Salad, salad and more salad! Quick and easy

PRAWN AND AVO SALAD WITH WASABI MAYO

(10 Portions)

SALAD
1kg cooked prawns, shells removed
1 packet mixed salad leaves
1 punnet Mange Tout (sugar snap peas)
1 avo, sliced and drizzled with lemon juice
2 tablespoons pickled ginger

Tear the salad leaves into smaller pieces and arrange it on a platter. Top with the peas.
Arrange the prawns and avo on the lettuce. Sprinkle with the pickled ginger.

DRESSING
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
½ cup milk
1 tablespoon soya sauce
1 tsp wasabi paste

Mix all the ingredients together.


You can serve the dressing on the side or you can dress the salad just before serving. Soya sauce is an important flavour in this recipe and it can’t be replaced with salt.


PRE PREPARATON
The salad can be assembled 2 hours before and dressed just before serving

Cupcakes!

Chocolate cupcakes

Ingredients:
350ml sugar
190g butter
2 eggs
30g cocao powder
125ml boiling water
125ml milk
10ml vanilla essence
360ml flour
5ml bicarbonate of soda

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees
Cream the butter and sugar together until light
Add the eggs one by one and mix well
Mix the cocoa powder and water together, add the milk and vanilla essence. Add all of this to the butter mixture.
Sift the dry ingredients together and add to the butter mixture.
Mix well
Spoon into cupcake/muffin pans and bake for about 20 minutes.

ICe with a mixture of melted chocolate and cream or a simple butter icing.
For the chocolate cream you can use 300g dark chocolate and 100ml cream. Heat the cream and add the chocolate. Leave to cool for a while or until it is thick.

For the butter icing you can use 250g icing sugar with 125g butter. Add the colourings or essences (flavours) of your choice.

You can make normal elegant cupcakes with this recipe or you can make bugs, frogs, flowers or anything fun.

This recipe makes 18 big cupcakes.

Tiramisu..... with something extra!

CINNAMON MERINGUE WITH TIRAMISU FILLING

(8 Portions)

MERINGUE

5 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1 t vanilla essence
½ t cinnamon
1 t white or brown vinegar (I use brown)
One packet fresh or frozen raspberries and blueberries for garnish
Fresh mint or lavender for garnish

Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Add the sugar gradually.
Add the vanilla, cinnamon and the vinegar.
Line a large spring form tin with wax paper on the bottom and on the sides
Spoon the meringue mix into the tin and spread the mixture out.
Bake it at 100°C for 75 minutes.
Remove from oven and let it cool down. Turn it upside down on a serving plate once it is cold.


TIRAMISU FILLING

3 egg yolks
40g Castor sugar
15ml sherry
15ml Kahlua liqueur
180ml cream
20 Boudoir biscuits
125ml strong black coffee (1t coffee powder for ½ cup water)

Beat the egg yolks and sugar in a mixer until light and spongy
Add the alcohol.
Beat the cream until stiff peaks form.
Fold the cream mix into the egg mixture
Soak the biscuits in the coffee and place half of it in a dish
Add some of the egg mixture on top. Finnish with another layer of biscuits and the egg mix. Refrigerate for 2 hours to set

This can be made two days in advance

HOW TO ASSEMBLE

Spoon large dollops of the Tiramisu onto the meringue just before serving. Top with the frozen raspberries and blueberries and a few sprigs of lavender or mint.

Try it... it's o so yummy!

Comfort food! Quick and easy

CARAMEL CREAM CHEESE DESSERT

(10 Portions)

750g Creamed cottage cheese
1.140kg Caramel Treat
2 cups cream
3 boxes Romany Creams
2 Tblsp Tia Maria
¼ cup cold strong coffee
4 Tblsp finely sliced ginger in syrup
2-3 Tblsp crushed peanut brittle

Beat the cottage cheese and caramel treat until smooth.
Beat the cream until soft peak stage. Divide the cream in two and fold the one half into the caramel mixture. Beat the other half until stiff peaks form to use as decoration.
Crush the biscuits roughly. Mix the liqueur and the coffee together and pour it over the biscuits. Add the ginger and mix well.
Serve the dessert in one big bowl or individual glasses. Spoon some of the caramel mix into the glasses, top with some of the biscuit mixture.
Continue layering the two mixtures and finish with the caramel. Top with the remaining whipped cream.

Leave in the fridge to set for about 2 hours. Sprinkle with the crushed peanut brittle.

Pear Malva. A Classic with a twist!

Ingredients:

Sauce:
375ml cream
125ml butter
a pinch of salt
100ml sugar
15ml apricot jam
juice from on tin op pear halves

Batter:
30g butter
100ml sugar
1 egg
1cup flour
125ml milk
5ml bicarb
45ml apricot jam
20 ml white vinegar
1 tin of pear halves

Method:
Cook all the sauce ingredients together until boiling
Cream the butter and sugar until light in colour. Add the egg.
Add the jam
Mix the bicarb and milk together. Sift the flour. Add half the flour to the butter mixture, then add half the milk. Now add the last half of the flour to the mix and then the rest of the milk.
Add the vinegar and then the drained pears.
Pour the mix in a casserole dish (30cmx40cmx12cm will do or longer and not so deep). Pour half of the sauce over the top cover with foil and bake at 180 degrees C for 35 minutes. Remove from oven. Remove foil and pour the rest of the sauce over. Return to the oven for 15-20 minutes.

The pud should be golden brown and sticky. You can cut the pears in quarters if you prefer smaller chunks.

Serve a nice chunk with pouring cream. Custard will also work for the extreme sweet tooth's. This is great for those very cold Sunday afternoons.

Enjoy!

The ever so addictive Chocolate Chip Cookie

SO...I have a bit of a chocolate issue. I love it. I will be posting other recipes on here...soon.

This recipe is really good, crispy on the outside and chewy inside.

Ingredients:

150g butter

1/4 cup soft brown sugar (that is the dark brown sugar)

1/3 cup Castor sugar

1 egg yolk

1teaspoon vanilla essence (I use 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, it is just so much better)

1.5 cup self raising flour

1 cup chocolate chips

Method:

1. Beat the egg, butter and sugars together until pale and thick. Add the essence and beat well



2. Add the flour and two thirds of the chocolate dots. Mix with your hands until you have a soft dough



3. Roll tablespoons full of the dough into balls. Press remaining chocolate chips on top of the balls.



4. Place on a lined baking tray allowing enough room for spreading.



5. Bake for 15 minutes @180 degrees C or until golden brown and slightly crisp on top.

Don't worry if the cookies are still a bit soft when you remove it from the oven, it will dry as it cools.

This batch makes 24 - 30 cookies. Enjoy!

They are great for those low days.