Raspberry & White Chocolate Chunk Biscuits

RASPBERRY & WHITE CHOCOLATE CHUNK BISCUITS (Adapted from Carnation)

225g butter, softened
225g sugar
170g sweetened condensed milk
350g self raising flour
150g white cooking chips
175g frozen raspberries

Preheat the oven to 180C (160C for fan forced ovens). Grease and line baking trays.
Cream the butter, sugar and condensed milk in a large bowl until pale.
Mix in the flour and then fold in the chocolate chips and raspberries. (if you use frozen raspberries like I did, the end result will be prettier because they do not start leaking juices through the mixture when frozen. When fresh or defrosted, the juices can lead to a purple muddled look throughout the dough. If you are using fresh raspberries, instead of mixing them in, you could press it into the dough after you roll it into balls.)
Roll the dough into smooth round walnut sized balls, spacing them from others on the tray by about 2 inches to leave room for spreading.
Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the edges become lightly golden. Remove from the oven and set aside for 5 minutes before placing on a cooling rack. Store in airtight container.

NOTES: You can roll the dough into a sausage shape and cover in plastic wrap and freeze. Cut the dough with a sharp knife and bake from frozen. You can also refrigerate the dough for a few weeks prior to cooking if you like.

Makes 30

Fluffy Pikelets

A parent requires a great deal of devious know-how. Often mind games and trickery are involved to get the goods into tiny bodies and picky little eaters. My mum used to try to disguise the left over breakfast porridge by adding it to our after school pikelets. It was a pretty ingenious way of getting more fiber into us and not wasting food. She inspires me-waste not, want not, right? Sometimes when I sweep the floor at home, my toddler and two preschoolers make sure I feel guilty at the amount of food swept from under the table and into the bin. It could feed a small army, I assume. Don't even get me started on the amount of remnants I find in the bin-bananas with one bite taken out of them, crusts from lunches that my daughter has snuck in there when I popped out of the room for a quick bathroom trip. I'm pretty sure we're fermenting various fruits under the couch, regardless of how frequently I sweep. That funky odor you may smell on entering the house? Possibly a lost orange stashed somewhere impossible, slowly rotting away.
Just kidding.
But sometimes this food wastage makes me thinking about how repetitive the snacks can become for the kids. That's when I make an emergency batch of soft, fluffy pikelets, sans the porridge. A small spread of jam on these warm little beauties and the plate is soon completely cleaned off. If you wanted, you could even make them bigger to make pancakes-they really are the same thing just in a different size. My favourite use for this recipe is making mini ones and stacking them with a fresh berry on top and a skewer through the middle-perfect appetizers and a great party food idea!

FLUFFY PIKELETS (Adapted from Taste.com)

3 tbsp butter, melted
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
1 1/4 cups Self Raising flour
2 tbsp sugar
extra butter for cooking

Place butter, milk and egg in a medium bowl. Add the flour and sugar. Beat with the electric beaters until incorporated and smooth. Heat  a teaspoon of extra butter in a large frypan; turn the heat down to low. Dollop the batter in spoonfuls onto the hot pan, leaving a little room for spreading. Flip the cooking pikelets when small bubbles come to the surface and the bottom is golden. Cook the other side until golden also. Serve with a spread of jam, or stack the small ones with a toothpick down the centre with a berry garnish on the top. The small stacks also look really pretty with a fine sprinkling of icing sugar on the top.

Makes approximately 12snack sized pikelets, or 6 snack stacks

Caramel Walnut and Chocolate Slice

Have you heard of the paleo diet or lifestyle? I only discovered it recently, as some of my friends have joined in this way of eating. I had my first paleo muffin yesterday and it was indeed a healthy snack. It's a far cry from the sweets I'm used to creating in my kitchen, and it made me think of how boney I would be if I followed the trend. I say trend, although my friends are certain it's not, and call it a lifestyle rather than anything. I suppose it has become popular recently though, as several paleo cafes have popped up in the area in the last year out of the blue. It's one diet that seems to be a sustainable way of eating, unlike so many diets that people use to lose weight, like the shake diet, which for me, is a recipe for fluctuation. It also seems to be a good thing to stick to if you're lactose or gluten intolerant. It cuts out many processed and refined foods, and steers clear of legumes, starchy vege, dairy and grains. It's a sort of cave man style of food--fresh vegies, meat, fish, nuts and fruit.
For myself however, I am sticking to "balance is key" and just eating a little bit of all the good and tasty stuff, even if it is processed. Life is too short to deny yourself one piece of slice--especially when it comes with a layer or chocolate, a gooey golden filling of caramel dotted with walnuts, and a buttery, shortbread base. Walnuts are healthy, right?

CARAMEL WALNUT SLICE  (Better Homes and Gardens)

350g butter
225g caster sugar
275g plain flour
395g sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup honey or golden syrup
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
200g dark chocolate, melted

Preheat oven to 180C. Put 225g butter and 100g of the sugar into a bowl and beat until light and creamy.
Add flour and stir to form a soft dough.
Spread the dough in a lined slice or lamington tin. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden.
Put remaining butter and sugar in a medium-sized pan and stir over low heat until the better melts. Add condensed milk and honey, stirring continuously until the mixture is combined and very thick.
Remove from heat. Stir walnuts through, before pouring over the slice base.
Leave to cool, and then spread melted chocolate over the caramel to the edges.
Refrigerate for 3 hours before cutting into 24 squares.

NOTE: You may want to use a hot knife to cut through the chocolate as it tends to crack a little when cutting.

Best Ever Banana Bread

When I was a kid and heard the phrase "no flies on him", I just presumed the person spoken about had good personal hygiene and didn't smell like a garbage can. It's interesting that people frequently associate bad smells with flies, and I suppose flies generally are attracted to the grosser things in life. That's why I was a bit surprised that when my house filled with the heavenly aroma of this banana bread baking in all its golden glory, flies flocked to the fly wire over the windows, trying to find a way inside. The whole house was filled with the most delicous banana and cinnamon smells as that banana loaf cooked away.
Its by far the best banana bread recipe I've ever tried. It's golden on the outside, the crust sweet and slightly crunchy on the outer. The bread itself and moist and giving, the perfect texture and is well balanced in flavours--the banana-ey goodness, the spice of the cinnamon, the sweeter outer crust. Its glorious served warm with a slathering of butter--or even made decadent with the addition of cream cheese icing. I myself decorated the top with fresh banana slices before it went into the oven, and it came out looking like cafe style banana bread. It got thumbs up from all family members...I wonder if it would have got such high reviews if my husband had known that I used his shirt as a backdrop in the photos? Ha!

BEST EVER BANANA BREAD (Adapted from All Recipes)

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
4 over ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp bicarb soda
1 1/2 cups Self raising flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 extra banana for decorating, optional

Preheat your oven to 190C. Greae and line a loaf tin.
In a large bowl, place the butter and the sugars and beat with an electric mixer until light in colour. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between additions. Add the mashed banana and vanilla and mix until combined. In a cup, mix the milk with the bicarb soda, and add the flour and this mixture alternately to the main bowl, mixing until just combined. Add the cinnamon are stir through the batter.
Pour into the lined and greased loaf tin. Place slices of the extra banana on the top of the batter, and place in the oven. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the cake springs back when touched in the centre. Cool before removing from the tin.

NOTES: I doubled this recipe and got a hightop loaf and 12 good sized muffins.

Cinnamon Pumpkin Pull Apart Bread

I'd like to think I'm a risk taker. But in reality, I'm probably not at all. I think using pumpkin puree in a sweet bread sounds risky, almost too risky for me. Here in Australia, pumpkin isn't used as a sweet--but I know that Americans are quite used to the idea of serving pumpkin pie as a dessert.
Pumpkin certainly does have that sweet element, but to me it's still a veggie and it would never cross my mind to use it in anything but a savory dish.
So I stepped right out of my comfort zone with this month's Secret Recipe Club reveal and made Cinnamon Pumpkin pull-apart bread with a delicious caramely glaze. It was amazing and I was ever so pleasantly surprised by how beautifully all the flavours came together and the lovely soft texture of the bread itself. It consists of soft folds of sweet bread paired together with cinnamon sugar, sweetened by the deliciously sticky glaze. (I think I made my glaze a little thick, and would probably thin it next time. I also mucked up the cutting and stacking of the dough process so mine doesn't look quite as pretty as it might have if I had paid more attention to the recipe. Still tasted great though...sometimes looks aren't everything he he--says the woman blogging in her pj's with hair all amess.)
The recipe was discovered on Mommy's Menu, and this wonderful blogger is a stay at home mummy of seven little people. Amid all the business every day life presents for us stay at home mums, she still manages to cook up and blog some pretty amazing affairs! Bravo! Lets hope I'm still blogging and cooking up amazing things when I have seven!

CINNAMON PUMPKIN PULL APART BREAD (Adapted from Mommy's Menu)

Bread:

2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup milk
2 1/4 tsp dry yeast
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup sugar
pinch salt
2 1/2 cups plain flour
Extra flour for kneading and flouring surface

Filling:

1 cup brown sugar
1 heaped tsp ground cinnamon
pinch ground ginger
pinch ground cloves
3/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tbsp butter, melted

Glaze:

2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
3/4 cup icing sugar


To make the bread, in a large bowl, combine the butter and the milk. Microwave until the butter has melted, then set aside to cool until just warm. Add the yeast and set aside for 10-15 minutes to proof. The mixture will begin to foam when ready.
Add the puree, sugar and salt and stir to combine. Gradually add the flour 1/2 a cup at a time, mixing until well incorporated. Knead the dough with your hands for 6 minutes, adding 1 tbsp of extra flour at a time if too sticky. The dough should end up just slightly tacky by the end of the kneading, and be smooth and elastic.
Lift the dough from the bowl and spray with a thin layer of cooking oil. Replace the dough and cover. Set aside in a warm place to rise for 60-90 minutes, or until doubled in size.
Meanwhile, to make the filling, place the brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg together in a bowl. Mix until well combined.
When the dough has risen to twice its original size, turn it out onto a floured surface and punch it down with your fist. Knead for 2 minutes, then roll out into a 20x12 inch rectangle. Brush the surface with the melted butter, then evenly sprinkle on the prepared sugar and spice filling.
Using a pizza cutter or smooth bladed knife, cut the dough into 36 squares (6 rows horizontally by 6 rows vertically)  Stack the squares of dough three high, so you end up with 12 stacks of 3. Stack the piles of dough vertically in a 9x 15 loaf tin. Cover the tin with a clean tea towel and set aside to rise for 30-40 minutes.
Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180C.
Once the dough has risen, bake for 30-40 minutes until a deep golden brown. Remove and cool for 10 minutes before turning out on a wire rack to finish cooling.
To make the glaze, place the butter, brown sugar and milk in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, then remove from heat. Stir in the vanilla and the icing sugar to form a paste, then pour over the cooled bread. Serve.

The first stages of the bread making: melted butter and warm milk with the yeast form a foamy substance when left to sit for a while. Addition of puree and flour make a soft dough.

More flour is added little by little to make the dough less sticky, and it forms a smooth ball. It is left to rise and then is turned out onto a floured surface, punched down and lightly kneaded before rolling out.

A slathering of butter then covers the dough and a mixture of sugar and spices is evenly spread on the surface. The dough is then cut into rectangles, stacked in the tin and left to rise. Then it is cooked, and drizzled with a glaze when cooled.

One Hour Coffee Cinnamon Scrolls

It's a chilly wind that blows here today. There are few things that I enjoy more on days like this than baking bread and having that heavenly scent fill the house. But being a busy mum, it's sometimes hard to get time to fully enjoy the process of bread making, because it can span over the best part of the morning or afternoon and get in the way of other household duties. That's only one reason why I love this recipe--it only takes one hour of your time from the very first addition to the clean bowl to the removal from the oven. One hour! And only 10 minutes of that is kneading time, so I don't think we can complain too much there, especially if you have a mixer that will do the job for you. I don't--I don't think I would feel I had really made the bread if I hadn't done some of the kneading by hand.
I halved the original recipe and it still makes oh so many delicious scrolls! There's only one problem--the original recipe calls for three eggs, so halving the recipe means dividing one egg in half. I don't know if the half egg makes much difference or not, but I've never had any qualms about dividing an egg and throwing half of it down the plug hole. Maybe if you have extra large eggs you could just use the one (as I have stated in the recipe). It's up to you--skip the half egg or add it, or make the entire amount and dally out the delicious sticky loot among your friends (there's no way one family can get through the amount the original recipe makes, as these are best eaten on the day of making).

ONE HOUR COFFEE CINNAMON SCROLLS (Adapted from Valley Ridge Recipes)

DOUGH:

1 3/4 cup warm water
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup oil
3 tbsp. dry yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 extra large egg (alternately 1 1/2 regular eggs)
5 1/2 cups plain flour

Place the water, sugar, oil and yeast in a large bowl and mix together. Let this mixture stand for 15 minutes.
Then add the salt, egg and the flour. Mix together into a soft dough and knead for 10 minutes, adding a little more flour if necessary so it does not stick to your hands. Lightly oil the bottom of the bowl, and let the kneaded dough sit in there for 10 minutes.
Lightly cover your work area with a little oil. Place the dough on this prepared surface and roll out into a rectangle about 1 cm thick.

CINNAMON FILLING:

1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsps cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, melted

Heat the oven at 200C.
Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl until well incorporated. Brush the melted butter over the surface of the rolled dough, and evenly sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. Firmly roll the dough into a roll beginning with the long side. Cut the dough into 12 even portions. Arrange neatly on a lined baking tray about 2-3 cm apart from each other. You can let them sit and rise a little for 10 minutes if you want, or put them straight in the preheated oven. Cook  for 12-15 minutes until very lightly browned on top. Remove and cool on tray.

COFFEE ICING:

1-2 tbsp instant coffee
boiling watericing sugar
2 tbsp thickened cream

In a small bowl, place the instant coffee granules with enough boiling water to dissolve it, about 2 tablespoons. When dissolved, stir through 1/4 cup icing sugar and the cream. Gradually add more icing sugar until you reach a desired consistency. Some people prefer it thick, but I like mine a bit runny. Add water if necessary until it is the way you prefer. Drizzle over the cooked scrolls and serve.

Ultimate Chocolate Biscuits

I've long been on the look out for the ultimate chocolate biscuit recipe--fudgy, chewy, moist and not too over the top. The Woolworths supermarket bakery has these fantastic chocolate biscuits that are like sinking your teeth into chocolate mud cake, and I have always wanted the recipe. I finally found something similar and oh so delicious. It's probably the best home made chocolate biscuit I've ever had the pleasure to devour, along with  another favourite of mine, the Chocolate Crinkle Biscuit. I've adapted the recipe from here, where it has a five out of five star rating and over 250 reviews to back it up. I knew I couldn't go wrong there. It's sort of one of those fail proof recipes I think. It doesn't have any fancy ingredients and it's super quick and easy to make. The hard part is waiting for them to cool on the rack. My little son literally danced on the spot for 10 minutes waiting for them to cool he was so excited, and then announced "These are delicious! thanks babe!" His father has taught him well!

ULTIMATE CHOCOLATE BISCUITS

1 1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla essence
2 1/4 cups plain flour
1 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1 tsp baking soda or bicarb soda
pinch  salt
1 1/2 cups chocolate bits

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line two baking trays with baking paper and set aside.
In a large bowl, place the butter and the sugar and beat until light and fluffy and well combined. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat well. Add the flour, cocoa powder, soda and the salt and mix into the butter mixture with a spoon until incorporated. Fold the chocolate chips through this mixture.
Scoop heaped teaspoons of this mixture onto the prepared trays, spacing them a few inches apart to make room for spreading. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Biscuits will be soft and puffed up, and will flatten on cooling. Cool for 5 minutes on the trays before removing with a spatula and placing on a cooling rack until completely cool.

Makes between 40-50 depending on the size of your scoop!

Nutella French Rolls with Cinnamon Sugar

It's been a little quiet around here. I'm always suspicious of silence. I find myself floating, floating, feeling relaxed, and then I think "what the heck is happening? It's actually quiet. Something's up!" Well that's the way you have to think when you have kids. You go and check what they're up to and nine out of ten times they're doing something they shouldn't be doing, like stuffing crayons up each other's noses.
It's a crazy time of the year and nothing should be this quiet. So today I am sharing with you a total gem of a recipe. I'm almost loathed to share it. It's sort of one of those wow recipes that requires absolutely no effort or skill in anyway, and has people wondering how you made it. Once the secret is out however it's a no-brainer. It's so easy and so delicious, you wont be able to stop at one. And the sky's the limit when it comes to filling choices. Here we have nutella filled french toast rolls coated in a delicious golden layer of cinnamon sugar. Imagine them oozing with caramel or strawberry jam? Talk about the perfect breakfast in bed!

 NUTELLA FRENCH TOAST ROLLS WITH CINNAMON SUGAR  
(Adapted from Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice)

10 slices soft white bread
10 tsp nutella
1 large egg
1 1/2 tbsp milk
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 heaped tbsp ground cinnamon

Remove the crusts from the slices of bread. Discard the crusts.
Take each piece of bread and roll flat with a rolling pin.Spread each piece of flattened bread with one teaspoon of nutella, in a portion measuring about one inch wide and the length of the bread, one inch from the edge of the bread. Roll the bread up tightly.
In a shallow dish, combine the egg and the milk and whisk to combine the two and break down the egg. In another shallow dish, combine and the sugar and cinnamon.
Heat a little butter (or oil) in a frying pan. Dip each roll briefly in the egg mixture until well coated, and then place in the hot frypan. Lightly fry until golden-brown all over, then roll in the cinnamoned sugar. Serve immediately.

Makes 10

Glazed Raspberry Swirl Scrolls

Oh dear...there is no turning back now.  For one, you've stumbled across this page. For another, if you're anything like me, this is enough to make you baking crazy. I can't stop making bread!
This is a really fun recipe and a total crowd pleaser. Well, I would have been a bit happier if I had taken these easy raspberry scrolls from the oven a little earlier, they would have been less dry, but that was my fault and not the recipe. My house smelled like a bakery and I swooned around in it for several hours and wished it to always smell that good. Where was my husband to see these new found baking skills and smell his house when he should have? At work. And that's where these beauties got shipped off in the morning, after a wee taste test. Okay, I stashed a few away in the freezer, because this recipe's great like that. Got to love things that freeze well! But of course there's nothing quite like a fresh raspberry swirl roll, warm from the oven, drizzled in a little bit of delicious glaze...

GLAZED RASPBERRY SWIRL SCROLLS (Adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction)

Dough:
1 cup milk
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tbsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup butter, room tempeature
2 large eggs
pinch salt
4 1/2 cups plain flour, plus extra for dusting

Filling:
2 cups frozen raspberries (not thawed)
1/4 cup heaped granulated sugar
1 tsp corn flour

Glaze:
1 cup icing sugar
3 tbsp cream

To make the dough, warm the milk in a bowl in the microwave until lukewarm (about 35C to be precise).
Add the sugar and the yeast and stir to combine. Cover with a clean tea towel and set aside for 5-10 minutes or until the mixture has become puffy or foamy.
When the yeast mixture reaches foaminess, add the softened butter, eggs and salt to this mixture. Using a flat bladed knife gradually stir the flour into this mixture until well combined, and it forms a soft dough. Use your hands to combined the dough more thoroughly until it forms a ball.
Turn onto a well floured surface and knead for 10-12 minutes. Lightly grease a glass bowl, and place the dough in a ball shape inside. Cover with a clean tea towel and set aside in a warm place for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size.

With baking paper, line a 9x13 inch baking tray, with longer edges on the sides.
With a measuring tape, mark out a 10x 24 inch rectangle on the work bench, and cover this area in flour.
Turn the risen dough onto the floured surface. Evenly roll the dough in this area until it fills the floured space. Trim any uneven edges, so you have straight, even rectangular rolled dough.

In a medium bowl, combine frozen raspberries, sugar and corn flour.
Evenly sprinkle this mixture over the entire surface of the dough until covered. Take the long side of the dough and tightly roll the dough to form a 24 inch log. Cut this log into 16 even portions, about 1.5 inches wide each. Neatly arrange these rolls in the prepared tray, cut side up. Cover the tray with a clean tea towel and place in a warm area for 2 hours until puffy and well risen. (You can also cover the scrolls at this stage and leave them at room temperature overnight, and bake in the morning.)

Half an hour before the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 200C.
When the two hours has passed since covering the cut rolls, bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until the berries are bubbling and the dough begins to turn golden.
Remove from the heat and cool for 15 minutes before serving with a drizzling of glaze.

To make the glaze, combine the icing sugar and cream in a small bowl and combine thoroughly, until it forms a smooth paste. You can add more icing sugar to thicken it, or more cream to thin it, depending upon your preferences. Drizzle over your cooked scrolls, and enjoy!

NOTES: Baked and unglazed rolls can be frozen for up to 1 month, and warmed to enjoy later stage.
Makes 16

Foamy Yeast, Mixing dough with knife, and kneaded dough in oiled bowl

Dough risen after two hours and placed on floured surface. Dough being rolled flat. Raspberry mixture being made and spread evenly over dough surface. Dough being rolled with filling inside.

Rolled and filled dough being cut. Portions being arranged on tray. Scrolls during rising, and then when risen enough. Scrolls just out of oven.

Indian Roti Bread

 You know that feeling, when you start cutting out sugar? It feels like you won't live another day without it, and if you do, you'll be pining for it all of the next day. Well, I haven't been cutting out sugar, but I've been reducing it, and I'm not craving it so much any more. Don't worry, once Easter hits, my body with thaw from this sugar-free stupor and need chocolate again. And all those gooey, gory delightfully chocolate dripping desserts and sweets will be flowing freely again on the blog. But in the mean time, I've been entertaining my more savory side. I don't think I really have a flare for the savories.  When I see my husband in the kitchen cooking up a storm, it makes me feel inadequate when it comes to savories. He has a creative eye for savories and I have a creative eye for sweets I suppose. Here he was the other night cooking up Bajis and Rogan Josh like a pro, and I just knew I had to add my two cents. So I made Roti bread, and it was most satisfying. There are several different types of Indian bread that can be served with curries and the likes--naan bread, roti and chapati. Roti is flatter and less bready than naan bread, and chapati I believe are a flatbread much like roti (I'm not sure what the difference is). What I do know is roti is a lovely in-between sort of bread, and can be used like wraps as well, filled with curry or whatever you may desire.

INDIAN ROTI BREAD (Adapted from Cooking Curries, Murdoch Books)

1 1/2 cups plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp softened ghee or oil (I even used butter)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup warm water

Sift the flour in a large bowl and add the salt. Rub in the ghee or oil with your fingers. Add half of the beaten egg to the bowl, reserving the rest of the egg for later. Add the warm water and mix together with a flat bladed knife, such as a butter knife, until you form a moist dough.
Turn out onto a well floured surface and knead for 10 minutes, or until you have a nice soft dough, adding flour as needed to keep from sticking to your work surface.
Form this dough into a smooth ball and brush with oil. Place this dough in the bowl and cover with a clean tea towel for 2 hours to rest.
Lightly flour the work surface again, and turn out the rested dough. Form into a log and divide into 6 even pieces. Roll into even sized balls. Take each ball, and working with a little oil on your hands, hold the dough up and stretch the edges out evenly until a 2mm x 15cm round is formed. Lay on a lightly floured surface and cover with plastic wrap so that it doesn't dry out, and proceed to do the same with the rest of the pieces of dough. 
Heat a large frying pan on high and brush with some oil or ghee. When hot, gently lower one of the stretched rounds onto the fry pan. Brush teh top side with remaining beaten egg. Cook for approximately 1 minute on each side until slightly golden. Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm, then proceed to cook the other rotis in the same way.

Makes 6

Lemon Curd Stuffed Doughnuts

I've been dreaming of home made bread. Casseroles and stews cooking all day in the slow cooker, issuing a pungent, herby smell. Puddings. Risottos. Soups with hot garlic bread. All those things which feel so good on a cool Autumn or Winter night. Did I mention home made, custard filled doughnuts in that reverie? Or better yet, warm, fresh out of the oven homemade doughnuts filled with lemon curd.
Okay, I waaaay overdid it on the sugar coating part, and mine didn't come out as pretty and professional looking as Annie's from Annie's Noms from the Secret Recipe Club did. But it was fun and seriously, it was on a par with (what I imagine) dying and going straight to heaven (is like), sinking my teeth into the first hot doughnut out of the oil. I admit, there was a little trial and error involved. First of all I made a large doughnut and didn't wait long enough for it to cook through. It looked so perfectly golden so I took it out of the oil (too early) and the centre was still doughy. I figured my oil was too hot. After some trialing and lowering the oil temperature, I came up with some super yummy, cooked through doughnuts and filled the centres with lemon curd. I used my own lemon curd recipe because I knew that would make too much, and I'm such a sucker for lemon curd on croissants. Listen up! Croissant tutorial coming next week! Keep your eyes peeled!

LEMON CURD STUFFED DOUGHNUTS (adapted from Annie's Noms)

Doughnuts:

7g packet dry yeast
2 tbsp warm water
3 1/4 cups plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3 egg yolks
2 tbs caster sugar, plus extra for rolling
oil for frying

In a small glass, add the yeast and water together and combine. Sit aside for 5 minutes until it becomes foamy. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, sift the flour, then add the milk and butter, sugar and yeast mixture. Mix for 2 or 3 minutes until a soft dough forms and the ingredients are well incorporated. Form into a ball. Lightly flour the bowl and the top of the dough and place it back in the bowl. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours. The dough should double in size.

Meanwhile make the lemon curd. (recipe below)

Once the dough has risen, turn it onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll it into a 2-2 1/2 inch diameter log. Cut the dough into ten 2 inch pieces. Shape each piece into even rounds and place on a lined tray. Set aside to proof for 1/2 an hour.
Heat 2 1/2 inches of oil in a small saucepan to about 180C. (you may have to adjust the temperature over time to a lower setting depending on the thickness of your doughnuts. If they are nice and golden on the outside and still doughy inside, reduce the oil heat).
In a small bowl, place about 1/2 a cup of caster sugar. You may have to top this up over time, as the dipping of the doughnuts can cause some clumping after a while.
Set up a wire cooling rack topped with paper towel just beyond the bowl of sugar for placing the hot sugar coated doughnuts.
When the dough has proofed, it should feel slightly wobbly. Drop the first doughnut into the oil and cook at a low heat until nicely golden. Turn the doughnut and cook the other side in like manner. Each side should take from 1-2 minutes. The cooked through doughnuts should sound light and slightly hollow when tapped.
Remove the cooked doughnut from the oil with a slotted spoon and immediately roll in the sugar bowl until coated. Place on the cooling rack.
Repeat this process with the remaining uncooked doughnuts.
When cool enough to handle, take a knife and poke a hole into the side of the doughnut and twist a little to make a hole.
Fill a piping bag with the lemon curd, set with a long nozzle that will fit into the hole. Fill the doughnuts until the curd appears on the outside of the doughnut. Serve and enjoy!
Store any remaining doughnuts in an airtight container.

Best Lemon Curd:

(This recipe makes twice as much curd as is needed to fill the doughnuts. However, it is difficult to halve the recipe due to it requiring three egg yolks. But if you're like me, you'll use the rest on toast, croissants and through other desserts! YUM!)

1 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup cornflour
1/2 cup (125ml) lemon juice
1 1/4 cups water
2 tsp finely grated lemon rind
3 egg yolks
60g butter or margarine

Combine the sugar and cornflour in a medium saucepan. Gradually add the lemon juice and water while stirring continuously until mixture is smooth. Place saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes or until mixture boils and thickens. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Remove from heat. Add the lemon rind, egg yolks and butter. Continue stirring until the butter has melted and mixture is well combined. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Anything that leaves a trail of sugar has to be good!