another little passionfruit. Maybe in like 3 years I'll have something to show for this. Note the bricks are a perfect doggy deterrent. 

My zucchini is coming along nicely. I used up one to make an awesome parmesan zucchini bake. There are 3 more that will be ready soon.

The beans are going crazy. They have an awesome nutty flavour and just keep producing. The carrots have been thinned out and I can't wait to pull them out and see what they've been up to!

The corn is coming along steadily. It is starting to develop husks which is super exciting.

The chilli is still going slowly......like really slowly.

White Chocolate & Macadamia Brownies with Warm Caramel Sauce

Woooaahhhh.  I need some serious stretchy pants. Two weeks of holidays has seen me drink many coffees, eat copious slices of banana bread and stuff anything remotely delicious into my mouth at a rapid pace.

This holiday has been great. Time in the garden. Time at the gym (shocking!). Time in front of the television. Time with friends. Lots of time eating, however, not much time spent in the kitchen.

For the final weekend of the break I figured I should make something epic. These have been in the pipeline for some time and I am so happy they happened in my kitchen tonight. Think chewy, chocolatey goodness.

White Chocolate & Macadamia Brownies
2 x 3/4 cups white chocolate bits
70 grams butter
2 eggs
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
1 cup plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup macadamia nuts chopped

Melt one lot of the the white chocolate and the butter in a small bowl over a saucepan of boiling water until smooth.

In a large bowl mix the eggs, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add the white chocolate and butter mixture to the egg mixture and beat until well combined then add the flour, baking powder, salt, nuts and extra white chocolate. Mix until just combined. Cook in a 180 degree oven for approx 23 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting.

Warm Caramel Sauce
125ml thickened cream
95 grams brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
10 grams butter

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to the boil then let simmer for around 10 minutes until thickened. Caramel will continue to thicken while cooling.

Serve warm brownies drizzled in caramel sauce with ice cream.

Diet starts...................Tuesday.

October in the Garden: Zucchini

Perhaps everyone in my neighbourhood woke this morning to the screams of "IT'S OPEN! IT'S OPEN!" I was, of course, referring to the gigantic flower of my zucchini plant. This thing has just been growing and growing. Every morning for the past week I have been going down stairs, bringing as many family members along with me as possible, saying "I wonder how big it is now!?" Seriously, this picture does not do it justice, the bud was HUGE.

Finally, this morning it has popped open...aaaand I'm losing my mind.  I just can't contain my excitement when things actually grow in my garden. My little Zucchini is about 8cm long and there are three more on the way. 

September in the Garden: how it all ended up

As the end of September approaches I thought I should do a follow up on this post. Let's get the bad news out of the way first: a whole lot of "life" got in the way of my gardening, as such my Thyme and Chilli died.....that's it. That's the bad news over. Okay, okay, I'm lying. I'm having an ongoing caterpillar situation but, compared to spider mites, these guys are relatively manageable. The first morning we discovered about a million of them I was super concerned about how I was going to kill them.....but they are easily squished between the thumb and the forefinger and a good squirt of Pyrethrum has more or less sorted them out. I just need to be a bit (whole lot) more vigilant with my pest management.  That's the bad news out of the way. Here's how everything else is going.

The corn has been a great hit. I've been sowing it periodically so fingers crossed I should be able to harvest corn for a few months at the end of this year and into next year. My Zucchini is going great guns. The thing just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Finally, I planted the carrots out last weekend and they started poking their little heads through yesterday. I will need to thin them out in a few days and then again a little ways down the track.

While I've been having some caterpillar issues, my garden has FINALLY been visited by some useful insects. I spied these gorgeous little guys and couldn't have been happier.

The beans have really taken off. They are all blossoming and I can't wait to eat my first crop in the next few weeks.

The lime tree has come back into bloom. My fingers are crossed in hope that I can get about 20 limes this season. Finally here's how the herb garden is looking at the moment - a whole lot happier than it's before shot from earlier this month.

 I have planted in some parsnips but they won't be appearing for some time still and I am very hopeful that by the end of October, hopefully my flowers will be in bloom. Yay spring!!!

Oriental Meatballs

I didn't have a meatball until I was 21. I never really understood what the appeal of them was. Even the meatball I had then was a bit strange. It was steamed and seemed to be more breadcrumbs than anything else. Over the last week or so though I've had a bit more time for meatballs. Which is good, because they do take a little while to make. I blame My Kitchen Rules . I've been massively sucked into this show - first time watcher. When you push aside all of the drama, there are actually some pretty decent meals coming out of their kitchens. My Spicy Meatballs with Polenta were a creation based on combining this and this. This dish was so delicious I decided to try another MKR inspired dish - 5 Spice Pork Meatballs. However, I'm not a fan of 5 spice and I don't like pork so this is my own version.

Oriental Meatballs 

500 grams beef mince 

1 egg

5 waterchestnuts

1/2 teaspoon coriander leaves

2 spring onions, chopped

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 teaspoons garlic

1 teaspoon ginger 

1/4 teaspoon fish sauce 

2/3 cup breadcrumbs 

Break the mince up in a large mixing bowl. Whisk the egg and pour over the mince. In a food processor, process the water chestnuts and the spring onions until finely chopped. Add to the mince. Add the sesame oil, garlic, ginger and fish sauce and mix to combine. Gradually add the breadcrumbs to ensure mixture isn't too wet or too dry. Using a tablespoon portion the meat so you end up with uniform size balls and place onto a baking tray. Bake in a 150 degree oven for about 50 minutes (until cooked through and brown on the outside)

Sauce 

1 cup of chicken stock

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1 spring onion chopped

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon garlic

2 teaspoons corn flour 

Bring the chicken stock to the boil and add the soy and oyster sauce. Allow mixture to simmer for about 5 minutes then add the spring onion, sugar, ginger and garlic. Let mixture simmer for a further 5 minutes. Mix the corn flour with about 1/8 cup of water. Gradually add to the sauce, stirring, until the sauce is at desired consistency. 

Serve meatballs with sauce drizzles over the top on white rice with Asian greens.

TimTam Cake

So August brought that time of year again - Hubby's Birthday. After last years caramel, white chocolate deliciousness  it took me a while to decide what to for this year. I had a practice at this TimTam Cake and made a half batch recipe. For the actual day I made the full size cake, in all its chocolatey glory. It really was pretty spectacular - I took pictures this time which helps!

September In The Garden

Spring is finally here! I started my spring garden planning about 2 weeks ago. We let our garden beds settle...I think I said something crazy like, "Let's leave them for 2 weeks." That lasted all of about 3 days. We transplanted a lot of our herbs that have been living in pots for the past 6 to 8 months. After the transplant a lot of things suffered - which makes sense, even plants don't like moving home straight away! Also our garden beds are much bigger so obviously become much drier, they are also a totally different type of soil to that which we have previously used. As keen as I was to keep going I realised everything actually did need some time to settle. So with frequent watering and big drinks of seaweed tea it all started to come together nicely.

I decided that after the great spider mite disaster of 2013, I would never use purchased seedlings again. The following reasons contributed to this decision
1. seedlings have the potential to introduce pests into the garden (see: the great spider mite disaster of 2013)
2. seedlings are expensive
3. seedlings come in boxes of about 6 - I find that about half of this (if not more) tends to be fairly weak and die off, thus making my spent money useless 

With all this in mind I got some seeds. I have never planted anything from seed.....ever!! Crazy right?!

I was naturally a little bit nervous but I thought the best thing to do is try "hardier" crops so I selected sweet corn, chilli and some flowers. I also wanted to add another herb into the mix and as I seem to be using thyme fairly frequently these days so that was my herb of choice. I set my seeds up in a large egg carton with some nice compost in a sunny position. I planted everything and crossed my fingers. Over the next few days I sprayed my little clumps of dirt with excessive amounts of water and frequently yelled, "GROW!" at them.

And to my surprise, they did! 

Thyme was the first thing to pop up which was a huge shock as thyme is supposed to take a long thyme. They all got off to a great start but, predictably, have slowed right down now. I'm assuming it will be close to a year before my thyme is anywhere near useable - but still, there is quite a lot of them so I'm hoping to be able to offload a few plants to friends at Christmas time (can you believe it's close enough to Christmas to be thinking things like that! Did someone say Gingerbread House!?)

The next thing to pop up was my corn. I am so totally in love with it. During our holiday in Nepal we saw so much corn growing in the jungles as the base of the mountains it just had me so captivated I decided I had to grow it - AND I AM!!!! Seeds - they are so darn magical aren't they?! 

Finally, the flowers started to poke through and they took off like wild fire (flowers?). They have been zooming along nicely. Also down in the actual garden I popped in some bean seeds that practically punched through the soil overnight - you can only imagine my rapture! 

My next project is zucchini, carrots and parsnips. I'm going to attempt to grow these straight into the garden beds rather than doing the seed trays. I have transplanted most of these little guys into the garden beds and I'm eagerly tracking their progress. I feel a little sorry for my plants, I observe them so intensely they must feel an overwhelming amount of pressure some days!! The Chilli has just started to come up in the last few days so, fingers crossed warm weather will bring about a yummy yard that is fast growing, high yielding and hopefully evil-pest-free (or as much as possible!)

Sunday Sweets: Berry Banana Muffins

July Throw Back

My husband's birthday is just under a month away. For the past three years birthdays have been a bit of a "thing" for us.

In year 1 I remember his birthday two days before it happened. This might not have been such a big deal if we didn't live in an isolated rural town with exactly zero department stores and perhaps (stretching it) 2 places that could be considered "variety" stores that take about 2 minutes to walk the entirety of. I offered to make a "special dinner" that failed epically. I also attempted to make a cake that was fairly disappointing. Needless to say, year 1 did not work out so well.

In year 2 I thought ahead slightly and via ebay purchased a small number of items that I felt were practical. I also planned a weekend get away to Townsville. Apparently my husband hates practical items as gifts. He believes birthdays are a time for impractical things that you don't really need but really want. Also Townsville is...disappointing to say the least. We also got terribly lost on our trip home and ended up turning a 10 hour drive into 15 hours of scary, petrol-gague-staring, out-of-range off-roading. Year 2 epic fail.

In year 3 I started early. During the year when I heard him mention various items of interest I noted them down in my phone. I started purchasing things on ebay in June. I didn't think twice about how expensive things were or how practical they were. I made outlandish purchases like an iPad and a framed Joker photo compilation signed by Heath Ledger - yes I purchased the signature of the deceased. I also made this cake. Needless to say, I nailed it in year 3.

So here we are in year 4. We are living back in a world where there are like 15 department stores in short driving distance and the entire CBD of shops is a 20 minute train ride away. So I'm starting early. The restaurant it booked. Family invitations have been arranged. Pre-shopping questions have been asked.

This weekend the shopping began. Who'd have thought that living so close to shops would actually make things harder? The variety is the issue here. I've gone from having no options to too many. Also, I had such a good crack at things last year, this year I am left with fairly slim pickings. How do I top myself?

I have spent the weekend going from one huge mall to the next. I haven't gone to the gym all weekend as I have spent so much time running in circles and going from one end of shops to the other and back....and again.  So, this Sunday I decided that, after two long shopping days, I would make afternoon tea instead of dessert....for two reasons - 1. I need a sugar boost at this point in the day and 2. I am so tired I don't think I will even last to dinner let alone dessert.

These muffins came about by accident. I was going through the freezer yesterday when I discovered a whole bunch of bananas that I had frozen about 2 months ago. I know that sounds weird, but I did it for this very reason. Over ripe frozen bananas are magical things that make baked banana goods extra delicious. I also had a let over box of frozen blueberries so it all just made sense to me. They have come out looking kind of rustic which I really like. I am consistently disappointed with my flat, smooth muffins, these look like the kind of muffins I picture in my head.

Berry Banana Muffins
1 egg
2/3 cup brown sugar
80 grams butter
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup blueberries
mashed bananas (I used 6 small very ripe and sloppy bananas - these provide the moisture for the muffins so over ripe is ideal)

August in the Garden

Obviously this was intended to be posted earlier....darn life getting in the way of my hobbies!
We appear to have recovered from the great spider mite infestation of 2013. My poor old sugar snap peas never stood a chance. Anyway, lesson learnt - gardens require ongoing maintenance.

Way back in June we had three above ground garden beds built for us. They were constructed from left over bits of Colour Bond fence and we were lucky enough to get them at "mates rates". This weekend we had another mate come around and help us top them up with  the most deliciously dung filled, steaming organic soil I have ever encountered. Naturally, as we were filling the beds up, our dogs assumed Christmas had come early and took very little time jumping inside and rolling around in all that manurey goodness.

We are letting the beds sit for the week to settle and then the real fun will begin. I am feeling pretty darn proud of all of this. Considering back in December when we first moved in and decided we would have a go at gardening we never really thought we would get the the stage where we actually had garden beds just waiting to be filled with plants. We were always going to start off with just a few pots of basil, parsley and some cherry tomatoes. Over the past few months we have tried (and sometimes failed!) to do a few more bits and pieces and we have learnt quite a lot. Really, for me that's what it has always been about - learning how to do garden stuff!

The part that makes me happiest is that for the past month I have been able to go down to my garden any day of the week and get something for lunch or dinner. I made an entire tabouleh main dish for dinner last week with my own parsley. I made a pesto pasta meal for 3 with my own basil.

This week I saw punnets of cherry tomatoes for $11.92kg - I have half a kilo sitting on my bench. Now I am aware that these cannot be considered "free meals" as I had to pay for the plants, the soil, the pots they grow in, the water and seaweed fertiliser I feed them. Over time the financial benefits of having my own garden will all balance out but at the moment I am reaping the chemical free benefits. These gorgeous little plants are loaded with sweet, juicy flavour. I have never been the type of person to enjoy tomato (or parsley for that matter) but I can easily pop any of these things in my mouth and a smile.

Damper-Scones

My dinner went all wrong this evening. I attempted to make Sushi....which on reflection was really dumb. The whole reason I started making Sushi at home was because my closest Sushi Train was a 700km drive. Now I have like 7 Sushi Trains in a 7 minute radius of my house....enough 7s there - they're lucky you know (also do you like my accurate use of "there" and "they're" ...we started our letter writing assessment item today).

So, my sushi rolls fell to pieces. I didn't have enough rice. I also didn't have the right type of rice. I didn't really make enough of anything. We devoured our sushi bits and pieces (and all the random bits of rice floating around the kitchen bench) and were left asking, "So....what's for mains".

Enter Damper-Scones. On the weekend we took a random scenic trip to Mount Tambourine and stuffed our faces with Belgian Hot Chocolate and Scones. Apparently I didn't get enough because ever since I have been craving bready-baked goodness. On Sunday night I kept thinking "damper and golden syrup" but was too lazy to do anything about it....except of course eat a teaspoon (or 4) or golden syrup.

The only solution to tonight's dinner calamity was to make Damper- Scones a reality. Why damper scones? Well, what's the difference really? They more or less seem to follow the same technique you just put different stuff on em.  These were super easy and we had full warm tummies and syrupy faces in less than an hour. Dinner fail = epic win.

Damper/Scones
250 grams self-rasing flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
25 grams butter
175 ml milk

Place flour and salt in a large bowl. Chop the butter into small chunks and add to the flour. Rub the butter into the flour until it all looks like fine breadcrumbs (is it just me or is this the most soothing activity ever? I could do it all day). Add the milk to the flour mixture and gently combine. Turn the dough out onto a flour surface and knead lightly (ensure it isn't too sticky - add some all purpose flour if it is). Form the dough into a large flat ball OR if you want to make scones, break it into several small soft balls. Bake at 180 degrees for about 25 minutes.

Smother in butter and golden syrup or smother in jam and cream. Also add sultanas if you are that way inclined.

Sunday Sweets: TimTam Cream Cake

I had inspiration for this cake from here. I have changed it slightly by halving most of the recipe. My husbands birthday is just around the corner so this was my "practice cake" to ensure I don't totally embarrass myself on the big day. I have wanted to make a TimTam cake for a while and saw a few different designs online but I figured, for me, this was one the most achievable...though I was super nervous about the ganache, but in this case it turned out well. 

Cake

95 grams butter

185g caster sugar

2 eggs

¾ cup self-raising flour

¼ cup plain flour

¼ cup + 2tbl spoons cocoa powder

½ teaspoon bicard soda

¼ cup milk

¼ cup water

Chocolate Ganache

200g milk chocolate

150ml thickened cream (don't use long life)

Chocolate Cream Filling

65g butter

1 ½ cup icing sugar

1 tbs milk

100g milk chocolate, melted

50 g TimTams

Preheat oven to 180°C and organise your tray….something along the lines of a shallow rectangle. If you have 2 it will save you time, however, I only had one – so I had to allow extra time to cook each half of the cake.

Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a small bowl combine the flours, cocoa powder and bicarb soda. Transfer this mixture into a sift and sift half over the wet mixture. Add the milk and gentle fold in until just combined. Sift the rest of the flour mixture in then add the water and, again, fold gently until all combined.

Spoon mixture evenly into the cake pan/s and allow to cook (20-30min). Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely (or if your in a hurry pop it in the fridge)

Chocolate Ganache

*the key to any good ganache is patience…I don’t have much of that when it comes to melted chocolate but it is important.

 Put the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream just to the boil over medium heat. Pour the cream over the chocolate and stir until melted and smooth. Place in fridge, stirring often, until thickened to a spreadable consistency.

Chocolate Cream


Beat the butter in a bowl until creamy. Gradually add the icing sugar and milk, in alternating batches, until smooth and combined. With the beater on low, gradually beat in the chocolate. Put the TimTams in a plastic bag and crush them into small pieces (seriously, smash them up). Tip the crumbs into the cream mixture and fold through.

Putting it together

Place the base of the cake onto baking paper. Use a spatula and a spreading knife to spread the cream over the base. Top with the remaining layer of cake. Depending on how moist your cream is you may want to put the cake in the fridge at this point to allow the cream to set slightly OR just live life on the edge and go ahead and pour and spread the ganach all over the top and sides. Then refrigerate until ready to devour.

** side note: my ganache turned out perfectly….so perfectly infact that we never even took a photo of it – blog fail. On the plus side this was the “practice cake” so there will be another one to come with a ganache photo (fingers crossed!)

From the Heart

Look at this gorgeous thing.

I am, of course, referring to my lovely apron. I have been waiting for an opportunity to show case this but I wasn't quite sure how to do it so... this is how I'm doing it.

This apron was a handmade gift from Jenn. Who is Jenn? Well, apart from perhaps my most avid reader, Jenn, is my friend. Here is some more information about Jenn.

Jenn is Canadian, which automatically means she is kind, thoughtful and has an adorable accent. It also means she says things like "trunk" instead of "boot" and "bangs" instead of "fringe" and also gives me weird looks when I talk about my thongs (flip-flops).

Jenn is a teacher. This means, among other talents, she is clever, resourceful, patient, resilient and good at explaining things.

Jenn made me this card about 4 years ago. It has been attached to my fridge ever since and I read it frequently because it makes me feel good.

Jenn took me to my first Pilates class at the gym in Ipswich. That got me excited about joining a gym and doing classes. 

Jenn let me drive her to the Sunshine Coast for a weekend. And was totally calm about almost colliding with another vehicle along the way.

Jenn is healthy and does things like run and train for marathons. She also understands the importance of drinking tea and enjoying decadent baked goods.

Jenn has great fashion sense and cool mittens.

  
Jenn went to university with me. She helped me with assignments and did group projects with me. She understands what it is like to be so tired and stressed that all you can do is eat caramel filled koala shaped chocolate. She is also highly supportive when you lose your voice the day a presentation is due.

Jenn's name is similar to mine. It goes consonant, vowel, double consonant. This is the pattern that indicates general awesomeness.

Jenn is a scientist. She made flowers turn blue for me.

Jenn gave me a little angle to watch over me (note the little figure on the bouquet).

Jenn introduced me to Tim Hortons, which literally changed my life.

Jenn taught me how to actually build a snowman. Who knew you could roll snow into balls - I always thought that was just something they did on cartoons!

Jenn has an amazing family who let me stay at their home and explore their barn and invited me to a New Years Eve party that I will never forget.

Jenn is my friend and with my whole heart, I love her.