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

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

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

Breakfast Ice-cream

Surprise your kids tomorrow morning by letting them have ice-cream for breakfast! This ice-cream requires no churning and is ready in 5 minutes. You can make the vanilla or chocolate versions of this recipe, both are delicious. The fact that it is super healthy is one more reason why you should try this as soon as possible!

Ingredients:

• 2 bananas cut up and frozen overnight, slightly over ripe bananas work best but if you can't find then just add a little sugar to the recipe
• 2 Tbl milk
• 1 Tbl vanilla essence or 1 Tbl cocoa

 Directions:

• Place all the ingredients into a food processor or blender and zap till it's creamy like soft-serve. If you have a hand blender or your blender doesn't seem to handle it then blend the bananas in smaller batches
• Add sprinkles on for an extra treat and enjoy!

So that's all there is to it! Guilt free ice-cream for breakfast!

Keep it cooking,
Kelly

Easy Mix Meringues

I love these meringues because there is no slowly adding ingredients in or worrying if the sugar has dissolved, you basically just mix everything together and presto! This recipe can also be used to make a pavlova base. Just make sure you add the baking powder after the meringue has formed because if you add it before they wont work.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of caster sugar
• 2 large egg whites
• 2 tsp vinegar
• 2 tsp vanilla essence
• 4 tsp boiling water
• 2 tsp baking powder

Directions

• Put everything EXCEPT the baking powder into a bowl or a mixer
• Mix on high speed until the meringue forms and the mixture is stiff and shiny
• Fold in the baking powder
• Line a baking tray with baking paper
• Place the meringue into a piping bag and pipe into either individual meringues or a large pavlova base
• Bake at 125° for 1 hour and then turn off the oven and leave the meringue to dry for 1 hour

Once they are dry you can store them in an airtight container for up to 3 days, though I can't promise they will last that long! These are perfect treats for a tea or even a kids birthday party.

Keep it cooking,
Kelly

Cheats Cheesecake

 

Technically this is more of a yoghurt tart, but it does taste very similar to cheesecake and it is super easy to make! I used a vanilla yoghurt to make mine, which made it quite sweet. If you prefer a slightly more savory cheesecake you could use Greek yoghurt instead.

Make sure your tart dish is quite deep because it makes a lot of filling.

Ingredients

• 1 packet tennis biscuits (or whichever biscuits you prefer)
• 50g butter/margerine
• 1 tin of condensed milk
• 1kg or 1L container of yoghurt of your choice
• 1 lemon (if you are doing a lemon version)

Directions

• Crush up your biscuits either in a food processor or by placing them in a plastic packet and smashing them with something hard (good chance to vent any frustrations!)
• Melt the butter in the microwave and mix it in. It shouldn't be too runny or too dry. It should stay in place if you push it against the side of the bowl.
• Grease your microwave safe tart dish. Place the biscuit base in the tart dish and use your fingers to compress it onto the sides and bottom of the dish. I always do the sides first and then the middle
• Place the base in the freezer for about 10 minutes just to set
• While the base is setting, mix together the yoghurt and condensed milk in a bowl or a jug. You can squeeze in the juice from one lemon if you want to make a lemon version of this cheesecake.
• Once the base is hard, pour in the cheesecake mixture. Don't fill the tart dish too much because it does bubble a bit!
• Place the cheesecake in the centre of the microwave and microwave on high for 4 to 6 minutes (depending on the strength of your microwave)
• Take it out of the microwave and place it in the fridge for at least an hour before you eat it. Garnish the top with some lemon slices or fruit compote and enjoy!

Keep it cooking,

Kelly

Peppermint Tart Ice Cream Sandwhiches

With only 4 ingredients, this recipe is really easy to make and so delicious! I found myself sneaking back to the freezer constantly with the promise that "this will be my last one"...until all of them were gone!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of cream
• Half a cup of tinned caramel
• 1 peppermint crisp grated
• 1 packet of Tennis Biscuits (coconut tea biscuits)

Directions:

• Whip cream until stiff (but not butter!)
• Stir caramel so it softens and then fold into the cream along with the grated peppermint crisp
• Line a rectangular or square dish with baking paper and smooth the ice cream mix out on top
• Place in freezer and freeze until set (about 1 1/2 to 2 hours)
• Take it out of freezer, place the tennis biscuits on the top and then cut around the biscuits (and eat whatever is left over...nummy!)
• Turn each square over (use the baking paper under to lift it) and place a biscuit on the other side
• You can eat them straight away but its best to put them back in the freezer for out 10 minutes so that the biscuits can really stick to the ice cream
• Take out and enjoy! These are especially nice as a sweet end to a good braai on a hot summers day. (Just make sure there are leftovers for a midnight snack!)

I hope this recipe has inspired you!

Keep it cooking,
Kelly