Shortbread + Cake Bake & Sweets Show

This shortbread recipe is so simple, so versatile and so delicious.  There's something very satisfying about making the fork-tine pattern on the tops of the biscuits, and snacking on them with some hot tea.

The recipe can be jazzed up easily in a number of ways - you could add some essences/extracts, and even a bit of lemon zest would give these a great twist!  I added some Mayan Chilli Chocolate Powder from Gewurzhaus (cocoa powder, chilli, cinnamon and cayenne pepper) to some of the dough for chocolate shortbread with a bit of a bite.  I also love to add matcha powder for green tea shortbread!

Recipe adapted from: my great aunt Gladys
Ingredients
5.5 oz (155g) butter
2 oz (55g) icing sugar
7 oz (200g) flour + some extra if needed

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 150 - 160 C (65 - 70 F).

2. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

3. Fold in the flour until combined.  The dough will be very soft, but if it's too sticky, add some more flour (just a little bit at a time!) until it can be rolled into a ball in your hands without sticking to everything.

4. You can roll the dough out into a sheet and cut shapes out (make sure you chill the dough in the freezer after it's cut to make it easier to handle and transfer to your baking trays), but another simple way to make the cookies is to roll the dough into logs, cover them in cling wrap, chill them for a while and then slice them into pieces.

These cookies don't spread too much so you can put them quite close together on your baking tray.  Create some texture and interest on your cookies by pressing into the cookies with the flat of a fork, or by poking holes in the top.

You can also add chocolate chips, or even cachous.  Just make sure that whatever you add won't melt everywhere!

5. Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are lightly golden.

I got some adorable cookie cutters from Cutter Craft recently, at the Melbourne Cake Bake and Sweets Show, and I was eager to try them out.

I absolutely love the stegosaurus.  It makes one of the cutest cookies I've ever seen!

Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na BATMAN!

A little more on the Cake Bake and Sweets Show - it was fantastic, with so many different stalls and presentations.  There was a lot of sampling of delicious and moist mud cake from the Wedding Chapel Made Of Cake.  I particularly enjoyed Tim Clark's (of Cacao) presentation on eclairs, and Janet O'Sullivan's (of The Cupcake Lady) fantastic and informative presentation on ganache.  I've come away with some great tips to try out!

Tim Clark's Cocoa Pop eclairs

The Savour Chocolate School chocolate rainforest was also very impressive.

My mission post-show: to find a dependable dense, moist chocolate mud cake...

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.

Chocolate Mudslide Cookies

Chocolate Mudslide Cookies are another staple recipe for me - they're ridiculously easy to make (only one bowl needed!), soft and densely chocolatey.  These are great to quickly whip up when you need a chocolate fix!

Recipe adapted from: Cakespy
Ingredients
3 tbsp butter (40g)
225g dark chocolate (for melting)
185g white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
100g flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
170g chocolate chips or chocolate chunks
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

Method
1. Preheat oven to 175C (350F).

2. Melt the 225g chocolate with the butter and sugar;  I do this in the microwave.   Set the mixture aside to cool.

3. Lightly beat the eggs with the vanilla.

4. Stir the chocolate mixture into the eggs a bit at a time.

5. Add the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder and mix until combined.  The original recipe calls for 40g of flour but I always have to use more than 100g to get the batter into some sort of shape that it can be worked with (otherwise it's like brownie batter!)

6. Mix in the chocolate chips and the walnuts if you're using them.

7. Place rounded tablespoons of the dough onto baking trays lined with baking paper or silicone mats, making sure that there is enough room for them to spread when baked.

8. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes.  They should still be very fudgy and soft; they will harden as they cool, but make sure you eat some when the chocolate's still melted and delicious!

Raspberry White Chocolate Muffins

I hope you're all prepared for more white chocolate, because you definitely want to make these delicious muffins.  The sweetness of the cake and white chocolate contrasts beautifully with the tart raspberries and they are so simple to make!

Recipe adapted from: The Golden Book of Chocolate
Ingredients
125g butter
100g white sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
125mL milk
225g flour
2 tsp baking powder
180g white chocolate chips
1 cup raspberries (I used frozen ones)

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C (350F).  Prepare a 12-cup cupcake tin with patty pans.

2. Melt the butter.

3. Beat the melted butter, sugar, egg, vanilla and milk until combined.

4. Fold the flour and baking powder into the mixture.

5. Finally, combine the raspberries and white chocolate chips with the batter.

6. Spoon the batter into the cupcake tin and bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy!