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Chicken wrapped in Bacon
January 12, 2017 Sandra
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4 boneless chicken breasts

Bacon strips

Cream cheese

Onion marmalade

  1. Preheat oven to 190c
  2. Combine cream cheese and onion marmalade
  3. Flatten chicken and spread with cream cheese, roll up, cover with bacon strips , secure with toothpicks.
  4. Place in baking dish, bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes or until chicken juices run clear.
  5. Discard toothpicks and serve withe cranberry sauce
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Vanilla Slice – (Custard Square)
January 12, 2017 Sandra
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2 sheets of frozen puff pastry (thawed)

1 litre  (4 cups) milk

300 ml tub thickened cream

1/2 c caster sugar

2 egg yolks

1 tbsp vanilla bean paste

5 tsp powdered gelatine

2 & 1/2 tbsp water

icing sugar , to serve

  1. Grease a 22 cm square cake tin. Line with baking paper, ending with 3 cm above the tin edges.
  2. Place puff pastry on two oven trays lined with baking paper. prick all over with a fork.
  3. Cook in hot oven (200c) , swapping trays halfway through the cooking , for 20 minutes , or until golden and cooked. While warm, press down on pastry with a clean tea towel to flatten. cool on trays.
  4. Stir milk and thickened cream in a large saucepan over a medium heat until hot.
  5. Whisk custard powder, sugar, egg yolks and vanilla paste  in a bowl until smooth. Gradually whisk in the hot milk mixture. Return mixture to the same saucepan. Bring to the boil. Simmer for 2 – 3 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat.
  6. Sprinkle gelatine over water in a heatproof  jug. sit jug in a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until dissolved. Whisk into the hot  custard mixture. Cool slightly .
  7.  Place one pastry sheet in the prepared pan to cover base, cover with the custard,  top with remaining pastry sheet. Refrigerate overnight.
  8. To serve , lift  slice from pan . Cut into large squares. Dust with sifted icing sugar.

For extra taste, it is very nice to ice the slice with passion-fruit icing

 

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Surprise Chocolate Eggs
January 12, 2017 Sandra
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400gms milk cooking chocolate, chopped coarsley

1/2 cup (120g) sour cream, at room temperature

24 Maltesers, approximately

1 & 1/3 cups (200g) white chocolate melts, melted

2/3 cup (100g) dark chocolate melts, melted

  1. Line 2 trays with baking paper.
  2. Place the milk chocolate in a medium bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (do not allow the bowl to touch the water) Stir constantly until chocolate has melted. Remove from heat and stand for 5 minutes, then fold in the sour cream. refrigerate for 30 minutes or until set.
  3. Roll 3 teaspoonfuls of the chocolate mixture into a ball, insert a malteser into the centre, the roll into an egg shape and place the egg on a prepared tray. Repeat with the remaining mixture. Refrigerate for 10 minutes or until hard.
  4. allow the melted white chocolate to cool slightly until it is a good coating consistency. Using 2 toothpicks or forks, quickly dip the eggs in and out of the melted white chocolate, drain off excess chocolate. then place on a tray and refrigerate until set.
  5. Pour the melted dark chocolate melts into a small plastic resealable  bag (or disposable Piping bag). Snip the corner off and drizzle chocolate over eggs to decorate.

(not suitable to freeze, chocolate suitable to microwave )

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Vicky’s Cheese Ball
December 27, 2016 Sandra
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250g cream cheese, 1 & 1/2 cup tasty cheese, 1 or 2 pickled onions- finely chopped, 2 tbsp gherkins- finely chopped,  2 tbsp crushed pineapple, 2 tbsp sun-dried tomatoes – finely chopped, 1 tbsp tomato sauce, 1 tsp Worcester sauce, 1/4 paprika, 1 cup chopped walnuts.

Combine cheeses in a bowl. Add pickled onion, gherkin, tomato, pineapple, sauces & paprika. Beat well to combine. Shape into  1 or 2 balls. Roll in the walnuts until well coated.

Wrap and chill until firm.

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Bridget’s Choc Caramel Slice
December 27, 2016 Sandra
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Base

125g butter, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 cup flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 2 tbsp cocoa.

Topping

1 can condensed milk, 60g butter, 2 tbsp golden syrup.

  1. Melt butter and mix everything for the base together.
  2. Press into a a lined baking tin.
  3. Mix all the topping ingredients over a low heat in a pan. Once bubbling, pour on top of base.
  4. Bake in oven  for 20 minutes or until golden at 180 C. When cool, ice with chocolate icing.
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Chocolate Lamington Mixture
December 27, 2016 Sandra
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2 & 1/4 tbsp cocoa, 2 -3 tbsp boiling water, 1 & 1/2 cups icing sugar, 1 & 1/2 tbsp butter. Prepared sponge, cut into squares. Coconut.

Melt the butter , add the water,  then the sifted dry ingredients. Mix together.

Dip the sponge into the chocolate mixture , lift up and let the excess drip of, then roll into the coconut. Leave to dry.

 

 

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Chocolate Lava Cakes
December 27, 2016 Sandra
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In a Pot, put the following

1 & 1/2 tbsp butter, 3oz chocolate – Melt and mix together.

Add 2 tbsp sugar, 1 beaten egg and 1 tsp vanilla essence. Mix together and cook a bit.

Add 2 tbsp flour, mix & whisk. Pour into ramekins.

Cook at 220C  for 8 – 10 minutes.

 

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Cinnamon Cheese Rolls
December 27, 2016 Sandra
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8oz Cream cheese, 1/2 cup icing sugar, sliced  sandwich bread.

3/4 cup sugar, 1 tbsp cinnamon, 1/2 cup melted butter.

 

Mix cream cheese and icing sugar together.

Mix cinnamon and sugar together.

Cut crusts off the bread and roll each slice flat. Spread the cream cheese mixture onto each slice, and roll up. Dip in melted butter, then roll in the cinnamon mixture.

Cook at 350F for 16 to 20 minutes.

Serve. Can be served with whipped cream or ice cream.

Be careful the filling is very hot.

 

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Double Chocolate Banana Bread
December 27, 2016 Sandra
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3 medium to large very ripe bananas

1/2 cup melted butter (115g)

3/4 cup brown sugar (145g)

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup (125g) flour

1/2 cup cocoa

1 cup ( 170g) semi sweet , bittersweet chocolate chunks or chips.

Heat your oven to 350F. Butter a 9 x 5 inch loaf  pan or spray it with a non-stick baking spray.

Mash bananas in the bottom of a large bowl. Whisk in the melted butter, then brown sugar, egg, and vanilla.

Sift baking soda, salt, cinnamon, flour & cocoa powder, sift over the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Stir in chocolate  chunks or chips.

Pour into the Prepared pan and bake 55 to 65 minutes, until a tester or toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out batter free.  ( A melted chocolate chip smear is expected, however).

Cool in the pan for 10- 15 minutes, then run a knife around the edges and invert it out onto a cooling rach.

Serve Warm or at room temperature

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Butterscotch Sauce
December 27, 2016 Sandra
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1/2 cup brown sugar, 25g butter & 100 ml cream.

  1. to make butterscotch sauce, bring brown sugar and butter to the boil in a pot in a pot, taking care not to let it burn. Add the cream and continue to boil until sauce is a golden brown and thick.
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