Citrus Macarons

Mum made masses of macarons for a fair.  They were yellow and orange and filled with citrus buttercream.

Macaron recipe here.  Happy baking!

Pecan Slice

Ahh, pecan slice, how you fill me with delicious joy!

Ingredients - crust (17 x 26 cm (6.5 x 10 inch) rectangular cake tin)
230g flour
60g brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
80g cold butter

Ingredients - pecan filling
185g brown sugar
230g corn syrup (2/3 cups)
100g butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp table salt
2 eggs
4 cups pecans

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 175C (350F).  Line a 17 x 26 cm (6.5 x 10 inch) baking tin with baking paper.

2. Make the crust - add all the crust ingredients to a food processor and whizz until combined.  It should look like a powder.

3. Press the crust mixture into the baking tin.  Bake for about 20 minutes, until the crust is lightly golden.

4. While the crust is baking, begin making the filling - start by melting the butter.

5. Whisk the sugar, corn syrup, melted butter, vanilla extract and salt together.  I do this by hand.

6. Add the eggs and mix them in.

7. Chop the pecans roughly and mix into the batter.  If you like, you can skip the chopping and leave them as halves.

8. Once the crust is done baking, pour the filling straight on top (make sure that the pecans are distributed evenly) and bake for another 30 minutes.  Cracks should have appeared on the surface and it should be golden brown.

9. Let the slice cool in the tin.  The filling will solidify more as it cools so it will be easier to cut and serve.

9. Cut the slice into squares or rectangles and enjoy!

Mocha Almond Cake

Hello all!  This moist cake topped with mocha icing looks great with some toasted almond slices on top, and tastes great too.  It was my first time using a ring pan for a cake and it's a good way to change things up a bit!

Recipe adapted from: The Australian Women's Weekly Cakes & Slices Cookbook
Ingredients - cake (20 cm (8 inch) ring cake)
1 tbsp instant coffee powder
1/2 cup boiling water
20g cocoa powder
90g butter
250g caster sugar
2 tsp vanilla essence
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup almond meal
155g self raising flour (or 155g plain flour with 2 tsp baking powder)
Flaked almonds for garnish

Ingredients - icing
60g butter
275g icing sugar
1 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tsp instant coffee powder
1 1/2 tbsp boiling water

Method - cake
1. Preheat oven to 190C (375F).  Mix the instant coffee powder with the boiling water and cocoa powder.

2. Cream butter, caster sugar and vanilla essence until light and fluffy.

3. Separate the eggs.

4. Beat the egg yolks into the butter mixture, along with the sour cream.

5. Stir in the almond meal, then the flour as well as the cocoa mixture.

6. Line a 20cm ring cake tin with butter and baking paper, then spread the batter into the pan.

7. Bake the cake for 40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

8. Let the cake cool in the tin for a bit and then turn it out onto a wire rack.

Method - icing
1. Sift the icing sugar and cocoa and beat it with the butter until combined.

2. Combine the instant coffee with the boiling water and add it to the butter mixture.

3. Spread the icing onto the cooled cake.

4. Garnish the cake with the flaked almonds - toast them first for added aroma and crunch!

This cake is also great in cupcake form.