Mango & Coconut Cheesecake Slice

It has finally come...
Mango season!
I snapped up a few on special when food shopping, and after discovering that both of my kids refused to eat any of this delicious fruit, I was left with more mango than I could eat!
So what to do?
Turn it into a delicious dessert, of course!
A few years ago I made a mango cheesecake, which was happily devoured in record time by our visitors.
The creative cogs began turning and a popular combination sprung to mind...
Mango and coconut!
I remembered seeing a bag of coconut biscuits in the supermarket and knew they would make the perfect crust.
So I grabbed the necessary ingredients for a super quick and easy treat:
Biscuits
Cream cheese, one packet
Mango jelly packet

Then I raided my pantry and fridge for the last few essentials:
Butter
Dessicated coconut
Over ripe mango
Caster sugar

I softened the cream cheese by slowly heating in the microwave, and threw a couple of handfuls of coconut biscuits in my mini food processor and whizzed until fine and crumbly.

I melted a chunk of butter and slowly added it, bit by bit, into the biscuit crumbs and whizzed until it started to come together. I wanted a bit more coconut flavour so I added the dessicated coconut to the mix.

BUT silly me added too much butter (sometimes there is such a thing as too much butter!) and my base ended up quite solid. When mixing the base, the crumbs should still be fairly loose, but press together slightly with the back of a spoon.

I pressed the crumb mix into my little loaf tin (I don't have all of my regular kitchen bits and pieces, so this was the best option for me). I popped it into the fridge and turned the kettle on...

Not for a much-needed cuppa, but for the next step...

I emptied the jelly mix packet into a small bowl and added one cup of boiling water. I stirred until dissolved.

Then I scraped al the juicy flesh from my mango and pureed it in my freshly washed mini food processor.
I grabbed out my super soft cream cheese and stirred until it was smooth.

I divided the jelly mix between the cream cheese and the mango. I wanted the top layer to set, but not to hard, and the cream cheese already sets quite firm, so it doesn't need too much jelly to set it any further. The mango had about 2/3 and the cream cheese, the remaining.

I added a little bit of caster sugar to the cream cheese and jelly mixture and blitzed with my stick blender so it was smooth and completely lump free.

When my base was solid (doesn't take too long, maybe 15 minutes), I poured the cream cheese mixture over the top.
When I got to this stage I saved some mixture to make mini crustless bowls of cheesecake for my little ones.

I popped it back into the fridge to set and waited...

When it was firm, I slowly poured the mango mixture over the top and put it back in the fridge to finish setting completely.

And voila!

A little someone was more than happy to let me take photos of her eating it....

It's a tough life being taste tester!

It All Comes Back To Baking {Sticky Honey Pecan Cake}

 Is there a self-help book for my addiction?

My baking addiction?

Right now I am a baker without an oven, only a temporary Turbo Oven which is great, but limited to small sizes.

But I am not held back!

There is a recipe that I have had my eye on for a while now…

Sticky Honey Pecan Cake.

Simple, easy and fast to make.

I like that!

The end result?

Oh, sorry.

The cake was so delicious that it did not last long enough for photos.

The recipe is from a kid’s cookbook that my Nana gave me for my 11^th birthday. It is that good, I have held onto it for so long!

Sticky Honey Pecan Cake

Ingredients:

340g packet buttercake mix (usually needs 2 eggs, milk and butter)

¼ cup sour cream

2/3 cup pecan nuts, chopped

2/3 cup honey

1 tbspn lemon juice

Method:

Preheat oven to 180*C. Grease and line a 20cm square tin.

Follow directions on packet to make cake batter.

Add sour cream to batter. Beat well.

Add chopped nuts, mix in gently.

Spread evenly in tin. Bake for 45mins. Leave to cool for 5mins.

Put honey and juice into a microwavable dish and heat on high for 30 seconds, or until warm. Stir to combine.

Turn cake out onto serving plate and pour over the honey sauce.

Serve hot.

Enjoy!

I Finally Made A Pie! {RECIPE}

I have a little list in my head of things I want to try.
Baking, crafting, gardening...
A mixture of odd bits and pieces!

One thing I have wanted to try for a long time was to bake a pie.
All from scratch, crust and top.
Another thing I have been desperate to attempt; lattice pastry.

Last night I did both in one super scrumptious meal.
Creamy Vegetable Pie.

I started with the pastry.
Later realizing that I had accidentally added 50g too much butter!
(But it was a good thing in the end)
I weaved my lattice pie top as I juggled phone calls, hungry kids and a puppy dog that wanted to sleep under my feet.

(Please forgive the instagram photos, I had my hands a bit too full to take photos with my big camera)

I was pretty happy with how it looked, not perfect and neat, but let's just call it rustic.
I looked at the recipe and shook my head.
No, I am going to skip that part, change it to this and save myself the extra dirty dishes, thank you!

Basically the recipe said to fry the onions and then steam the remaining vegetables separately.
Instead I fried the onions and added everything else to the same pot and popped a lid on, let it cook on a medium-low heat until it was nice and soft and the pumpkin had mashed into a creamy addition to the white sauce I was making.
I have some fussy quirks.
One is with pumpkin.
I don't like eating it unless it is pureed and in a recipe.
I will happily devour pumpkin soup, but not chunks of baked pumpkin alone.
No thanks!

Anyway, I roughly followed the recipe, though noticed that it never called for seasoning.
A must!!

After all my pie-making efforts I was finally rewarded with this...

Creamy, sweet pumpkin and vegetable filling and a light, flaky crust that melted in your mouth.
Oh dear.
It was perfect.
I was so proud of myself.
This is my first pie.
And it was a success!
Even my meat-eating husband loved it!

So now I can tick these off my list, what next?
I love to challenge myself!

Creamy Vegetable Pie

Ingredients:
175g butter, chilled and chopped into cubes
2 cups plain flour
1/4 cup iced water

1 tablespoon oil
1 Medium onion, finely chopped
1 head broccoli, chopped into small florets
2 carrots, chopped
1/4 butternut pumpkin, diced

50g butter
1/4 cup plain flour
1 cup milk
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup grated cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten, for glazing

Method:

Place flour into a food processor and pulse for 5 seconds. Add cubed butter and process until mixture is fine and crumbly. Add iced water while processing, slowly. Keep processing until it comes together.
Turn onto a lightly floured surface and divide in half. Roll out one half and line your greased pie dish. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

 Roll out the remaining pastry to the same size and cut into strips. Lay half of the strips, spaced apart, onto a baking tray covered in cling wrap. Weave other strips to form a lattice pattern. Refrigerate until firm.
Preheat the oven to 180*C

Blind bake your pastry shell for 20 minutes.
(You can weigh the pastry down with baking paper and beans, lentils or rice. I like to leave it and just pop the bubbles with a small knife)

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Fry the onion until soft, then add the other vegetables. Turn the heat down to medium-low and pop a lid on. Keep stirring as it slowly cooks and gently mash the pumpkin as you stir.
Heat the 50g of butter in a small saucepan. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the milk gradually, stirring until smooth between each addition. Stir constantly over medium heat until the mixture boils and thickens. Boil for 1 minute then remove from heat.

Add the egg yolks and cheese and stir until smooth.
Pour sauce over the vegetables and stir to combine.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
(I added some chopped parsley here for extra flavour)

Pour the mixture into the pastry case and brush the edges with the beaten egg.
Gently place the lattice on top and trim to fit. Brush with egg.
Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until crispy and golden.

French Rye Bread {RECIPE}

I have an extremely long list of bread recipes that I would like to try.
Yesterday, I ticked off another.
French rye bread.

We were having a bit of a baking day, making some cute vanilla and strawberry spiral cookies...

They are a cute little treat for the kids... And sometimes us adults too!

Back to the bread.... It turned out delicious!

So here is the recipe for you.... It's easier than you may think!

French Rye Bread

Ingredients

for the starter:

2 tsp dry yeast

2/3 cup water

1 cup bread flour

for the dough:

1/2 cup bread flour

3 cups rye flour

2 tsp salt

1 cup water

To make the starter:

 Sprinkle the yeast into the water in a bowl. Let stand for 5mins; stir to dissolve.

Add the flour and mix to form a thick batter. Cover with a dish towel and leave for 2hrs.

To make the dough:

Mix the flours and salt together in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in the starter and half of the water.

Mix the flour into the middle.Stir in the remaining water to form a fairly moist, sticky dough.

(I had to add about 1/2 cup extra water to get the desired consistency)

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10mins.

Put the dough into a clean bowl and cover with a dish towel. Let rise until doubled in size, about 1hr. Punch down, then let rest for 10mins.

Divide the dough into two equal pieces and shape into long loaves.

Place the loaves on a floured baking tray and let rest for 5mins.

Dust the loaves lightly with flour.

(I did an egg wash instead)

Cut shallow slashes down the loaves. Cover with a dish towel and proof until doubled in size, about 1 1/2hrs.

Preheat oven to 200*C.

Bake for 45mins, or until hollow sounding when tapped from underneath. Cool on a wire rack.

(I strongly recommend slicing off a piece while it is still hot and smearing some butter on it. Divine!)

Enjoy!

Homemade Taco Seasoning

This is one of the many things I have seen on Pinterest and thought to myself:
"Oh, I have to try that some day!"
Finally that day came.
I looked in the pantry and saw some tortillas and beans along with my vegetarian "mince".
My tummy grumbled for some spicy Mexican dinner, but after searching amongst my herbs and spices, I could not find a taco seasoning packet.
So I did what any sane person does in that situation, I went to Pinterest!
I found one on a site called Whole New Mom (and I can't wait to explore the rest of her site!).

It called for these ingredients...

2 Tbsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes 
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp paprika
1 Tbsp cumin
2 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper

I scanned the list and knew I would have most of what I needed.....
Then I rummaged in my pantry...
Uh oh!
I only had some bare ingredients, chilli powder, cumin, garlic granules, paprika, salt & pepper.
I decided to finely dice a fresh onion, grind up the garlic granules to release the flavour and just mix with what I had and give it a go....

I know it doesn't look amazing, but it tasted GREAT!
I accidentally went a bit overload at first and it ended up too strong for my vege mince alone so I added the beans and it was perfect.
I will definitely be doing this again!
Check out the original post over HERE for extra tips and instructions.

Mile-High Pancakes {Recipe}

Last night I was exploring Youtube.
(As you do)
My husband was snoring on the couch and I was looking up recipe tutorial videos when I stumbled upon a treasure trove...
I found a recipe by a channel called Rouxbe.
I watched some of their older videos and was led to their website.
Then onto the 21 pages of recipes.
Not just any recipes, these are amazing recipes!
Rouxbe is a cooking school, visit their website HERE for more information.
I browsed through the list of free recipes (this list here) and my taste buds were soon tingling.
I love to cook.
I had to try some of these recipes.
So I saved a few and printed some off and left them on my desk to peruse later.

This morning I was wandering around the kitchen wondering what to make the kids for breakfast.
I remembered one of the Rouxbe recipes was for 'Mile-High Pancakes' and decided to give them a go.
The recipe is so well written out, with perfect instructions, I can see why their school is currently full!

After following the recipe to the exact letter (not easy for me!) I finally got to see the fruits of my not-so-long labour. All in all it took me about 5mins to mix it all up (with children and puppy at my feet).
And boy were they worth it!
I got some ready for the kids...

They were perfection.
Light, fluffy and golden brown.
The perfect pancake texture.
Soft enough to soak up whatever syrup you drizzled on top....
Amazing!

Of course I made some for myself...

And I still have a plate full for my hubby!
Anyway, enough yapping, here is the recipe:

MILE-HIGH PANCAKES


2 cups plain flour
2 tbsp baking powder
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt

2 cups buttermilk or regular milk
2 large eggs
2 tbsp vegetable oil

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs and oil.

To mix the batter, first push the dry ingredients to one side of the bowl and then pour the wet ingredients into the opposite side.
Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet. As soon as the batter comes together, stop mixing.
Let the batter sit for about 5 minutes. It will thicken slightly as it sits. Do not remix.

Preheat your griddle or frying pan to medium, or medium-high heat. Grease with vegetable oil (I use a non stick pan and spray oil).
Once hot, ladle about 1/2 cup batter onto griddle/pan.
Let the pancakes cook until bubbles start to break the surface then flip and continue to cook the other side.
Repeat until all of batter is used.
Serve immediately with butter and maple syrup.

Enjoy!

Chicken & Coriander Asian-Style Salad

Our fridge was full of chicken.
Breast, and a whole bird stuffed in there.
I looked at the breast and brainstormed.
Lunch?
Dinner?
Both?

Both, of course!

I took the smallest portion out and marinaded it in a mixture of soy sauce, sesame oil, coriander and garlic that had been pulsed into a runny paste.

While I let that sit and absorb the flavours, I chopped up some Chinese cabbage (Wom bok), sliced some cucumber, grated some carrot, and sprinkled some torn up coriander on top.
Next was the dressing...
Vinegar, olive oil, sugar, soy sauce and a splash of sesame oil.
Delicious!

Out came the chicken and I grilled it until golden.

I tossed the salad with the dressing and plonked the chicken on top.

Voila!

Flavour..... Amazing!
Preparation time... Express!
I think this one is a winner.

Deliciously Decadent Carrot Cake

It is no secret that I love cake.
I love to bake cake.
I do like to eat that cake sometimes.
But honestly, the baking is my favourite.

Our fridge has been overloaded with vegetables, and I have been a busy bee.
I pureed up a big batch of sweet potato, carrot and peeled zucchini to give meals a little sneaky boost.
I was cooking so much food that our little family could not keep up!
Our freezer is full to the brim!

I decided to change tack and go in a totally different direction.
Of course that was cake,
I am predictable.
I have not made a carrot cake for years.
The last time I used my kid's cookbook.
The cake was nice, but it was more plain cake that carrot, the flavours were lacking.
It was obviously meant for kids, not the cake connoisseur.

I flicked through my many cookbooks, skipped past recipes with pineapple and sultanas...
Then I found this one...

I had all the ingredients necessary and began mixing...

All mixed up and it did not look very appealing.
But the aroma from the mixed spices was alluring.
I popped in my trusty old springform tin and into the oven for 1hr 15mins.

It came out golden and fragrant.
I could not wait.
I mixed up a zesty cream cheese frosting...

I popped the warm cake out of the tin...

Gave it a quick slice in half and slathered some frosting on, sandwiched it between the two layers and then smothered the whole cake in the remaining frosting...

I should have waited for it to cool...



But of course I didn't!

I scooped out a warm, gooey slice and devoured it....

No, sorry, that is not what happened at all.

I had my cake in front of me on my desk, while I sipped my coffee and checked my emails.

I looked down to see a chunk was missing....

Hmm!

I looked up again, read a few emails, sipped some coffee.

I looked down and went to reach for my spoon so I could try some of this fragrant cake...

It was gone...

And some was almost all of my cake!

I looked to my left, and just out of the corner of my eye was my husband, standing with my spoon, crumbs on the corner of his mouth, and a guilty look on his face.

Oh, I see!

I ate the remaining sliver of cake, sharing with our children who were hovering around like hungry little flies.

The next morning the cake had cooled, and I sliced myself a small piece for morning tea.

It was so moist and dense.

A deliciously decadent carrot cake.

Carrot Cake With Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

3 eggs

1 1/3 cups (250g) firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup (250mL) vegetable oil

3 cups firmly packed, coarsely grated carrot

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (I used pecans instead)

2 1/2 cups self-raising flour

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 tsps mixed spice

Cream cheese frosting:

(I doubled this recipe so I could make a layer cake)

30g butter, softened

80g cream cheese, softened

1 tsp finely grated orange rind

1 1/2 cups icing sugar (may need more to reach right consistency)

1 tbs orange juice

Method:

Preheat oven to 180*C.

Grease a deep 22cm round cake tin, and line the bottom with baking paper.

Beat sugar, eggs and oil in a bowl using an electric mixer, until thick and creamy.

Mix in carrot and nuts, then sifted dry ingredients.

Pour into tin and bake for 1hr15mins.

Stand in tin for 5mins, then cool completely on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, make frosting by beating cheese and butter with a mixer until creamy then add zest and juice and gradually mix in icing sugar until the right consistency is reached.

Cover the cooled cake in frosting and enjoy!

Coconut and Orange Slice {RECIPE}

Baking binge?

Yeah, pretty much!

I can't seem to stop, but I'm doing it with a purpose.

I promise!

Our fruit bowl has been overflowing with oranges.

So what do I do?

Find recipes using oranges. 

I have been trying to use new recipes, ones I've never tried before.

So I skipped over my usual orange cake.

And I found a recipe in my big book of baking.

It was called Coconut Bars.

But considering the orange juice and rind, I decided to rename it.

The last recipe I used from this book was not so great.

The taste was fantastic, but the quantities were all wrong.

I was hesitant...

But I mixed, and it looked good...

I baked...

It smelled fantastic.

I changed the icing recipe to not have an egg white in it, and voila!

It was so soft, and crumbly when I finally pulled it from the tin. After only 15mins of cooling time it was more cake-like than anything. I wondered... Was this another success but failure?

I let it cool completely, and returned to taste test...

It cooled into a dense, moist, delicious slice.

Yes, it was a slice.

A really good one!

The taste is fresh with a subtle orange flavour and chewy coconut, while the icing offers a burst of delicious citrus flavour.

I will mark this one down as a favourite!

Coconut & Orange Slice

Ingredients:

125g unsalted butter, softened

225g caster sugar

2 eggs, beaten, at room temperature

Finely grated rind of 1 orange

3 tbspn fresh orange juice

150mL sour cream

140g self-raising flour 

85g desiccated coconut

Frosting:

1 egg white

200g icing sugar

85g desiccated coconut

Fresh orange juice, about 1 tbspn 

(With the frosting I made, I mixed half icing sugar, half coconut in a bowl and added orange juice until I reached the right consistency)

Method:

Preheat oven to 180*C. Grease a 23cm square cake tin and line the base with baking paper.

Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, then gradually beat in the eggs.

Stir in the orange rind, orange juice, and sour cream.

Fold in the flour and coconut evenly using a metal spoon.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and level the surface.

Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40mins, or until risen and firm to the touch.

Leave to cool for 10 minutes in the tin, then turn out and finish cooling on a wire rack.

Frosting:

Lightly beat the egg white, just enough to break it up, and stir in the icing sugar and desiccated coconut, adding enough orange juice to mix to a thick paste. Spread over the top of the cake, leave to set before slicing into bars.

Pinterest Fail, Pinterest Success!

My girl has been requesting that we do some painting.

It has been a while, the last time ended up messy, as usual.

We still haven't been to the shops to buy her some new paints...

Terrible mother, I know!

This morning I decided to put some of my Pinterest finds into action.

I knew I could make some finger paints for them, like I did back here.

Then I saw this idea and thought BRILLIANT! 

NO MESS!

But uh.....

This is how my attempt went...

Within seconds of them being done, they were ripped off the table.

He poked...

Got bored with that, so scrunched it up...

...And threw it on the ground...

She just looked bored, wanted to open the bags and eat it...

While I was cleaning up the mess from the boy, she split open her bag and started ti paint the outside, and her forehead.

No mess?

Yes, mess!!

But there was a success this morning...

I opened a delicious jar of sun dried tomatoes last night for our home made pizzas...

(Which were amazingly delicious!)

I noticed on the jar it says that they have to be consumed within 7 days of opening.

I usually ignore these warnings...

But this time I took it as a challenge, and went on a hunt.

I came across this...

Looks pretty tasty, right?

I glance at the recipe and went to the kitchen.

I chucked a bit of this, and a bit of that in there.

More tomatoes, less cheese, more garlic.

Always more garlic!

And voila!

Delicious with crackers...

Or spread on some freshly toasted crusty bread...

Obviously mine looks very different to hers!

I just chucked everything into my mini food processor and whizzed it up to a yummy paste.

Success!

Chocolate Chip Slab Cookies {RECIPE}

As you can see, I have been on a bit of a baking frenzy.

I whipped up my favourite Vegan Chocolate Cake out of boredom the other night....

Then I flipped open one of my favourite cook books and found a new recipe to try...

And I have to say...... They were delicious!!

The wait for them to cool is torturous, but the reward is well worth it.

Room temperature is best, when the insides are still soft and a bit gooey.

This photo is after they had been in the fridge for a while. When chilled, they turn into creamy fudge-like squares.

*Drools*

But I do have to say, I have been productive in other ways too!

I finished off these cute little pants for my boy, using the same method as in my tutorial for perfect fit pants...

I have been busy crocheting every night...

And some other mystery gifts I will show you later!

(Very cute, very soft, and a little bit blue)

On the menu for dinner tonight (for my meat eaters)...

Savoury Chops, found on this wonderful blog: Not All Tea and Scones.

And soon, I think I have to make some of these mini pizzas...

Found on The Comfort of Cooking.

How delicious do they look!

Happy Cooking!

The Pear Problem

There is something so satisfying about seeing my two-tier fruit bowl overflowing with fresh fruit.

I love it.

My kids love it.

My daughter now gets her little step and helps herself to all the apples she desires.

We order a family size fruit and vegetable box which is delivered once a week.

It is great value, and all Australian produce.

But we have some problems...

We never eat enough potatoes.

We never eat enough onions.

We never eat enough pears.

There are some weeks where we will get the same few things over and over again.

I don't cook potatoes very often, but now I am finding myself making an effort to use them, and even giving some to family and neighbours.

Potatoes and onions last a while in the pantry, but pears are our problem.

Pears do not last that long.

So I put pears in a lot of things.

Pancakes.

Muffins.

Anything I can!

I decided to step out of my kitchen comfort zone this week and try something different.

I hauled out my huge WW cookbook...

And flicked through the recipes with pears.

I settled on the Almond Pear Flan.

I mixed, I rolled and I assembled...

It looked pretty.

But I was a bit nervous on how it would cook, and taste.

When I pulled it out of the oven, the divine smell hit me...

The recipe calls for apricot jam to be warmed, strained and brushed over the top.

I only had strawberry jam.

(We aren't a very jammy family)

I waited for it to cool slightly, and sliced myself a piece...

It reminds me very much of a friand with the almond meal making up most of the filling.

The flavours were delicate, a perfect pairing of almond and pear.

Quite delicious, and perfect served with tea and maybe a splash of whipped cream.

Almond Pear Flan

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups (185g) plain flour

1/4 cup (55g) caster sugar

90g butter

2 egg yolks

3 firm ripe medium pears, peeled, cored, quartered

2 tablespoons apricot jam, warmed, strained

Almond filling:

125g butter, softened

1/3 cup (75g) caster sugar

2 eggs (room temperature)

1 cup almond meal

1 tablespoon plain flour

Method:

Process flour, sugar and butter until crumbly. Add egg yolks, process until combined.

Knead on floured surface until smooth. Enclose in plastic wrap; refrigerate 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make almond filling:

Beat butter and sugar in a small bowl with an electric mixer until combined. Beat in eggs, one at a time.

Stir in almond meal and flour.

Preheat oven to 180*C/160*C fan-forced. Grease a 23cm-round loose-based flan tin. 

Roll chilled dough between two sheets of baking paper until large enough to line tin.

Lift pastry into tin, ease into base and side; trim edge.

Spread filling into pastry case; place pears over filling.

Bake flan for about 45 minutes, until golden.

Brush flan with jam.

Enjoy!