Ice cream slice - choose your own flavour

This was my second dessert that I made for Christmas day. 

As our day didn't go quite as planned (my father was under the weather so we all stepped up in our own way to ensure our guests were taken care of) I didn't get a chance to take a photo. So this pic is one my sister posted to Instagram. 

Christmas Day dessert table: Top left to right; Trifle, Pavlova, Gingerbread house, Fruit Salad.
Botttom left to right; Plum pudding, Lemon Bundt cake, Ice cream slice.

We had a 'second' Christmas dinner on New Years Day with even more family so my dad could enjoy all the food when he felt better. And I yet again didn't get a pic once it was sliced. 

But either way it was very yum and even better, very simple to make. 

With just 4 ingredients it's a great way to give everyone something sweet to eat after dinner. 

The recipe comes from nestle and just because I rarely follow a recipe directly. Instead of splitting the ice cream between two trays, I heaped up just one. 

So let's get down to it. 

1 packet of malt o milk biscuits

600mls thickened cream

1 tin condensed milk

4 50g violet crumb bars

Line a brownie tray with parchment paper and place a layer of biscuits on the bottom, cut them up to fill the base. 1 tray will not use the whole packet

In the bowl of a strand mixer whip the cream to stiff peaks then add the condensed milk, whisk until thick. 

Crush the violet crumble bars and fold though 3 of them before spreading the creamy mix across the biscuit base. Level off the top and sprinkle the 4th violet crumble bar over the top. 

Cover and freezer for 4 hours or over night. Cut and serve immediately. 

Close up of ice cream slice (apologies for the poor quality)

Now for the second tray I made it using crunchie and peppermint crisp bars. But you could use just about any candy bar that takes your fancy.

I may be linked up at these parties.

Another Christmas filled with gingerbread.

As my last two orders for gingerbread houses left to be devoured by their owners this Christmas, I would like to take this moment to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a safe holiday season. 


I'm ready to take a well earned break, with a couple weeks off work and my holiday baking hobby finished I'm all set for a few sleep ins, catching up on some reading, preparing for my trip in January and making the most of the warm summer to get to the beach. 

Take care everyone!

Lemon bundt cake

I was testing out a recipe to make on Christmas Day. 

And it was a winner!

 I will post a link to the original recipe here but I did alter it just a little as my bundt pan is only 16cm.

The stickers on my bundt pan said it needed half quantities of recipes that are required by standard 22cm pans.

And how do you halve 3 eggs?

I rarely eat eggs unless it's French toast or in baking of course, and I really don't like throwing good food away even if it's something I won't eat. 

So below is my version of the recipe suitable for a 16cm bundt pan. Double it for your 22 cm pans or follow the original recipe I'm sure it tasted great too!

Lemon bundt cake for 16cm pans

11/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
Just under 1 cup sugar
100g soft butter
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbs lemon juice

zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup milk

Lemon Glaze

1 cup icing sugar
1 tbs lemon juice

Bundt cake

• Preheat the oven to 180'C.
• In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt and the lemon zest.
• Generously grease and flour the bundt pan.
• In a second mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Add the egg, beating well.
• Add the vanilla and lemon juice and beat well again.
• Mixing on low speed, add the dry ingredients alternating with milk. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes.
• Pour the batter into the bundt pan.
• Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Cool the cake for a few minutes in the pan. Place your serving plate over the top of the pan and flip it upside down. Tap the pan gently until the cake releases right. Cool cake completely before glazing.

Lemon Glaze 

• Place icing sugar in a mixing bowl. Add lemon juice and whisk in. You want thick but still pourable - so it flows down the sides of the cake. 
• Glaze the cooled cake.

I will be taking 2 desserts to Christmas Day. The second I haven't tested out as one of my sisters made it recently for her friends so I know it works and tastes great (she has been asked to make it again for her friends Christmas Eve celebrations). I will post that recipe as soon as I have made it. 

I may be linked up at these parties.

So excited.......

10 minute vanilla slice

A friend of mine posted a link to this recipe via Facebook and I just needed to try it. 

Regular vanilla slice (or snot block as it is usually called around here) is just a little to rich for me. If cake shops made them with half the amount of custard I would be so happy but this is a great alternative. 

It's not an actual custard filling - it's a mix of whipped cream and vanilla pudding which makes it that bit lighter in texture. 

It all comes together very fast and just needs to be chilled until serving. It can last 4-5 days easily stored in the fridge and gets better as the days go on as the biscuit layers soften up a little. 

Ingredients

1 packet lattice biscuits

300 mls cream

1 cup of milk

1 packet instant vanilla pudding

2 cups Icing sugar

Flavour for icing- see options below or make up your own!

Method

Lay biscuits shiny side up in the base of a 22-23 cm square pan.

In a mixing bowl whip cream to soft peaks then add milk and instant pudding mix. Whip for a few minutes until thick and fluffy. Spread the vanilla cream filling on to the biscuits and top with a second layer, shiny side up.

Mix icing sugar with
1/2 tin passion fruit pulp

Or 

1/2 tsp vanilla extract and water 

to make a thick icing that is still pourable and spread over the biscuits. 

Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours

Slice before the icing is completely set to prevent cracking and return to fridge until required. 

I made 2 batches of this vanilla slice within 6 days and none went to waste. 

The second batch I didn't slice until the following day and the icing cracked, resulting in less pleasant looking slices but it still tasted great. 

The icing options are totally up to you. I like the passion fruit but friends were raised with their "snot blocks" being vanilla icing either plain white or tinted pink. 

Mix it up and try any flavour you want.  

Mmm I'm thinking chocolate.....

You may notice the boxes in the container. I didn't have a square cake tray so I used my Tupperware cake container and lined it with baking paper. To keep the edges straight I wedged some boxes from the pantry into the gaps and this worked a treat. 
I did purchase a square tray for the second batch. 

I may be linked up at these parties.

Cornflake biscuits.

I can't believe I've been absent again, not through lack of baking though, but I've not had many successes of late. 

I recently went to a Christmas ornament party, like Tupperware, but with hand made ceramic decorations. I've been to several of these over the years and am slowly building my collection. I'll share my latest additions when they arrive. 

At this party there was a lovely spread of afternoon tea goodies and as the host is not only one of my closest friends but also a very generous person she sent me home with a plate of delicious treats. 

The cornflake biscuits were soooo good. I rationed them out over the week just so they would last a little bit longer. The following weekend I made an attempt to make my own. And ohhhh what a failure. 

I had looked online at several biscuits recipes, and altered a recipe that uses another cereal. I knew from the first batch  coming out of the oven that they just weren't right. I made a slight change to the remaining dough but nope, not the same as the original ones I'd had. 

When I next caught up with my friend I asked if she wouldn't mind asking the lady who had brought the biscuits if she wouldn't mind sharing the recipe. 

And a few days later.....

"You've got mail"

Into my inbox arrived the recipe. 

So, because delicious food should always be shared, here is the recipe to try for yourself. 

Sally's cornflake biscuits. 

125g butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup sultanas

1 egg

1 cup self raising flour

Cornflakes

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 

Add the egg and beat well. 

Fold in the sifted flour alternatively with the sultanas. 

Roll teaspoons of the dough in lightly crushed cornflakes. 

Place on a greased baking tray in a moderate (180C) oven for 10 - 12 minutes or until the edges just turn brown. 

Cool on the tray for a few minutes, before transferring to a wire rack. 

Make a cup of tea, sit back and enjoy!

- not a fan of sultanas? replace with chocolate chips!

I may be linked up at these parties.

Infused vodka

After a recent night out at a local vodka bar, my friends and I were keen to try out making our own infused vodka. 

For my first attempt I used raspberries and apple. 

It's just so easy to chop up some fruit stick it in a jar and cover with some good vodka. From all descriptions I found online you just leave it in the pantry and give it a shake twice a day. Test the flavour every couple of days and if need be, replace the fruit after 7 days to increase the flavour or top up with vodka if the flavour is too strong. 

This first try didn't develop a lot if flavour. But there was an apple after taste. Next time I will crush the berries. 

My second test was using a black current puree. The flavour was great after just 5 days, but it wasn't pure black currents, they were in a syrup so the mix does need to be shaken prior to serving. 

Serve straight or with a mixer with a wedge of lime. 

I'm ready for summer!

I may be linked up at these parties.

Lotion bars

Working in early childhood means washing my hands is something I do all day long, so they get very dry and sore if I don't moisturise them often.

I came across this post (via this post) and bells were ringing... I can do this, and there is no risk of finding liquid lotion squirted through my bag at the end of the day.

I dropped into a local health food store and picked up the ingredients. 

I did substitute the almond oil for avocado oil as nut products are discouraged at my work (and I don't need my hand lotion to be the cause of someone else's allergic/ anaphylactic reaction)

One thing I did forget was to grab some essential oils, I used some dodgy oils I had bought ages ago and they just smell fake. So this batch won't be shared, it's all for me.

Want to make some yourself? Mix equal parts of bees wax pellets, coconut oil and avocado oil (or almond/ jojoba etc) in a double boiler, add any essential oils then pour into moulds of choice and leave to set.

I used a metal mini muffin tin and they popped out fine.

If yours don't set firm enough, just melt them down again and add some extra bees wax pellets.

I wonder if I could mask the fake lime smell if I melted them down again????

Now I keep one of these in my bag and in my desk in little containers and the rest are stored together in sealed container in the fridge (just because the weather is getting warmer here and I'm not sure if that will affect them)

I may be sharing at these parties.