Super Awesome Doughnuts

I have been trying to perfect the doughnut recipe and I think I have. My partner told me they they taste just like store bought so they are better than just nice.  He is a harsh critic so when he say's things like that I know I have a winner.

These doughnuts are a burst of happiness in your mouth and you can literally use this recipe as base for any type of flavour you want. To date I have made gingerbread doughnuts, mint, basil and sage doughnuts, chocolate doughnuts and cinnamon doughnuts. 

BASE RECIPE:

 

Ingredients:

Doughnuts:

2 tsp yeast

3/4 cup whole milk, warmed

2 1/2 cups of plain flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp salt

3 tbsp butter

1/2 glutenous rice flour 

*If you wanted to make gingerbread doughnuts then add 2-3 tsp ground ginger, depending on how strong you like it.

*For mint, basil and sage doughnuts, infuse the herbs when you warm the milk for about 15 minutes then strain.  

Glaze: (you can use any type of flavouring, like ground cinnamon, not just chocolate,)

2 tbsp milk

2 tbsp chocolate powder (optional)

1 1/2 cups icing sugar

Method:

1) Mix the yeast with the warm milk. Milk should be blood temperature.

2) In your food processor, mixer or bowl combine the flours, butter, salt and sugar till mixture is like breadcrumbs.

3) Beat the egg and add it to the flour mix and whizz for a few seconds.Slowly add the yeasty milk and let the machine knead for about 5 minutes (or knead by hand for 10 minutes) If the dough is too sticky add a little bit more flour but don't over do it. 

4) Oil a bowl placing dough in and cover. Let it rise in a warm place until doubled the size.

5) Take dough out of the bowl and transfer to a lightly floured bench. Punch dough and knead for about 1 minute. Roll dough till it is approx 1.5cm thick. Cut out doughnuts with a cookie cutter and (I used a apple corer to cut out the center of each doughnut. Save the ball and let doughnuts and balls rise till double the thickness. 

6) Heat the oil in a large frying pan or deep fryer till a test piece of bread sizzles. Add four doughnuts at a time, cook till golden brown, being careful to keep an eye on them and turn them. 

7) Drain doughnuts on paper towel. Make the glaze and while still warm, dip the tops of the doughnuts and balls into the glaze and let set. Doughnuts can be stored in an air tight container for up to three days.

Nutella Brownies

I found this recipe off Stay At Home Mum and thought that would be excellent to make for my Little Lady. It is a super easy and super tasty recipe and you must all try it!

Nutella Brownies

2 Eggs

1/2 cup plain flour

1 cup Nutella

(That is seriously all the ingredients!!!)

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celsius
2. Simply beat the eggs and nutella together till glossy. 
3. Add the flour and mix well.
4. Pour into a rectangular pan (either greased or papered)
5. Stick into the oven for 20 minutes or until top feels set.

(In the original recipe the time called for 12-15 minutes but mine wasn't done by then so I added the time here it took me)

Double Chocolate Pancakes

My pancake maker has seen vigorous use since I received it for Christmas. Little A loves her pancakes and you can make just about any type. Now last week I posted a blog about choc chip pancakes and they are seriously delish!! These ones take it a little further and I have doubled the quantity of batter as I found it wasn't enough to fill hungry bellies.

        Ingredients:

• 2 cups self raising flour
• 3/4 cup choc chips
• pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon bicarb soda
• 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 egg
• 1 cup milk with 1teaspoon vinegar/lemon juice
• 15gm butter, melted
• 1/2 cup chocolate powder  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1. Method:
2. Sift flour, chocolate powder, salt and bicarb into a bowl. Make a well in the centre and add sugar, egg, milk, vanilla, choc chips and melted butter. 
3. Stir mix until it is a smooth batter, adding more milk if very thick
4. Spoon mixture into the pan/ pancake maker to make 6cm round pikelets. 

  What are your favourite pancake flavours?

Tastebud Dancing Chocolate Mint and Raspberry Cake

This last week I have been testing out my new food processor I got for Christmas. I am in love with it, it is so versitile. You can make practically anything in it. Well yesterdays cooking was a Chocolate Mint and Raspberry Cake with Chocolate Cream Icing. Seriously people, this cake was nice. Little A ate most of ours and then she ate half of her friends piece.We ate this outside under the shade of a large tree while the girls were in the pool splashing about. Summer in a nutshell.

 Here is the recipe, give it a go and tell me how it works out for you!

125g butter, softened

1 cup caster sugar

1/4 cup frozen raspberries

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups Healthy Baker self-raising flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup desiccated coconut

1 cup milk  

4 mint sticks

double cream, to serve

1.      Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced. Grease a 6.5cm-deep, 20cm (base) round cake pan. Line with baking paper. Using a food processor, beat butter, sugar, 1 mint stick, broken and raspberries until fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Use the Quad Blade.

2.      Sift half the flour and half the cocoa over butter mixture. Add half the coconut. Stir to combine. Add half the milk. Stir to combine. Repeat with remaining flour, cocoa, coconut and milk. Spoon into prepared pan. Smooth top. Bake for 55 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Stand in pan for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool

To make the chocolate cream icing just whisk together cream, 1 tsp cocoa powder and 1 tsp icing sugar till desired thickness and spread over cooled cake. The place the rest of the mint sticks onto the cake as decoration.

Yummy Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Merry Christmas everyone! We hope you've all had a great holiday!! 

This year I recieved a pancake maker and it makes the best pancakes.

Here is a recipe I made this morning.

           Chocolate Chip Pancakes with Honey Lady Honey

         Ingredients:

• 1 cup self raising flour
• 1/4 cup choc chips
• pinch salt
• 1/4 teaspoon bicarb soda
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk with 1teaspoon vinegar/lemon juice
• 15gm butter, melted

1. Method:
2. Sift flour, salt and bicarb into a bowl. Make a well in the centre and add sugar, egg, milk, choc chips and melted butter. 
3. Stir mix until it is a smooth batter, adding more milk if very thick
4. Spoon mixture into the pan/ pancake maker to make 6cm round pikelets. 

1. 
   For my topping I had Honey Lady Vanilla honey. It is the best honey in South Australia!!!
   
    

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Divine Mocha Ice Cream

        (picture is not my ice cream)

Yesterday I made a cheats version of mocha ice-cream. It turned out great! There are a few things I would change but I will put those into some notes after. 

I love trawling cooking /food blogs and sites, I get so many ideas to try out. As a previous post states, I like to experiment with recipes and this was one I played with. Here is the recipe!

Ingredients:

500g custard (fresh or packet)

1 cup milk

1 cup iced coffee (or a shot of expresso)

500g whipping cream

1 small block of dark chocolate (I used black and greens)

2 tbsp sugar

Method:

1. Prepare your custard and put mixture into saucepan. Gently heat it and then add milk and iced coffee, combine well.
2. Break the chocolate into pieces and add to custard and stir till chocolate has melted through then add the sugar.
3. Put into the fridge or freezer ( I use the freezer to make it cool faster) till the custard is cold. 
4. Whip the cream till light and fluffy then fold into the custard and mix well. You will have a moouse like substance. Place this into the ice cream maker and let the machine do its thing.

After the ice cream machine is done, put ice cream into the freezer for a few hours to set and then enjoy :D

NOTES: *I have put a whole block of chocolate as I only used half and it wasn't chocolate enough. 

                * If you are a coffee lover then use the expresso shot as well as iced coffee.

This is so easy to make and didn't take long. I hope enjoy it and tell me what you think of it!!!