Microwave coconut macaroons

Ingredients

• 1 Egg White
• 3/4 Cup Unsweetened Coconut
• 1 Tsp. Cocoa
• 1 Cup Icing Sugar

Method

1. Add egg white to a small bowl and beat until foamy on top.


2. In another bowl mix together icing sugar and cocoa; then add egg white mixture and stir thoroughly;




3. Add coconut and mix together.


4. Line a microwaveable plate with a piece of parchment paper and add 4 spoonfuls of the mixture to the plate

5. Microwave on high for 90 seconds.
6. Let cool and move to rack.
7. Repeat as this mixture should make 8.
8. ENJOY!

Gingerbread House

This American recipe is the best for making gingerbread men, a gingerbread house, and so on.

This makes a HUGE amount - I usually make half quantities. It is a very forgiving recipe and is very easy to work with.

Beat together:
1 cup (6oz) melted vegetable shortening
1 cup (8 oz) sugar, mixed brown and white or all white
6 - 8 tablespoons (1 cup) honey or golden syrup
1/2 cup water, 1 large beaten egg

Beat in:
3 cups (18 oz) flour
1 tablespoon bicarbonate of soda
1 1/2 tablespoons ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons each of cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg (or equivalent in mixed spices) Quantities may be increased to taste

Slowly add a further 3 cups flour - the dough will be very soft - and pat the dough together. Refrigerate a little if wanted.

Bake 10 - 12 minutes at 180 degrees (350 degrees Fahrenheit) until slightly brown. Cool on a wire rack - the biscuits should usually crispen up.

Mulled Wine

The easiest recipe:

Ingredients

• ½ bottle red wine
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 star anise
• 2 cloves
• 1 orange, sliced
• 1 lemon, sliced
• 50g/1¾oz brown sugar

Preparation method

1. Place all of the ingredients into a saucepan and simmer gently for 6-8 minutes, without boiling.
2. To serve, pour the mulled wine into heatproof glasses

Mary Berry's recipe: spiced citrus fruit, water and red wine, with sugar to taste.

Ingredients

• 1 large orange
• 3 lemons
• 12 cloves
• 2 satsumas or clementines
• 2 x 750ml bottles red wine
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 150g/5½oz caster sugar (optional)
• brandy, to taste (optional)

Preparation method

1. Carefully peel the zest very thinly from the orange and lemons using a vegetable peeler. Squeeze out the juice and reserve.
2. Stick the cloves into the satsumas.
3. Pour the wine, 1.2 litres/2 pints of cold water, and the citrus peel and juices into a large, heavy-based saucepan. Add the clove-studded satsumas and cinnamon sticks. Bring the mixture just to the boil, then reduce the heat until the mixture is simmering, cover the pan with the lid, and continue to simmer for about 1 hour. Stir in the sugar gradually during cooking, until the mulled wine is sweetened to your liking (you may not need all of the sugar).
4. Strain the mulled wine and serve hot in cups.

Otherwise, Glögg:

Ingredients

• 1 bottle of red wine
• 100g/3½oz demerara sugar
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped out
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tsp cloves

To serve: raisins, crushed hazelnuts

Preparation method

1. Combine all ingredients (except the raisins and hazelnuts) in a pan and warm up very slowly, never allowing it to boil.
2. Place two tablespoons each of raisins and hazelnuts into each glass and ladle in the glögg. 

Candied Orange Peel

So delicious. So easy. So quick. Recipe from here, thank you very much!

Candied Orange and Lemon Peel:

• Peels from two oranges and two lemons, pith removed
• 2 cups of sugar
• Use a paring knife to get as much of the pith removed as possible. In a large microwave safe bowl (with a lid!) cover the peels with water. Cover and microwave for two minutes. Drain and rinse the peels. Repeat this step.

Once the peels are rinsed the second time, put them back into the microwave safe bowl. Cover with one cup of sugar. Pour the cup of water on top. Cover and microwave for 4 minutes.

The house will smell fantastic at this point.
On a large plate, add the final cup of sugar, a little at a time for each batch of peel. In small batches spoon the peels (draining the syrup off) into the sugar bowl. Toss to coat, and then place them on a sheet of parchment paper. Repeat until all peels are coated in sugar. Let them air dry for about an hour.

A lot of people coat the candied peels in chocolate once they’ve dried, but I like them just like this. The perfect combination of bitter, tart, and sweet.

Also, save the syrup from the microwave step. It’s nice for cocktails! I also save the sugar from coating the peels. I’m not sure what I will do with it yet, but I couldn’t throw it away!

Pancakes

Some pancake recipe ideas here.

Banana pancakes, gluten free:

Basic Batter:
1 large banana, mashed (should be around 1/3 to 1/2 cup when mashed)
2 eggs

optional add ins:
1/8 tsp baking powder (see notes)
2 tbsp nut butter, pb2/peanut flour, almond flour or dessicated coconut (see notes)
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup blueberries/ raspberries/ chopped nuts
2 tbsp mini chocolate chips

Peel and mash the banana, stir in the egg. Mix in any non-chunky add ins that you want (e.g. nut flours or butters, baking powder...).

Heat a non stick skillet and lightly spray with oil. Tun the heat down to medium-low.

Pour a circle of batter into the pan (I used about 1 or 2 tbsp of batter per pancake).

Cook until golden brown on the underside (around 1 minute) sprinkle on any chunky ingredients (e.g. chocolate chips, fruit, nuts, if using), then use a metal spatula to flip and cook until golden brown on the other side (30 seconds to 1 minute).

Serve warm with whatever the heck you want

Share this:

• Print
• Email
• Facebook

5 minute no bake cheesecake

5 min No Bake Cheesecake...

NO BAKE CHEESECAKE

Ingredients
370g cream cheese (room temp – this is important!)
400g tin of sweetened condensed milk
250ml thickened cream
1/3 cup of lemon or lime juice.


In a mixing bowl, mix the cream cheese to get most of the lumps out. Then add the other ingredients, making sure the juice is added last. The reaction of the citrus juice will start to set your mixture almost immediately. On the low speed of your hand mixer, blend well until all ingredients are incorporated. Immediately pour mixture into pre-prepared crust. Refrigerate for 1 – 1 ½ hours.
For the crust take 250g of your favourite plain biscuits and crush well. Stir in 125g of melted butter and press into the base of a lined spring-form tin.

2 minute meringues

Mix one egg white into 300g icing sugar. Mix to a firm ball with hands/knife.
Form into marble sized balls, place 4 on a kitchen towel on a plate, evenly spaced apart.
Microwave for one - two minutes.

Video here.

Sugar Cookies

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 egg
• 1-1/2 teaspoons almond extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• FROSTING:
• 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 to 4 tablespoons 2% milk
• Food coloring of your choice, optional

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extracts. Combine flour and salt; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Chill 1-2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 375°. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with floured 2-1/2-in. cookie cutters. Place on greased baking sheets. Bake 7-9 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.
3. For frosting, in a small bowl, combine butter, sugar, vanilla and enough milk to achieve a spreading consistency. If desired, tint with food coloring. Frost cookies; decorate as desired. Yield: 6-7 dozen.

Read more: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/favorite-sugar-cookies#ixzz3LL1xUAZp

Fudge and sweetie recipes

Fudge: ingredients

• 1 teaspoon plus 1/2 cup butter, softened, divided
• 3-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup baking cocoa
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup M&M's minis

Line an 8-in. square pan with foil and greased the foil with 1 teaspoon butter; set aside. In a large bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, cocoa and salt. Melt remaining butter; add milk and vanilla. Stir into sugar mixture until blended; whisk until smooth. Stir in M&M's. Immediately spread into prepared pan. Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.

Using foil, lift fudge out of pan. Discard foil; cut fudge into 1-in. squares. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Yield: 1-1/2 pounds.

 more: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/no-fail-fudge#ixzz3LKtmEOxg

Peanut Butter Cups

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter, divided
• 4-1/2 teaspoons butter, softened
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
• 4 milk chocolate candy bars (1.55 ounces each), coarsely chopped

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup peanut butter, butter, confectioners' sugar and salt until smooth; set aside.
2. In a microwave, melt the chocolate chips, candy bars and remaining peanut butter; stir until smooth.
3. Drop teaspoonfuls of chocolate mixture into paper-lined miniature muffin cups. Top each with a scant teaspoonful of peanut butter mixture; top with another teaspoonful of chocolate mixture. Decorate with sprinkles if desired. Refrigerate until set. Store in an airtight container. Yield: 3 dozen.

Read more: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/homemade-peanut-butter-cups#ixzz3LKyVksRh

Nut Brittle

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup coarsely chopped almonds
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 pound dark or milk chocolate candy coating

1. In a 1-1/2-qt. microwave-safe bowl, combine the sugar, corn syrup and salt. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 2-1/2 minutes. Stir in almonds; cook on high for 2-1/2 minutes. Add the butter and vanilla; cook on high for 1 minute.
2. Stir in baking soda. As soon as the mixture foams, quickly pour onto a greased metal baking sheet. Cool completely. Break into 2-in. pieces.
3. Melt chocolate coating in a microwave. Dip one side of brittle in chocolate and place on waxed paper to harden. Store in an airtight container. Yield: about 1 pound.

Editor's Note: This recipe was tested in a 1,100-watt microwave.

Read more: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/chocolate-almond-brittle#ixzz3LL103shc

Bake-off

Staff bake off on Monday.

Collecting recipes to try out at the weekend...

Nigella's:  Quite like the sound of this, it is drenched with syrup AND has lemon glaze on top when cooled. There is also another version.

Then there's the BBC Good Food one.  Equal amounts of butter, fat, eggs and sugar - not so much lemon syrup.

Or the Guardian's favourite...

175g butter, softened
175g caster sugar
2 unwaxed lemons
3 eggs
100g self-raising flour
75g ground almonds
A little milk
100g demerara sugar

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C/160C fan. Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin with greaseproof paper. Beat together the butter, caster sugar and the finely grated zest of 1 lemon until light and fluffy. Add a pinch of salt and the eggs, one at a time, beating until well combined before adding the next.

2. Sift over the flour and fold in, followed by the almonds. Add just enough milk to bring the mixture to a dropping consistency (so that it falls off the spoon), then spoon into the prepared tin and even out the top. Bake for about 50-55 minutes, until a skewer comes out dry (crumbs clinging to it are fine).

3. Briefly mix together the remaining lemon zest, and the juice of both the lemons with the demerara sugar, then poke holes all over the top of the warm cake and pour over the drizzle, waiting for the cake to absorb one lot before adding the next.

4. Allow to cool in the tin before turning out.

Lemon drizzle cake: a big wet sticky kiss of a teatime treat, or a damp squib? And is lemon even the best choice: why do we never hear about orange, or grapefruit drizzle cakes – can anyone remedy the situation?

• This article was amended on 24 January 2013. Originally we specified a 1lb tin instead of a 1lb tin. This has been corrected.

Of course, there is Mary Berry, queen of cakes...

Hmmm.... too much choice....

Other lemon cakes...Lemon drizzle loaf, which uses cornflour - wondering about substituting with potato flour...

SO...THIS IS WHAT I HAVE TRIED:

for the cake
4 oz softened baking margarine(make sure it's really soft)
5 oz self-raising flour
1 oz potato flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
6 oz granulated sugar
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 large lemon (unwaxed, finely grated rind of)

for the syrup
1 large lemon (juice of)
4 oz granulated sugar

For the glaze
juice of ½ a lemon
150 g icing sugar

Preheat oven to 180 C/ gas mark 4.
Butter and line a loaf tin well. The cake sticks easily!

Cream together butter and sugar.
Add remaining ingredients and whiz together until a dropping mixture forms - 2 sessions of 20 seconds each in a food processor.
Spoon the batter into the prepared tin, level top, bake for 45 mins or until cake tester comes out clean.

For the syrup: Put the lemon juice and sugar into a small saucepan and heat gently until the sugar dissolves.

As soon as cake is out of oven, puncture all over with skewer and pour over the syrup.
Leave cake to cool completely before removing from the tin.

For the glaze: Combine lemon juice and icing sugar until smooth and white, add a little more icing sugar if needed. Make sure the cake is completely cool before drizzling with the glaze.

Autumn recipes

Pumpkin cake and other recipes... cream cheese dip: cream cheese mixed with pepper and onion chutney...

Easy beetroot chocolate cake

• In a food processor, blitz one large cooked, peeled beetroot: 175 - 200 grams
• Add and mix in 3 eggs and 190ml sunflower oil
• Fold in 200 grams self raising flour, 175 grams sugar, 75 grams cocoa - or more if wished.
• Spoon into an eight inch square tin: the mixture is not too sloppy, more like stiff meringue.  
• Bake at 190 degrees for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Dust with icing sugar and serve with creme fraiche or cream; or ice with chocolate icing or ganache.

See also BBC Good Food or Nigella.

Muffin pan/cupcake recipes of all kinds

I just had to save these recipes for fun treats you can make in a muffin/cupcake tin:

Some great ideas: use a strip of bacon as a cupcake liner and fill with omelette mixture.  Lightly cook the bacon first, bake for approx 10 minutes at 190 degrees.

Mini Frittata Cups with Mascarpone and Prosciutto Recipe

• 4 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• a pinch of pepper
• 3-4 slices prosciutto, cut into strips
• 1/4 cup grated or shredded cheese (fontina, Parmesan, mozzarella)
• 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped

Heat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease 6 muffin cups (I used my 12-cup muffin tin) with a non-stick spray or olive oil, set aside.

To a bowl, add eggs, mascarpone, salt and pepper. Whisk until mascarpone has no more lumps and mixture is smooth. Mix in cheese, prosciutto and parsley.

Add egg mixture to 6 muffin cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until tops are puffed and golden brown. Serve immediately or cooled. Leftovers can be stored up to a week in the fridge and reheated.

Mini macaroni and cheese; muffin chocolate chip lava cookies

'Smores in muffin tins: 

• 2 cups freshly ground graham cracker crumbs (don’t buy the premade crumbs from the store)
• 3/4 cups butter, melted
• 1/3 cups sugar
• 3 cups mini marshmallows
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 
  
• Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine crumbs, butter and sugar in a large bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, combine chocolate chips and mini marshmallows. Set aside.
3. Drop a generous amount of the crumb mixture in to the bottom of a prepared and greased muffin tin. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and fill each tin with the marshmallows and chocolate chips. Sprinkle tops with remaining crumb mixture.
5. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 additional minutes. Cool completely before removing from muffin tin.

Mini oreo cheesecakes

INGREDIENTS:

12 Oreo Cookies
1-8oz. package cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup store bought caramel sauce {use your favorite brand}

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners. Place one oreo cookie in the bottom of each tin and set aside.
In a large bowl, whip cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. Stir in egg and vanilla. Scrape sides and whip again until there are no lumps. Spoon cheesecake batter over oreos evenly. Depending on how deep your muffin tins are, you should get anywhere from 9-12 individual cheesecakes. Top with pecans and mini chocolate chips. Bake 15 minutes or until completely set. Bring to room temperature. Remove paper liners carefully and refrigerate until cold. To serve, place on serving platter and top with caramel sauce.

Apple Muffins

Cream together 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup margarine/butter
Beat in 2 large eggs and 1 cup flour and 1 large pinch cloves or 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Fold in 1 cup flour, 2 cups diced (small) apple, 1/2 cup milk, alternately.

Spoon into muffin cases, bake at 180 - 170 for 25 minutes.

Drizzle with 1 spoon margarine, 4 spoons or more icing sugar, a little boiling water.

Chocolate custard cake

CHOCOLATE MAGIC CUSTARD CAKE  

Aussie Tucker ~ The Great Australian Bite

INGREDIENTS
4 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla powder or extract
1 and ¼ cup sugar
110g butter, melted
½ cup plain flour
⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups milk, lukewarm
1 tablespoon powdered sugar for dusting

Method
Preheat oven to 160C.
Grease a 30cmx17cm baking pan and line it with baking paper.
Separate egg whites and yolks.
Beat egg whites in a bowl until stiff and put aside.
Whisk egg yolks, vanilla powder and sugar until creamy.
Add melted butter and mix for half a minute.
Add the flour and unsweetened cocoa powder. Mix with a spatula until incorporated well.
Pour the milk gradually and continue beating.
Add in the egg whites, one third at a time and gently fold in with a spatula.
Pour this liquidy batter into the baking pan and bake for 60 minutes.
Let it cool and when it comes to room temperature chill for an hour.
Slice it in the size you like and dust with powdered sugar right before serving.
Keep it in refrigerator until you finish it all.

A few notes on making the cake: the vinegar helps stabilize the egg whites after they've whipped to stiff peaks. If you have a copper bowl to whip them in, you can skip the vinegar.
When adding the milk, we found it easier and less messy to gently hand whip them in instead of using the stand mixer. It is a very liquidy batter, and for us it splattered everywhere even at the slowest speed. You could also wrap the head of the mixer and the top of the bowl with plastic wrap to help contain the splattering.
As with the original magic custard cake, the temperatures of the ingredients are important. If too hot it will cook the eggs, too cold it will harden the butter.
For folding in the whites, it is done with more of a gentle whisk/folding motion with the whisk since the batter is so runny. The whites will look a little curd like after mixing them in, just try to mix/fold them to the point where there is no big chunks.
Because of the custard center, when fully baked, there will be a bit of a jiggle, but not a sloppy jiggle to the cake when gently shook. Same after it has cooled. That's about it. Have fun and every time we've made the magic custard cakes (this one or the original), going into the oven we don't think they will work correctly, and after baking they are magically perfect.

Chocolate cakes

Nigella's:

5 eggs
7 oz butter
7 oz sugar
7 oz plain chocolate
7 oz almond meal

Method
Melt the chocolate and butter together, then mix in the almonds. Set aside to cool a little.
Seperate 4 of the eggs. Mix 1 whole egg and 4 yolks with the sugar. Blend this with the chocolatey mixture.
Beat the 4 remaining egg whites until they are stiff. Using a metal spoon, carefully fold the eggwhites into the chocolatey mixture.
Pour into a non-stick spring-form baking tin and bake at 175-180 for 45 mins.

Good Food

100g butter, diced, plus extra for greasing
flour, for dusting
140g best-quality dark chocolate, with 70% cocoa solids, broken into pieces
6 large eggs, separated
140g ground almonds
1 tbsp kirsch or Cointreau (optional)
pinch of salt
85g caster sugar
cocoa powder and crème fraîche, to serve
Preheat the oven to 170C/Gas 3/fan oven 150C. Grease a 23cm/9in springform cake tin and line the base with greaseproof paper or baking parchment. Dust the sides with a little flour. Put the chocolate and butter into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water. Heat until melted, then remove the bowl from the pan and stir until smooth. Leave for about 5 minutes to cool slightly.
Stir in the egg yolks, ground almonds, and the liqueur, if using. Put the egg whites into a large bowl, add a pinch of salt and whisk until soft peaks form. Continue whisking, sprinkling in the sugar a little at a time, until stiff peaks form. Stir 2 tablespoons of the whites into the chocolate mixture, then carefully fold in the remainder until no traces of white are left.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 30-35 minutes until well risen and just firm to the touch. Cool in the tin (don’t worry if the cake sinks and cracks slightly – it will still be fine). You can make the cake up to this stage up to four days ahead and keep it in an airtight container in a cool place. It also freezes well for up to one month.
To serve, remove the cake from the tin and peel away the lining paper. Sift cocoa powder liberally over the top and cut into slices. Serve with crème fraîche.

•