Individual Mango Chiffon Cake

Ingredients

125 grams unsalted butter
2 large mangoes, cubed
3/4 cup plain flour
2/3 cup plus 1/4 cup caster sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, separated
2 tbpns lemon juice
1 tbpsn finely grated lemon zest



Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Spray 4 large chef rings with cooking spary (or butter the rings) and line them with a strip of baking paper. Place on a lined tray and cover the bottom of each ring with a layer of diced mango, ready for the oven.

2. Cream the butter with 2/3 cup of caster sugar and salt with an electric mixer. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, until the butter has incorporated each egg yolk. Sift in the flour and lightly combine. Add the lemon juice and zest and combine. Fold the remaining mango into the mixture.

3. Add a pinch of salt to your egg whites and whip until soft peaks. Slowly add in the remaining caster sugar in three batches, whipping hard each time until you have stiff, glossy peaks.

4. Fold a third of the egg whites into the flour/mango mixture vigorously to lighten the mixture and then carefully and delicately fold the remaining egg whites in, trying to knock any air out.

5. Cook for 25 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving with blueberries, vanilla ice cream and a sprinkle of icing sugar to give shine to the top of the cake.

Bon Appetite!

Almond Cake with French Breakfast Tea Syrup

Ingredients

Almond cake
3 cups (350 grams) almond meal
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
350 grams caster sugar
8 eggs
400 ml sunflower oil

French Breakfast Tea Syrup

25 grams French Breakfast tea leaves
250 ml boiling water
80 grams caster sugar



Method

1. Firstly, make the french breakfast syrup. Place tea leaves in a heatproof bowl, cover with 125 ml of boiling water and set aside to infuse for 10 minutes. Bring the other 125 ml water and the sugar to the boil in a saucepan and allow to boil for 5 minutes or until slightly thicker. Strain the tea liquid into the sugar water, making sure no tea leaves go in. Set aside until cake comes out of the oven.

2. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Grease a 23 cm springform cake pan and line the base with baking paper.

3. Place the almond meal, cinnamon, baking powder and sugar in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre, then add the eggs and oil. Mix well with a wooden spoon until combined.

4. Spread in the prepared pan, then bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Bring the syrup back to heat when the time is nearly up.

5. Remove the cake from the oven and pierce it all over with a thin skewer (lots and lots of small holes all over the top of the cake) then pour over the syrup. Stand for 1 hour.

6. When ready to serve, transfer the cooked cake to a serving platter, cut a generous slice and dust with icing sugar.

Bon Appetite!

Egyptian Olive Oil and Apple Cake

Ingredients
280g plain flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
100ml extra virgin olive oil
150g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs
4 red apples, peeled and cut in 1cm dice
45ml milk
2 egg whites



Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C, grease 2 x 25cm cake tins and line with baking paper.

2. Combine the sugar, vanilla extract and oil into a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to whisk the sugar and oil till light and fluffy (about 5-10 minutes on high). Add the eggs one at a time, whisking until creamy and pale in colour.

3. Sift all the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Fold half of the dry ingredients gently into the egg mixture with a metal spoon. Add the milk and fold the rest of the flour in. Do not over work the batter. Fold in the diced apples. Whip the egg whites to soft peaks and fold the egg whites into the cake batter.

4. Divide the cake mixture between the two cake moulds giving two fairly shallow cakes, if you like a higher cake only use one cake tin. Place the cakes in the preheated oven on the middle shelf and bake for 1 1/2 hours.

5. Once the cake is cooked, remove from the oven and let the cool in the tin for 10 minutes, turn them out on to a cooling rack and let them cool completely. Dust with icing sugar and serve warm.

Bon appetite!

Cinnamon Scrolls

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups warm milk
1 packet of dried yeast
3 tbsp caster sugar
4 cups plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, lightly whisked
80g butter, melted
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 cup golden syrup



1. Combine milk, yeast and sugar in a bowl. Set aside for 5 minutes until frothy.

2. Combine flour and salt in a bowl, making a well in the centre. Pour milk mixture and egg into the well and stir until well combined. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 40 minutes or until dough doubles in size.

3. Preheat oven to 200°C. Grease and line, with baking paper, a large brownie pan (ie large rectangular tin). Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface,kneading for 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Use a rolling pin to roll to a 30 x 40cm rectangle. Brush with 1/3 of melted butter. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Sprinkle 1/3 of sugar mixture over dough. Fold short side of dough over two-thirds of filling. Fold remaining 1/3 over the top to enclose filling. Roll dough out to a 30 x 40cm rectangle; repeat filling and folding process twice.

4. Roll dough to a 30 x 40cm rectangle, drizzle with half the golden syrup. Roll up dough from a long side to enclose filling. Cut log crossways into 9 portions (ie 8 cuts). Arrange, cut-side up, in pan. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 15 minutes to rise (or until they have risen to the point of touching).

5. Drizzle over remaining golden syrup. Bake in oven for 5 minutes at 200°C. Reduce heat to 180°C and bake for 30 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Set aside for 30 minutes then turn onto a wire rack.

Bon Appetite!

Christmas Pudding

Ingredients

250g currants
250g sultanas
500g raisins
3tbsp brandy
250g butter
1 and 1/4 cups caster sugar
5 large eggs
1 cup plain flour
1 level tsp bi-carb soda
1 level tsp mixed spice
good pinch nutmeg
2 cups (firmly packed) soft white breadcrumbs

Method

1. Mix currants, raisins and sultanas in a bowl, sprinkle with brandy, cover with cling film and leave overnight to soak.

2. Cream butter and sugar in an upright mixer until light and fluffy, add eggs one at a time. Sift the flour, soda and spices into the mixture and mix to combine. Add the breadcrumbs, soaked fruit and any of the brandy still in the bowl. Mix together well, then allow the mixture to stand for about one hour.

3. Place 800 grams of the mixture into the centre of an opened up oven bag and bring together to make a round ball. Secure at the top of the pudding and wrap a length of string approx 1 metre long around to close up the top and allow to dangle out of the pot when cooking (this mix makes 3 puddings approx 780-800 grams each)

4. Bring a large stock pot of water to the boil (you need enough water to submerge the puddings in). Once boiling place the puddings in the pot and cook at a rolling boil for 3 hours.

5. Once 3 hours is up, remove the puddings from the water and allow them to cool. Once cool, remove the oven bag (it will be a bit dirty after the cooking so wont look nice for presentation) and wrap in another oven bag. Again secure the top with enough string to dangle out of the pot when reheating, however wrap this around and cover up with a nice festive ribbon.

6. The puddings should last about a year in the cupboard however they will be perfect for this Christmas.

7. To reheat, bring a pot of water to the boil and submerge the pudding in the water. Reduce water to a simmer and put the pudding in the water (still in the oven bag) for 30 mins to an hour. Alternatively, place in the microwave for about 5 minutes or place in a 150 degree Celsius oven for 1 hour.

Bon appetite!

Carrot Cake

Ingredients

2 large carrots
1 cup (150g) self-raising flour
1/2 cup plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup oil
1/2 cup mayple syrup
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence



Method

1. Preheat oven to 170°C. Grease a 20cm round cake tin and line with baking paper. Peel and grate the carrots, and set aside. Sift the flours, bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon into a large bowl.

2. Whisk the brown sugar, oil, mayple syrup, eggs and vanilla in a separate bowl.

3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Use a wooden spoon to stir gently until just combined. Stir in the grated carrot.

4. Pour the mixture into the pan and bake for 1 hour or until a skewer comes out clean. Set aside for 5 minutes, before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

5. I used soft icing mixture to ice the cake. These packets generally have their own "method" on them however a normal vanilla or cream cheese icing will also work with this cake.

Bon Appetite!

Dark chocolate and beetroot brownies

Ingredients

250 grams 70% dark chocolate
250 grams unsalted butter
1 teaspoon salt
250 grams caster sugar
3 large eggs
150 grams self raising flour
250 grams roasted,peeled and pureed beetroot (will need 3 large whole beetroot)



Method

1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Cut the ends off the beetroots and place them into the middle of a large square of foil. Cover with a little olive oil and salt and wrap up in the foil tightly. Place in the oven for one and a half hours to cook through. Allow to cool for a little out of the oven after the time is up.

2. Peel the beetroots, chop into manageable sized pieces and place in a blender. Blend on high until pureed. Set aside till required.

3. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a baking tin of approximately 20 x 30 x 3cm and line the bottom with baking parchment.

4. Break up the chocolate into pieces, cut the butter into cubes then mix them up a bit in a heatproof bowl. Place the bowl into the microwave and heat for about 40 seconds, stir and reheat until it is all melted and combined.

5. Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a bowl until combined, then beat in the melted chocolate and butter, followed by the pureed beetroot until smooth. Sift in the flour and gently fold together - be careful not to overmix.

6. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth over the top with a spatula. Bake for about 20 minutes. A knife or skewer pushed into the middle should come out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Don't be tempted to overcook them! Remove the tin from the oven and leave on wire rack to cool before cutting into squares.

Bon Appetite!