SPRING SLICE

PREHEAT YOUR OVEN TO 180 DEG C . Dice 3 bacon rashers and fry . Peel , chop and steam 1 large potao, 1 onion,, cup of cauliflower florets In a separate bowl , beat 3 eggs and lightly stir in 1 cup of plain flour , 1 dsp of baking powder nd 1/2 cup of rice bran oil until smooth Add 1 cup of milk , the steamed vegetables on and 1 cup of tasty grated cheese , season with salt and pepper . Mix to combine . Pour into a greased oven proof dish and place in preheated oven for 30 minutes.

PARIS- BREST

Paris -Brest is named after a famous 19th century bicycle race run between the French cities of Paris and Brest and is supposed to represent a bicycle wheel .  I'm going to get the class to make a Paris Brest when we return to class in Term 4 2020
Preheat your oven to 200 deg C.
You will need 2 baking trays (flat trays )and line  with baking paper .
Mark out a 8 inch  ( 20 cm )  circle on each baking paper sheet.
Now let's prepare the choux pastry .
Bring 60 ml of water ,20 gm of butter / marg , a pinch of salt and a 1/2 tsp of castor sugar ,to the boil in a small saucepan .
Remove from the heat as it starts to boil and stir in 35 gm of plain white flour with a wooden spoon .
Place the saucepan back on the heat and cook stirring to dry out the ingredients for 1 minute .( the mixture will pull away from the sides of the saucepan Add 1 lightly beaten egg with an electric beater until smooth and supple .
Fill a piping bag fitted with a wide nozzle and pipe around your circles on the baking paper .
Brush the circles with a lightly beaten egg to give the choux pastry good colour .
Place the choux pastry rings in the hot oven for 15 minutes with the door propped open a crack with a spoon , when the pastry has risen well , reduce the oven to 180 deg C and cook for a further 15 minutes with the oven door completely closed .
Turn the oven off and open the door of the oven the oven , allow the choux pastry cool to cool in the oven , then slice in half horizontally .
Now mix together 300ml of thickened cream with 60 gm of castor sugar , 1 tsp of vanilla extract and 120 gm of mascarpone cheese . Beat together until well thickened . Fill one half of the ring with the cream mixture Put the top ring on the cream and sprinkle with a light cloud of icing sugar .
 

RICOTTA CAKE

Preheat oven to 160 deg C. Grease and line 8" round pan Place 115gm of butter/ margarine ( room temp) , 150 gm of castor sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla extract in the bowl of your electric mixture and beat until creamy and pale . Add 3 lightly beaaten eggs ( room temp )alternatively with 140 gm of plain flour , 1 dsp of baking powder Beat until combined . Add 3 tbs of lemon juice , the grated zest of 1 lemon , 250 gm of smooth ricotta and 60 ml of milk . Pour the batter into the prepared pan and place in preheated oven for 30 minutes . Cake is cooked when a skewer inserted comes out clean . Leave cake to cool completely in the pan . Frosting . Beat together 240 ml of thickened cream with 120 gm of mascarpone cheese , 1 tsp of vanilla extract and 2 tbs of castor sugar till thickened . Spread over the top of the cake and dress with raspberries ( optional ).

MASCARPONE BISCUITS

Preheat your oven to 160 deg C. In a food processor , combine 1 and half cups of castor sugar with 8 tbs of butter/margarine . Add 1 lightly beaten egg ,250gm of mascarpone cheese , 1 tsp of vanilla extract. Mix until just combined . do not over process . Add 2 and 1/4 cups of plain flour and 1/2 tsp baking powder and process for a few se to combine . Turn the dough out into a bowl andstir in 1/2 cup of raisins and 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. Use a tbs to scoop out the dough and drop rounded spoonfuls about 2" apart o a baking tray lined with baking paper . Bake until the edges of the cookies are golden , about 25 minutes . Do not let thm browwn . Allow to cool completely on the tray before separating . These are delicious .

MACAROON ( traditional ) MACARON ( trendy )

MACAROON / MACARON
Is a small light crisp biscuit made with egg whites , castor sugar and ground almonds .
Egg whites are whisked to a stiff peak with xtra fine sugar and baked at 130 deg C resting on baking paper .
Once cooked and filled they are best kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator .
They can also be frozen , be coloured with a few drops of food colour .....but I like elegant white .
Macaroons can be eaten as a biscuit treat , crushed and added to desserts or cooked as a pastry tart .

Make sure your kitchen is warm and there are no draughts .
Preheat your oven to 150 deg C .
Mix together 200gm of icing sugar with 120 gm of almond meal by sifting them together .
Place 3 room temperature egg whites in the bowl of your electric mixer ,WHISK ON HIGH FOR 30 SECONDS .
Add 1 tbs of superfine castor sugar  to the egg whites .WHISK FOR 10 MINUTES , until stiff .
Fold through the egg whites into the almond /icing sugar mixture in 2 batches , folding until smooth .
Now spoon the batter into a piping bag with 1.5 cm nozzle .
Pipe 4 cm rounds onto baking paper on a baking tray, this mixture will make 24 rounds .
Allow the rounds on the baking tray to stand for 20 minutes , which will allow a skin to form on top of the macaroons .
Reduce the oven temperature to 130 deg C and bake the macaroons for 18- 20 minutes or until crisp .
Remove from oven and cool completely on trays .
While you are waiting for the macaroons to completely cool , make the filling .
Use an electric beater to cream 125gm of softened margarine / butter with 1tsp of vanilla extract ora couple of drops of food colouring  for 6 minutes and then add 160 gm of icing sugar for 10 minutes  until light and fluffy .
Spread carefully onto half the cooked macaroons and sandwich with the other half .

SUPRISE LEMON SLICE

Preheat your oven to 180 deg C.
Blend together  1  x 250ml cup of melted margarine , 1x 250 ml cup of castor sugar, juice of 4 lemons and the finely grated rind of 4 lemons , 1 dsp of vanilla extract .
Now add 10 lightly beaten  ( room temperature ) eggs  together well .
To this mixture add 1 cup of plain flour , 1 tsp of baking powder and 1/2 tsp of salt
Whisk to a smooth batter .
Pour into a lightly greased  square pan lined with baking paper .
Bake  for 60 minutes or until set and golden .
Once cooked it will flatten a little , this is ok .
Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool in the oven .
So let’s prepare the topping .
Mix together 250 gm of cream cheese at room temperature with 90gm of softened margarine / butter ,1/2 cup of castor sugar , the juice of 2 lemons and the finely grated rind of 2 lemons .
Beat together until smooth and then slather over the slice
Cut into 8-12 squares .
Keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator .

3 INGREDIENT COCONUT SLICE

Mix together 2 cups of desiccated coconut  with 1/2 cup of melted  butter / margarine and 1/4 cup of stevia / castor sugar .
Mix together thoroughly .
Use baking paper to line a log pan .
Press the mixture into the pan and even out the surface .
Place into the freezer for 2 hours and then keep refrigerated , slice into squares and enjoy .

BANANA RICE FLUFF

Pace 1 cup of uncooked rice in 2 cups of boiling water .
Stir occasionally over a low heat to a simmer , cover the pot until all the water is absorbed , this will give you 3 cups of cooked rice .
Preheat your oven to 160 deg C .
Separate 3 eggs .
Beat the egg whites until firm with a hand held mixer ...do not clean the beaters
Place  3 yolks in a large bowl along with 6 tbs of castor sugar  and 1 tbs of lemon juice .
Using the egg white covered beaters , beat the egg yolk mixture at the highest speed and gradually add 3 ripe and softened bananas.
Beat until the mixture is thick and frothy .
Using a metal spoon fold through the egg whites .
Spray / grease an ovenproof dish ( casserole dish )
Place 3 cups of cooked rice into the prepared dish
Pour the batter over the rice and after with slivered almonds .
Place in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until set and golden .

CHICKEN BALLS IN A FRUITED SAUCE

Combine 1 kg of ground chicken with 3/4cup of wheat germ , 1/2 cup of finely chopped onion , 2 well beaten eggs , 1/2 cup of corn kernels and  1/2 cup of milk in a large bowl .
Mix well .
Shape into golf sized balls ..( I made 32 from the mix )
Brown the meatballs in a frypan with  2 tbs of ghee or 3 tbs of rice bran oil , turning carefully .
Now in a separate bowl combine the the contents of of 1 x 440 gm can of crushed pineapple including juice , 1/4 cup  of apple cider vinegar ,  2 tbs of soy sauce and mix well .
Pour  this mixture over the chicken balls in the frypan .
Add 1 cup of shredded carrot , 1 cup of baby spinach leaves , 3 baby caps or 1 red capsicum .
Cook this mixture over a low heat for 20 minutes ,stirring ingredients consistantly until slightly thickened
Cover and simmer for 5minutes.
I will serve this dish again .

CREOLE BEEF

The rice for Creole beef is a mixture of black , short , medium and long grain rice ...equalling 1 cup of uncooked rice , all up .
Heat 1/2cup of rice bran oil in a large pan or heavy based pot .
Add 1 tbs of  minced garlic , 1/2 tsp of salt , 1/2 tsp of cracked pepper and 500 gm of lean minced beef .
Sauté till the beef is thoroughly browned .
Add 2 cups of warm water ( 500 ml ) to the beef mixture and bring to a simmer .
Now add 1 cup of the mixed grain rice , adding 1 tsp of sumac , 1 tsp of paprika and 1/2 tsp of chilli powder ( optional )
Cook slowly until the liquid is absorbed by the rice and the rice is tender .
Add 1 x 400 gm can of diced tomatoes , 1 onion , peeled and sliced , 1 avocado peeled and diced , 1 cup of chopped parsley and 1 grated carrot .
Stir through and cook slowly for a further 15 minutes .

TUNA SUPRISE

When you are short of time and ideas , this is just the dish for you .
This dish can be prepared in a short time and best of all with just a few ingredients we all have in the pantry and easily served with rice or noodles .

Melt 1/4 cup of butter / margarine in a medium sized saucepan over a medium heat .

When the butter melts add 1 large onion , peeled and sliced , 1 tbs of minced garlic and fry for 5 minutes until the onion softens . 

Stir in 1 tsp of curry powder , add 1x 400gm can of diced tomatoes ,1x 250gm can of tuna , flaked , 1 tsp of ground basil , 2 tbs of sultanas , salt and pepper to taste .

Slowly bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes .

Remove from the heat and spoon tuna mixture over rice or pasta on serving dishes .