Mars Bar Slice

Okay, eating six pieces in a row may have been a mistake... and so my loyal readers can make themselves sick too, here's the recipe:

Ingredients

3 cups Rice Bubbles (Rice Krispies, if you're in America)

3 x 53g Mars Bars (ie, the regular size, not the king size)

75g butter

1 tablespoon golden syrup

200g good quality milk or dark chocolate

Method

Melt Mars Bars, butter and golden syrup together and mix until smooth. (Note: the nougat bit of the Mars Bar doesn't fully melt but stir vigorously to get rid of any lumps.)

Stir in Rice Bubbles until fully combined

Press mixture firmly into foil-lined and greased 20cm square cake tin or shallow slice tray. (Note: it's very important to line the tray with foil AND grease the foil... no foil, and the slice stays in the tin forever. Foil but no grease, and you'll be picking bits of foil off the bottom of the slice for the next two hours. Seriously. Trust me.)

Place slice in fridge until firm.

Place chocolate pieces in heat proof bowl, melt in microwave and stir until smooth.

Spread melted chocolate over slice and refrigerate until firm.

Remove slice from fridge about 1 hour before cutting into squares with a warm knife. (Note: It's easier to cut if you turn it upsidedown on a cutting board so you're cutting into the rice bubbles, not into solid chocolate.)

Enjoy!
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Caesar salad recipe

Last one, I swear! But this was so good I had to share it. The other week I made a caesar salad with lettuce from my garden (woo hoo). The salad was okay but the pre-made caesar dressing from the supermarket was entirely less than satisfactory. Actually... it was a bit horrible. But it's okay - we have the interwebz! I found this recipe and it was delicious AND easy. The only change I made was to replace the anchovies with a tablespoon or so (I didn't measure; I just poured) of Worcestershire sauce. This is actually kind of pointless since Worcestershire sauce, used in 'traditional' caesar dressing to give a slight anchovy/salty flavour, usually doesn't contain anchovies these days. I knew this and used it anyway. There's probably some sort of irony there. Oh yeah, and I didn't use a sourdough baguette, I used a couple of slices of white bread from my freezer.

Ingredients (serves 6)

200g sourdough baguette, cut into 1cm cubes
Olive oil cooking spray
6 rashers rindless bacon, chopped
1 large cos lettuce
50g parmesan cheese, shaved

Dressing
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 large garlic clove, chopped
4 anchovies, chopped
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil

Method

Dressing: Place egg yolks, mustard, garlic, anchovy and vinegar in a food processor and process until smooth. With the motor running, slowly add oil until dressing thickens. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Preheat oven to 200°C. Arrange bread on a large, flat baking tray. Spray with oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss bread pieces gently to coat, spraying with more oil if necessary. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden. Set aside to cool completely.

Meanwhile, heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add bacon. Cook, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes or until bacon is crisp and golden. Drain on paper towel.

Tear lettuce leaves into 3cm pieces and place in a large bowl. Add bacon and croutons. Pour dressing over salad. Season with salt and pepper. Toss gently to combine. Top with parmesan. Serve.

Banana cake

I made this banana cake this afternoon. It was the quickest, simplest cake I've ever made - excluding packet cakes, obviously - and it was sooooo good I just had to share it with you all. I added an extra banana because I had 3 that were overripe and it made the cake extra moist and extra ....banana-y. It did mean it didn't rise much but I'm not precious about appearance.

I shall endeavour to ensure this doesn't become a Women's Magazine blog...

Cake recipe

I bought a packet cake mix today. Let me list the ingredients as written on the box and see if you can work out where I bought it.

1. You'll Love Coles(TM) Chocolate Cake Mix
2. 1/2 cup (125mL) You'll Love Coles(TM) Milk
3. 2 You'll Love Coles(TM) extra large eggs
4. 80g You'll Love Coles(TM) Butter, softened.
   

I hate Coles.

Pinata cake

I've just made this cake for a friend's birthday:

That's a chocolate shell, which you smash to find the cake inside... and the cake has a hole cut in it with chocolate gold coins. It's meant to be like a pinata. Amazingly, mine looks almost as good as the one in the picture. I'm so impressed!

The recipe is here.

And no, it's not for a child; it's for a very dear friend who's just turned 46. She's a bright, fun person so I think she deserves a bright, fun cake!

Update:
The cake was a hit! We were all on a bit of a sugar high after it, though...

Mum's scone recipe

No longer a closely guarded secret...

Ingredients:
4 - 4 1/2 cups self raising flour
300mL cream
300mL water

Method:
Put flour in large bowl (start with 4 cups and add more if required).
Mix cream and water together in a jug.
Make a well in the middle of the flour and gradually add the cream & water mix.
After all the liquid is added the dough should be sticky but still workable. If it's too sticky, add more flour until you can knead it without getting your fingers completely caught in it.
Use medium cookie cutter to cut rounds approx 2 - 3cm thick (depending on how tall you like your scones).
Place rounds on lightly greased tray and brush the top of each with milk or with slightly diluted beaten egg.
Cook in moderate (180C) oven until lightly golden.
When cooked, DON'T cool them on a wire rack. Instead, wrap them in a tea towel so they don't dry out.
Serve with jam and cream

Chicken pot pie

I don't want to turn this blog into a women's magazine or anything, but this pie is delicious. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup butter (increasing the butter just a little gives a slightly richer flavour to the pie filling)

1/3 cup plain flour

1 chopped onion

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

3/4 cup chicken broth/liquid stock

2/3 cup milk

2 cups cooked chicken, diced

frozen peas/carrots/corn (in desired quantity - about 1 cup)

2 sheets frozen puff pastry (or home-made, if you're so inclined)

Method:

Preheat oven to 425F/220C.

Heat butter over low heat until melted. Blend in flour, onion, salt and pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat and stir in broth and milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir one minute or until mixture thickens slightly. (Boil for a bit longer to thicken if you prefer the filling to be slightly firmer.) Stir in chicken and frozen vegetables, remove from heat and reserve.

Grease pie dish. Line with frozen (thawed) puff pastry sheet or home-made pastry. Pour chicken filling into pastry lined dish. Before putting second pastry sheet on top, cut two slits in centre to allow steam to escape. Put pastry sheet on top and press edges together with the tines of a fork. If desired, brush top of pie with (slightly diluted) beaten egg.

Cook in 425F/220C oven until crust is brown - approximately 25 - 35 minutes.