holiday baking {hedgehog}

Nothing screams "day to bake" more than a rainy morning plus school holidays.

So whilst the kids were finishing their breaky...I decided that it was a great moment to whip up a hedgehog slice.  It's just the bomb....totally decadent, and there is no "reduced fat/healthy" option, and it's just great fun when there are biscuits to smash up.  You could easily pulse these in a food processor, but were's the fun in that!  Nah...give the kids a meat mallet and those bickies will be pulverised in no time (and a few extra bits on the floor too!).

Here's what you need.

250g of biscuits (I use half Marie biscuits and half Malt O Milk) - it just gives the slice another wow factor!
90g walnuts chopped up
250g butter (hmmm...yes lets ignore just how much butter goes into this!)
2/3 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
2 eggs


1.  Start by smashing up your biscuits in a large bowl.  You don't want fine crumbs, as some chunky bits are great for texture.  Add the walnuts.

2. Melt butter in the stove and then add the sugar and cocoa until all mixed and gooey.  Put aside to cool before adding the eggs.  Whisk.

3.  Add the butter mixture to the biscuit mixture in a large bowl.  Line a lamington tin with baking paper.  Pour out the gooey biscuit mixture and smooth out to all edges and press the the back of a wooden spoon so its nice and firm.

Refrigerate until set.  Slice this baby up into whatever size you like and devour all its delicious-ness.  This is a great recipe for the kids to get involved in!

Do you plan to do some baking or cooking with your kids over the holidays?

passionfruit and white chocolate muffins

I grabbed a big bag of passionfruit whilst at the supermarket the other day and ate two as soon as I got home, scooping out the sweet pulp...yummie!  


My kids love to cook/bake and I like to pick recipes that are relatively quick and easy.  Usually I get all the ingredients ready before they come up to the kitchen bench but they were their and waiting with their aprons before me!  Today we made muffins using passionfruit and white chocolate.  It's an easy recipe and it requires minimal appliances and my kids really love to help pouring all the ingredients in the bowl.  It's super fast and the best bit is they taste great! The recipe says it makes 12 muffins, but I had enough mixture to make another 12 mini muffins.  So I think I'll be the letterbox fairy and drop some iced muffins off to some friends that live nearby.  Here's the recipe...

 (the munchkins hard at work...)

Makes

12

Ingredients

• 2 cups self-raising flour, sifted
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 100g white chocolate, chopped
• 125g butter, melted, cooled
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 eggs, lightly whisked
• 1/4 cup passionfruit pulp
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Passionfruit icing

• 1 1/4 cups pure icing sugar
• 2 teaspoons hot water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons passionfruit pulp

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Lightly grease a 12-hole 1/3-cup capacity muffin pan.
2. Combine flour, sugar and chocolate in a bowl. Make a well in the centre.
3. Whisk butter, milk, egg, passionfruit and vanilla in a jug. Pour into well. Gently fold until just combined. Three-quarter fill muffin holes with mixture. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Stand in pan for 5 minutes. Turn onto a wire rack.
4. Make passionfruit icing: Stir icing sugar, water and passionfruit in a bowl until smooth. Spoon over muffins, allowing to drizzle down sides. Allow to set. Serve.

(the finished product - although i took this pic before i iced them...)

talented crafters

I love receiving handmade things..... and yesterday the postie delivered me two such wonderful parcels.......

The first was this gorgeous knitted cardigan for my daughter with crochet flower pocket and ladybird detail buttons.  I found it on Etsy and loved it so much but it wasn't in her size, so I contacted the seller - Margaret, who lives in Ireland and loves to spend time knitting and crafting.   We corresponded about what I was looking for and she made me this...AND included a sweet beanie and two little headbands, they are just so beautiful.  Check out Margarets new little store here.

The second parcel was a giveaway I entered at My Little Birdie and I won!  So this gorgeous bag is mine and I was blown away by the generosity when I discovered these little extra's too - some hand made vintage style cards and two blocks of milka chocolate (needless to say me and kids got stuck into the chocolate straight away!).  Check out My Little Birdie's sweet little blog here and don't forget to check out her Made It store too!

I am always in awe and admiration of crafters and these two lovely ladies are no exception!  Even though we live in a modern virtual world, it has it's benefits as it offers the privilege of searching for handmade goodness all over the world!

Wishing you all a happy crafty day!