Father's Day Lunch

Just a little something my mum whipped up for Father's Day Sunday Lunch:

 

How could I ever compete with this?! ;) Mum is a brilliant cook!

 (click on image to enlarge)

And my sister & niece's cupcakes:

Delicious!

Happy Father's Day

x

Donna Hay's Chocolate Tart

Heaven on a plate...

Coconut Balls of Heaven :) (or properly named - Coconut Cardamom Burfi )

4 Ingredients:

250g desiccated coconut

395g can sweetened condensed milk

10 cardamon pods - grind/crush seeds into a powder (or about a teaspoon of ready ground powder or you can use mixed parts of cinnamon / ground nutmeg)

Handful of pistachio nuts, roughly crushed/ground

4 steps for Preparation:

1) In a bowl, mix 200gm of desiccated coconut, sweetened condensed milk, cardamon and pistachios.
2) In a non-stick pan, heat the mixture, stirring gentally for about 10 mins until the mixture starts to dry (be less sticky) and can roll easily into a ball.
3) Remove from heat, and cool mixture until cool enough to handle. Place the remaining coconut onto a plate.

4) Using damp hands (I keep some water close by to constantly wet my hands) roll the mixture into balls and then roll in coconut to coat.

Chill in fridge for about 30 mins before serving

The coconut balls can be refrigerated for up to a week.

This recipe came from the SBS show Food Safari. You can watch the video here:

http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipe/41/Coconut_cardamom_burfi/search/true

*Warning - these are addictive* *Double the recipe for more balls of heaven to eat*

Yummy Lemon Yoghurt Cake

The easiest & yummiest cake (or cupcakes) ever... I got this recipe from a good friend of mine Nicola, but think it came out of a Women's Day Mag.

Sue's Lemon Cake

Ingredients
1 cup natural yoghurt
3/4 cup oil (I use vegetable as olive oil may be too "heavy")
1 1/2 cups castor sugar (I use slightly less)
2 1/4 cups SR flour
3 eggs beaten
2 tspns grated lemon rind
1/3 cup lemon juice

Method
Grease & flour 24cm ring tin
Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl
Bake for one hour at 160C
Stand 5 minutes
Dust with icing sugar

Doesn't get easier than that! ;)

**Option to bake as cupcakes instead of a cake. I sometimes double the mixture and make loads of cupcakes as they don't last long!**

**In my oven, the cupcakes take about 20 minutes**

This recipe is great for variations: my friend Andrea adds in blueberries from his garden into the mixture. You could even try making with orange rind/juice instead of lemons..

Delicious served warm with a dollop of fresh cream, or on their own with a good cup of tea :)

Caramel Slice - Cake!

Donna Hay makes an easy to follow Caramel Slice recipe.. but John loves the stuff so much, I thought I'd turn the slice into a Cake! - it's comes out so thick and rich you need a decent heavy knife to cut a slice! :) This cake version makes for one very happy caramel slice lover..

At last, the Donna Hay Recipe:

Chocolate Caramel Slice
Base
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 cup brown sugar
125g melted unsalted butter
Caramel
1/3 cup golden syrup
125g melted butter
2 x 400g cans sweetened condensed milk
choc topping
185g dark chocolate
3 teaspoons vegetable oil

1.Preheat oven to 180c
2.Place flour,coconut,sugar and butter in bowl and mix well. Press the mixture into a 20cm x 30cm slice tin lined with non-stick baking paper and bake for 15-18 minutes or until brown.
3.To make caramel filling, place the golden syrup, butter and condensed milk in a saucepan over low heat and stir for 7 minutes or until the caramel has thickened slightly.Pour over the cooked base and bake for 20 minutes or until the caramel is golden.Refrigerate the slice until cold.
4.To make the chocolate topping, place the chocolate and oil in a saucepan over low heat and stir until melted. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly before spreading over the slice. Refrigerate until firm and cut into slices. Make 24 slices.

This is a great slice because one tray makes heaps, and really you could get almost double the pieces because its so rich you really don't need a big piece. Well......ok for those who love caramel chocolate, you may need to have a huge slice!!! Or you can make it in a cake dish like I did, and it comes out really thick!