Whole Orange & Chia Cake/Muffins

We had oranges to pick from our young citrus trees this year, for the first time.  They were a little on the 'suck your face inside out' tangy lol so I decided to try this recipe that I had been wanting to try for a while - Whole Orange Cake, by Rhonda over at Down to Earth.

It reall is as it sounds.  The whole orange (minus the seeds) goes in the mix...

Nanna mixing

new tin

I also like the idea of Orange & Poppyseed cake, but with no poppy seeds and wanting to include more chia, so came to be 'Whole Orange & Chia Seed Cake/Muffins'.  I did also have a go at doing a friand tin that had an embellished flower thing on it, but this recipe isn't the right one as a more dense mix is called for.

It's a good recipe and turned out really well - though some silly forgot to get the 'finished' photos before everything got eaten!  If you have a favourite orange and poppyseed recipe please do share :)

Lime Cream Cheese Frosting on Carrot Cake

While I was visiting last week, I was lucky enough to take home some limes (thankyou H).  Tonight I used them for a recipe and emailed:

I decided I would have to recipe hunt to figure out what I wanted to make with them.  Tossed a few ideas around and then today decided that I had some Philly cream cheese in the fridge so I'd make a carrot cake with lime cream cheese frosting (instead of lemon cream cheese frosting).  Suffice to say if the cakes don't hurry up and cool there won't be a lot of icing left... taste testing, you see ;)

Milo Bars, Blueberry Mini-Breads and L.O.Quiche

Despite the several hours of baking already this week, most of it wasn't for us and the rest that was was gone so it was time to bake again for the freezer.  I like to have muffins, biscuits and slice in the freezer ready for school lunches, impromptu visitors/afternoon tea etc.

Milo slice coming out of the oven

Uncle Toby's Porridge 'Quick Sachets' - Home Made Version and Costing

Brooke bought the Uncle Toby's sachets to take on camp with her.  They are little single serve sachets, six to a box.  These are a new thing for us.  We usually do porridge the the 'old fashioned' way as opposed to sachets, and I get my oats in 25kg bags.  In winter time this just means getting up a few minutes earlier and put the porridge on the stove (make enough to serve 6 people), or Brooke gets up and makes it on the stove top and stir stir stir.  Otherwise it's toast or Weet-bix for breakfast, sometimes poached eggs or pancakes or home made muesli (Michelle Bridges recipe).  Now and then we get a 'weekend breakfast', which is a box of Sultana Bran, or Sports Plus or whatever, and they can have it on the weekend.  Mostly it's because otherwise the cost is a bit nuts so this way they still have the variety (and appreciate it) without it breaking the grocery budget.

Uncle Toby's on the left, mine on the right

Hooked on Sourdough

Yep.  That's it.  I'm hooked... and I didn't even know I liked it.  Always liked the idea of making the 'one dough for seven days' kinda thing but wasn't sure if I liked sourdough (and now I can't find the blog link for the 15mins a day for aritsan/sourdough).  After trying it by chance I now know I do and pretty much am not interested in buying much else.  So now I want to make my own.

sour dough with lettuce from the garden, tomato, cucumber, split green olives and Australian fetta.  Y-U-M.

Celtic Gingerbread

Previously, I tried making 'Celtic Soda Bread' and 'Celtic Currant Cake'.  They turned out okay.  So this time, I'm trying my hand at Celtic Gingerbread.  This time I used the recipe from Irish Spike-Jamie, found here (scroll down until you reach the gingerbread recipe)

There were two main types of recipes – those with Guiness and those without. I chose the latter. This recipe produces a cake rather than a biscuit and is baked in a 20cmx30cm tin or dish. It's moist and filling, a little like fruit cake, but much softer in texture, and with more 'warmth' at the back of the throat.

Celtic Currant Cake (Bairgin Brack or Barm/Barn Brack)

Previously, I tried making 'Celtic Soda Bread'.  It turned out okay and no one complained, there may have even been the odd compliment (gee, who would have thought that?!) as we had two guests - Brooke's lovely friends A and J who have lovely manners and are very kind!  So this time, I'm trying my hand at Celtic Currant Cake.  A little harder to find direct links, but it seems to be along these lines, as a recipe.  Again, credit linkbacks if you click on the title of the recipe.

Recipe #1

Recipe #2

Celtic Currant Cake, Soda Bread and Gingerbread.

Task this weekend - find and test recipes for Celtic Currant Cake, Celtic Soda Bread and Celtic Gingerbread.  Since I am very not Celtic (or at all, probably!), I had to rely on Mr Google for information.  If you reading are Celtic or of Celtic origin and know the below better than me please feel free to correct me!
For today's post, I'm trying out Celtic Soda Bread.  Currant Cake and Gingerbread to come in the next few posts.

Celtic Soda Bread ready to go in the oven

Call-it-Watchya-Like - I Call It 'Yum'!

As a kid I never did like quiche.  Wierd icky stuff.  Now, it's a great quick and easy and yummy (and good for you) thing to make.  Except 3 of the kids don't like quiche.  Reading 'Just don't call it a quiche, mate' on Milkwood's blog this morning, reminded me of the pics I took while baking the other day.  I was doing a 'catchup'/lunch/treat bake as I hadn't done a proper bake since a couple of weeks before exams.  Ingredients were low so I didn't bake as much or the type of things I wanted to, but it was still satisfying.  One of the things I made was a quiche minus pastry - is that a frittata?  anyway...

Mine certainly didn't have home made bacon (or any bacon at all since it's not something one of us likes) or any meat at all for that matter.  A nice bit of silverside sizzled in olive oil would have been awesome in it.  

Apparently VERY GOOD Gluten-Free Choc Chip Cookies

Yes, I said 'cookies' (and gluten-free and yummy in the same sentence)!~  It's a US blog with a US recipe so that's what they're called (for all you Aussies, it's ok just call 'em biscuits).  They sure look good and if I had all the ingredients I'd be making them today!  I'm especially looking forward to these because they could be an option for when I want to 'bake n take' for a friend who's daughter also can't wheat...

Linkback here to Leigh Anne's recipe post

New Recipe from Taste.Com - Apple & Cinn Muffins

Exam was this morning so it's time to catch up on the undone domestic stuff, and get some bakin' happening to fill the freezer and the lunchboxes.  As a start, I thought I'd try a new recipe from taste.com and chose apple and cinnamon muffins.  I know, not an 'out there' recipe but one I know the flavours are approved of here and a nice one to try out.  So many apple muffin recipes but they're not all as good as the next.

Some standard muffin size and some tiny muffin size.  A size for every lunchbox.  So far so good, just coming out of the oven.  Verdict no doubt tomorrow.  If you've got a fantastic apple muffin recipe that you know works every time and tastes delicious, am keen to hear it!  Happy Baking.

Fruit Christmas Trees to Eat

Following on from the All-Fruit Birthday cake #1, #2 and #3 and the Festive Fruit Stacks, comes the Fruit Christmas trees.  Just requires a couple of star shape cutters and a round and you're off.  Cut, toothpick and place on tray.  Cover with tea towel and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Something the kids can really get involved with as well, if you wanted to.  If you have no stars for the top, you can use cherries, or grapes or whatever you like.

Last... one...

Well you can read about an example of a standard market day baking day here, but this week was the last one until school starts again next year... and even then with Brooke being elsewhere for highschool, I am not sure how it would work... it's that mixed feeling - good to know I can have a bit of time off from a minimum 6hrs of (non'us' related) baking a week but at the same time missing it for other reasons.

Birthday Biscuit Mix in a Jar

I've seen (better) versions of these on blogs for a while, especially around Christmas.  I really liked the idea, I just couldn't commit myself to doing 2-3 dozen of them as Christmas gifts.  Yet I still wanted to make one for someone I thought might like it... So, I decided to do one as a birthday gift idea for Zeke's friend turning 8.  He likes cooking and his Mum said chocolate was okay, so that was that sorted and the idea was ready to rock.

Gingerbread Stars, Dudes and Stained Glass

Stars, Stained-Glass biscuits and Buttons Buttons Buttons!
These are a basic gingerbread recipe, rolled out and then variations

Festive Fruit Fun

Made these for a dessert platter for the Grad Dinner.  Very simple, actually doesn't use a massive amount of fruit so you can incorporate things that you might not otherwise buy (cherries, blueberries) while they are in season as you only need one per piece.

Home Made Icecream Sandwich - in Rounds - Mini-Creams

A friend from my first-time Mums group years ago used to make this version with Malto biscuits.  It's so so delicious but terribly moreish and depending what chocolate you mix in, very rich.  Not that that's a bad thing! This is how I've made them before - in a long dish and then cut them to serve.

Anyway, making up some as a dessert for a dinner this week and thought I'd try making them in 'rounds' using Arnotts Chocolate Ripple biscuits as the 'top and bottom', with Cadbury Fairtrade chocolate shaved into the mix.

Here's how it went.  First stop.  Ingredients.  1 x tin condensed milk (I know, it's Nestle... I may have to try making my own condensed milk from the recipe in 'Down To Earth' by Rhonda Hetzel next time), fresh cream (500ml), your choice of round biscuit and some Fairtrade chocolate, in this case, Cadbury. Simple as that.  Choose your biscuit and you're set.

Chocolate Slice - Women's Weekly Beautifuul Biscuits

Mum used to make this when I was little.  The once however often bake day, all day, where the kitchen smelt amazing, we got to stand on our little white chairs and watch at the bench, and lick the odd wooden spoon or bowl.  Thanks Mum for making all those cooking smells and tastes attach themselves to good memories.

Anyway, these are a favourite.  If you can get hold of the book Women's Weekly Beautiful Biscuits, that's where you'll find the recipe.  Or Google.  Good ol' Google!

Baked plaits, pear cake, pantries and mini-melons

plaited bread. Dough in the breadmaker, finished by hand. It's about all I like to use the breadmaker for is making dough. I really enjoy finishing off the rest by hand although, my friend 'N' does a fabulous apple bread in her breadmaker.




Here's the before and after of the pantry...

Mist, Toffee apples and Hot Crossed Buns

Toffee apples done. I didn't think there was much to making toffee apples but I googled a recipe just in case via Taste.com and found this one. Asks for cream of tartar in the recipe but I'm not really sure what that ingredient does?