Tropical Fruit Salad Butter Cake

This recipe has been in the back of my mind for awhile now and a few weeks ago I finally had the opportunity to bring it back to life. I was so pleased when it tasted exactly how I remembered it because my Mum and I used to make this cake all the time when I was younger. Even though I haven't made it or eaten it in well over 10 years, it's amazing how one bite can bring a world of memories flooding back and I knew I had to make it again so that my Mum and Dad and Mr B could experience it as well.

This is a really simple cake, but it is so moist and light and bursting with fruit that you can serve it hot or cold, for dessert or afternoon tea, but always with a generous dollop of cream.

Tropical Fruit Salad Butter Cake

You will need:

1 pkt of Butter Cake Mix
425g tin of super well drained tropical fruit salad mix (the one I use is a mix of pineapple, peach, banana and passionfruit, but I pick the seeds out!)

Pre-heat oven to 180C and grease your desired size cake tin. If I'm making it for dessert I make it in one large round cake tin or if I'm making it for afternoon tea I make it as two cakes so I can sandwich them together with whipped cream.

Prepare the butter cake mix as per the packet directions.

Stir through the drained fruit salad.

Pour the mixture into your cake tin and bake for 40-50 mins for one large cake or 30-40 mins for 2 smaller ones. The cake is done when golden in colour and bounces back when touched.

Enjoy!

Mrs B xx

Cranberry Rice Krispie Bars

I am experiencing a conundrum and I just don't know that I like it. You see right now, I am sitting on the couch, having been banished from my own kitchen for the majority of the evening....I was allowed in for long enough after work to frost my birthday cake to take to work tomorrow and that was it....banished. I mean it's not all bad, Mr B is in there slaving away on my birthday cake, but for there to be cooking and baking and things involving cake and frosting going on in my kitchen without me? Well. I just don't know how comfortable I am with that! And yes I did say birthday - my birthday is this Saturday so I'm doing the right thing and taking a cake to work tomorrow and it is one spectacular cake! Well I think it is, I hope it is when we cut into it anyway!! All will be revealed tomorrow!!

Anyway, earlier this week I was throwing together Mr B's lunch box and had a minor melt down when I noticed he was running rather low on snacks. After berating myself for being a bad housewife and not doing any baking over the weekend, I decided to search the cupboards for something that would work.

I found rice bubbles, dried cranberries, marshmallows and cranberry jelly crystals....you know where this is heading don't you!

Cranberry Rice Krispie Bars

You will need
60g butter
200g marshmallows
1 pkt cranberry flavoured jelly crystals
4 cups rice bubbles or rice krispies
1 cup dried cranberries

Add the butter and marshmallows to a large microwave safe bowl. Heat in 40 second bursts, stirring inbetween, until melted and combined.

Mix through the jelly crystals, rice bubbles and dried cranberries.

Grease and line a small slice tin.

Press mixture into the tin - if you have trouble with the mix sticking to your spoon or whatever your using to press it down, try running the spoon under hot water first.

Leave in the fridge overnight to set.

Remove from the tin, slice and enjoy!!

And Mr B has officially declared these THE BEST rice krispie treats he has ever tried....at this stage I don't feel it's necessary to point out they contain fruit dried or otherwise!

Mrs B xx

Raspberry and Lime Jelly

Just stopping by to say remember the other day when I made Raspberry and Lime Cordial? And remember how I told you I was going to make jelly with it??

Well I did, I loved it and I want you to love it too!! So here's what you do!

You will need:

1.5 cups lemonade
1/2 cup Raspberry and Lime cordial syrup
1 tspn gelatine
2 tspns boiling water
Vanilla / Greek yoghurt to serve

Combine the lemonade and cordial in a saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat.

Combine the gelatine and boiling water in a jug and stir to dissolve.

Add the gelatine mixture to the cordial mixture and simmer for 3-4 mins or until gelatine is well and truly dissolved.

Pour into 4x1 cup containers. Allow to cool at room temp and then place in the fridge overnight to set properly.

I think I mentioned in the original post that the cordial syrup is quite sweet so if you serve it with a dollop of greek or vanilla yoghurt, it balances out perfectly and makes quite the decent summer dessert!!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend!!

Mrs B x

Raspberry and Lime Cordial

I've never made cordial before, to be honest I wasn't aware that I could.....I know I know, I'm sorry. But I saw a recipe in a magazine recently and I had to give it a go - mainly because there was another recipe where you used the cordial to make jelly and we are a jelly loving household here plus I am going through a raspberry and lime phase at the moment, I have raspberry honey and lime honey on my crumpets for breakfast, much to Mr B's disgust, so there was no question about it really, we were making cordial!


This recipe made around 1L of cordial syrup and you use it just like any other cordial syrup you buy - so you take maybe 30-50 ml and top it up with water to make up your 1L cordial bottle. If I was to make it again I would probably cut down the sugar and increase the lime juice, but that's down to personal preference really, it's still delicious and refreshing either way!

All you need is

1kg fresh or frozen raspberries
3.5 cups caster sugar
2 cups lime juice

Combine all the ingredients in a large saucepan over medium high heat.

Cook for 5-10 mins to allow the sugar to dissolve then bring it up to simmering point and allow it to cook for another 10-15 mins or until it thickens slightly and the raspberries have all broken up.

Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Now comes the fun part - pour the mixture through a fine sieve into a container or jug (it really doesn't sound that bad now but I wish I had a proper sieve when I did it, a tea strainer just was not appropriate!!)

As long as the syrup is in a bottle / jug with a lid it should last in the fridge for up to 12 months.

Stay tuned because in a few day I'll show you how to use the syrup to make jelly!

Mrs B x

Sticky Date Balls

Do you ever have those times when you just NEED to cook, when you NEED to get in that kitchen and create something yummy and delicious with whatever you might have in the cupboard at the time?

Last Saturday night at around 10pm, I had one of those moments....poor Mr B got up to go to the bathroom and when he came back to the loungeroom, ready to snuggle down and watch a movie, I was nowhere to be found.....much searching was done and soon enough he found me in the kitchen up to my elbows in rice bubbles, dates and marshmallows (looking very apologetic mind you) and decided to leave me to it.

These little treats were very simple to make and are absolutely delicious!


Mmmmmm sticky date goodness.....


All you need is:

400g dates roughly chopped
4 cups rice bubbles
2 tbspn golden syrup
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup water
200g pkt vanilla marshmallows
1 tbspn milk
1/2 cup dessicated coconut

Ok first step, in a microwave safe bowl, combine the dates, golden syrup, brown sugar and water. Microwave on medium high heat for 5-8 mins or until the mixture is nice and broken down.

Add the milk and marshmallows to the date mixture and heat for a further 60 seconds. Stir well to combine.

Pour the mixture over the rice bubbles in a bowl and mix well.

Place the mixture in the fridge to cool down for an hour or two.

Once the mixture has cooled, roll tbspns of it into balls and then roll them in the coconut. Place on a lined tray or in a lined container.

Repeat with remaining balls and coconut and your done!

A sweet little treat (and a great way to get the kids - or the adults (!) eating dates!)

Mrs B x

Fruity Pecan Muesli Bars

OH and I spent today at The Royal Hobart Botanical Gardens with OH's Mum, sister and nephew. The day was slightly overcast, but occasionally the sun decided to come out and it was beautiful and warm. We had a quick picnic before heading off for a wander around the gardens. Eli had never been there before and couldn't quite grasp the concept of 'having a wander' because he kept asking where we were walking too! Eventually his little legs got tired and he retired to the pram - personally I was very jealous, he had the best seat in the house tucked up in his chauffeur driven pram eating his icecream! The Botanical Gardens are full of things to see, we walked for nearly two hours and still didn't see everything, but we did see the fuschia house, the anatartic house (brrrrrr!!), the cactus house, the japanese gardens, the fern house, the floral clock and don't forget the ducklings!!!


It was a lovely day, there are so many beautiful spots at the gardens and at this time of year the daffodils and tulips are in full bloom as well. I could have sprawled out on a blanket with a book and some nibbles and easily filled in the rest of the day!


All that walking requires some serious energy though and these Fruity Pecan Muesli Bars are the perfect energy packed lunch box treat!


All you need is:

1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup caster sugar
75g unsalted butter
1.5 cups muesli (I used one with coconut, sultanas and almonds for added goodies!)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
150g dried fruit (I used Fresh Life Triple Fruit Treat Mango, Cranberry and Blueberry)
1/3 cup chopped pecans

Pre-heat oven to 180C

Combine the honey, caster sugar and butter together in a microwave safe dish. Heat for around 60 seconds on high or until sugar is melted and ingredients are combined.

In a bowl combine the muesli, cinnamon, dried fruit and pecans in a bowl. Pour over honey mixture and stir until everything is well coated.

Push the mixture into a greased tin and flatten. Bake for 20-25 mins. Allow the slice to cool on the bench - it is quite fragile when it's still soft so I find it's best to leave it in the fridge overnight before slicing.


These muesli bars are so yummy!! The hardest part is not eating them before they cool!!

I hope your all having a great weekend :)

Em x

Fathers Day 2011

Today is Fathers Day so what better way to start the day then with this gorgeous fruit platter....


Then we went to have a beer with OH's Dad, Dad's Dad and Mum's Dad before going to a local seafood cafe for lunch...I have to say lunch was so good I forgot to take photos, but let's just say there were sweet potato cakes, tempura mushrooms and fish burgers and it was good!!

We finished the day off with some presents and a quiet drink at Mum and Dads...but the best Fathers Day present ever?! Dad and I going on our first bike run together :)


HAPPY FATHERS DAY DAD!

Em x

All the colours of the rainbow.....

...well nearly anyway!

We certainly had a very colour filled weekend!

First off, I received a voucher via www.livingsocial.com.au to get 7 assorted and beautifully gift wrapped macarons from Sweet Envy in Hobart for just $7! Helloooooo bargain! We finally got to pick them up late last week and they looked a lil something like this

Now in there somewhere we have Blueberry and Lemon, Chocolate Praline, Lemon Creme, English Toffee, Mocha, Rose and Apple and Blackberry. They were delicious, each one had a delicate buttercream filling and right in the centre, a suprise pocket of lemon curd or blackberry jam or soft caramel! Yum Yum Yum!!

Then on Friday my cousin Janine asked me if I could possibly put on my cupcake fairy wings and make two dozen cupcakes for her son's birthday party on Saturday. Could I ever!! I found out that Kai's favourite colour was orange and from that moment onward I was just itching to get home and get started on them! As always I planned to simply make the cupcakes and the frosting Friday night, bung it all in the fridge and do all the decorating on Saturday....and as always that didn't happen. I made everything and as soon as the cakes were cooled I started decorating my little heart out (I really do get too excited by all this baking caper...)


The look on Kai's face when we delivered them was priceless...almost as good as when he slyly pinched a car off one of them before the guests arrived! But you do get certain privelages as the birthday boy I suppose!

And last but not least, my new favourite obsession....I have been having this for afternoon tea at work every day and you know I have tried tins of spaghetti, soup, rice cakes and philly, cereal, porridge you name it...but nothing satisfies and keeps me from snacking when I get home like this does. One apple, 3 strawberries and 2 dates all sliced up. It takes me about an hour to eat because I just pick whilst I'm working and it is so good!! Would be yummy with a dollop of yoghurt on top too....on a cold winter's morning...whilst snuggled in my warm cosy bed with a book and a cup of tea....can't wait for my next day off so I can try that out actually...granted I do have yoghurt at work and could easily try it tomorrow, but I think it's important to try it as the whole package complete with electric blanket and rain falling on the roof :)


Happy Monday!!

Em x

Fruit Platter and Shoes!

I was looking for a nice dessert to cook for Mum and Dad when they came up last Tuesday night, I trawled through my new 'Puddings' cookbook for ages drooling over self saucing puddings, upside down cakes, mini cakes, tortes, mousses, souffles....but you know what, they just weren't doing it for me. I wanted something fresh, something relatively light, something delicious...and then I remembered I had a recipe for a dip to serve with fruit!

It is so easy :)

You just need:

100g philly
1/4 cup lemon juice
The juice from one orange
225g tin of pineapple pieces in juice
2 tbspns caster sugar
1/4 cup thickened cream

Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend well. Pour into a bowl.
Refigerate overnight to set and serve with fresh fruit.

We served ours with fresh dates, apple, pineapple, banana and of course, some marshmallows! It would make a lovely summer breakfast / brunch or would be beautiful to serve up at a morning or afternoon tea.

OH also thought this dip might be nice with some mini marshmallows stirred through and then some gelatine added so it set like a mousse. The boy does have some good ideas sometimes!!


It's been awhile since I've had some shoes to show you! Well the other day I picked up a lay by...got these lil babies just in time for Fri the 13th! And I also picked up my wedding shoes too, but OH was lightning fast at hiding them so I don't wear them out before the big day...Damn him! Hasn't he heard of wearing them in!?



Em x