summer – Bakerholics Anonymous

Mojito Cupcakes

Published on June 13, 2021June 13, 2021 by Elise B2 Comments

Mojitos are a favourite cocktail in my family, especially when Mum’s lime tree is fruiting (which seems to be almost constantly!) These fresh and zingy cupcakes incorporate all the classic flavours of a mojito – lime, mint and a cheeky hint of rum. I took a batch to a Mexican fiesta night recently and they were a huge hit, as they’re just the right light dessert for when you’ve stuffed in one too many tacos.

Feel free to omit the rum to make them kid-friendly.

Ingredients (makes 12)
Cupcakes
1 cup self-raising flour
⅔ cup caster sugar
125g butter, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
Rind of 2 limes, finely grated

Mojito Syrup
1 tablespoon caster sugar
2 tablespoons white rum (I use Bacardi)
Juice of 3 limes
A sprig of fresh mint leaves

Icing
90g butter
4 cups icing sugar
Leftover mojito syrup
Juice of half a lime
Rind of 1 lime, finely grated
½ tablespoon milk

Decoration
Lime slices
Mint leaves
Paper straws (cut into thirds)

Preheat oven to 200ºC (180 fan-forced) and line a 12-hole muffin tin with green patty pans.

Put all of the ingredients except for the milk into a food processor and blitz until smooth. Pulse while adding the milk until just combined.

Divide batter evenly among the patty pans (I know it doesn’t look like much batter, but they will rise a lot).

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Transfer immediately onto a wire rack to cool completely.

While the cupcakes are cooling, make the mojito syrup by heating all ingredients in a small saucepan over a medium-high heat until it has thickened to a syrupy texture (about 8 minutes). Strain through a fine sieve to remove the mint leaves.

Using a skewer, poke holes in the tops of the cupcakes (about 10 per cake). Carefully dip the top of the cupcakes into the mojito syrup. Leave to soak for a few minutes and repeat.

To make the icing, beat the butter until it is light and fluffy. Add icing sugar, remaining mojito syrup, lime juice, rind and milk and beat until smooth and creamy. Taste the frosting and add more lime juice as required to ensure it is tangy. Add further icing sugar to stiffen the mixture, or milk to loosen it. Transfer into a piping bag with the Wilton 1M star tip.

Pipe icing in a softserve motion on the cupcakes, starting from the outside and working your way into the centre and up.

Slice a lime into 6 thin rounds and then cut them in half again to make thin wedges. Top each cupcake with a lime wedge, straw and mint leaves. Enjoy!

Base cupcake recipe adapted from Nigella Lawson’s How to be a Domestic Goddess

Easy No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake

Published on November 11, 2018November 13, 2018 by Elise BLeave a comment

This is my favourite cheesecake recipe which was kindly given to me by my high-school friend, Antonia. The filling has a silky texture with a delicious punch of lemon, and sets without needing gelatin. It’s a perfect no-stress summer dessert as you can make it the night before and leave it to set without a second thought.

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Ingredients (serves 8-10)
Juice and rind of 1 large lemon
400ml condensed milk
250g cream cheese, softened
300ml thickened cream
1 x 250g packet Arnott’s Granita biscuits (or equivalent)
75g butter, melted

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Method
Grease and line a 25cm round springform tin.

Crush the biscuits in a food processor and add the melted butter. Use the crumb mixture to line the bottom and part way up the sides of the prepared tin, pressing it in firmly with the bottom of a glass to ensure it is even.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and condensed milk until smooth.

In a separate bowl, beat the cream until it is very thick but not fully whipped.

Gently combine the cream into the cream cheese mixture and stir until just combined. Add in the lemon rind and gradually add the juice (to taste).

Pour into the crumb lined tin. Cover the top with foil and secure with a rubber band.

Refrigerate overnight or until set (at least 7 hours).

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Recipe from Antonia

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Pavlova Wreath

Published on July 16, 2017July 16, 2017 by Elise BLeave a comment

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I made this pavlova wreath for a friend’s Christmas in July themed Birthday lunch. It’s a great, light way to finish a meal (perfect after a rich Christmas feast!) and looks festive without being kitsch. It’s great for Christmas Day as you can make and decorate it well ahead of time, giving you more time to focus on the main course and mingle with guests.

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Ingredients (serves 10-12)
6 large free-range egg whites
350g caster sugar
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon cornflour

For the topping
600ml cream
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
½ – 1 tablespoon icing sugar (to taste)
2 punnets of strawberries
⅔ punnet of raspberries
½ punnet of blueberries
½ punnet blackberries
Mint leaves (optional)

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Method
Preheat oven to 160°C (140°C fan-forced). Line a large baking tray (or round pizza tray as I used) with baking paper and draw a 30cm circle in the centre.

Whisk egg whites with an electric mixer in a large, clean bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar a little at a time, whisking on maximum speed until stiff and glossy. Once all of the sugar has been added, continue mixing for 10 minutes or until all of the sugar has been dissolved (test this by rubbing the meringue mixture between your fingertips and ensuring it is smooth). Mix the vinegar and cornflour in a cup and stir it into the egg whites.

Spoon dollops of meringue mixture onto the prepared circle on the baking paper as below: 5xNnVspLSUuZc9DoPgiObg_thumb_d68

Transfer to the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 140°C (120°C fan-forced). Bake the pavlova for 1 hour–1 ¼ hours, until the outside is hard but still white. Turn the oven off, prop the oven door open with a matchbox and leave the pavlova inside for an hour to cool and dry.

To assemble, whip the cream, vanilla and icing sugar until thickened. Gently spread over the top of the wreath and top with fruit and mint leaves. Enjoy!

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Recipe adapted from Mary Berry’s Christmas Pavlova recipe on BBC Food.

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Tropical Ice Cream

Published on February 16, 2017February 18, 2017 by Elise BLeave a comment

This delicious, easy dessert has all the tastes of summer and is perfect served with fresh fruit on a balmy evening. thumb_img_3009_1024 Ingredients (serves 6-8)
1 litre good quality vanilla ice cream
100g unsalted pistachio nuts
¾ cup desiccated coconut
Pulp of 2 passionfruit
2 tablespoons honey
Fresh fruit, to serve

Method
Allow ice cream to soften at room temperature until just soft.

Remove pistachio nuts from shells. Cover nuts with boiling water and remove their dark skins. Dry thoroughly.

Place coconut in a dry pan and cook over a gentle heat until golden, stirring constantly. Remove from pan.

Combine ice-cream, nuts, ½ cup of the coconut, passionfruit pulp and honey. Place in a glad-wrap lined container (I use a log tin), cover and freeze for at least 2 hours

Serve topped with the remaining toasted coconut and fresh fruit. Enjoy!

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Recipe adapted from Sydney Market Authority

Pavlova

Published on January 29, 2017October 21, 2018 by Elise BLeave a comment

The pavlova is a quintessential Aussie dessert that is said to have been inspired by the Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova after a chef saw her perform on her world tour in 1926. A good pavlova has a beautiful high, crisp crust and a soft, pillowy marshmallow inside. It is one of my favourite summer desserts, especially when topped with seasonal fruit.

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Ingredients (Serves 6-8)
1 large cup of sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon cornflour
2 egg whites (at room temperature)
4 tablespoons boiling water
300ml cream, thickened
Fresh fruit (this time I used a mango, strawberries and blueberries)

Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a large tray with baking paper and trace a circle around the bottom of an 18cm cake tin (or other round object of the desired size). Turn the baking paper over (so it is pencil side down).

Add eggs whites to a large bowl. Put cornflour and caster sugar to one side of the bowl. Add boiling water to egg whites, pour in vanilla and white vinegar, and beat on high for 10-20 minutes until thick, glossy and the sugar has dissolved (you can test this by putting a small amount of mixture on your index finger and rubbing it with your thumb, if you can feel the sugar, keep beating). **It is hugely important that you have the sugar dissolved, otherwise the pavlova may crack and weep during cooking**

Using the circle on the baking paper as your guide, spoon the pavlova mixture onto the tray and shape.

Cook at 180°C for about 8 minutes and then reduce heat to 90°C and cook for another 45 minutes. Turn the oven off and leave the pavlova to cool in the oven for at least an hour, to prevent collapsing.

When fully cool and you’re ready to serve it (keep the meringue free of toppings until right before serving), gently spread the thickened cream over the top and decorate with fruit.

Recipe from my lovely Grandmother, Margaret Payne.

Christmas Ice Cream Pudding

Published on December 26, 2016June 12, 2017 by Elise BLeave a comment

As an Aussie, Christmas day is often stinking hot and the last thing you feel like is eating a hot, rich traditional pudding at the conclusion of your meal. Enter my cheat’s ice-cream pudding!

This is more of a suggestion than a recipe (as you can adapt it entirely to suit you), but this combination is always a hit with my family, with the bonus of looking like a traditional pudding once complete.

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Ingredients (serves 10)
2 litres good quality chocolate ice-cream
⅔ packet mini marshmallows
½ packet Maltesers
½ a packet lolly raspberries, chopped
2 large Mars Bars, chopped
50g white chocolate, melted (to decorate)
1 lolly raspberry (to decorate)
2 spearmint leaves (to decorate)

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Method
Soften ice-cream at room temperature until it is a workable consistency. Meanwhile, line a large, deep glass bowl with clingfilm. Spray the clingfilm with cooking oil.

Once ice-cream is softened, transfer half to a large bowl. Add in half of your lollies and mix until evenly distributed. Repeat with the remaining ice-cream in its container. Transfer all ice-cream into your prepared bowl. Smooth the “top” with a spatula. Freeze until set.

To turn the pudding out, sit the bottom of the bowl in a sink filled with a few centimetres of warm water, and run a knife around the edge of the bowl as required. Once it is loosened (you may need to repeat a few times), it should slide out easily onto your desired serving plate. Peel off the clingfilm.

To decorate, spoon melted white chocolate on top to look like custard and top with the raspberry lolly and spearmint leaves. Enjoy!

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Chocolate Berry Meringue Nests

Published on March 6, 2016March 7, 2016 by Elise BLeave a comment

These meringue nests are the perfect conclusion to a summer dinner party or BBQ. They are light, flavoursome and not too sweet when paired with fresh berries and whipped cream. I especially love that they look like you’ve gone to a lot of effort (when they’re really very simple to make) and they don’t heat up the house too much while baking!

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Ingredients (makes 4)
3 egg whites
¾ cup (165g) caster sugar
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla essence
1 tablespoon dark dutch cocoa powder
300ml thickened cream, whipped
Fresh berries, to decorate (I used strawberries, raspberries and blueberries)

Method
Preheat oven to 120 degrees C (~100 degrees C fan-forced). Line a large oven tray with baking paper.

Beat egg whites in a medium bowl with an electric mixer or mixmaster until soft peaks form. Add caster sugar, a tablespoon at a time, beating until the sugar dissolves between each addition. Add in vanilla essence and cocoa powder.

Divide the meringue mixture into 4 roughly equal sized dollops on the baking tray, and spread into circles approximately 11cm in diameter.

Bake in the oven for approximately 45 minutes or until meringues are firm. Turn off the oven and let meringues cool for 5 minutes, before letting them cool completely with the door ajar.

Top meringues with whipped cream and berries. Enjoy!

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Adapted from ‘Chocolate Berry Meringues’ in The Australian Women’s Weekly cookbook ‘Best Food’, 2005 reprint.

Tiramisu Ice Cream

Published on January 22, 2015January 8, 2022 by Elise BLeave a comment

This ice cream is easy, light and utterly delicious. It is quite sweet, more like a Vietnamese iced coffee than a traditional coffee, but works beautifully with the tartness of raspberries. I’ve chosen to serve mine in individual glasses here, but it works well as one large ice cream cut into slabs too – I’ve included the instructions for both.

Start this recipe at least 7 hours ahead of serving.

Ingredients (serves 6)
2 tablespoons instant coffee (I use decaf)
⅓ cup boiling water
2 tablespoons Tia Maria (or equivalent coffee liqueur)
400g can skim condensed milk
550ml cream
¼ cup milk
1 x 300g packet sponge finger biscuits
Raspberries & dark chocolate curls or chocolate covered coffee beans (to decorate)

Method
Combine coffee, water & Tia Maria and set aside until cool.

Combine condensed milk and cream in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until thickened. Beat in half of the coffee mixture.

To make 6 individual servings, prepare 6 medium sized glasses. Split the cream mixture equally into 3 bowls. Divide the first bowl’s worth of cream mixture evenly between the glasses.

Combine remaining coffee mixture with milk. Cut 6 sponge finger biscuits into halves and dip into this coffee mixture until evenly coated. Fit two half biscuits in a single layer into each glass. Cut approximately 2-3 additional biscuits into 5 small pieces and dip into the coffee mixture. Use to fill the gaps so you have a fairly full layer of biscuits.

Evenly divide the second bowl of cream mixture between the glasses. Repeat the previous sponge finger process.

Finally, top each glass with an even share of the remaining cream mixture. Freeze until set.

Serve with raspberries and chocolate curls.

To make one large ice cream, line a 20cm square cake pan with aluminium foil. Spoon half of the cream mixture into the tray.

Combine remaining coffee mixture with milk. Dip 12 sponge finger biscuits into this coffee mixture until evenly coated. Place in a single layer on top of the ice-cream mixture in the tray (you may need to cut some sponge fingers to make it fit).

Top the sponge finger biscuits with the remaining cream mixture and freeze until set.

To serve, cut into rectangular slices and serve with raspberries and chocolate covered coffee beans.

Recipe adapted from Good Taste magazine.

Torta Caprese (Flourless Chocolate Almond Cake)

Published on May 9, 2014June 24, 2018 by Elise BLeave a comment

This cake is my new dinner party go-to. The cake itself has it all; it’s intensely chocolate-y, rich and moist, the perfect dessert cake and between you and me, it is INCREDIBLY easy (yes, I am shouting at you). It takes very little time, dirties very few dishes and keeps well (although it never lasts long around here!) To serve, simply dust with icing sugar and top with berries and ice-cream.

Ingredients (serves 6-8)
200g butter
200g dark chocolate
4 eggs, separated
170g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
250g almond meal
Icing sugar, to dust
Ice cream & berries, to serve

Method
Preheat oven to 170 degrees C (or around 150 fan-forced). Grease & line a 24cm cake pan with baking paper.

Melt the butter and set aside.

Process (or finely chop) the chocolate until it is in tiny bits, but still retains a little texture.

Place egg yolks, sugar & vanilla in a medium bowl and beat until pale and thick. Fold in chocolate, butter and almond meal (mixture will be very thick)

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggwhites until soft peaks form. Gently fold in chocolate mixture, ensuring you don’t knock the air out.

Spoon into the prepared pan, level the top and bake for 50-60 minutes or until just firm to the touch.