Profiterole Cake

Choux Pastry
60g butter
2/3 cold water
2/3 flour (plain)
3 eggs beaten lightly

Combine butter and water in a saucepan over a medium heat.  Melt butter for about 3 minutes untill mixture is just boiling.
Reduce heat to low add flour and stir over low heat for about 3 minutes untill the mixture comes away from the sides of the saucepan and forms a ball.

Let mixture cool for about 5 minutes.  Reserve 2 teaspoons of beaten egg in a cup. 
Add rest of the eggs to the slightly cooled mixture.  Beat with a wooden spoon untill mixture forms a glossy dough and drops from the spoon.

Pre-heat oven to 220deg C.
Line two trays and drop level tablespoons of mixture onto the tray about 6cm apart.
Place tray into the oven for about 10 to 15 minutes then remove cut a small slit onto the bottom of the balls and put them back on the tray upside down.
Place tray back into an mod oven (180) for about 5 minuted to try out the middle.
Cool on tray.
Repeat for the second tray.

The middle of the Profiteroles can be filled with a thick custard, cream, melted choc.  Today I used choc spread and cream.  I piped warmed choc hazelnut spreat into half of the ball and then filled the rest with vanilla cream.
Once they are all filled place them onto a serving platter and drizzle with chocolate sauce. I then drizzled toffee over the top just cause I felt like it.

Easy Chocolate Sauce

100g milk chocolate (I use the coles brand of eating chocolate for baking)
100g dark chocolate
1/2 cup thickened cream

Place chocolate pieces and cream into a microwave bowl and zap for 1 to 2 minutes on medium heat untill chocolate has melted and smooth.  Stiring regually.

Put aside for about 15 minutes untill mixture has cooled and thickened.



Vanilla Ice-cream

Vanilla Ice-Cream

1 1/2 cups milk
2 cups thickened cream
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped (or vanilla paste)
4 egg yolks
110g sugar

Heat milk, cream and vanilla in a saucepan until almost boiling,
In a large bowl whisk yolks and sugar until well combined.
Whisk milk mixture into egg mixture.
Poor egg mixture back into saucepan and stir on low heat until mixture thickens
and coats the back of your spoon. 
Poor into bowl (stainless steel works well) and cool.

Once cool put mixture into fridge and chill for a few hours.
Then pour into ice-cream maker and make manufactures instruction.

If you do not have a an ice-cream maker beat mixture and put in freezer, do this every 15 min until it is the right consistency.

If you wish to add anything to your ice-cream such as lollies, crunchy bars, choc chops add it now then put it in a container in the freezer.

I use the left over egg whites to make Meringue.

Meringues

4 egg whites
240g caster sugar
1/2 teasp vanilla extract
100 & 1000's

Pre-heat oven to 150deg C.  Line two baking trays.
Beat egg whites in a bowl until stiff peaks form, gradually add sugar little at a time.
Make sure sugar has dissolved between additions beat in vanilla (add colour now if you want to colour the meringues)

This has been coloured pink

Place Meringue into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle.  Pipe onto the baking trays sprinkle 100's and 1000's.

 Miss 8 piping Meringues

Bake for about 45 minutes.  Turn oven off, leave the door slightly ajar and allow the meringues to cool completely in the oven.
Store in an airtight container.

I usually make these to use up the left over egg whites I have left over after making Vanilla Ice Cream.
These are great for a quick Dessert crush them up with yogurt or ice-cream and, fruit.  Also great on top of Sundays or banana splits.
This is an easy recipe for kids.

Cheesy Puff Triangles

These are very quick and easy and a great way to use up left overs.  I had left over bacon, spinach and a block of feta cheese that I had to use by Wednesday.  They are also a kid fav my 5 year old who does not eat cheese or veggies eats these.

This recipe can be changed to suit your tastes and what you have in the fridge.
I packet of feta or ricotta cheese.
a hand full of grated tasty cheese.
1 egg
Bacon chopped
Baby spinach chopped
Puff pastry (I find 2 sheets is a good size of my family of 5)

Method
Take puff pastry (or filo) out of freezer and leave on bench to defrost, line baking tray with baking paper.
Fry bacon and add chopped spinach and cook till spinach just wilts. (you don't have to do this but I like my bacon crispy, if using left over cooked chicken or ham you don't need to do this step)
Mix cheeses and egg together then add bacon/spinach to the cheese mixture.

Leave to cool.
Cut Pastry into 4 squares (8 if you want little ones for appetizers)

Put a spoonful of mixture into the middle of each squares and fold the square in half to make a triangle press edges together well. Brush with a small amount of milk and bake in a mod over until golden brown.

I have made veg only ones, mushroom, chicken and asparagus, ham, pizza.

Christmas Tree Biscuits

125g Butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup golden syrup
1 egg
2 1/4 cups plain flour
2 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
100g milk choc, melted

1. Preheat oven to 180 line tray with baking paper.
Place butter, sugar and syrup into a bowl and beat until the mixture is light and creamy.  Add the egg and beat well.
2. Add sifted flour, spice and soda and mix with a wooden spoon until well combined.  Bring it together with your hand to form a dough.  Knead the dough gently on a lightly floured surface until dough is no longer sticky.
3. Wrap the dough in baking paper and refrigerate for 20minutes.  Roll out on a floured surface to 4mm thickness.  Cut out shapes and place on trays, cook for 12-15min. Transfer biscuits to a wire rack to cool.  Decorate the biscuits with strands of melted choc.

Variation : for choc spice cookies use 2 cups of plain flour and 1/4 cup cocoa.  These ones I used melted white choc to decorate.

These biscuits are best made on a cool day or in the evening.

Potato & Red Lentil Soup With Cheese & Onion Croutons Review

As I love to cook and try new recipes I thought I would do a regular recipe review. 


Yesterday I was watching "Alive and Cooking" and James Reeson made Potato and Red Lentil Soup with Cheese and Onion Croutons.  I thought I would give it a go, the 3 main reasons I thought I would try it was :
1. knowing that I should be increasing my protein with this stage of pregnancy and James kept going on an on about how high protein it was.
2. Having thrown up nearly every form of protein in the last 18 weeks I was getting desperate for food that did not carry bad memories.
3.  It looked nice.


The soup was easy and quick to make, James made it on water and I though it would be a bit bland so I used vegetable stock. 

The soup was very bland in taste I can see why the croutons were such a vital part of the dish.  If I was to make it again I would use chicken or veg stock and maybe add some herbs or chili.  It does need something extra.  The croutons were very yummy and I added the left over sliced green onion to the soup when I served it which helped a lot.  The recipe said it made enough for 6 people, it makes heaps more I now have 3 liters of left over soup in my freezer. 

Changers I made
I recipe said to use 4 liters of water I used 3 of stock as that seemed enough and that is how much James used in the demonstration.
I used stock instead of water.

 

Click on the photo to take you to the recipe.