Pink Hearts Fudge

Have you ever had a recipe you wanted to recreate? And it just does not work out even after a number of tries? If you have, well you are not alone! There is this recipe I have been trying for a while. 

Leading up to christmas last year, I was drooling over all these delicious looking festive bake and no-bake treat recipes. One particular recipe caught my eye. It was described as a 'fool-proof' easy recipe. It was chocolate and it was a fudge! I could go no further, had to give it a try. The kidlets saw me looking at this recipe and egged me on. They loved the look of it too. So anyway I decided to give it a go. Once, twice, thrice, all of four times. It just was not working. I had all but given up when a knowledgable foodie friend suggested I try her fudge recipe. She cautioned me that it may take a couple tries, play around a bit though and have fun as the end result was always going to be 'sweet'.

Well I am happy to report, this recipe worked wonders and on the very first try at that!! Without further ado here is the recipe, give it a go! We called it the Pink Hearts Fudge 

Pink Hearts Fudge

Ingredients - 

Condensed Milk - 1can (390 grams)

White sugar - Half a standard measuring cup

Unsalted butter - 25 grams

Salted butter - 25 grams

Dark chocolate chips - optional

extra butter to grease a tray

Method -

Keep a greased pan ready on the side.

In a non-stick pan, melt the salted and unsalted butter.

Add in the sugar and condensed milk, mix well and cook on medium heat. The mixture goes through different consistency stages. It is quite viscous to begin with, then becomes a bit runny and finally thickens as it nears completion.

It is important to stir the mixture continuously (do not be tempted to increase the heat) for around 35 mins. 

If using chocolate chips, close to the 30 minute mark, add in the chips and stir well so as to incorporate all the chocolate. 

Once the chocolate has mixed in well, put a drop of the mixture in a bowl of cold water. This is a test for 'readiness of the mixture'. If the drop solidifies and sinks to the bottom, the mixture is done. 

Remove from the heat and pour into the prepared greased pan. If using any decorations like 100s & 1000s or colourful sprinkles, decorate it now. Leave it to cool and set. 

Cut into desired shapes. Store in an air-tight container. 

Shelf life is easily up-to a week, if it has not already found it's way into little 'treat-hungry' tummies!!


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This blog does not accept any form of advertising, sponsorship, or paid insertions. We write for our own purposes. However, we may be influenced by our background, occupation, religion, political affiliation or experience.The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blog owners.

This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.

Orange Cinnamon Cookies

I am on a cookie roll at the moment. It is one of those food items that can be dressed up or down, made as fancy as you want it to be or kept at it's simplistic best!! That for me, is the defining character of a recipe - the versatility. It moulds itself in its makers design.

This recipe uses the basic cookie recipe I have blogged about earlier but a different flavour combination. I give you the Orange Cinnamon Cookie. The measures given below will typically make about 30 cookies but it all depends on how big or small you wish your cookies to be. 
Another thing to remember is that I use a fan-forced oven, so you will need to adjust your baking temperature accordingly. 

Ingredients - 
225 g - Softened Unsalted butter
200 g - Caster Sugar* 
Grated rind of 1 Orange
4 tsp - Orange Juice
280 g - Plain Flour**
2 tsp - Ground Cinnamon
Salt to taste

Method - 
Preheat oven to 190 degrees C or 180, if using a fan forced oven.
Combine butter, 140 g of the sugar and orange rind in a bowl. Cream it well. 
Add 2 tsp of Orange juice. Mix to incorporate the juice.
Add the flour and salt and combine so as to form a dough. Shape the dough into a log.
Wrap it in plastic wrap or baking paper and refrigerate for 20-30 min.
Roll out the dough into a 30 cm/12 inch square. 
Brush the square with the remaining orange juice. Sprinkle the remaining sugar and the ground cinnamon evenly over the dough square.
Gently roll the dough like a swiss roll. Wrap it once more and refrigerate for a further 20-30 min.

Line a baking tray with baking paper. Unwrap the roll and with a sharp knife cut the roll into 1 cm discs. Place them about an inch apart.
Bake for 10-12 min or till the cookies look light golden. remove from oven and let cool for 5 min. The cookies will be a bit soft at this stage.
Transfer the cookies carefully to a wire rack and let cool completely. 
Once cooled store them in an airtight container.
Enjoy these cookies with your favourite cuppa!!

Note -
*Granulated sugar can be used as long as it gets mixed well with the butter. Also to make this recipe Diabetic friendly, use a sugar substitute like 'Stevia'. I have tried these with Stevia and I found I needed about 75 g of Stevia. 
**You can use wheat flour instead of plain flour, the texture however will be a bit different in terms of the crispiness.

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This blog does not accept any form of advertising, sponsorship, or paid insertions. We write for our own purposes. However, we may be influenced by our background, occupation, religion, political affiliation or experience.The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blog owners.
This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.

Apricot Pecan Cookies

There is something heart warming, very inviting, about baking aromas wafting through the house. Especially on cold and wet days! Well today is just that kind of day - cold, wet and miserable. 

You see, I really love baking and so transforming a miserable day into an enjoyable one is sometimes as easy as mix, bake, cool and bliss!! I must admit, I have days when nothing helps to make my day better. That is life though and makes you treasure the good times.

Anyway, here is one of my 'go-to' cookie recipe. A cup of your favourite beverage and a couple of these cookies is sure to lift your spirits and transform your day!!

The Ingredients -
Unsalted Butter(softened) - 225g
Caster Sugar* - 140g
Vanilla Essence - 2tsp
Plain flour** - 280g
Grated rind of 1 orange
Dried Apricots, chopped - 55g
Pecans, finely chopped - 100g
Salt - 1tsp or as per taste

Method -

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C.
Cream the softened butter and sugar using a wooden spoon/spatula. To this, add the salt and mix well.
Next, add the Vanilla and orange rind and mix well. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well so as to incorporate all the flour.
At this stage, I use my hands. So wash hands thoroughly and start mixing the cookie mixture so as to form a pliable dough.
Shape the dough into a log and wrap it in plastic film or baking paper.
Refrigerate for 15 to 20 mins.

After about 20 mins, remove the wrapping and cut the log into 1 cm discs. The apricot gives these cookies a very appealing marble look!!
Line a baking tray with baking paper. Arrange the discs 2-3 cm apart.
Bake for 12-15 min or till the cookies turn light golden. At this stage the cookies will still be a bit soft.
Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack. Once completely cooled, transfer cookies to an air tight container.
The measures given here make around 30 cookies, depending on how thick a log you roll.
These should stay fresh for a good week, if they have not been gobbled up already!!
Typically in my house, these are gone in a couple days.
Enjoy!!

Notes -
* Caster sugar can be replaced with regular granulated sugar. Only cream it well with the butter so that it is properly dissolved. Alternately you could powder the granulated sugar in a mixer grinder and use that.
**Plain flour can be replaced in part with wheat flour to make these cookies healthier.



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This blog does not accept any form of advertising, sponsorship, or paid insertions. We write for our own purposes. However, we may be influenced by our background, occupation, religion, political affiliation or experience.The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blog owners.
This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.

Braided Pizza Bread

Bread is one of those staple foods I have not had much success with so far. Searching high and low, trying out different recipes with variable results - I had almost given up. That's when I came upon this amazing recipe like the proverbial 'hit rock bottom before achieving a high'. It is deliciously easy to make and believe me, will be gone from the table before you know it.

Without further ado, here's the recipe

Ingredients -

For the Bread
1 ½ cups All purpose Flour
2 ¼ tsp Instant dry yeast
1 tsp Salt
1 tbsp Sugar
¼ cup Milk
¼ cup Water
2 tbsp Olive Oil + a little extra
Garlic Oil to drizzle [To make garlic oil - warm 4-5 tbsp Olive oil, drop 1-2 cloves of crushed garlic in it and let steep]

For the stuffing -
1 Onion chopped fine
1 Tomato chopped fine (without seeds)
1 Capsicum chopped fine
½ cup Corn Kernels
1 tsp dried Basil
1 tsp Chilli Flakes
1 tsp Italian mixed herbs
1 Cup Mozzarella Cheese
¼ cup Pizza Sauce
Garlic Salt to sprinkle (Sea Salt/Rock salt is a good option too)
Salt to taste

Method -Preheat oven to 200⁰C (190⁰C for a fan forced oven)

For the bread –

Add the flour, salt, sugar and yeast to a bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the milk and water (both lukewarm). Mix to form pliable dough.  At this stage the dough could be sticky. Add the oil and knead for 5-7 mins. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, coat it liberally with oil, cover with a damp cloth and set aside till it doubles in size.

This will take about an hour (depending on how hot / cold the room temperature is in your kitchen)

Punch down the dough and knead well for 2-3 mins. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a rectangle making sure it is not too thick. This could be done on a ‘flour dusted’ clean work surface or on a sheet of baking paper.

For the stuffing –

Heat oil in a pan, add the onion and sauté for 2 mins or just enough to get rid of its raw smell. Add the remaining vegetables and cook on high flame for 2-3 mins. Remove from heat, add the herbs, chili flakes and salt and mix well.

To put them all together –

Longitudinal, along an imaginary center line spread some pizza sauce. Sprinkle mozzarella so as to cover the pizza sauce.

Top it with the prepared vegetable mixture. Sprinkle once more with mozzarella and herbs.

Score the dough with a sharp knife starting from the stuffing, radiating outwards at an angle.

Bring in the slit strips alternating from both sides to give a ‘braid’ like appearance.

Brush the prepared bread with the garlic oil, sprinkle lightly with some garlic salt, herbs and some mozzarella.

Cover with baking paper and let rest for 15-20 mins.

Bake in the oven for about 30 mins or till the top is golden brown.

There you have one delicious home baked bread ready to serve.

Enjoy!!

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This blog does not accept any form of advertising, sponsorship, or paid insertions. We write for our own purposes. However, we may be influenced by our background, occupation, religion, political affiliation or experience.The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blog owners.
This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.

Peach Cobbler

A 'Cobbler' finds it's origins in the British American colonies of old. There are several different variations of this dish depending on the region it is made in.
The recipe here is from the 'deep South' (USA), the Southern classic Peach Cobbler. The southern people are quite generous with their Cobbler recipe serving it with a dollop of Vanilla Icecream!!

Ingredients -
113g unsalted Butter
1 cup all purpose Flour
2 cups Sugar
1tbsp Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt
1 cup Milk
410g Canned Peach slices
1tbsp Lemon juice
Ground Cinnamon or Nutmeg

Method -

Melt butter in a 13"x 9" glass baking dish.
In a bowl, combine the flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the milk, stirring just until the dry ingredients are incorporated. Pour this batter gently over the melted butter. Do not mix it up.

In a pan, add the remaining sugar, canned peach slices along with it's juice and lemon juice. Bring to a boil over high heat while stirring continuously. Once it is boiling, remove from heat and gently pour over the batter in the glass dish. Again, important - Do not mix it up.

Sprinkle with cinnamon / nutmeg. Bake in a preheated oven at 1900C for 40-45 mins or till the top looks golden brown.

Serve warm with a dollop of Vanilla Icecream or whipped cream and garnish with roasted chopped Hazelnuts.

This dish is best eaten warm with the cold icecream or whipped cream. Having said that it can be served cold as well

Notes : During the baking process, the fruit along with the juices, sinks down to the bottom of the dish and the batter layer rises to the top. Therefore it is important to not mix the layers.

When serving the cobbler, cut a piece and turn it over when plating up so that the bottom layer consisting of the fruit is now the top.

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This blog does not accept any form of advertising, sponsorship, or paid insertions. We write for our own purposes. However, we may be influenced by our background, occupation, religion, political affiliation or experience.The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blog owners.
This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.

Panforte di Siena

Panforte is an Italian fruit and nut dessert not unlike the traditional Christmas fruit cake. The origins of this dessert go back to the Tuscany region of Italy (so I understand from Wiki!) It is quite a dense cake made almost entirely with fruit and nuts. A little flour binds the whole dish. The spices lend a deliciously heady aroma.

Ingredients –

250g Figs or Pitted Dates
50g Honey
100g Soft Brown Sugar
½ tsp Ground Cinnamon
½ tsp Ground Clove
½ tsp Ground Nutmeg
½ tsp Ground Cardamom
½ tsp Ground Black Pepper
250g Candied Fruit
50g blanched Almonds
50g toasted Hazelnuts
4 tbsp sifted Plain flour
50ml Vin Santo dessert Wine or Rum
Icing Sugar for dusting

Method –

Preheat oven to 150^oC. Line a 25cm round or 20cm square cake tin with baking paper.

Mince the figs / dates and put them in a pan with just enough water to cover the fruit. Add honey, sugar and spices.

Cook gently for about 10 mins and then transfer to a bowl. At this stage the fruit mix should be soft and sticky but not wet.

Add the candied fruit and the nuts. Mix well. Then add the flour and wine and mix to a sticky mass. Spoon mixture into prepared tin and bake for 30-40 mins.

Take out from the oven and let cool in the tin. When cooled take out of the tin. Sprinkle generously with icing sugar and serve with a glass of your favourite bubbly!!

Transfer to an airtight container. It does have a long shelf life provided there is any leftover!

bon appetite!

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This blog does not accept any form of advertising, sponsorship, or paid insertions. We write for our own purposes. However, we may be influenced by our background, occupation, religion, political affiliation or experience.The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blog owners.
This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.

2 minute Chocolate Brownie

We came back from school this afternoon to the clap of thunder. The house was cold and the general feeling was one of doom and gloom. The hour between 3pm and 4pm is also the proverbial witches hour with the rush for after school snacks, recounting all that happened at school and such. After-school snacks are always tricky because they need to be easily accepted by the girls at the same time not too sugary and relatively quick to fix. To my utter amazement I came across just such a recipe earlier in the day!! 

Ready in under 2 mins, chocolatey and as a bonus it went down a treat with the girls as well as the Mister :-) Couldn't ask for more!

This is a recipe for individual brownies made in ramikins or like I did, in Tea cups. The measures therefore are for one serve only. Also it is a 'hold your breath' a microwave recipe which you could whip up in 2 minutes if unexpected guests arrived. 

Anyway so here's the list of ingredients for one serve - 

1/4 cup Self raising flour
1/4 cup Caster sugar (plain sugar is ok too)
2 tbsp Cocoa Powder
2 tbsp Vegetable oil
3 tbsp water
Icing Sugar for dusting

Method -
Take a microwave safe bowl (cup or whatever container you are going to serve the brownie in - cook and serve in same container!!)
Add the flour, caster sugar, cocoa powder, oil and water to the bowl. Mix well to get a smooth mixture.
Place the bowl in the microwave and cook on high power for 1min 20secs. My microwave is 1200 Watts. You will need to adjust cooking time accordingly. 

Remove from microwave and let rest for 2-3 mins. Dust some icing sugar over the top and the brownie is ready to be served. If you like your brownie to be moist, some warm chocolate sauce on the side will do the trick.

Easy as 1,2,3!! 

Enjoy!!

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This blog does not accept any form of advertising, sponsorship, or paid insertions. We write for our own purposes. However, we may be influenced by our background, occupation, religion, political affiliation or experience.The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blog owners.
This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.