Wow what a crazy couple of months we have had recently. I won’t mention that dreaded virus word but I don’t think anyone saw 2020 turning out like it has so far! That being said, I have thoroughly enjoyed that last 6 weeks at home and have really learnt to appreciate the small things.
One of the things that I have re-discovered, is my passion for is baking. And I must say our stomachs have thanked us many times when we’ve been able to have baking fresh from the oven with our coffee. I thought I would share my three favourite recipes that I regularly turn to. If you try any of these recipes out I hope that you enjoy them as much as we do, and please let me know as well.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:
115 grams butter melted
½ cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 ½ cups flour
½ tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
½ chocolate chips
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and prepare a baking tray with baking paper or a liner of your choice.
Melt the butter in a large bowl/jug in the microwave or in a large pot on the stove.
Add the sugars to the melted butter and whisk together.
Next add the egg and vanilla, and whisk to combine.
Finally add the flour, baking soda, salt and chocolate chips and mix together well until all ingredients are combined.
Spoon into 12 even sized scoops on your baking tray. (An ice cream scoop can be very handy here)
Bake for 10-12 minutes for soft cookies or 12-14 for crunchier cookies.
Once cooked, remove from the oven and allow them to cool on the tray for 10 minutes before removing them to a cooling rack.
Lemon Cake
Ingredients:
140 grams butter softened not melted
1 ½ cups of caster sugar
Grated rind of 2 medium to large lemons
3 eggs
¾ cup of self-raising flour
¾ cup plain flour
1/3 cup milk
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup extra caster sugar
¼ cup extra lemon juice
Method:
Preheat oven to fan bake 190 degrees Celsius. Grease and/or line a 20cm cake tin.
Beat the softened butter, sugar and rind together with a wooden spoon.
Whisk the 3 eggs together in a separate bowl and then combine with the butter mixture.
Sift the flours together and fold in.
Blend together the milk and lemon juice, and then combine into the mixture.
Transfer into the prepared tin and bake for 35 minutes or until the cake is golden and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
While the cake is cooking combine the extra sugar and lemon juice, and once removed from the pour the mixture over the top using a spoon.
Cool cake for 10 minutes before removing from the tin and onto a cooling rack.
Serve with cream or yoghurt (depends on what your personal preference is!)
Chocolate Brownie
Ingredients:
100 grams cocoa
200 grams butter melted
400 grams caster sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
90 grams flour
1 tsp baking powder
200 grams chocolate melts
Method:
Preheat oven to 150 degrees Celsius. Grease/line a 20cm x 30cm square cake tin.
Sift cocoa into a large bowl.
Add melted butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Combine until smooth.
Sift in flour and baking powder. Add chocolate melts and fold to combine.
Pour mixture into your prepared cake tin and bake for 45-50 minutes (or until cooked).
Cool in tin for 10 minutes before removing onto a cooling rack.
Serve with a dusting of icing sugar and cream or yoghurt. Alternatively, we like to dust some freeze-dried raspberries over the top (or fresh ones) and serve it with ice cream as a super yummy dessert.
