Tag: sweets

Edible Christmas Gifts: Christmas Hot Chocolate

Dear Time,

Why do you move so quickly? Only yesterday it was weeks until Christmas and today I wake up to find that there are only three more sleeps! Slow down loser.

Love, Katie.

Anyone else wondering where all that time went? I like to think that i’m pretty organised when it comes to Christmas (laugh all you want people, but despite my lack of organisation throughout the year I do get my Christmas shopping done super early). But it’s not the shopping that has fazed me this year, rather its all the co ordination of the cooking, cleaning, seeing friends etc. At the moment i’m procrastinating before working up the energy to decorate my gingerbread house (post to come!) and cook my potato salad for a Christmas Party tomorrow. Of course, in the interim I thought I would have a crack at another quick and easy edible Christmas gift, you know, in case you aren’t quite as organised in the shopping department as I am. (Let me take this moment to gloat because, i’m clearly behind throughout the year. Give me this one!)

I saw this recipe for Hot Cocoa at My Baking Addiction (another find through Twitter. Loving that!) and thought that this would be a great way to use up some sweet little jars I bought, and it would make great Christmas gifts. PLUS it meant that I could buy marshmallows, because who doesn’t have marshmallows all the time with their hot chocolate? I thought I would make it a little more christmassy by adding in some cinnamon and I reduced the amount that I made, but otherwise the recipe was great as it was.

marshmallowwwwssssss…..

all you need to do is sift all the ingredients together. I sifted mine a few times to get the sugar really fine otherwise you’re left with white specks throughout your mix

then bottle!

then repeat!

p.s. how cute are these jars? $2.5o from a little reject shop style store. Make sure that you wash them thoroughly in hot soapy water though.

If you are totally stuck for ideas this Christmas, I would recommend this. Who doesn’t like hot chocolate? And why would you be friends with someone who doesn’t like hot chocolate? I’m pretty sure thats not normal.

If you want to view the original recipe you can find it here.

Otherwise,

Christmas Hot Chocolate Mix – yield is roughly 2 and 3/4 cups

Ingredients

1 cup icing sugar (powdered sugar or confectioners sugar)

1/2 cup cocoa powder (dutch processed is best)

1 1/4 cup powdered milk

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cornflour

1 tsp cinnamon (add more according to your taste)

Method

1. Mix all ingredients together and sift several times. The more times you sift, the finer your mix will be.

You could add more or different spices according to what you like or what your giftee would like. Be creative!

2. Pour into jars and seal

3. To make the hot chocolate, add to hot milk or water and stir thoroughly

Malteser Cake – and why I am the way I am

I’ve spent the day watching the news reports about the QLD floods. It’s a very sobering sight. I find it absolutely incomprehensible that something like this can just happen by the will of the weather, and that overnight something that was a crisis can blow out into a catastrophe. I am lucky in that I have no family or friends in Queensland but my heart goes out to anyone who is touched by this disaster. Im sure the people of Queensland could use all the help they can get in rebuilding once the floodwaters recede, so if you want to make a donation you can do so here at the official Queensland Government website. Please forgive me if this post is not executed with my usual enthusiasm.

–

If you are feeling a bit down and at a loose end, then this is a cake that will cheer you up. First viewed on Chocolate Suze’s blog but originally from a Nigella Lawson recipe, this cake is one that goes that little way beyond a plain chocolate cake (although, what could be wrong with a plain chocolate cake?). I thought it would be a good way to use up the packet of Maltesers that somehow made it safely out of the cinema after I saw Harry Potter recently. Don’t ask me how that happened. They are tricksy little creatures, those Maltesers…

So they had to be taught a lesson. There is no escaping the tummy of Katie.

I wanted to use my new Heart shaped springform tin that I had snagged in the post christmas sales. I also got a madeleine tin which I will be using shortly. The heart tin worked well but did leak a little so be careful, you may want to put a little alfoil around the bottom to stop any batter leaking out into your oven.

The cake was moist and came out of the pan easily and then I had some fun decorating!

and I used my new turn table to boot 😉

I decorated the edges with half cut maltesers and sprinkled some crushed ones over the top

mmmmmm… maltesery

and I reserved some of the crushed maltesers for eating with the cake. Yummo!

I added extra malt to the mix but my real secret ingredient was a handful of maltesers thrown into the batter before baking. They leave a gooey, malty, caramely surprise in the centre of your cake

This final picture is of the serving I gave to the mothership, after she asked for more cream. I used double thick cream and she was satisfied with this amount. I think she may be using cream as an alternate fuel source. And if, while reading this blog, you were ever wondering where I got my sweet tooth and insanely skewed understanding of the food pyramid, there you go. Like mother, like daughter!

So, my lovelies, what eating habits did you inherit from your parents?

Warm Lemon Curd Souffles

Now Donna, I never thought I would say this but while I will always love you with your fail safe and amazing desserts, you have been outdone. I have discovered  The Saint. And of course, I am referring to that paragon of amazing English cooking, Saint Delia. The story goes a little something like this.

My good friend Helen the Melon lent me several books and magazines a few weeks ago to help me with my quest to cook a terrific pudding (and yes, the magazines were Donna Hay, she still has a place in my heart!) Among the collection were the Delia’s How To Cook books One Two and Three. No matter how much I learn about cooking I always feel that theres still so much I dont know. So I was delighted to see that Delia’s books were a comprehensive guide to the absolute basics of cookery. Perfect for beginners, Book One’s opening chapter is “All About Eggs.” Hooray! I love eggs!

So I dutifully set about reading and testing, testing and eating, eating and, well, more eating. Until I reached a certain recipe that had me salivating like Pavlov’s Dog. That recipe was Warm Lemon Curd Souffles. My love of lemons has been well documented in this blog and its not often that I can return from the supermarket without one or two lemons. They just look so damn tasty at the moment! But despite this enduring love of citrus, I was apprehensive, for I had NEVER tried to make a souffle before and their reputation for being fickle and deflating had far preceded them.

mmmmmmm lemon curd…

With the help of Saint Delia, I rallied and attempted these amazing desserts. I followed all the instructions to the letter, popped them in the oven and crossed my fingers and my toes. I suspect my sister may have also had her fingers crossed. Maybe it was all that crossing, but when I took them out they were BLISSFULLY risen and utterly delicious! Beautifully puffed souffle on top, gorgeous creamy layer of Lemon Curd on the bottom, what more could you ask for? Except for more please!! If you try no other souffle recipe in your lifetime, you must try this one.

yummoriffic!

P.s. I did have some difficulty with my grated lemon zest being quite chunky, can anyone recommend a fine grater that is good for zesting?

Warm Lemon Curd Souffles – From Delia’s How To Cook Book One

Ingredients – For The Lemon Curd

The grated zest and juice of one small lemon

1 large egg

40g caster sugar

25g cold unsalted butter, cubed

1 tsp cornflour

Method – For Lemon Curd

1. Lightly whisk the eggs in a small/medium saucepan

2. Add the rest of the ingredients (only the lemon curd ingredients!) and place the saucepan over a medium heat

3. Whisk the mixture continuously using a balloon whisk until it thickens (about 3 mins)

4. Lower the heat to its minimum setting and let the curd simmer for 1 more minute, whisking all the time

5. Remove from heat and divide the curd between the bases of four ramekins (Delia says to use ramekins with a base diameter of 6cm and a top diameter of 7.5cm. I just used ones that I thought would work!)

Ingredients – For the Souffles

3 large eggs

Grated zest and juice of one medium lemon (should be about 2 tablespoons of juice)

50g caster sugar (Delia specifies Golden Caster sugar, but I couldn’t find any and normal seemed to do the trick)

1 dessert spoon of caster sugar

Method – For the Souffles

1. Separate the eggs putting the yolks into a medium sized bowl and the whites into a larger bowl

2. Whisk the whites until they reach the stiff peak stage (about 4-5 mins depending on what whisking method you use)

3. Add the dessert spoon of sugar and whisk for 30 seconds more

4. Add the zest and lemon juice and the rest of the sugar to the yolks and whisk briefly

5. Take a tablespoon of the whites and fold into the yolks mixture

6. Gently folk in the rest of the whites being very careful not to knock the air out of the mixture

7. Spoon the mixture into the prepared ramekins, piling it high like a pyramid. Run your finger around the inside rim of each ramekin (this will help prevent any of the mixture leaking out around the sides)

8. Place the ramekins on a baking tray and bake on the centre shelf of the oven for 15 mins on 170 degrees celsius (I only baked them for about 8 minutes, use your judgement and when they are nice and golden on top, take them out)

9. Let them rest for about 5 mins before serving to allow the curd to cool a bit

10. EAT EAT EAT!