My good friend ,with the same name as me, brought to my house a little bit of leftover cake
for a cuppa. It was the best cake I had tasted in years and I anxiously asked for the recipe.
She obliged. You will not be sorry you made this. It is delectable.

1 cup dates                            1 & 1/2 cups SR flour
1 cup water                            1 egg
1 cup sugar                            1 tsp baking powder
250g butter                           1 tsp bicarb soda
1 tsp vanilla essence

Topping
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup shredded coconut
60g butter
1 tbsp milk

Into a medium saucepan add dates, water, sugar, butter and vanilla.
Stir over a medium heat until all melted and sugar dissolved.
Add all dry ingredients and the beaten egg. Pour into greased and lined
22 cm tin and bake on 180 degrees for 30 -40 minutes.

While the cake is baking you can make the topping. Into a saucepan
melt together all the topping ingredients and boil for 3 minutes.
When the cake is nearly cooked, pour the topping on to the cake and
pop back in the oven for 10 minutes until the topping is caramelised
on top. Cool for 10 minutes before turning out.

 

I do like to host an end of year party and I love to theme it.
On one particular occasion I  chose Mexican.
I found I had plenty of ideas for savoury but I struggled
with a sweet delight that would go down well at a cocktail party.
These beautiful biscuits I now  make all the time.

1 cup pecans, toasted, cooled
2 cups plain flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
250g unsalted butter, softened
2 cups icing sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
Place cooled pecans, flour, cinnamon and a pinch of salt in a food processor or
blender and pulse until nuts are finely chopped.
Whisk butter and 1 cup of icing sugar with electric beaters until pale. Add the vanilla
extract and pecan mixture and beat until soft dough forms. Roll out into little balls
and place on a lined baking tray. Bake for 25 minutes or until slightly golden. Cool slightly.
Place the remaining cup of icing sugar in a separate bowl. Once the cakes are cool enough to
handle place them in the bowl with icing sugar and toss to thoroughly coat. Cool on a wire
rack for 10 minutes then toss again in icing sugar.

It’s the cake I get asked to make again and again. Looks beautiful
and tastes gorgeous. Enjoy!

125g butter                        2/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs                                  1/2 cup lite sour cream
1 1/4 cups SR Flour          1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground ginger          1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 or 4 pears

Toffee Topping
2/3 cup white sugar  1/4 cup water  1/4 boiling water

Make topping first. Combine sugar and 1/4 cup of water on a saucepan. Stir until sugar dissolves.Bring to the boil without stirring until it turns golden brown.
Remove from heat and carefully add the boiling water. It tends to spit. Stir until smooth and pour into a greased 22 cm cake tin.
Peel and core the pears and cut in half, lay them flat side down into the toffee in the cake tin.
Beat butter and sugar together using an electric mixer until pale and creamy. Add eggs and beat until combined. Mix in the sour cream. Sift together the flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon and fold into the wet mixture. Spoon the cake mixture over the pears and spread evenly.
Bake for 55 minutes in a 180 degree oven.

You know those days when someone knocks on the door and is on for a cuppa and you’ve just eaten the last TimTam? (Guilty.) Well, with simple store cupboard ingredients you can whip up this gorgeously light, fluffy tea cake in a speedy half-hour. Great on its own or with a dollop of cream. Try it, it’ll become your go-to for unexpected drop-ins.

60g butter
2/3 cup caster sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup of SR flour, sifted
1/3 cup of milk
10g butter, melted
cinnamon sugar to sprinkle

Using a hand mixer on a fast setting, cream butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until pale in colour. This will take a few minutes. Fold in sifted flour and milk. Add to prepared 20cm greased and lined tin and bake at 180-degrees for 30 minutes.Leave for 5 minutes to cool before turning out onto wire rack or plate. Brush the cake with some melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

I love Portugese tarts. Admittedly I’ve never actually been to Portugal and tried the real thing, but the first time I nicked one off a dessert table at a party my parents dragged me to as a kid, I’ve been in love with them: soft, sweet custard dollopped into a lovely soft but golden pastry… yum. You can see why these quick and easy little treats will become a regular in your repertoire… 

3 egg yolks
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 tbsp cornflour
230ml cream
2/3 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 sheet ready rolled puff pastry

Put the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour in a saucepan and whisk together. Gradually whisk in the cream and milk until smooth. Place the pan over medium heat and cook, stirring until the mixture thickens and comes to the boil. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin forming and leave to cool.

Preheat the oven to 190c. Grease a 12 hole 1/3 cup muffin tin. Cut the pastry sheet in half, put one half on top of the other and set aside for 5 minutes. Roll up the pastry tightly from the short end and cut the log into 12 rounds. Use a rolling pin to roll circles out at approximately 10cm in diameter.

Press the pastry rounds into the muffin tin. Spoon the cooled custard into the pastry cases and bake for 20-25 minutes until pastry and custard are golden. Leave to cool in the tin and then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.