Bitter Sweet Recipes

There is nothing like a delicious gooey bread and butter pudding to warm you up during the cooler months. The sweet custard combined with the crispy sugary bread bits on top make this my favourite dessert during winter.

This recipe will serve 6 people. It is a good idea to use good quality butter to achieve a rich smooth and creamy flavour.

INGREDIENTS

10 slices of white bread, buttered on both sides
2 cups skim milk
5 whole fresh eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla essence
5 tablespoons of white sugar
ground cinnamon
ground nutmeg

METHOD

Lightly grease a medium sized baking dish with melted butter.

Spread your bread on both sides with good quality butter.

Whisk together the milk, eggs and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl.

Slice the buttered bread into four triangles and arrange one layer of bread in the bottom of your baking dish.
Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of sugar, some cinnamon and nutmeg.

Continue making layers like this until all of the bread is used up and the baking dish is full.
Push down on the bread with a wooden spoon to compress it slightly and pour the milk mixture carefully over the bread and sprinkle with the remaining sugar and a little cinnamon.

Allow the pudding to stand for half an hour, the bread will soak up some of the milk mixture during this time.

Preheat you oven to 160 degrees celcius during the resting time. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until the custard is set and the pudding is puffed and lightly browned.

Serve warm with whipped cream or a good quality vanilla ice cream.

VARIATIONS

There and many variations on this classic pudding. Here are some of my favourites;

Include a sprinkle of sultanas and toasted slivered almonds between each layer of bread. sprinkle some of the almonds on top before baking.

When buttering the bread, you can also spread each piece with some good quality marmalade or preserve of your choice, you will need to reduce the sugar depending on the sweetness of the jam or marmalade you have chosen.

Mix in 4 tablespoons of cocoa powder into your milk mixture, and sprinkle dark chocolate buttons in between layers of bread. Do not sprinkle the chocolate on top as it may burn during cooking.

If you like coconut you will love these moist and coconutty and are very moerish little petit fours. They are really fast and easy to make and they are always a hit with my friends and relatives.

This recipe will make about 20 macaroons. They will keep well in an airtight container for about a week.

INGREDIENTS

1 egg, separated
1 pinch of salt
1/3 cup of white sugar
1 1/2 cups of dessicated coconut

METHOD

Preheat oven to 160 degrees celcius and line a baking tray with nonstick paper.

Beat egg white and salt to soft peaks add the yolk and continue beating. Slowly add the sugar in 3 batches beating between each addition.

Stir in coconut with a spoon.
Allow the mixture to stand for 5 minutes.

With damp hands roll teaspoon sized balls of mixture and arrange on your prepared baking tray.
These Macaroons wont spread much during cooking so you can put them quite closely together.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned on top.
Wait for the macaroons to cool on the tray and then store them in an airtight container.

VARIATIONS

There aren’t really any flavour variations on this recipe, but for a more indulgent treat, dip the cooked macaroons in melted dark chocolate.

This is a recipe my mum used to make when I was growing up and is still one of my favourites today. Its really quick and easy and everyone will love them. They are great hot or cold as a snack, fingerfood or with a garden salad for lunch or dinner.

This will make approximately 12 small triangles or 4 Large logs. The assembled uncooked curry puff can be wrapped in cling film and frozen for about 2 weeks then defrosted overnight in the fridge and baked in a preheated oven. Alternatively it can be kept uncooked in the fridge for 1 day, or cooked in the fridge for 2 days… but trust me they wont last that long!

INGREDIENTS

Filling
2 Cups of coarsely grated carrot (about 3 medium carrots)
1 medium finely diced onion
1 Stick of Finely diced celery
120 grams coarsely grated tasty cheese
1/2 a Red Capsicum finely diced
1/4 cup mayonaise
3 teaspoons Madras Curry Powder
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1 egg
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 large tin of tuna drained
salt and pepper

4 sheets of ready rolled puff pastry

1 egg extra, lightly whisked for an egg wash

METHOD

Preheat oven to 200 degrees celcius

Mix all filling ingredient together until they are well combined.

Cut sheets of puff pastry into 4 square quarters and place about 2 heaped tablespoons on each quarter.

Using a pastry brush, brush around the edges of the pastry with the egg wash.

Fold the corner over each quarter to form a triangle with the filling inside and press out the air. Push down the edges with a fork and prick the top to allow steam to escape during cooking.

Place filled triangles onto a lined baking tray and brush with a little egg wash.

Bake for 25 minutes until pastry is puffed and golden brown.

Serve with garden salad and tomato sauce on the side. Delicious hot or cold.

VARIATIONS

Filo pastry makes a nice substitute for puff pastry, and will make less of an impact on your waistline. However if you use filo, you will not be able to freeze the uncooked puffs.

Any variety of fillings can be used just make sure the flavours go together and you dice them very small so they will cook properly. Tinned Salmon makes a good substitute for tinned Tuna.

You can make a variety of shapes with the puffs. Small triangles and squares are perfect for single serves, however if you are making a family meal you can also make large logs and slice accordingly.

Sour Cherry Cat Tongue Biscuit

Langues de Chat or Cats tongue biscuits are a classic and elegant french biscuit. These crispy buttery biscuits are delicious with coffee, and very easy to whip up at a moments notice. They are also commonly served with desserts such as ice creams and mousses, but I just like to eat them plain.

I was cleaning out my pantry the other day and found a little bottle or sour cherry essence I picked up at a european deli a while back and wasnt sure what to do with it so I thought I would have a go at making some sour cherry biscuits. This recipe takes on variations well as discussed below and my sour cherry version came out beautifully. They had a slight red hue with a subtle cherry flavour, very delicious and something a little different.
The principal recipe is of the traditional plain biscuit, however, I have suggested some variations at the bottom of this post.

This recipe will make about 30-35 biscuits, however, it doubles well if you would like a larger batch. You need to be certain to use a good quality baking paper to cook these biscuits on or you may have difficulty getting them off the tray without breaking the biscuit (like I did).

INGREDIENTS

40 grams Butter (softened)
60 grams Icing Sugar (Powdered Sugar) Sifted
1 egg white
60 grams plain flour
1 teaspoon of Orange Zest

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celcius.
Prepare a baking tray lined with good quality baking paper.

Beat the Butter and Sugar until it is pale coloured and fluffy.
Mix in the egg white, flour and zest until just combined.

Spoon mixture into a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle.
Pipe onto the prepared tray in a curved L shape to the desired size. Make sure you leave room for spreading between each biscuit.
Bake in the preheated oven for 4-6 minutes.
I recommend you keep a close eye on these ones as they bake! They are ready when the edges a coloured slightly and they have a chewy center.

Plain Langues de Chat

VARIATIONS

You can make many delicious flavour and decorative variations on this plain biscuit.
Try substituting the orange zest for;
lemon, mandarine or lime zest,
1/2 teaspoon sour cherry essence, or
1/2 teaspoon of rose water, or
1/4 teaspoon almond essence, or
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence, or
1/4 teaspoon coconut essence.

Or dipping the completed biscuit in;
melted white chocolate then crushed pistachios, or
melted dark chocolate then crushed macadamias.

I love a good curry! Easy to make and tastes even better the next day. There is a fabulous range of curry pastes that are available in the supermarket to save you the bother of making your own, and while it is sometimes nice to make it ‘from scratch’, these bought curry pastes can offer an authentic flavour for those who are time poor or have trouble sourcing good fresh curry spices and flavours.

This veggie curry is a staple in my house, its great because you can really put anything you have on hand into it which makes it a good dish to make when you haven’t been food shopping in a while! I usually make it Vegetarian however you can add your favourite meats for a more hearty meal.

This recipe is enough for 4 very generous servings with leftovers. The flavours will develop overnight so its great to have the next day alternatively it can be frozen in airtight containers for around a fortnight defrost in the fridge overnight before heating and serving.

INGREDIENTS

1 Brown Onion chopped into wedges
2 Medium Carrots cut into rounds
3 Stalks of Celery cut in large pieces
1 1/2 cups cubed pumpkin
1/4 Head of Cauliflower cut into small florets
1/2 cup Green Lentils

This is a rough guide of vegetables that I usually use, if you dont have something on hand its fine to omit it or use something else. Its great with green beans, potato cubes, corn and other veggies too so experiment on what suits your tastebuds.

1 Tablespoon of Oil
1 Tin of Light Coconut cream
3 cups of hot water
Curry paste of your choice ( I like to use Patak’s Korma Curry Paste its nice and mild so suitable for children too)

METHOD

In a large saucepan heat the oil, add onion and curry paste. Saute this until the spices are activated a rich aroma is produced. Some may stick to the base if this happens add a few tablespoons of water to the pan. When the onions are soft and coated in the curry paste add the veggies and raw lentils and stir until they too are coated.

Pour in the hot water and mix well. If you are not using lentils you will not need to add so much water. Turn down the heat, cover and allow to simmer for around 30 minutes until the vegetables and lentils are cooked and the sauce has thickened slightly.

Add the coconut cream until  the taste of the sauce is desirable and the texture is creamy. Bring the heat back up for another 15 minutes and allow the sauce to thicken further.

I like to serve my curry with lots of side dishes including; basmati rice, pappadums, yoghurt and cucumber sauce, chutney, naan bread and banana slices rolled in coconut with sultanas.

VARIATIONS

This recipe can be made with almost any variety of vegetables you have on hand. If you love your meat you can also add cubes of beef, chicken, lamb or even a mild tasting white fish.

Every curry paste will have a different flavour, so experiment to find the flavours and heat intensity that you like.