Chocolate Cake

Chocolate Cake

While we are doing recipes, here is the easiest best ever chocolate cake, it looks like runny black custard, be warned, but cooks up beautifully, and never dries out.

2 cups plain flour, 

2 cups sugar, 

2 teasp baking powder, 

2 teasp baking soda, 

1/2 teasp salt,

Sift these all together. Melt 6 oz butter add good 1/2 cup cocoa, mix these and add 2 cups hot water. Add this mix and 2 eggs to dry ingredients and combine, (I find the egg beater is best for this). Line a deepish cake tin with baking paper, pour mix in and bake mod oven about 3/4 hour. It is even nicer when sliced in half and the midle spread with raspberry jam and chocolate icing. Enjoy. My all time record was making 6 of these for various friends ,in one day, when the family were at home.

Chocolate Cake

Chocolate Cake

Here's my no fail chocolate cake recipe that used to be top playground swap food
when my children were young(er).

Preheat oven to 190 C 375 F.
Grease and flour or line a 20cm (8") cake pan.

1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/3 cup plain cocoa powder ( I use Dutch cocoa, but have used plain
wrap without any hassles.)
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup milk (or water depending on if you like it 'milk' or 'dark')
1 tablespoon vinegar

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Combine water, oil, vanilla, milk or water and vinegar in a large jug and mix well. Pour wet ingredients into dry and beat well with a wooden spoon for a minute or two until well combined. Bake for 40-45 minutes until a skewer inserted come out clean. Leave in tin for 5 minutes before cooling on wire rack.

I used to sprinkle the hot cake fairly thickly with choc chips. They melted and you could spread it over the cake and when cooler but still tacky, sprinkle it with 100s & 1000s or shredded coconut. It has the benefit of being egg and dairy free (if you use water) and very quick and easy.

Cuts into 12 pieces and freezes well.

Low Allergy Fruit Loaf

Low Allergy Fruit Loaf

(Adapted from an Angus Park Fruit Medley recipe)

200 g chopped dried fruit of your choice
1 cup sunflower kernels (or coconut)
1 cup SR Flour,(Orgran gluten free)
½ cup dark brown sugar
1 cup apple juice

Mix all together, bake in a lined loaf tin for 45 minutes in a moderate
oven.

This loaf can be glazed with marmalade. which makes it look really good.

Apple Crumble

Apple crumble is great. I boil up the granny smith apples with a little water and lemon juice or lemon barley water. If it's too tart, I add a little brown sugar.

For the crumble, I use wholemeal flour and a few oats as well. The proportions I use are 3:2:1 with 3 being the flour, 2, the butter and 1 the sugar. I then add some cinnamon. Nowadays I don't measure the proportions, but recognise the feel of the butter and flour. I like to use as much butter as will just bring the flour together.....if that makes sense.

Yum!!

Debbie

Every summer I bust out my old Vacola kit and bottle plums and apricots and apples and tomatoes and whatever else is around, all in water, no sugar. easy peasy and have nice fruit in my cupboard all year round for crumble, apricot chicken, plum pie, tomato all kinds of things. Its awesome.

KateG

That's why I have tins of pie apple (no added sugar) in the cupboard, Dot!

Pie apricots are yummy too, and much less sugar & empty calories than tinned apricots in syrup or juice!

Anne

I can never remember the proportions.... thanks Debbie

Dot (who's been known not to cook the Granny Smith's first, dessert usually being a last minute decision because people are still hungry or are demanding a late supper!)

I do half crushed pineapple/half apple..hmmmmmmm..

Linda (0:

Fruit Cake - easy

I made a cake today too... something weird must be happening to the planets!...

Soak 1 kilo mixed fruit in 600ml carton of iced coffee, overnight

Stir in 1 cup of SR flour & cook

Smells & Looks OK... am about to try it

Dot

just had slice... very moist, yummy

Mud Cake with Ice Cream

Originally from Dot and seconded by Maxine

Can I add to this recipe - this is what my friend made for my kids last year for their birthday cakes (the one who we just spent Christmas with - she is kind of a godmother/auntie to my kids). She made the mud cake from a packet mix though. I would prefer home made - not that hard? Anyway - she then asked the kids what lollies they wanted - they chose stuff like maltesers - then she mixed those in with the icecream middle bit. Then made a chocolate cream to go on top - decorated with more maltesers and then froze it again.

Need to leave it to soften slightly before cutting. - You can use any mix ins in the middle icecream section.

Maxine

Take one purchased mud cake - cut icing from top - discard. Then cut in half across the middle (you will have two pieces - like a sponge). Roll first piece of cake between two pieces of glad bake with a rolling pin.

Place a circle of glad bake on the bottom of a cheesecake tin (sprung with side opening to remove from base) and put one rolled out piece of cake on top of the glad bake in the tin. Then add approx. one litre of softened ice cream. Then repeat process with second half of mud cake.

Spread approx. 1 litre of softened ice cream in top, place "topping" on top, cover with glad wrap and freeze.

Bring out of freezer approx half an hour ahead of eating - or less if weather is HOT.

Suggestions:

- choc/caramel mud cake with caramel swirl ice cream and topped with broken "crunchie" or violet crumble.

- white choc mud cake with cookies and cream ice cream and topped with broken "Flake" or grated white chocolate.

- choc mud cake with vanilla ice cream with respberries added - topped with flake and fresh raspberries.

- You can even make a type of frozen plum pudding by adding mixed fruit etc.

NOTE: If adding dried fruit or berries etc always soak in some sort of liquor to prevent freezing too hard - any of your old liquors that you have a little left in the bottle are perfect for this.

I have made the choc mud cake with caramel swirl ice cream topped with a broken up crunchie and it was very nice. It is not something for everyday, but great for a celebration cake and so very quick!

Chicken Soup - Various Buddies

Chicken and Corn Soup - Jeany

1 1/2 litres Chicken stock
Meat from one whole cooked chook
3 tins Creamed Corn
1 tin Kernel Corn

Combine all ingredients and heat through.
For a thicker soup, add a handful of small pasta, and simmer until the pasta is cooked.

Chicken and Corn Soup - Maxine

Soften a chopped onion in a pan with a bit of oil, then add however much garlic you want, add a litre of bought chicken stock, plus some more water, meat from a bbq chook, chopped carrot and some pasta (the tiny soup ones are yummy) or noodles or rice or barley. If you have celery chuck some in too (actually you could soften any vegies with the onion) but if you want quick and simple then just do the chicken stock and some meat and whatever you can throw in. If you have some parsley in the garden chop and chuck in when serving


Chicken and Corn Soup - Dot

I make that basic chicken & corn soup too... served with cheese puffs.

If I'm planning ahead, I use chicken carcasses to make the stock. I also use creamed rather than kernel corn & add chopped carrots and celery and thin egg noodles. It's also nice with rice instead of noodles (especially if you're feeling a it poorly). If I want to make a meal of it I stir a couple of beaten eggs into the hot soup

Chicken Soup - Kerrilee

I use the frame and leftovers from a roast, add carrot and onion and if I have it celery and parsley and boil it up while we eat, I then strain it and once cool put it in the freezer for when it’s needed.

Chicken Soup -Debbie K

I use chicken frames for the stock of my soup.
I boil the shit out of it for a few hours, then add onion, parsley, turnip, carrot, celery, parsnip and boil for another couple of hours.

I boil up about 10 chicken frames for 4 hours.Then add a small turnip, a parsnip, 2 sticks of celery, 2 onions, about 1/3 bunch parsley and 2 carrots.

Then boil another couple of hours.

I serve it with some sort of noodle.

The key is not to add too much water. If it's too strong, you can always add more.

If I have left over soup, I make chicken and corn by adding a splash of sesame oil, soy sauce, a tin of creamed corn, some spring onion and a scrambled egg. I often add left over roast chicken too if I have any.

Chicken Soup - Louisa

Throw in chicken in a big pot of water (I throw it in our stock pot, & then joint the darn thing after it's cooked). Add whatever vegies & spices you like. You could also add chicken stock cube or instant soups too, if you like. Cook, simmer, strip chicken, serve...

From Merrin....

I use a good amount of celery, a leek (and/or onions), herbs, miso, chicken stock and I can't be bothered with bones and stuff so usually just pop a few whole chicken breasts in. Later on I add diced carrots, corn kernels and then break up all the chicken. I find it I cube it first it dries out a lot, I prefer it shredded. I usually have it in the slow cooker for 8 hours or so, but obviously can be cooked quicker. Yum yum :-)

Dot's Macadamia Brownies

150g unsalted butter (chopped) 250g dark cooking chocolate, chopped (I used Cadbury's because the recipe was on the packet & just broke it into squares) 1 1/2 cups caster sugar 4 eggs, lightly beaten 1 teasp vanilla essence (mine had dried up, so I used almond essence) 1 cup plain flour, sifted 1/2 cup sour cream 1 cup macadamia nuts, cut in halves
1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees Centigrade (or 140 fan-forced). Line a 20 x 30cm slice pan with baking paper
2. Combine butter & chocolate in medium saucepan; stir over low heat until chocolate is just melted. Add sugar, egg, vanilla, flour, sour cream & nuts. Stir unti well-combined. Spread mixture into prepared pan.
3. Bake for 35 mins or until brownie forms crust on the outside. Allow to cool and slice
4. Run four times around the block between each mouthful!