Sweet Potato Brownie

Recipe adapted from I Quit Sugar

Makes 16 slices

Ingredients

oil for greasing
3 tablespoons coconut flour
2 tablespoons raw cacao powder
¼ teaspoon gluten free baking powder
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of sea salt
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
50g dark chocolate, melted & cooled
1 cup sweet potato puree, cooled
3 eggs, whisked
¼ cup coconut oil
⅓ cup rice malt syrup
½ tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C
2. Grease a 20x20cm baking tin and line with baking paper
3. In a bowl, combine dry ingredients. In a separate bowl add the wet ingredients, including sweet potato puree and whisk
4. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix well. Pour into lined tin and spread evenly
5. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean
6. Cool for 10 minutes before cutting into squares

Notes & Tips

To make sweet potato puree: cut sweet potato into evenly sized chunks. Place into a steamer for 20 minutes or until they become really soft. Add to food processor and puree until smooth.

Dairy free option- use brown rice protein powder

Chocolate Protein Balls

I first came across chocolate protein balls when I was watching the reality tv show Recipe to Riches. In this show, everyday home cooks have the opportunity to take their home recipe and turn it into a product to be sold at Woolworths supermarkets. Each week, there are different food categories and contestants battle it out to be the final winner in that category. Viewers can then buy the winning contestant's product, straight from the supermarket shelf the day after the episode goes to air! The more products that are sold, the greater chance the contestant has of seeing their product on the supermarket shelf permanently and win the competition/tv series. I absolutely love watching this show. It's very inspiring, interactive and entertaining. Someday, I wish I can create something worthwhile to enter!

In season 2, I think on the third week, they had a health food category and the product that won was called "Choc Bombs". Basically these were chocolate protein balls made from cashews, dates, chia seeds, cacao, protein powder and coconut oil. I bought this product and absolutely loved it. They were a great snack to eat on my way home from work when I would feel peckish and since they were individually packaged, I was able to conveniently keep them in my handbag. Since purchasing this product, I've wanted to try making my own protein balls. I found a few recipes online and I tried the one from Women's Health magazine today since it had the ingredients most similar to the Choc Bombs. The taste was pretty spot on! Next time I make this recipe, I'll try adding the chia seeds and coconut oil.

Makes 16 balls

Ingredients

1 cup raw cashews

2 tablespoons rice malt syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

8 medjool dates, pitted

2 tablespoons cacao powder

½ cup desiccated coconut, for coating

Method

Place cashews into a mini food processor and blend until smooth

Place remaining ingredients (except the desiccated coconut) and mix until well combined

Roll a tablespoon of the mixture into a ball

Roll ball into dessiccated coconut until evenly coated

Place ball on a plate lined with baking paper

Place in the fridge to set

Notes & Tips


You can cheat and buy cashew butter rather than making your own-  I wasn't able to find any in my health food store though.

I found rice malt syrup in the health food section of Coles supermarket. If you can't find this product, substitute with honey instead and adjust the sweetness to your taste. 

Strawberry Mousse Chocolate Cake

This is a revised recipe of my strawberry mousse cake. I first made this cake for my mum's birthday and have since made it again for a Christmas family gathering. 

Ingredients

A) 1x 20cm chocolate sponge cake, cut into 2 even layers

B) 300g strawberry, cleaned and hulled
     ¼ cup caster sugar
     1 tablespoon water
     1 teaspoon strawberry essence

C)  300ml cream
     3 tablespoons icing sugar
     ½ teaspoon pink food colouring (optional)

D) 1 tablespoon gelatine powder 
     50ml warm water 

E)  Extra strawberries sliced and cubed (I used approx 1/3cup)

F)  100ml thickened cream

     1 tablespoon icing sugar, extra

G)  Sugar syrup glaze (optional)

H)  6 even sized strawberries, halved for garnish 

Method

1. Set aside 6 even sized strawberries for the garnish on top of the cake.
2. Dice approx. 1/3 cup strawberries and set aside.
3. Clean and hull the remaining strawberries. Add ¼ cup caster sugar and let it sit for 5 minutes. Purée them in a blender together with 1 tablespoon of water and 1 teaspoon strawberry essence then put it through a strainer. You should get about 400ml strawberry purée. Discard the strawberry seeds. Reserve 1½ tablespoons of the purée for the swirl effect on top of the cake.
4. In a chilled bowl, whip 300ml cream with 3 tablespoons icing sugar till mousse state.
5. Dissolve 1 tablespoon gelatine in 50ml warm water, whisk with a fork, let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk the gelatine again then strain it into the strawberry purée. Stir until combined. 
6. Fold the whipped cream into the strawberry mixture. Add pink food colouring, if using. Pour into a measuring jug if your bowl doesn't having a pouring lip.
7. Line the inner circumference of a 23cm spring form cake pan with plastic cake tape. Place a slice of the chocolate sponge cake at the base, cut side up and top it with approx. 1 cup of the mousse. Add in the strawberry pieces (leave a 2cm border around the cake). Press the fruits down gently if needed. Top it with some mousse just enough to cover the strawberry pieces.
8. Top it with another layer of chocolate sponge cake and pour the rest of the mousse evenly over on it.
9. Spoon teaspoonfuls of the reserved purée onto the surface of the mousse on desired positions and swirl it with a toothpick to create the swirls. I put a few teaspoons on the middle of the cake and the rest at clock position of 12, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10.
10. Cover the cake pan with cling wrap (twice). Refrigerate for at least 6 hours.
11. Make the sugar syrup, then brush the reserved halved strawberries with sugar syrup. Set aside.
12. Use an electric beater to beat 100ml thickened cream and 1 tablespoon icing sugar in a medium bowl until firm peaks form. 
13. Place the cream in a piping bag fitted with a 1cm fluted nozzle and pipe rosettes around the edge of the cake. Arrange some glazed strawberries around the cake between the cream rosettes. 
14. Cut the cake into wedges to serve. 

To make sugar syrup:

50ml (1/4 cup) water

1/2 tablespoon sugar

1/2 tablespoon unflavoured gelatine powder

1. Pour water, sugar and gelatine powder into a small sauce pan.
2. Stir the ingredients to combine over medium heat until the sugar and gelatine dissolves and the water begins to simmer.
3. Remove the pan from heat and set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly. Brush the glaze over fruit while slightly warm.

Notes & Tips

• I lined the inner circumference of my spring form cake pan with plastic cake tape.
• You can make your own plastic cake tape using clear acetate sheets bought from an arts & craft store. Start by measuring the height of the cake pan (approx 2.5 inches) and cut a long rectangular strip out of the acetate sheet (length of the strip is the circumference of the cake + 2 cm extra).
• You could also decorate this cake with a patterned white chocolate collar if you wish
• If you can't find acetate sheets, you can use baking paper instead
• I placed my cake into a larger spring form cake pan- approx. 23cm. This way the mousse will cover the whole cake and you don’t need to cream the cake. If you don't have a larger spring form cake pan, you can trim your cake smaller.
• If you notice that you have not completely covered the cake with the mousse, you could do a bit of patchwork by using up the left over cream for the rosettes- add  ¼ tsp pink food coloring to the cream and spread/fill in the spaces and smooth it out using a cake scraper. 
• If you don't have strawberry essence, you could use strawberry flavoured gelatine powder instead
• You'll need approx. 2 punnets of strawberries for this recipe.

Reindeer Biscuits

I had a few packets of left over arrowroot biscuits from the Christmas Carols festival biscuit decorating stall I ran so thought I'd do my own decorating and make some reindeer biscuits for morning tea. These are also great to give away as Christmas gifts- just place a couple in a clear cellophane bag and tie up with some ribbon

Makes 16

Ingredients

1x 250g pkt Arrowroot biscuits (to make face)
1 cup milk chocolate melts
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (1 tablespoon per 1 cup of chocolate)
8 mini white marshmallows (to make eyes)
Black icing pen (to make pupils)
16 red jaffas or red Cadbury mini drops (to make nose)
8 mini pretzels (to make antlers)

Method

1. Cut mini marshmallows in half. Add a small drop of black food writing gel to the uncut side.
2. Using a serrated knife, cut mini pretzels in half 
3. Line a tray with non stick baking paper
4. Place chocolate and vegetable oil in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on medium for 30 seconds, stirring after each time until smooth. (The vegetable oil helps to make the chocolate glossy and runny).
5. Dip one side of the biscuit into the melted chocolate, allow excess to drip off. Place onto tray. 
6. Gently place 2 mini marshmallows, cut sides down onto biscuit (to make eyes)
7. Gently place a red jaffa on the bottom of the biscuit (to make nose)
8. Gently push 2 mini pretzels into the chocolate biscuit (to make antlers).
9. Repeat with remaining biscuits
10. Once all the biscuits are decorated, place the baking tray in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes, or until the chocolate has hardened.
11. Store decorated biscuits in an airtight container. Lay them flat with layers of baking paper in between each level

Notes & tips

Chocolate cools and hardens quickly after it melts, so it is best to have all your decorating items ready for assembly

Make sure chocolate is added to a dry bowl. Even one stray drop of water can cause melting chocolate to seize, or harden, ruining its texture and consistency. Seized chocolate won't melt smoothly, no matter how long you stir it.

You could create 8 reindeer with brown noses and 1 with a red nose just like in the story- Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer!

Chocolate Covered Coconut Balls

These sweet, bite sized chocolate balls remind me of the chocolate bar Bounty. Pure indulgence :)

Makes approx. 25

Ingredients

1⅓ cups icing sugar
1½ cups desiccated coconut
½ cup sweetened condensed milk
1 cup dark or milk chocolate melts
1 cup white chocolate melts

Optional ingredients: flaked coconut, chopped almonds, sprinkles

Method

1. In a large bowl, combine the icing sugar, coconut and milk.
2. Shape into small balls (approx 15g each). Place onto a tray with baking paper. Refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes.
3. Melt milk chocolate and white chocolate melts, in separate bowls, one at a time, in a microwave on medium for 30 seconds, stirring after each time until smooth.
4. Line a tray with non-stick baking paper. 
5. Using a toothpick, dip balls into melted chocolate, allow excess to drip off. Place onto tray; repeat with remaining coconut balls. 
6. Once all the balls are coated in chocolate, Place the remaining melted chocolate into separate paper piping bags. Drizzle the same or opposite colour chocolate over the coconut balls, allow to set in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes and then serve.
7. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1 week.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Recipe from Australian Good Taste magazine, February 2011 issue, page 16

Ingredients

2 cups plain flour
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1½ cups caster sugar
1 cup buttermilk
200g unsalted butter, melted & cooled
2 eggs, room temperature, lightly whisked
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 teaspoons red food colouring

2 x 250g pkt cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cups pure icing sugar, sifted
120g butter, extra, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract, extra
Red sprinkles

Method

1. Preheat oven to 170°C. Line fifteen 80ml (⅓ cup) capacity muffin pans with paper cases. Sift flour, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl. Stir through the sugar. Whisk the buttermilk, butter, eggs, vinegar and vanilla in a large jug until combined. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture. Add the buttermilk mixture. Stir until just combined. Stir in the food colouring.
2. Divide the mixture among the lined pans (approx. 1½ tablespoons each). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centres comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
3. Use an electric beater to beat the cream cheese, icing sugar, extra butter and extra vanilla until smooth
4. Pipe the icing over the cupcakes and top with the sprinkles.

Chocolate Fondant

Recipe from Masterchef season 2

Ingredients

Melted butter, for greasing
Cocoa powder, for dusting (approx ¼ cup)
200g dark couverture chocolate
4 eggs
4 egg yolks
100g caster sugar
150g plain flour, sifted
100g butter, extra
vanilla ice cream and berries, to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Place a small square of paper in the bottom of 6 ramekins and grease with melted butter and cocoa powder. Place ramekins on a baking tray.
2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a small saucepan of boiling water, turn off heat. In an electric mixer, add the eggs, egg yolks and sugar and mix on high speed until fluffy and white. Tip chocolate mixture into a large bowl, pour egg mixture into chocolate mixture and fold together. Fold in flour and mix until smooth. Spoon or pour mixture into ramekins and bake in oven for 8-9 minutes.
3. place in fridge until ready to serve. When ready to serve, bake in oven for 8-9 minutes.
4. To serve, gently run knife along outside of each ramekin and turn fondant out into serving bowls.

Notes & Tips

Fondant mixture can be prepared ahead of time. Place in fridge until ready to serve. Bake in oven for 15-17 minutes

Serve chocolate fondants with vanilla ice cream and mixed berries

Berries in syrup:

Ingredients
2 tablespoons white sugar
¼ cup water
½ cup mixed berries (fresh or frozen, thawed)

Method:
Combine sugar and water in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 to 8 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stand in pan for 5 minutes. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until cold. Combine mixed berries and syrup in a bowl. Stir gently to coat berries.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

200g butter, chopped
180g dark chocolate, chopped

2 tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted
4 eggs, separated
1 cup caster sugar, sifted
2 cups almond meal
Icing sugar, for dusting
Whipped cream and strawberries/raspberries, to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan forced). Grease a 6cm deep, 20cm round (base) springform cake pan. Line base and side with baking paper.
2. Place butter, chocolate and cocoa powder in a medium saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly for 2 to 3 minutes or until melted and combined. Remove from heat. Transfer to bowl to cool slightly.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Set aside. Using an electric mixer, beat egg yolks and sugar for 5 minutes or until thick. Set aside
4. Add chocolate mixture and almond meal to egg yolk mixture. Stir to combine. Using a large metal spoon, gently fold half the egg whites into chocolate mixture. Repeat with remaining egg whites. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in centre comes out with moist crumbs clinging. Cool cake completely in pan. Dust with icing sugar. Serve with cream and strawberries/raspberries.

Choc Chip Banana Muffins

Recipe from Fresh Living Magazine, September 2004 issue, page 7

Makes 12

Ingredients

60g unsalted butter
2 cups self-raising flour
½ cup caster sugar
½ cup milk
2 eggs, room temperature
2 ripe bananas, mashed (approx. 1½ cups)
1 cup dark chocolate chips

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Line a medium muffin tray (12 sections) with paper cases. Melt butter in a small saucepan or heat-proof bowl in the microwave. Set aside to cool slightly.
2. Sift flour into a mixing bowl. Stir in sugar. Make a well in the centre of dry ingredients. 
3. Using a whisk, lightly beat milk, eggs and butter in a jug. Add to dry ingredients, along with mashed banana. Using a wooden spoon, gently mix ingredients until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Don't beat the mixture or the muffins will be tough. 
4. Spoon the mixture evenly into the muffin cases. Bake for 20 minutes or until firm on top when lightly touched. Leave in the tray for 5 minutes. Transfer the muffins to a rack to cool.

Choc Orange Cupcakes

Recipe from White Wings

Makes 15 cupcakes

Ingredients

370g White Wings Moist Chocolate Cake mix
2 eggs (59g each), at room temperature
1 orange
½ teaspoon orange essence (optional)
60ml (¼ cup) vegetable oil
choc orange balls

Chocolate Frosting

1½ cups icing sugar
¼ cup cocoa powder
125g soft butter
2 tbsp milk

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160°C conventional or 140°C fan-forced. Grease and line muffin/cupcake pans.
2. Finely grate the rind of 1 orange (approx. 2 teaspoons) then juice orange into a measuring cup.
3. Add water to the orange juice to make up to 250ml (1 cup) of liquid in total.
4. Place cake mix, eggs, orange zest, orange juice mix, orange essence and vegetable oil into a medium mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer beat on low speed for 30 seconds to combine. Increase speed to medium and mix for 3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. Spoon approx 2 tablespoons of cake mixture into cupcake cases and bake for 30 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, make chocolate frosting by using an electric mixer on low speed to beat together soft butter, milk, sifted icing sugar and sifted cocoa powder until well combined.
6. Increase speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, adding a few drops of milk if required.
7. When cupcakes are cool, ice each one with chocolate icing and decorate each cupcake with a choc orange ball. 

Notes & Tips

To retain freshness, store cupcakes in an airtight container. 

Black Forest Cake

Since my mum, dad and hubby have birthdays all around the same time, I decided to make one birthday cake to celebrate all their birthdays this year instead of making them an individual cake each.

This recipe is my new and improved Black Forest Cake. This recipe will give you a very rich and decadent cake. To start with, there are 5 layers of chocolate sponge cake, 2 layers of chocolate mousse with cherries and 2 layers of cream. It was very labour intensive to put together and decorate this cake but the time spent was well worth it and my family all enjoyed eating this cake :)

Serves 8

Ingredients

Chocolate Sponge Cake

4 room temperature eggs, separated
½ cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon bicarbonate soda
½ cup cornflour
1 tablespoon plain cake flour
3 tablespoons cocoa powder

Chocolate Mousse

2 egg yolks
75g caster sugar

50ml whole milk

75g top quality dark chocolate

Pinch of table salt

100ml whipping cream


Cherries

1x 670g jar morello cherries
2 tbs caster sugar
1 tbs cornflour

Kirsch Syrup

60ml (¼ cup) Kirsch

2 tbs boiling water
2 tbs caster sugar, extra

Cream

600ml cream
6 tbsp icing sugar

To Build Your Black Forest Cake

All of the above - ie. x 5 layers chocolate sponge cake, the chocolate mousse, cherries, Kirsch syrup, freshly whipped cream plus:

Shards of grated dark chocolate (this is your ‘forest’)
Chocolate sprinkles
Fresh or glazed cherries (optional)

Method

Chocolate sponge cake:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Grease and line 2 x 20cm springform tins
3. Place egg whites in a large bowl and using an electric mixer beat the eggs on high speed until soft peaks form.
4. Sift together caster sugar and bicarbonate of soda into a separate bowl.
5. With the mixer still going, gradually add the caster sugar mixture one tablespoon at a time into the egg whites, beating until dissolved after each addition. When all the sugar is dissolved, turn off mixer.
6. Add egg yolks and beat again until combined.
7. In a separate bowl, sift dry ingredients three times to aerate and combine. Sift onto the egg mixture. Use a spatula to gently fold flours into eggs. This is the critical bit, use a ‘light’ hand and don’t over mix.
8. Pour the mixture between prepared springform tins and bake for 20 minutes. The sponge is cooked when it has slightly come away from the sides and the top springs back when lightly touched.
9. Allow cakes to cool in pan for 5 minutes before turning onto wire racks to cool completely.
10. Use a large serrated knife to cut the cake horizontally into 2 even layers.
11. Repeat above steps again but using only half of the ingredients to make your fifth layer (you will have 1 spare slice of cake)

Chocolate Mousse:

1. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar for 5 minutes, or until stiff.
2. Gently warm the milk in a small pan. Remove it from the heat and stir in the beaten egg yolks. Return to a medium heat and cook for a further 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently then remove from the heat.
3. Finely chop the chocolate and place it in a medium sized bowl. Pour the warm milk and the eggs over the chocolate and stir until the chocolate has melted. Add the salt and leave to cool.
4. Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Fold the cream into the cooled chocolate mixture.

Cherries:

1. Drain the cherries, reserving 2/3 cup of the juice. Reserve 12- 16 cherries to decorate.
2. Place the remaining cherries and the reserved juice in a saucepan with the sugar and cornflour.
3. Stir over medium-low heat until the mixture boils and thickens.
4. Transfer to a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill.

Kirsch syrup:

Place kirsch, water and extra sugar in a jug and stir until the sugar dissolves.


Freshly whipped cream

Use an electric beater to beat cream and icing sugar in a medium bowl until firm peaks form.

To Build Your Black Forest Cake

1. Start with a layer of chocolate sponge cake
2. Splash cake with Kirsch syrup
3. Spread a thin layer of mousse onto the sponge cake
4. Add half the cherry mix
5. Place a layer of chocolate sponge cake on top of the cherries
6. Pipe a layer of cream
7. Add another layer of chocolate sponge cake
8. Spread another layer of the mousse and then add the remaining cherries
9. Another layer of chocolate cake
10. Another splash of Kirsch syrup
11. Then another layer of piped cream
12. Final layer of chocolate sponge cake
13. Spread the remaining cream over the top and side of the cake.
14. Place the remaining cream in a piping bag fitted with a 1cm fluted nozzle and pipe rosettes around the edge of the cake top and around the edge of the cake base.
15. Sprinkle the chocolate shards over the middle section on the top of the cake and the chocolate sprinkles onto the side of the cake.
16. Arrange reserved cherries on top of each second cream rosette.
17. Let cake set for 3-6 hours.
18. Cut the cake into wedges to serve.

Chocolate Cake Truffles

I made these chocolate cake truffles for a women's evangelistic event at my church. It was a great night of chocolate feasting and hearing about what the bible and God had to say about the topic of forgiveness.


For these cake truffles be sure to use couverture chocolate and not compound chocolate for a more luxurious taste. Also, be careful to not overheat the chocolate when melting it otherwise it will be clumpy and gluggy making it difficult for you to coat your chocolate cake balls evenly. However, if that does happen, try adding a bit of vegetable oil and it should thin out a bit making it a bit easier to work with.

Warning! These chocolate cake truffles are very rich and not good for the waistline!

Ingredients

1 box chocolate cake mix (I used Betty Crocker Devil's Food Cake Mix)

1 tub chocolate frosting (I used Betty Crocker chocolate frosting)

375g milk chocolate (couverture)

375g white chocolate (couverture)

shredded coconut

chocolate sprinkles

piping bags

icing pens

styrofoam box or old egg cartons

skewers

electric fondue pot (if you can afford one)

Method

Bake the cake mix according to package directions. Once the cake has been cooled completely,  process it in a food processor until fine crumbs form. I usually bake the cake overnight.

Transfer to a large bowl and stir in half of the frosting container. You just want enough to get the crumbs to stick together when you roll them into balls.  Do not add so much that the mixture becomes soft and mushy! (The chocolate frosting is what acts as a glue to hold the cake balls together). Use your hands to mix the frosting evenly throughout the crumbled cake mix until the cake mix is well moistened. Your cake mix should be moist enough to shape into a large mound and keep its shape.

Line a tray with non-stick baking paper. Roll 2 teaspoonfuls of cake mixture into a ball. Place on the prepared tray. Repeat with remaining cake mixture. You should be able to get 45-50 cake balls from a single batch of cake mix.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight. I usually do this step the day before and then dip them the following day or for same day results, leave the balls to set early in the morning and dip later in the afternoon.  Do not freeze them before dipping or it may cause the chocolate to crack after they are dipped.

Place the milk chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan half-filled with simmering water (make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water). Stir with a metal spoon until the chocolate melts and is smooth

or

Place the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Cook on medium for 60 seconds. Stir. Repeat until chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth.

Use a skewer or truffle dipper to dip truffles, one at a time, into melted chocolate to coat. Gently tap the skewer or dipper on the edge of the bowl to allow excess chocolate to drip off.  

Immediately cover with chocolate sprinkles/toppings before the chocolate has a chance to set, then insert in a Styrofoam block or upside down egg carton to harden. (I wrap my Styrofoam board in plastic wrap to keep it clean so I can reuse it).

Notes & Tips

·     Make sure you process the cake to fine crumbs; if there are chunks of cake, the mixture may be hard to roll and your truffles may be uneven and lumpy.

To turn these chocolate cake truffles into cake pops, simply insert a lollipop stick into the base of the cake truffle (the flat bottom end), dip into the melted chocolate, decorate as desire, then once set package in clear cellophane tied with a ribbon. 

You can also pipe patterns onto the top of the chocolate cake truffles if you wish.

Christmas Pudding Truffles

I brought these Christmas pudding truffles along with my mini Christmas puddings to a recent women's evangelistc event at my church. These truffles are just so adorable and unbelievably quick and easy to make. Simple yet effective :)

I didn't have any spearmint leaf lollies, so I improvised and used fresh mint leaves instead which I found gave the truffles a nice minty taste and freshness. Unfortunately though, because I put together these truffles the night before, the mint leaves wilted so I would suggest that if you plan to use fresh mint leaves, serve on the same day for a nicer presentation. You could probably make these truffles a couple of hours in advance and just leave in the fridge until ready to serve.

Makes 24

Ingredients

200g white chocolate melts

2 pkts Arnott's Royals dark chocolate biscuits

24 Jaffas

Spearmint leaves, cut into smaller leaves

Method

1. Place the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan half-filled with simmering water (make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water). Stir with a metal spoon until the chocolate melts and is smooth.
2. Drizzle the melted white chocolate over each biscuit and allow to drip down the side to resemble custard flowing over the pudding.  
3. Place a Jaffa on top and a small spearmint leaf each side of the Jaffa and secure in the melted chocolate.

Notes & Tips

Refrigerate the biscuits prior to decorating especially if you are assembling them on a hot day. This will prevent the 'decorations' from slipping off and your chocolate biscuits from melting.

When topping puddings with 'custard', work in batches of 5 at a time so the 'custard' doesn't set before adding the Jaffas.

Try adding some vegetable oil to the white chocolate while melting, as it makes the chocolate runnier, making it easier to make the effect of custard running down the pudding. It also makes the chocolate shiny when set, so it looks nicer. I added approx. 1 tsp oil for every 100g of chocolate.

Chocolate Sponge Cake

Ingredients

4 room temperature eggs, separated
½ cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon bicarbonate soda
½ cup cornflour
1 tablespoon plain cake flour
3 tablespoons cocoa powder

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Grease and line a 20cm springform tin.
3. Place egg whites in a large bowl and using an electric mixer beat the eggs on high speed until soft peaks form.
4. Sift together caster sugar and bicarbonate of soda into a separate bowl.
5. With the mixer still going, gradually add the caster sugar mixture one tablespoon at a time into the egg whites, beating until dissolved after each addition. When all the sugar is dissolved, turn off mixer.
6. Add egg yolks and beat again until combined.
7. In a separate bowl, sift dry ingredients three times to aerate and combine. Sift onto the egg mixture. Use a spatula to gently fold flours into eggs. This is the critical bit, use a ‘light’ hand and don’t over mix.
8. Pour the mixture into the prepared springform tin and bake for 20 minutes. The sponge is cooked when it has slightly come away from the sides and the top springs back when lightly touched.
9. Allow cake to cool in pan for 5 minutes before turning onto wire rack lined with baking paper to cool completely.
10. Use a large serrated knife to cut the cake horizontally into 2 even layers (insert toothpicks at intervals to use as a guide as you cut)

Notes & Tips for making sponge cake

The eggs should be at room temperature. 

Use really fresh eggs

Eggs and caster sugar must be whisked for a full 10 minutes with an electric whisk, until pale and thick. It’s thick enough when it’s about three times the volume. When you lift out the whisk, the thick mixture that drips off should leave a trail on top of the rest.

It’s crucial to fold in the flour with a sure but light touch – you don’t want to undo all that good whisking by knocking out the air!

To make the batter rise as much as possible, the bottom of the pan should have more heat than the top. So bake the cake on the bottom instead of middle shelf.

White Chocolate Strawberry Mousse Cake

I made this White Chocolate Strawberry Mousse Cake for my mum's birthday recently :) 

You’ll need approx 4 punnets strawberries for this recipe

Ingredients

1 x Chiffon cake base, cut into 2 even layers

Click here for the Chiffon Cake Base recipe

A) 400g strawberry
1 tbsp lemon juice
50g caster sugar

1 tsp strawberry essence
Extra strawberry sliced and cubed (as much as you like- I used approx 100g)
Whole strawberry for garnish (optional)

B) 300ml thickened cream
3 tbsp icing sugar

C) 100g white chocolate
50ml thickened cream

D) 15g gelatine (approx. 1 tbsp)
50ml hot water

E) 100ml thickened cream

1 tbsp icing sugar, extra

Method

1. Clean and hull the strawberries. Add in 50g sugar and let it sit for awhile. Puree them in a blender and put it through the strainer. You should get about 400ml strawberry puree. Stir in 1 tbsp of lemon juice. Reserve 2 tbsp of this puree for the swirl effect.
2. Whip 300ml thickened cream with 3 tbsp icing sugar till mousse state.
3. Melt 100g white chocolate then add into 50ml thickened cream.
4. Dissolve gelatine in hot water, let stand for 5 minutes then stir this into the strawberry puree. 
5. Add melted white chocolate mixture into the strawberry puree.
6. Fold the whipped cream into the strawberry chocolate mixture.
7. Line the cake pan with a slice of the cake base; top it with half the mousse. Add in the strawberry pieces. Press the fruits down gently if needed. Top it with some mousse just enough to cover the strawberry pieces.
8. Top it with another layer of cake and pour the rest of the mousse on it.
9. Spoon teaspoonfuls of the reserved puree onto the surface of the mousse on desired positions and swirl it with a toothpick to create the swirls.
10. Refrigerate for at least 3 - 4 hours.   
11. Use an electric beater to beat cream and icing sugar in a medium bowl until firm peaks form. 
12. Place the cream in a piping bag fitted with a 1cm fluted nozzle and pipe rosettes around the edge of the cake. Arrange some strawberries around the cake between the cream rosettes. Cut the cake into wedges to serve. 

Notes & Tips

To create the swirl effect on top of the cake, drop one teaspoon of strawberry puree on the cake surface and swirl the puree with a toothpick. I put 1 teaspoon on the middle of the cake and the rest at clock position of 12, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10.

*** I lined the inner circumference of my spring form cake pan with plastic cake tape and trimmed my cake to be smaller than the spring form pan. This way the mousse will cover the whole cake and you don’t need to cream the cake but just pipe some rosettes or whatever with some cream and do the rest of the décor on the cake. If you don't have any cake tape, use clear cellophane instead. Moisten one side of the cellophane with some water to help it adhere to the sides of the pan.

Chocolate & Custard Torte

This cake's base is made with hot cross buns and then it's chilled in the fridge, so you won't have to use the oven. I made this cake during Easter last year and it was a huge hit!

Serves 8

Ingredients

⅓ cup caster sugar
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthways
500-600ml thickened cream
4 egg yolks
200g good quality dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
100ml thin cream
4 bought hot cross buns, thinly sliced vertically
2 tbs warm water
2 ½ tsp gelatine powder
1 tbs good quality cocoa powder

Method

1. Place the sugar, vanilla bean and half the thickened cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes or until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a gentle boil. Strain through a fine sieve into a medium heatproof jug. Discard the vanilla bean.
2. Place the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in the cream mixture. Return to the saucepan over low heat and cook, stirring, for 4 minutes or until the custard coats the back of a spoon. Transfer to a heatproof bowl. Place in the fridge for 1 hour to chill.
3. Meanwhile, combine the chocolate and thin cream in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan half filled with simmering water (make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water). Use a metal spoon to stir until the chocolate melts and mixture is smooth.
4. Line the base of a round 24cm (base measurement) springform pan with non stick baking paper. Arrange half the hot cross bun slices, in a single layer, over the base of the pan. Spread half the chocolate mixture evenly over the base to cover completely. Repeat with the remaining hot cross bun and chocolate mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 1 hour or until set.
5. Whisk the remaining thickened cream in a bowl until soft peaks form. Use a large metal spoon to gently fold the cream into the custard mixture.
6. Place the warm water in a small heatproof jug. Sprinkle with gelatine and whisk with a fork until the gelatine dissolves. Gently fold the gelatine mixture into the custard mixture. Pour over the chocolate base. Cover and place in fridge for 3 hours or overnight to set. Dust with the cocoa powder to serve.

Honeycomb Banana Muffins

I had a very, very ripe banana sitting in my fruit bowl today. Not content with just throwing it out, I've used it to make some yummy and very naughty muffins. As you can see in the photo below, there are only 11 muffins. That's because hubby couldn't wait for me to ice them all and helped himself to one soon after they came out of the oven!

Makes 12

Ingredients

2 cups self-raising flour
75g caster sugar
2 x 50g Nestle Violet Crumble bars, coarsely chopped
90g butter, melted
2 eggs, lightly whisked
⅓ cup buttermilk
¼ cup honey
2/3 cup mashed ripe banana

Icing
½  cup icing sugar
25g butter, at room temperature
1 tsp honey
½  tbs milk

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Line twelve 80ml (1/3-cup) capacity muffin pans with paper cases.
2. Combine the flour and sugar in a large bowl. Stir in three-quarters of the Violet Crumble. Make a well in the centre. Add the butter, eggs, buttermilk, honey and banana, and stir until just combined.
3. Divide the mixture among the lined pans. Bake in oven for 20 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted into the centres comes out clean. Set aside in the pans for 5 minutes to cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. To make the icing, use an electric beater to beat the icing sugar, butter, honey and milk in a small bowl until pale and creamy.
5. Spread the icing over the muffins. Top with the remaining Violet Crumble to serve.

 Notes & Tips

If you have a really sweet tooth, you can double the amount of ingredients for the icing or add more sugar into the muffins.

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Ingredients

1 cup milk or dark chocolate melts
1 cup white chocolate melts
2 punnets (500g) strawberries

Equipment
Microwavable bowls x2
Metal spoons
Skewers/toothpicks
Empty egg cartons
Disposable piping bags

Method

1. Melt milk chocolate and white chocolate melts, in separate bowls, one at a time, in a microwave on medium for 30 seconds, stirring after each time until smooth.
2. Line a tray with non-stick baking paper. Thread strawberries onto skewers. Then dip half the strawberries in melted milk chocolate and half in white chocolate. Poke skewers into the egg cartons. When set, remove the strawberries from the skewers and place onto the tray.
3. Place the remaining melted chocolate in separate disposable piping bags. Drizzle the opposite colour chocolate over the strawberries, allow to set and then serve.

Note: Make the same day as serving, otherwise the juice from strawberries will soften chocolate.  

Melting Chocolate
If you don't have a microwave, you can melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth. Be careful that the base of the bowl does not touch the water. 

Passionfruit Cupcakes with White Chocolate and Passionfruit Ganache

 I made these cupcakes as part of a birthday surprise for a friend and a nice morning tea snack.

You'll need approx. 5 passionfruits for this recipe.

Ingredients

Passionfruit Cakes (Yields 8)
30g butter, softened
½ cup caster sugar, sifted
2 eggs
1 cup self-raising flour, sifted
¼ cup passionfruit pulp, strained

White Chocolate & Passionfruit Ganache
90mL thickened cream
180g white chocolate, broken into small pieces
1 tbs passionfruit pulp, strained
Sugar flowers, to decorate 

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C. Beat butter with electric mixer until soft and fluffy, add eggs and beat until pale. Stir in sifted sugar and flour and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. Stir in passionfruit pulp. Spoon mixture into cupcake liners resting in muffin moulds until 2/3 full. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Turn cakes onto wire rack to cool. Top with ganache or other frosting and sugar flower. Allow to set.


To make ganache:
Warm cream and pulp in a saucepan over low heat, then stir in chocolate pieces until melted. Leave to cool, then refrigerate for at least 30mins - 1 hour. This allows the ganache to thicken, ready to be piped or spread over cupcakes.

Chocolate Coated Bananas

The first time I ate a chocolate dipped banana was when I was on holidays in the Gold Coast this year. It was at the Warner Bros Movie World theme park. It was surprisingly nice, so I've been keen to try making it myself at home. The concept seemed simple enough. Anyways, the one that I ate in the Gold Coast was coated in chopped peanuts, but I've substituted it with hundreds and thousands instead. You could also coat the bananas in mini chocolate candies or toasted dessicated coconut. Whatever tickles your fancy :P

If you use ripe but firm bananas, you'll get a more creamier texture when you bite into them, much like an ice cream except less naughtier!

It's best to use paddle pop sticks or wooden chopsticks for holding the bananas as they're much stronger. I didn't have any available and used bamboo skewers, which still work but are not as stable when it comes to holding it in your hand.

Makes 4

Ingredients

4 medium bananas, peeled
200g dark chocolate melts
30g copha
½ cup hundreds & thousands, to decorate and/or
½ cup finely chopped unsalted peanuts, to decorate

Method

1. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Insert a paddle pop stick into one end of each banana. Place onto baking tray. Cover with plastic wrap. Freeze for 30 minutes.
2. Place the chocolate and copha in a medium heatproof bowl and microwave uncovered on medium (50%) for 30 seconds then stir. Repeat process until chocolate mixture has melted. Alternatively, place chocolate and copha into a small, heat proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir with a metal spoon for 5 minutes or until smooth.
3. Place hundreds and thousands and nuts into separate plates.
4. Remove bananas from freezer. Pour chocolate mixture into a tall glass until three-quarters full. Dip bananas, one at a time, into chocolate. Working quickly, dip each banana into the hundreds and thousands or nuts to coat.
5. Serve immediately or return to freezer until required. Wrap bananas separately.
   

Notes & Tips:

Copha is a solidified form of coconut oil. It can be found in the refrigerated section of most Australian supermarkets, near where the butter is kept.