Maple Syrup Fudge

It's that time of the year again to start thinking about what you will make for those little gifts for certain friends.  This one is for my friend Jodie.  Yes I will make you your own tray of fudge this year!

Jodie ... tick... done!

This fudge went down a treat both at home and the other halves and my respective work places.  It is easy to make however takes a little patients and well you need to keep stirring!

125 gm butter, room temperature

1 x 395 gm can of sweetened condensed milk

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup maple syrup

3/4 cup white chocolate melts

In a saucepan over a low heat, stir together the condensed milk, sugar, syrup and butter.

Cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes, make sure you do not walk away, you need to stir it the whole time to ensure it doesn't burn.  It should thicken and begin to bubble a bit.  Take the caramel mixture off the heat and stir through the white chocolate, keep stirring until all the chocolate has melted and is combined.

Pour into a pre lined cake tin, I used a 20 cm x 20 cm square tin and lined with baking paper.  The fudge will start to set up a little as soon as you pour it in the tin. Refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours.  Cut and either bag or serve.

Asparagus Soup

This is one of the easiest and yummiest soups around.  I love Asparagus and love to overdose on it when in season...

This is a french recipe that I tried and found so easy to make I thought I would share for all the Asparagus lovers out there.

500 gm Asparagus
400 gm potato
1 ltr chicken stock
200 ml cream
Salt and pepper

Yum!

Chop the woody ends off your asparagus and toss away, cut the tips off and set them aside.  Chop the rest into 2 cm long chunks.

Peal and chop the potatoes.

Place the asparagus, potatoes and stock into a saucepan.  Cook over medium heat until boiling then lower to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes or until the potato is cooked.

Remove from heat

Either with a stick blender or in a full blender blitz the soup until smooth.  The asparagus will still be a little stringy but you will strain that.

Pour through a strainer, into a nice clean pot, you may need to use a spoon to help the liquid through.

Push as much of the liquid through with a spoon as you can and you will be left with all the stringy bits you don't want in your smooth soup.  Return the strained soup to the stove and on medium heat and on a rapid simmer cook for a further 20 minutes.  At this time lower the heat, stir through the cream and cook for a further 5 minutes.   This thickens the soup a little.

In 50 gm of melted butter on low heat saute your asparagus tips.  This should only take 5 minutes.

Serve with crusty french bread and a couple of the asparagus tips in the centre for garnish.

Bakewell Slice

Now this slice is a bit of a mash up of 2 different slices.  It is a nice soft cake type slice not hard or biscuit like.  It also gives you a chance to use up that leftover jam that tends to hang around in the fridge when the kids open a new jar.

This has proven to be a big hit with the adults at work as well as kids.  Tends to remind you of something your Nana would make and have waiting in the cake tin for your visit.

Base

90 gm butter, room temp
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup self raising flour
2/3 cup plain flour
1 tablespoon custard powder
2 tablespoons milk

1 cup jam of choice

Topping

100 gm butter, room temp
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup ground almonds
2 tablespoons milk

For the base, beat together the butter, sugar and egg.

Until light and fluffy.  Gently mix in flours and custard powder until just combined, mix through milk.

With a warmed pallet knife spread in your lined slice or lamington pan.

Bake at 180 C for 15 to 20 minutes or until just lightly brown on top.  Remove from the oven and make the topping.

Beat together butter, sugar, egg until light and fluffy, mix through flour and almond then milk.  It may look curdled this is just the almonds.

I used 2 jams half raspberry and half apricot use what you like.  Spread over the still warm base.

Dollop spoonfuls of topping over the jam.

Gently spread with a warm pallet knife, careful not to mix the jam through but spread over.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in 180 C oven.

Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes and then on a cooling rack.  Don't let the kids at it or they will burn themselves on the Jam.  Hide the slice until they are asleep!

Banoffee Pie

Oh Emm Gee!  It is late Friday night and I am 3 glasses (generous ones) of Champagne into my evening and well I just realised I had not written tomorrows post!

Soooooooo if I get off topic please forgive my inebriated ramblings! ... wait is that spelt correctly?

I made this as part of Scott aka Chief Crash Test Dummies weekend dessert lineup.  He did ask me ... what the heck is a banoffee pie?  Who has never heard of a banoffee pie here???  Can I ask, have you ever watched the movie Love Actually? No?? well go download or rent it... great movie love the airport bits.

Rambling...

Back to the pie.. a banoffee pie for those who don't know is a pie with bananas, caramel and whipped cream... How can you go wrong?

1 x Pastry Case

1 tin caramel top and fill or a tin of condensed milk cooked for 8 hours.

2 to 3 large banana's

500 ml cream, whipped

Blind bake your pastry case until cooked but not burnt.  Allow to cool fully.

Open tin of caramel and spread in pastry case.

Whip cream with a little vanilla and small amount of sugar. You don't want the whole thing to be wayyyyyyyyyyy to sweet.

Slice the old Nana's.

Cram as many slices over the top of ye olde caramel.

Top with whipped cream and chocolate curls/shavings and banana slices.

Treats for Christmas Gift Boxes

Caramel Balls

I belong to a Facebook group of lovely ladies and some gents that love to cook/bake, a number of members have been asking lately for recipes for things to put in Xmas treat boxes they will be making up for family, friends, school or work.

I did this last year and the treat boxes went down a treat!

Last year I put chocolate coconut balls, speclass cookies, chocolate spritz cookies, butter cookies and a chocolate candy cane bark.

I used a little xmas type paper box from the local party store and made them for each family so depending on the size of the family was how many of each.  I put the different items in little cellophane bags and tied with a little Xmas ribbon.

Most of these cookies etc you can make in advance and freeze then pop them in the oven the night before,  this will allow you to make them now and get a bit of a jump on the Xmas season.

Click on the link below the pictures to go to the recipes for each item.

Caramel Fudge

Cherry Ripe Slice

Chocolate Coconut Balls

Chocolate Spritz Cookies

Chocolate Crackle Caramel Slice

Chocolate Glazed Baked Donuts

Ginger Lime Slice

Honeycomb

Monte Carlo Whoopie Pies

Maple Syrup Shortbread

Snickerdoodles

Shortbread

Speclaas/Dutch Spiced Cookies

Mum's Welsh Cakes

Cookies and Cream Fudge

Monte Carlo Biscuits

Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars

Kitchen Sink Cookies