Date and Ginger Hot X Buns...

I tried out this easter recipe from Jamie Oliver's website, adding my own flair and flavours to it to make it a family favorite!

For a more traditional hot cross bun, read more at http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/bread-recipes/hot-cross-buns/#lEz84oLjuoMx0uUg.97

But this is how I made my fluffy and sweet little hot cross buns:

Ingredients...

200ml Milk

14g dried yeast

455 g strong bread flour , save some extra for dusting

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 teaspoons mixed spice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

55 g caster sugar

100g of coarsely chopped crystalised or naked ginger

100g of coarsely chopped dates

1 large free range egg, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons plain flour

55 g unsalted butter

Method...

1. Wake up nice and early on easter morning... 
2. Now bring the milk and 50mL of water to a gentle simmer in a saucepan, It should be warm to the touch. Add this to a large mixing bowl and stir in the yeast.
3. Melt the butter separately in the microwave.
4. Sift the strong bread flour into a large bowl adding the salt spices and sugar as you go.
5. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and add the butter, followed by the yeast mixture and lightly beaten egg.
6. Using a knife, mix it all together until a rough dough forms, then scoop it out onto a floured kitchen bench surface.
7. Stretch and knead the dough with your hands until it comes together nicely like play dough!
8. Place the dough ball back into a flour dusted bowl and find a nice warm place for it to rise for 1-2 hrs, try the same room as the fire place if its a particularly chilly morning! You just want it to double in size, then its ready for the next part!

1. Preheat your oven to 190oC and line a walled baking tray with baking paper.
2. Plop the dough out onto your freshly floured kitchen bench again and smack it a few times to knock some air out of it.
3. Pile on the ginger and date pieces and knead them all through the dough.
4. Halve the dough, and halve those pieces again, continuing until you have 12 even pieces to roll into tight balls. Evenly space the balls in the baking tray, it doesn't matter if they are not quite touching yet.
5. Cover with a tea towel and leave to rise again in a warm place for half an hour.

1. When the balls are puffy and touching one another, mix the remaining flour and 2 Tablespoons of water together until smooth and transfer to a piping bag.
2. Pipe lines all the way across the centre of each bun vertically and then horizontally to make a cross on each one.

Cook for 15-20 minutes in the oven, until the tops have browned and the crosses have hardened. Transfer to a cooling rack.

Serve them immediately to the waking household for breakfast, it will make for a memorable morning together xxx

Indoor Stag...

This DIY had been a dream in the pipe-line for quite a few months, until we finally salvaged a little stag in the rainforest from our families property in Northern NSW.

When we brought it home I took a piece of firewood and wrapped the fern around it to resemble a tree trunk. I used fine wire to  hold it in place and wrapped it around multiple times to keep it nice and secure.

Eventually a new leaf will grow over the wire and make it look like it has naturally formed on the trunk.

I went and bought a piece of plywood (12mm thick) from the local hardware store, measured and cut it to size, then spray painted it black.

Note: Contrary to practical belief, wood should not be left to dry in the sun because it bows #findingoutthehardway 

After the paint dried I attached the stag-horn fern to the plywood with some long screws through the back and into the tree trunk.

It's has become a perfect little indoor pet, and I only have to water it with a spray bottle every second day!

Test Kitchen...

Ahh, the moment someone dear to you is banking on you making their  sweet dreams come true....

I love to bake... when I am in the mood for baking. My poor husband has begun to supersede me in the sweets department because I'm sure he is sick and tired of asking for treats that were never produced!

I am usually pushing my skill level and rarely go back to the same old recipe over again, instead finding new and exciting opportunities to entice my nearest and dearest. So when someone asks for a specialty item, I have a small anxiety attack on the inside. It's not that I don't want to, I just want it to be ah-mazing!

So I spent today in the test kitchen producing some ah-mazing flavours for next weekends engagement cake.... needless to say, I am busting to share!

Frozen summer smoothies...

Pretty Popsicles!

Watermelon, mango and apple juice, blended into a smoothie and frozen into the cutest popsicle hearts <3

Sometimes it's the simple things :)

Kalamata Focaccia...

You will need:

2 tablespoons of yeast

1 & 1/2 cups of warm water

1 teaspoon of honey

3 cups of strong bread flour

2 teaspoons of salt

2 tablespoons of dried herbs

1 cup of pitted kalamata olives

olive oil to drizzle

Method:

- Gently combine the yeast, warm water and honey in a medium bowl and set aside for 10 minutes.

- Tip the salt into the flour first, then add the flour to the yeast mixture and gently fold with your hands until the flour is completely combined.

- Throw in the dried herbs and kalamata olives and evenly mix the ingredients through.

- Transfer the mixture to a large oiled bowl and cover it with clingfilm. Leave it to rise for 1 hour, and it should double in size.

- Flour a large baking tray.

- Flip the dough out onto a floured surface and break it up into 2 or 3 equal portions. dust some flour over the top of each piece before picking it up and letting it stretch between your hands, the dough should do the work for you as you pull you hands apart.

- Lay out the stretched pieces of dough evenly on the tray.

- Use your knuckle to punch mini holes all over each portion and drizzle with olive oil.

- Bake for 20-30 minutes in a forced oven at 190oC until the bread is golden and easily slides off the metal oven tray.

Wrap it with some baking paper and cute string for your friends or just dip it in some olive oil and eat it straight up!

Fiesta Ice....

Make ice fun over the holiday season and surprise your guests with some festive ice cubes that not only look beautiful but create an aromatic decadence when added to any drink...

As it is summertime here in Australia, I cut sprigs of flowering rosemary and lavender blooms from my parents organic garden and popped a sweet surprise in each ice compartment. I filled the tray 1/3 of the way with water and let the herbs float to the surface before freezing. The secret to keeping the herbs inside the ice is to turn each one over once the water has frozen and fill with water to the top before freezing again.

You can experiment with lots of beautiful fragrances and flavours, just be sure to make sure the organics are edible and not at all harmful to digest.

Try a rose ice cube with rosè and edible rose petals, or this mint and ginger twist using apple ginger juice and young mint leaves!

Not so Naughty Salted Caramel and Coconut Balls...

15 small medjool dates

1/2 cup water

In a saucepan, bring to the boil and reduce water. This should only take a few minutes.

1/2 cup coconut milk

Place coconut milk with softened dates in a blender and blend until smooth.

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/2 cup almond meal

Mix the dry ingredients together with the wet ingredients until combined.

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 tablespoon honey

Melt the coconut oil and honey in the microwave and add to the mixture. Mix it all together until all ingredients are combined.

Sea salt flakes

Sprinkle 3 inches of sea salt flakes into the mixture and spread through with a fork.

Hazelnuts

Shredded coconut

Take a tablespoon of mixture and press a hazelnut into the centre, closing the mixture around it and forming a ball. Roll the balls in shredded coconut and refrigerate overnight.