Chocolate Coconut Balls

I love having something small in the fridge that you can have as a snack when you get the nibbles or even as a small treat for the kids.  These kid friendly chocolate coconut balls from Lucy at Play Bake Smile are great for just that.  

I started making these last year, they are so quick and easy to make and great as a little bag of treats to give as a gift around Christmas time.

Get the kids involved with the mixing and rolling they will love it.

1 packet dry sweet biscuits such as nice.

1 cup coconut

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 tin sweetened condensed milk

extra coconut for rolling in

Process your biscuits until fine crumb add the cocoa powder and process together in your food processor.

Place crumb/chocolate mix in bowl and add coconut and condensed milk.  

Stir until combined.

I use a cookie scoop to scoop the mixture onto a lined baking tray.

With damp hands roll the balls and then roll in coconut.

Set back on the tray and refrigerate for a couple of hours to set.

As I mentioned above, enjoy as a sneaky snack or in the kids lunch boxes or as a gift for friends or guests.

Mrs Muzyk's Chocolate Babka

One of my fondest memories of growing up was spending weekends at my friend Anne's house running around town, listening to music, chasing boys.  You know normal teenage girl stuff.

Anne's Mum, Mrs Muzyk was the best!  There was always this cake waiting for us to eat.  Mrs Muzyk passed away some years ago and as far as Anne and I know, no one managed to get her recipe out of her, even her daughters!  

I did find a recipe that I thought was similar and just had to try it.  Baking this cake today bought back many memories and I really did feel like she was watching over my shoulder, walking me through the recipe in Polish.  

Mrs M was never confident in her English.  However I think I did surprise her one day, she was telling Anne to ask me if I wanted Kartoffel with Sunday Lunch, and I answered her before Anne could translate.  Hehehe!  She was very surprised that I understood what she was asking... School girl German and a German Uncle to the rescue.

Mrs M you will forever have a place in my heart.

150 gm butter, room temperature

1 cup caster sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

4 eggs

2 1/2 cups plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

Beat together butter, sugar and vanilla together until light and fluffy.

Add in the eggs one at a time giving the mix a good beating between additions.

Sift together the dry ingredients.

Add in the dry ingredients and milk alternating in thirds.

Remove approx a third of the cake batter to a separate bowl.

Add cocoa powder to this third and stir to combine thoroughly.

Place half the remaining vanilla cake batter to your prepared cake tin.  Then add the chocolate cake mix and then the remaining vanilla cake mix.  Smooth the top and tap the pan on the bench to ensure no air bubbles.

Bake in pre heated 180C oven for 35 to 45 minutes.  Remove and allow to cool to room temperature.

Dust with icing sugar and if you wish a small sprinkling of drinking chocolate.

Fresh Strawberry Frozen Yoghurt

It is winter here in Australia and well I wish for the cooler weather with the benefit of the Summer fruits!  

Did you ever want ice cream but a lighter version?  This Strawberry Frozen Yoghurt is just the thing.  it can be made any time of the year and only has 3 ingredients!

Now I used Greek Yoghurt in this as I like it's flavour,  you can use natural yoghurt if you don't like the slightly tart taste of the greek.

500 gm Strawberries
1/4 to 1/2 cup honey
500 gm yoghurt

Hull and half your strawberries and place them along with 1/4 cup of the honey in a jug.

Blitz with a stick blender until you have a smooth sauce.

Add the yoghurt to the sauce, stir together.

Place in your ice cream maker and follow manufaturer's instructions.  Half way through taste the mix and if needs further sweetening add more honey to taste.  Depending on the time of year you may need the extra honey or may not.

Decant into your ice cream container and freeze for about 4 hours.  If you freeze longer you will need to put your yoghurt in the fridge for 30 minutes before serving to soften enough to scoop.

Veal Paprika Meatballs

My Mum has been making this meal for years, we loved it as kids and still love it today.  It is normally made with veal schnitzel steaks, however I decided to change it up a bit and try something a little different.

A funny story goes along with this meal.  In 1989 my parents took us for a trip around the world, after they sold their business.  We drove around Europe in a campervan together for almost 9 months. We were on a budget so ate at "home" every night.  Some of the meals were inventive to say the least!

We had some very funny times but the one that I still remember most is shopping with Mum in a Leclerc's Supermarche in Calais.  Looking at the meat and Mum said to me Poulet is chicken isn't it? Well yes I said (I was 17 and doing basic French in high school) it is.  So Mum bought this "chicken" to have in dinner.

Mum was making Chicken Paprika for dinner that night.  While cooking the "chicken" Mum turns to me and said,  are you sure that was Chicken it smells like bacon frying.....  Well we got a French translation book from someone and worked out that well I was wrong, Poulet means bird and we had bought Turkey not Chicken.

Whoops!  Sorry Mum!

This is such a simple meal to make and so easily changeable depending on your taste or what is in the fridge.  You could change it up for beef, veal, chicken or Turkey steaks or even meatballs.

Meatballs

500g Veal mince
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs (I keep mine in the freezer)
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
1/3 medium onion grated (or chopped in the food processor)
1 tablespoon minced parsley
1 tablespoon greek yoghurt (or sour cream)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Sauce

300 ml thickened cream

2/3 onion finely sliced

1 teaspoon sweet hungarian paprika

Using your hands mix all the ingredients together until well combined.

Roll your meat into teaspoon size balls and place on a lined baking tray.  This mix will make between 80 to 100 meatballs depending on the size you make them.  I only use half the meat balls for our family, this will serve four.  I freeze the other half on the baking tray and when frozen place in a ziploc bag for another meal.

Pre heat your oven to 180C.  Place your tray of meatballs in the oven and bake for 4 minutes, yes I did only say 4 minutes.  This sets the meatballs, they will keep cooking in the sauce.

In a fry pan in a little oil saute the sliced onion until just translucent.

Add your paprika and gently stir until the onion is coated and paprika is warmed, don't allow it to burn.

Pour your cream into the pan and on a low heat stir until combined.

Place the meatballs in the sauce and allow them to heat together on low to medium heat for 5 minutes.

Serve with either mash and veggies or buttered egg noodles and slices of bread to mop up the sauce.

Dried Apricot Bundt Cake

It's the middle of winter, the only fresh fruit is BORING!  There are only so many apples and oranges you can eat!  If you are anything like me, you are craving that short lived summer fruit, apricots, peaches, mangos to spice up your life.

I found a way of bringing summer to your dreary winter days, and it won't break the bank.  Using the old pantry staple of dried apricots, this cake is moist and eaten as a cake or a warm dessert with ice cream and a nice warm apricot sauce.

Oh you noticed my pretty new cake pan??? Yes Nordic Ware have done it again!  This is the spectacular 70th Anniversary Crown Bundt Tin.  Thanks to my parents for my wonderful Birthday Present.

300 gm dried apricots, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda, (bi carb)

1 1/2 cups boiling water

150 gm butter, room temperature

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup caster sugar

1 1/2 cup self raising flour

3 eggs

In a bowl combine the apricots, bi carb and water in a bowl and allow to soak for 10 minutes.

Pour the apricot mix into your food processor and blitz until a paste.

Add the sugars and butter to the food processor and blitz until just combined.

Add flour and eggs to the food processor and blitz until combined.  Scrape down the sides and blitz again to combine.

Pour into a greased and floured tin.  You can use any round tin, I prefer my bundt tins.  Bake in 180C pre heated oven for 35 to 45 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack covered in a tea towel.

Ina Garten's Banana Cake

I don't know about you but when banana's get to that spotty black stage, I can't give them away to anyone in this house!  I normally slice them up and stick them in a ziploc bag in the freezer.  

Then I find I have lots of little ziploc bags in the freezer *sigh* I found a number of such bags in the freezer this week.  Now we are having freezer use it or loose it month!  I have decided we need to use everything in the freezer before I restock it!

First thing to go is the banana's!

3 ripe banana's (mashed)

3/4 cup caster sugar

1/2 light brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

grated zest of one orange

2 cups plain flour

1 teaspoon baking soda (bicarb)

If using frozen banana's you will need to defrost them.  In your mixing bowl combine caster sugar, brown sugar and banana's, mix on low until combined.

Add your eggs, oil and sour cream to the banana mix.  Beat on low until combined.

Sift together your dry ingredients and stir through the banana mix until just combined.

Butter an flour your cake tin for the best results.

Spread your cake mix evenly in your cake tin.  Pre heat your oven to 175C.  Place cake in pre heated oven and bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes then turn out and cool on cake rack until room temperature.

You can ice this with either a cream cheese frosting or as I have done a lemon icing.  Lemon icing is just 1 and 1/2 cups icing sugar and the juice of half a lemon.  Drizzle over the top and allow to set.