Wicky Wacky Cake

I have no idea where this name came from! But this cake is a classic! It takes a bunch of everyday ingredients,  one bowl, 30min and VOLIA - you have a cake!A dark, moist, delicious cake...

Just sift the dry ingredients, throw in the wet ones, mix it all up - and pop it into the oven...

I got this awesome heart silicone mold from Shane, and have tried various cake in it. Not all the cakes have done too well, but this wicky waky cake came out moist, tasty, and cooked through.

I really couldn't help it - I had to test it - so just ignore the nibbled corner!

I literally had a FULL HOUSE when I was icing this, so I went the easy route and melted some chocolate, let it cool and folded it into some fresh cream. MMMMMmmmmm! No other way to describe this moussey topping...

The cake was flattened by my family in a matter of minutes (when you have a family as big as mine, its more like seconds), except for this one, poor, little abandoned piece.

This is a well-worth-a-try-cake. I  (once again) added a little bit more cocoa then prescribed in the recipe - just to ensure that extra chocolatey experience.

Enjoy!

Download the recipe card here:
Wicky Wacky Cake Recipe Card

P.S -I haven't forgotten about the other brownie pudding - it has something to do with an Italian pudding - brownie style :) will post next!

Brownie Pudding

Remember these decadent chocolate brownies ? As promised, I made two different puddings out of these little guys! Here is the first...

Simple, yet effective! Actually - almost no effort if you have left over (who am I kidding) brownies! Just crumble the brownies and layer alternatively with fresh, whipped cream. Its not really a recipe, just an idea.

It went down extremely well with Shane :)

Enjoy xxx

As mentioned, its more an idea, but in case you are collecting the cards for your folders, here is a printable one!

Brownie Pudding Recipe



 (p.s - for all you who left comments for the folders, they are ready to be shipped :) - keep a look out for your one)

Custard Creams

Whenever I am making an edible gift, I tend to make the fabulous little guys. The are oh-so-tasty, and their messy-eat-me-now appearance makes them seem sweet and personal. The dough is egg free, which is unfortunate for the amount of actual biscuits that reach the baking stage *wink*wink*...


Just plonk all the ingredients into a mixing bowl, and mix!
I prefer to mix this dough in a mixer with an all-purpose paddle rather than working the butter in with my fingertips. When I have mixed it in my mixer, the baked biscuits are light and shortbready. This batch was mixed by hand, and although super nice, were a bit more dense.

Then roll them into little balls and place on a lightly greased baking tray.

And press down with a fork to make chucky looking biscuits.

Pop into the oven and bake for 20 minutes!
Its that easy!

So as I mentioned, these tend to be my edible gifts....Happy Birthday Hayley! This post was inspired by you! I hope you had a wonderful day yesterday, and hope the year ahead holds many special things for you! And I hope you enjoyed your custard creams!xxx

Download the recipe card here:
Custard Creams

Recipe Folders

I have finally printed some folders...

They look so cute! I even got the covers varnished so they are nice and glossy!

And I have printed out all the recipes so far onto a nice glossy card...

And bound it with those cute scrapbooking rings, and added some ribbons...

I also made some business cards...

I found this cool website qrcode.kaywa.com that can generate qr codes..for free!

I made a few extras to give away, if you would like one, just leave a comment and I will send one to the first 8 comments (Hayley, Cass, Hazel and Amy are excluded... you guys get one automatically :) )

Decadent Chocolate Brownies

Most of my posts have a picture like this:

 
I just cant help it. I really do love chocolate. Chocolate seems to make everything better - and HEAPS of chocolate just seems to make everything divine! Some things are just out of our control!

SO when one has heaps of chocolate and piles of pecan nuts, what choice does one have other than to add some extra ingredients and bake some decadent, dark, delicious, divine (ok, ok...) chocolate brownies

These are really perfect - very chocolatey, crusty on the outside, gooey on the inside...ooooohhhhh!

Side Note:

Lining Tins
I know, I know - who lines their tins ever! That is exactly what I used to think. Too much extra effort...
But when I tried it after getting these nice tins from my gran, i was sold! It makes getting the cake out of the tin sooooo much easier, and there are no more tears (from me, late at night, before a birthday party cake delivery the next morning) because my cake has torn down the middle...
Moral of this side note... LINE YOUR TINS!

SO, back to the brownies

All you do is: Melt some butter, sugar and vanilla essence on a low heat...

 ...add some cocoa...

....lightly beat some eggs, mix with the buttery-cocoa mixture. Since I am still waiting for my Kenwood mixer to be fixed, I was super pleased i could mix this with my hand whisk (oh how I miss my Kenwood). Add some flour and mix well....

Then add the nuts and chocolate chunks and pour into lined 22cm tins (I used 20cm tins, and I am certain that a larger tin would be better!)...

... pop them into the oven for 30 min (the recipe says 35-40 min, but I almost always check on my baked goods 5 minutes before the recommended time, I have a theory, if the cake tester, in my case a knife, comes out clean, the cake is over cooked - this keeps the cakes/cupcakes/brownies moist)

I used a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut them into little heart brownies (which I plan to do something special with these...watch this space!)

I have always thought the hardest part about about any baking project is the clean up...

But these were totally worth it!


Down load the recipe card here:
 Decadent Chocolate Brownie Recipe Card

Home Made Ice Cream

Mmmmmm...Summer is in the air. I love summer. Summer is almost an emotion. I can feel it :) There is no better way to celebrate its soon to be arrival then with ice-cream!

This recipe is no ordinary recipe, it comes with a story. My husband has wanted me to make this ice cream for like ever! His aunt, Cynthia, made this for him at once stage before she moved to Australia, and the ice cream legacy left with her. I came onto the scene after this all had transpired, and ALL I would hear when the home made ice cream topic would come up from time to time, is about Cynthia's ice cream! I never got to try it! Then, a week before we got married, as a long distance wedding gift, she sent the recipe! Finally, it was mine mhooowahahahah!. Alas, in the rush leading up to the wedding, I "put it in a special place" so I could make the famous ice cream once we were married, and life was normal .

Anyhoo, after a 3-and-a-half year time gap, I had forgotten about this wonderful summer treat. Then.... last Saturday, when I couldn't move around in my craft room (not an exaggeration - ask any family member!)due to the random piles of  "stuff", I took the plunge and waded through the mess, sorting it, packing it and chucking it (Amy will be proud!), I came arcoss the recipe! There I stood, still, in awe! Eventually I managed to breathe again, slowly, and skip to the kitchen where, believe it or not, I had all the ingredients waiting ( I was planning to try a recipe I found online for home made ice cream!). EEEEEEKKKKK!


It is probably one of the easiest recipes, and yields awesome results.
Shane loves crunchies, and this was extra special so....

...so I went the extra mile! Crunchie chunks AND Milkybar chunks....

...mixed with condensed milk, milk and a dash of vanilla essence, folded into whipped cream...

...and plonked into the freezer. I did cover it with tin foil, and I did have to stir it up every 2 hours, but by that evening we enjoyed a wonderful bowl of Cynthia's home made ice-cream.

Thanks aunty Cynthia!

Hope you all enjoy it!

Download the recipe card here:
Home made Ice cream Recipe Card

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Chocolate Mousse

Psalm 118:24  This is the day that the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

I woke up with this in my heart this morning! Its so sunny and bright today after a whole week end (and Monday) of rain. This time of year everyone's focus seems to be just finding a way to gather enough "umph" to make it until the end of the year...BUT  today is the day the the Lord made, be glad to have today - He will see you through until the end of the year, He will provide the "umph" too see it through if you rejoice in Him and lean on His strength. When I am weak, He is strong!

- Just some encouragement for today!

Also along the lines of encouragement...I am sure NOBODY needs encouragement when it comes to CHOCOLATE. Yip I thought so, just the mention of this cream, delicious cocoa bean product made you reach fro a tissue to wipe the drool off your chin. Its even more drool-inspiring when it is melted with soft marshmallows and folded into delicate peaks off fresh, whipped cream...

 Yes, it was that droolishly good! And so easy - I know i always say that, but its TRUE! This version of chocolate mousse takes very little effort and transforms it into a divine dessert (or anytime snack!) Here is how it goes:

...break up the chocolate (I used hazelnut and dark chocolate), open a small bag of marshmallows...

...put them into a pot with a little cream...

...melt on a very low heat...

 ...until completely melted...

 ...take off heat and let it cool COMPLETELY! This step is very important, if it will flop, it will be that this mixture was not cool enough!

...Whip the rest of the cream and mix the marshmallow mixture into the whipped cream, pour into a serving dish and refrigerate.

I made these adorable little heart strawberries by chopping a strawberry in half and using a little heart shaped cookie cutter to shape the strawberry.

The texture and taste is exactly the same as if you had spent forever making it the typical "eggy" way and is bound to impress guests! It also works for a triple chocolate mousse, just make 3 separate batches, one with dark chocolate, one with milk chocolate and one with white chocolate and layer it in the serving dish! YUM.

To download the recipe card:
Chocolate Mousse Recipe Card