Lemon Bars

These lemon bars are the perfect treat! Not too sweet, with a zesty tang and a buttery shortbread base. Did I mention it only uses 4 ingredients! You can use fresh lemons and add some zest or just use lemon juice, either way is delicious.

Ingredients:
Base
2 cups of cake flour
½ cup of sugar
1 cup of cold butter/margarine cut into cubes

Topping
1½ cups sugar
¼ cup flour
¾ cup lemon juice
4 eggs
lemon zest (optional)

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180°
• Place all the base ingredients in a food processor or mixer and mix until a dough forms.
• Line a tray with baking paper and grease the sides.
• Spread the dough out over the tray (I find fingers work best)
• Poke with a fork and bake for 25-30 minutes (until it's golden)

• While the base bakes put all the topping ingredients in a bowl and beat until the sugar dissolves
• Leave the mixture for 10 minutes and then beat again
• Once your base is ready, pour on the topping and bake it for another 25-30 minutes until it is just browning on the sides.

These bars need about 20 minutes to cool before cutting. Do yourself a favour though, have a piece while it's still warm, you will be in heaven!

Keep it cooking,

Kelly

Quick Mix Banana Bread

There is nothing better on a Winters Day than a slice of warm banana bread laden with butter...mmmmm! This banana bread takes 5 minutes to whip up and because it uses oil, it is not only easier to mix but is also very moist and soft. This is a great idea for lunchboxes if you have kids and can also be made with nutty wheat flour for a healthy twist. Or you could keep it for yourself and enjoy with a nice cup of coffee!

Ingredients:

• 3 medium or 2 large ripe bananas (easier to smoosh)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup oil
• 3/4 cup white or brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups plain or nutty wheat flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp bicarb
• 1 tsp cinnamon (more if you a big fan)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 180ͦ
• Mash bananas in a bowl
• Add oil, egg and sugar and mix
• Add in the rest of the ingredients and stir until just incorporated
• Pour into a buttered and floured bread tin
• Bake for 50-55 minutes until a tester comes out clean
• Enjoy it while it's still warm with a nice cup of coffee!   

Smores Bites

This bout of winter weather had me in the mood for something warm and gooey. These Smores Bites are delicious with their crunchy base, creamy chocolate and lightly browned marshmallow on the top. These little bites of heaven can be whipped up in 15 minutes and are likely to really impress your guests (even the kids will love them!) It's also a great finger snack for tea party platters.

Ingredients:

• 1 packet Marie Biscuits (or Tennis biscuits)
• 6 Tbl margerine
• 24 blocks of chocolate
• 12 marshmallows

 
Directions:

• Crumb biscuits in a food processor or blender to fine crumbs
• Add in the margerine and mix until the crumbs are coated evenly and stick together when pinched
• Place a spoonful of mixture into a muffin pan and press on the bottom and sides
• Place in a 180° oven and bake for 5-8 minutes
• Remove from the stove and add two blocks of chocolate into each cup followed by a marshmallow
• Change the oven to grill and grill until marshmallows begin to brown
• Wait 10 minutes for them to cool a bit before taking them out of the muffin pan

Enjoy and try not to eat them in one go!

Keep it cooking,
Kelly

Custard Squares

Sometimes I just need a little bit of a treat to get me through the day. These custard squares are crunchy outside and sweet and creamy inside. They are so addictive once you get started!

Ingredients:

• a roll of puff pastry
• box of vanilla instant pudding
• 250ml cream
• 1 cup icing sugar

Directions:

• Unroll your puff pastry on a floured surface. Roll it out a little more.
• Cut into medium sized squares and place on a baking tray. You can place them right against each other because they shrink when they cook.
• Cook in a 180° oven for 15-20 minutes until the squares are golden. Take out and set aside to cool.
• Whisk the vanilla instant pudding into the cream and milk and put in the fridge for 5 minutes to set.
• Use a sharp knife to break the pastry squares in half and then fill with a teaspoon of the vanilla mix. (and then eat all the leftover vanilla mix...yum!)
• Mix the icing sugar in a jug with just enough water that it pours and pour icing over each square.

Impress your friends and family with this dainty delight that is the perfect teatime treat!

Keep it cooking,
Kelly

3 Ingredient Bread

This is perfect soup bread; perfect for soaking up a nice warm soup on a cold winters day! The bread is crusty on the outside and dense and doughy on the inside. It's also quick to make; with only 3 ingredients you can mix it in one bowl and have it baking in 5 minutes.

Ingredients

• 500g bread flour
• 500ml buttermilk (you can make your own buttermilk by adding 2 Tbl vinegar to room temperature milk and leaving to stand for 5 minutes)
• a good pinch of salt

Directions:

• Mix all ingredients together with a fork in a large bowl
• Place in an oiled bread tin and bake at 180° for 1 hour

So no excuses now, you can have fresh bread for your family whenever you want!

Keep it cooking,
Kelly

3 Ingredient Doughnuts

 

These are no your boring own doughnuts! They are super soft on the inside and crispy and flaky on the outside. With the soft centre, they are the perfect doughnuts to fill with jam or caramel or just coat in delicious cinnamon sugar glaze.

Ingredients:

• 500g self-raising flour (or 500g plain flour & 3 tsp baking powder)
• 175g softened butter/margerine
• 350ml/g drinking yogurt (I prefer vanilla)

Directions:

• Place flour into bowl and add blobs of the butter all over.
• Rub the butter into the flour until crumbly.
• Add in the yogurt and mix until a dough forms.
• Knead dough for 2 minutes and then place onto a floured surface.
• Roll out the dough and cut out your doughnuts. (I wouldn't make huge doughnuts with this recipe as the insides might not cook properly)
• Heat a pot of oil to a medium heat and drop in 6-8 doughnuts at a time.
• Turn doughnuts until golden brown on either side (about 8-10 minutes) and then place on kitchen towel to drain and cool.
• To make doughnut glaze wait for doughnuts to cool and then mix icing sugar and cinnamon with enough water to just drip off a spoon. Dip the doughnuts into the icing and let them drip off on a cooling rack.

These sweet treats will have your mouth watering and your hand reaching out for more!

Keep it cooking,
Kelly

Quick Mix Chocolate Cake

 

This moist, rich cake is mixed in 1 bowl and takes 5 minutes to put together. A great recipe to have around when you're in a rush! It's especially great with chocolate ganache icing.

Ingredients:

• 225g cake flour
• 350g white sugar
• 85g cocoa powder
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 ½ tsp bicarb
• 2 eggs
• 250ml milk
• 125ml oil
• 2 tsp vanilla essence
• 250ml boiling water

 
Directions

• Preheat oven to 180° C
• Mix together everything except the boiling water in a stand mixer.
• Once smooth, slowly add the boiling water in until a runny, smooth batter forms.
• Pour the batter into a greased and lined cake tin and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

This recipe can be used for shape cakes and keeps for 2-3 days. It really is an easy and consistent recipe to add to your recipe book!

Keep it cooking,
Kelly

Quick Stix Breadrolls

This recipe is a real time  saver if you want some nice fresh bread without having to wait for it to proof. The rolls are dense and moist and are delicious when slathered with butter.

Ingredients

• 350g of bread flour
• 30ml baking powder (try to use fresh baking powder for better results)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 125ml water (half a cup)
• 2 larger eggs
• 1 Tbl oil

Directions

• Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together
• Whisk the eggs into the water
• Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and mix to form a dough (add more flour if needed)
• Form the dough into 6 small balls
• Heat the oil up in a pan on medium heat (cast iron pans work best). You can also bake these straight on the braai.
• Cover the dough balls with the pan lid or tin foil and cook for 5 minutes on each side.

Keep it cooking,
Kelly 

Custard Biscuits

These are the ideal little biscuits for a teatime treat and can be packaged in a cookie jar as a special homemade gift. These biscuits have a crumbly texture and just melt in your mouth. I remember my favourite part as a kid was rubbing the butter into the flour mixture! These biscuits don't spread when they bake so this recipe can also be used for shape biscuits in place of the usual sugar cookie recipe. You can also add in jelly tots for a fun twist your kids will love!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup icing sugar
• 1 cup custard powder
• 3 cups flour
• 350g softened margarine

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 180°
• Sift the first 3 ingredients into a bowl
• Drop little blobs of the butter all over the flour mixture.
• Rub the butter into the flour with your fingers. The mixture will slowly start to form a dough. (This is the part your kids can help with!)
• When you can compress it into a ball then it's ready. You can either roll the dough out and cut shapes with a cookie cutter or roll it into little balls and squash them down with a fork. 
• Place on baking paper on a tray and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Now sit down, relax and have some tea and biscuits!

Keep it cooking,
Kelly