Sunday Morning Pancakes

Every Sunday morning at my house pancakes are on the menu for breakfast. Sundays are special family time in our house. Sunday is the only day we are all together for breakfast as my husband leaves well before 7am each morning and works most Saturdays also.

On a Sunday morning at least one of my children will crawl in to my bed and whisper not so softly in my ear, "mum, how long until pancakes?". I normally roll back over at this point and pretend to go back to sleep until a second child arrives in the room asking, "mum, how long until pancakes?". At this point I put my head under the pillow and prepare myself for my youngest to wake up. She never says good morning, the first words out of her mouth in the morning is always, "I'm hungrine Mumma". One of her siblings will then tell her that we are having pancakes and she then proceeds to jump up and down saying' "yay! pancakes!, come on Mumma". At this point there is no avoiding it I have to get up, it is pancake day after all!

Enjoy xxx
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Farmyard Vanilla Shortbread Cookies Presented By My Sammy

I'm a very proud mother at the moment, let me share with you all as to why.....

Back in August Highpoint Shopping Centre were running a competition for their upcoming 'Fresh Food Campaign'. So I entered a photo of some farmyard inspired cookies that I have made for a number of children's parties. Well the marketing team at Highpoint liked my cookies so we were invited to go down to Highpoint and participate in a photo shoot. Being a little camera shy I took my son along and had him model with the cookies and do the recorded interview as well.

Well the photos are now ready, as is the video. Highpoint has released the video on their website in conjunction with their announcement that the first stage of the Highpoint redevelopment will be opening on the 18th October. This new stage will encompass a full line Woolworths and over 30 additional specialty stores. Not to mention more car parking with direct access into the centre for their grocery shoppers.

So here is the reason for this mother being so proud....


In case you too want to put a smile on the face of someone you love, here is the recipe for a great egg free alternative to sugar cookies. An easy to roll and cut vanilla shortbread cookie, which cooks beautifully and tastes just as good as cookie dough as it does cooked. Cut them into any shape you want and decorate with rolled fondant, royal icing or just eat plain.

Enjoy xxx

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Pinterest - Am I the last to join?

A couple of weeks ago I started hearing a lot about Pinterest. So I went to the website to have a look around and see how it works. I was in HEAVEN! This was exactly what I needed.

I can finally do away with my folder full of images of cakes and decorated treats that I had printed off in case I was in need of inspiration. Finally a place to collect the images that I love for future reference!
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Citrus Orange Whoopies

What a glorious Melbourne afternoon. Its so nice when spring arrives and you can once again open the windows and let the air flow through the house.

A perfect afternoon treat on a day such as this is a whoopie pie. Not quite a cake, not quite a biscuit. and definitely not a pie.  A whoopie is in a category all its own, however it delivers everything I need in a baked treat.  It has ample amounts of frosting like our beloved cakes and cupcakes; and it's small and compact enough to eat with our hands like a cookie.

Enjoy xxx
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Lemon Syrup Cake

 

This no-fuss cake is fantastic for relaxed entertaining. Serve as afternoon tea or as a light refreshing dessert. The choice is yours.

Enjoy xxx
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Buttermilk

Photo credit: getwelllivewellbewell.blogspot.com

Making a recipe that calls for buttermilk? This simple substitute will mean you wont get caught out again:

Ingredients:

• Milk (just under one cup)
• 1 Tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice

Preparation:

1. Place a Tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup.
2. Add enough milk to bring the liquid up to the one-cup line.
3. Let stand for five minute. Then, use as much as your recipe calls for.

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Apple Shortcake

Lots of things have happened this week, its been a busy one! I finally found time however to have a play around with my NEW camera (can you tell I'm excited?). I got myself an Olympus PEN - EP3. The aim is to learn all the functions, read all the photography blogs and tutorials and become a phenomenal photographer - well we will see about the last one. The point being that although I'm still on the 'auto' setting Ive used my new camera for the above photo and am really happy with the shots I'm getting.

Anyway, on to the apple shortcake. Whenever I decide to make something my options for finding the right recipe are either to go to google or to my mum for recommendations. This time I went to mum. Ive made one apple pie before. After making the pastry myself and then peeling apples, stewing apples and assembling the pie I was very disappointed with the taste and texture. So mum gave me a recommendation for an apple and passionfruit shortcake recipe she has made from a Womens Weekly Cookbook. Am I the only person that just cant a leave a recipe alone? Well after a few tweaks I made My Apple Shortcake which was anything but disappointing!

Enjoy xxx
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Dusting Sugar

Photo credit: www.123rf.com

Tip: Ever wonder why your icing sugar seems to disappear in to your slice or cake within hours of dusting it on? 

The pure icing sugar you buy from the supermarket is very finely milled (10x) so it is easily adsorbed in to the cake. Dusting sugar can be purchased from cake decorating supply shops and is coarser (6x) than icing sugar, it also contains maize starch to stop it from absorbing in to food.  Woolworths and Coles (Australian Supermarkets) now stock 'Queen' vanilla bean dusting sugar which you can try, but be aware if you are dusting more than one cake it can be a little pricey. If you cant get dusting sugar near you try using icing sugar mixture. This is the same texture as pure icing sugar but contains a small amount of cornflour (about 3 percent), this makes it better for dusting than the pure icing sugar. Also if you dont have icing sugar mixture on hand just add 1 teaspoon of cornflour to 1 cup if pure icing sugar and sift it together.

I find the best way to apply dusting sugar is with a small hand held sieve or sifter.

Enjoy xxx

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Peppermint Slice

I have had a busy week in the kitchen so far and its only Tuesday afternoon. The neighbours must think I'm going a little nutty. They have had plates of cakes on Sunday and then I tried offering slice to them yesterday to protests of , 'I need to wear bathers next week', bathers-smathers I say, thats next week, this week we eat cake!

Today's post is Peppermint slice. Vanilla base, peppermint centre and chocolate top, something for everybody really. There  are plenty of variations of this slice out there and quite a few 'no bake' options available also. This Peppermint Slice is reminiscent of the bakery style that was sold at the little cafe I used to frequent while at university. I often purchased a piece of Peppermint Slice for the drive home, it helped to ward off the hunger pangs long enough to think about what to cook for dinner when I got home.

Enjoy xxx

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Tangy Lemon Squares

You know the old saying, 'when life gives you lemons  - make lemonade', well in my case it's, 'when your husband gives you lemons - make Tangy Lemon Squares'.

Hubby came home on Saturday with a bag full of lemons that he had collected on a job site. So my son Samuel and I got to work on Saturday night baking some of these delicious squares. Staying motivated to bake on Saturday night was easy, as sitting on the couch and watching our football team Geelong get beaten in an elimination final was more than Samuel and I could bear. At least on Sunday morning when I picked up the paper and saw that Geelong's loss the night before had made front page news I had something to console myself with. I must say that a cup of chamomile tea and a Tangy Lemon Square worked exceptionally well for that purpose. For Samuel it was a piece of toast with tuna , but each to their own!

Enjoy xxx

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Jelly Slice

It is a classic Australian slice that's fallen a bit out of fashion, I've just discovered it and I love it. I don't mind that its a little bit retro I think it would be awesome for a kids party, its fun, sweet and its pretty as well. It's kind of like an easy cheesecake. The great thing about this slice is the top layer can be made any colour to match your party. The traditional colour is red, but you could  do green for St Paddy's day, pink for a girls party, navy for a nautical theme (just add food colouring to blueberry jelly) and the list goes on.

Enjoy xx
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Warm Sticky Date Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce

In my family nothing says winter like a warm pudding for dessert. Whether its chocolate, butterscotch, lemon or date there's just something about a warm cake with a good serving of equally warm sauce and then a dollop of something cold and creamy along side it. And its not just my family either, sticky date pudding seems to be a staple in winter on menus in restaurants, cafes and even school catering groups lists. 

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