Marbled Loaf

A new recipe from this month's Recipes Plus magazine (August 2010). I have a ton of old cooking magazines and I can only justify buying new ones if I actually try out the recipes each month. G helped me cook it, she's learning to break eggs, which she does just by squeezing the eggs and pulling the shell out afterwards. It's not a great technique, but it is effective, even if it takes ages picking out the shell fragments afterwards...

Here's the recipe:

Marbled Loaf

Serves 10

150g butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup caster sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

2 eggs, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups self raising flour

1/2 cup milk, plus 1 tablespoon extra

Few drops pink food colouring

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

Chocolate Glaze (recipe to follow), to serve

2 tablespoons flaked almonds, toasted

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/ 160° fan forced.

Grease and line a 6cm deep, 19x9 cm (base measurement) loaf pan with baking paper, extending paper at long sides for handles.

2. Using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl until light and creamy. Add eggs, one by one, beating well after each addition. Transfer to a large bowl. Fold in sifted flour and 1/2 cup milk, in 2 batches.

3. Divide mixture evenly among 3 bowls. Tint 1 portion pink. Combine cocoa powder and extra milk in a small bowl; stir into another portion. Leave remaining portion plain. Drop alternate spoonfuls of the mixtures into prepared pan. Swirl with a skewer to marble; smooth surface.

4. Bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted at centre comes out clean. Remove from oven. Stand in pan for 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

5. Make Chocolate Glaze as recipe directs. Spread glaze over cooled loaf. Serve loaf sprinkled with almonds.

Chocolate Glaze

*Prepare glaze while cake is cooling. Makes enough for 1 loaf.

75g dark eating chocolate, chopped

40g butter, chopped

1/3 cup icing sugar, sifted

1/4 cup sour cream

Combine ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook and stir for 2-3 minutes or until smooth. Cool slightly. Chill for 1 hour or until glaze thickens.

I didn't have any sour cream, so just used regular cream, which seemed to work OK. I put the glaze in the fridge, but then got distracted putting the girls to bed, and by the time I got back to it it had set solid. I nuked it in the microwave, and it was back to normal in no time, so that was a relief!

We haven't tasted it yet, it will be tomorrow morning's morning tea, only because we didn't finish icing it in time...

Chocolate Caramel Brownies

I love these!

I've only made it once so far, but I will definitely be making it again. The recipe says to use caramel easter eggs, but I used a block of caramello chocolate instead (though I might use Rolos next time).

Here's the link where I found it:

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/18322/chocolate+caramel+brownie

And here's the cut-and-paste recipe from the website:

Makes

15

Ingredients

• 125g unsalted butter
• 200g dark chocolate, chopped
• 3/4 cup caster sugar
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup plain flour, sifted
• 2 x 110g packets caramel Easter eggs (we used Red Tulip)
• cocoa powder, to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced. Grease an 18cm x 28cm rectangular slice pan. Line base and sides with baking paper, allowing a 2cm overhang at all sides.

2. Place butter and chocolate in a saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes or until smooth and combined. Remove from heat. Stir in sugar. Set aside for 5 minutes.

3. Stir in beaten eggs and flour. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Spread top evenly with a spatula. Press chocolate eggs in brownie mixture. Bake for 25 minutes or until brownie is firm to touch. Cool in pan. Cut into 15 squares. Serve dusted with cocoa powder.

The only thing I don't like about this recipe is that you need to have the caramello chocolate ready whenever you want to cook it. So, it probably needs a bit more planning than something straight out of the pantry, since if there's a block of chocolate in the cupboard, I'd be really tempted to eat it straight and not wait to cook (although these brownies really are worth waiting for!).

Aunty Kath's Tuna Casserole

I'm trying this one for the first time today. I put it all in a casserole dish and will reheat it at dinner time. It couldn't be easier though, and I'm a big fan of ingredients from the pantry and freezer. No rush to "use up" fresh veges, and it's ready to go whenever I am...

Thanks to my friend Kate for sharing the recipe!

4 tbsp butter/margarine/dairy-free margarine
8 tbsp plain flour
1 litre cow's/soy/rice milk (I find it works best with skim cow's/soy milk or rice milk as 'fatter' milk makes the sauce too thick)
1 large tin tuna in brine
1 small tin pineapple pieces, drained
500g frozen peas/corn/carrot mix or equivalent cooked, fresh vegetables cut into pea-sized pieces
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard (more or less to taste)

Melt butter in large pan. Remove from heat, add flour and stir until smooth. Return to gentle heat and cook for 1 minute, stirring well. Add milk and stir until smooth. Return to heat and stir until boiling. Boil 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.
Stir in tuna, pineapple, vegetables (no need to thaw frozen veg) and mustard.
Reheat before serving.
Individual portions can be frozen. I like to put a few child-sized serves in the freezer for quick and easy dinners.

The verdict: I liked it, the girls knocked it back, though they weren't interested in frozen yoghurt or custard either, so maybe they were just too tired for dinner. I put the leftovers in the freezer so they can learn to like it another day. It is very easy to make, and would be also nice with cheese (especially parmesan!) in the sauce, though there's plenty of dairy in it anyway... I think this has already found a place in our regular menu rotation!

Rocky Road slice

I don't know the correct name of the slice, but it's chocolatey and has marshmallows so it's kind of similar.

Here's the recipe:

2 packets malt biscuits, crushed

4 tablespoons cocoa

1/2 packet marshmallows, cut in half

Mix in a large bowl.

Melt 250g butter with one can condensed milk.

Mix together, push down into a tray and top with a drizzle of white chocolate.

That's it. Pretty much all straight from the pantry, so really easy to whip up at short notice. I add glace cherries for more of a rocky road feel. It's also a good idea to let the butter and milk mixture cool a bit or else the marshmallows melt and it's extra gooey (not necessarily a bad thing, it just depends on the look you're going for).

Pumpkin Soup in the Slow Cooker

This came from an internet friend (the lovely Jess). I've only made it once, ages ago, but with the cold weather lately I've been looking forward to soup and crusty bread for lunch. Now that I've dug out the recipe, I'll have to give it a go soon!

Pumpkin soup:

1 large pumpkin, de-skinned, diced chunky
1 small onion
2 cups vegetable stock
2 tsp curry powder

Add everything, cook on low 6-8 hours. Blend til smooth. I also like to add a head of broccoli to this one. :)

Buttermilk Pancakes with Glazed Strawberries

Serves 4

1 cup self-raising flour, sifted

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup caster sugar

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

canola oil cooking spray

1. Place flour, cinnamon and sugar in a bowl. Stir to combine. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture. Whisk eggs and buttermilk together in a jug. Pour egg mixture into well. Stir to combine.

2. Spray a large frying pan with oil. Heat over medium heat. Pour 2 tablespoons batter into pan. Repeat to make 4 pancakes. Cook for 2 minutes or until bubbles form on surface. Turn. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until cooked through. Repeat with remaining batter to make 12 pancakes.

3. Meanwhile, make glazed strawberries

Place sugar and 2 tablespoons cold water in a frying pan. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Add strawberries. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until strawberries are warmed through. Serve pancakes with glazed strawberries.

I have had this recipe saved for ages, perhaps even years, in my "recipes to try" folder. Never got around to trying it until today. I must confess, in the past when I have wanted pancakes, I have bought the ready-made mix in the bottles that you add water to. Honestly, I think this recipe is almost as easy, and a much better lesson for the girls in what goes into our food. Plus, it's all ingredients that are usually in the pantry, so it's ready to go whenever we get a hankering for pancakes...

I didn't try the glazed strawberries, the girls just ate them with honey. I put the recipe here anyway so that we can try it out in future.

Buttermilk Scones

Completely stolen from the Taste website

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/19423/buttermilk+scones

Makes

16

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups self-raising flour
• 2 tablespoons caster sugar
• 60g butter, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• jam and whipped cream, to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 220°C/200°C fan-forced. Grease and flour a 8cm-deep, 19cm (base) square cake pan.

2. Place flour, sugar and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Add butter. Using fingertips, rub butter into flour mixture until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

3. Make a well in the centre. Add buttermilk. Using a flat-bladed knife, stir until dough almost comes together. Place on a lightly floured surface.

4. Knead gently until dough comes together. Press out to a 3cm-thick round. Dip a 5cm round cutter into flour to prevent dough sticking. Cut out scones. Gently press leftover dough pieces together and repeat to make a total 16 scones.

5. Place scones, touching, in prepared pan. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until light golden and hollow when tapped on top. Serve with jam and cream.

• Variations:

• Spiced date scones: Add 1/3 cup finely chopped dried dates and 1 teaspoon mixed spice at the end of step 2.

• Basil and parmesan scones: Add 1/4 cup finely chopped basil leaves and 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese at the end of step 2.

• Bacon and chive scones: Cook 4 chopped shortcut bacon rashers. Add at end of step 2 with 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives.

They're still cooking, but they look fabulous! I used a glass as a cutter, and it was about 6.5 cms round, not 5 cm like they recommended, so I could only fit 9 scones in the tray and had a lot of mixture left over. I think I might invest in a proper scone cutter, I'm sure it won't be expensive...

It was a bit of effort rubbing in the butter, and it was a bit difficult with G wanting to join in. I wonder if I could use the KitchenAid mixer for some of it, or whether a food processor might do the job. Of course, I don't have a food processor yet, but there have been several times recently where I know it would have come in handy...