Fondant Cupcakes

Just because I was bored and wanted to try a few fondant techniques... They turned out better than a lot of my other creations... I did make another 5, but I wrapped them up ready to transport before taking a picture, I'll try to remember to take more pictures when I get to work tomorrow.
Oh, and they are chocolate fudge cupcakes underneath!

 This guy is my favourite!! 

Giant Cupcake

I'm pretty convinced it looks more like a giant mushroom...


but here it is...

 and the birthday girl Jodie cutting it...

Double Chocolate Strawberry Bars

First up, this is a whole lot of decadence!
Definitely NOT on the healthy side!
But if you love cheesecake and chocolate, this one is for you!
Reasonably easy recipe - but time consuming due to cooling in batches!


Base
1 cup flour
1/4 cup icing sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine

Mix flour with sugar in a bowl, cut in the butter until mixture is crumbly and there are no visible pieces of butter. Press into a greased 8"x8" baking dish (note - LINE the baking dish with greaseproof paper instead!!). Bake at 180 for about 15 minutes or until golden brown on edges and bottom.

Filling:
1/3 cup strawberry jam
1 cup white chocolate chips
4 oz (1/2 cup) cream cheese
2 tbsp cream or milk ( I used milk and it was fine)

Spread 1/3 cup strawberry jam over the still warm crust, not hot.
Melt white chocolate chips.
Beat cream cheese and milk together and add melted chocolate. Beat until smooth.
Spread over jam layer, I chilled it in the fridge before I put the cream cheese mix on top. Also - spoon the mixture across and push together to cover - the jam and cream cheese mix will definitely want to combine!! So be gentle! 
Chill until set (about an hour)

Topping:
Melt 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips with 3 tbsp of butter and blend well.
Pour over top of the layers and smooth out. Drizzle with additional melted white chocolate if desired.
Chill until set.
Cut into bars.

Cupcakes

Just a few pics of some cupcakes I did for my team.
They were delicious!


Chocolate with vanilla butter cream icing, and here's the icing recipe:


2 cups of icing sugar
1/3 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 tablespoons milk


(totally healthy!)

Happy Easter!

Throw together bolognese

Ahh the things I do when I don't have a jar of bolognese sauce on hand...

1 can crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon basil pesto
3 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon parsley
3 garlic cloves - crushed
1 medium onion - diced
3 rashers bacon
350g mince beef
seasoning (I used McCormacks Spicey Season-all)

Saute onions and garlic in fry pan until soft, add bacon, cook for a few minutes, add mince and brown.
Add remaining ingredients and cook through.
Serve with pasta and crusty garlic bread!

Simple and delicious!

Home Made Chicken Nuggets

Super amazing nuggets that I make occasionally guys! 
Probably not the healthiest of things - but certainly healthier than getting McDonalds or KFC nuggets by a long shot! 
Personally - I think these taste better too!
Bear in mind these aren't a 'quick' whip up meal, there is a bit of prep work involved.


2 Chicken breasts or suitable amount of chicken tenders
1 Egg
Milk (dash of)
Plain Flour
Bread Crumbs
Lemon Pepper Seasoning
Garlic (granules or crushed - whatever you have on hand)
Parsley (I just used the dried stuff from the herb isle)
Sesame Seeds


Most of this is a 'preferred taste' method, but I'll give estimates. 
Take 3 shallow dishes, whisk egg and milk together in one. Place a few tablespoons of plain flour in another and then combine the seasonings with the bread crumbs in another.
Cut chicken into nugget sized pieces. Dip and coat in flour, then dunk in egg and then dip and coat in crumb mixture - making sure pieces are well coated. Set aside and repeat with all pieces (told you it's not the quickest of preps).
Heat large fry pan, spray with oil (or drizzle with oil) and cook nuggets, flatten with egg flip/potato masher to help cook evenly.


I like to serve with ranch sauce or aoli, although depends on how much garlic you put in the crumbs!


They are delish! I'm sure kids would love these too! 
So full of flavour.

Enjoy.