Chocolate weetbix slice

I remember this slice from my childhood. My mum never made it, but some of her country cousins did. It is very crunchy and contains weetbix, which as a cereal with milk, makes me gag, but as a slice ingredient is quite tasty. I found the recipe in my nans old recipe book. It's very easy.

You will need

1 cup SR flour
1 cup dessicatedcoconut
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup crushed weetbix
120 g butter
2 tablespoons golden syrup
3 tablespoons cocoa
icing sugar, cocoa & coconut to ice

To make

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line a slice tin with baking paper.



2. Mix dry ingredients together.



3. Melt butter and golden syrup together.



4. Mix wet and dry ingredients together. It will be a bit crumbly. Combine with hands if neccessary.



5. Press into a slice tin and bake in a moderate oven for 30 minutes.



6. Make a thin chocolate icing and spread over slice. Sprinkle with coconut.



7. Set in fridge. Remove from tin and cut into squares.

Egg and Bacon Pie

I remember my mother making this early in the morning before long car journeys. It would be wrapped in it's pie plate in a tea towel and eaten at lunch. It's nice and juicy when still a little warm from the oven. It's just as nice cold from the fridge.

The recipe is not vegetarian adaptable. Leave out the bacon and it's just not egg and bacon pie. So it will never be travelling food in my own little family. But every now and then I have an insane desire to make and eat this.

Part of the charm of this recipe is it's simplicity. You don't need to make the pastry, ready rolled puff is perfect. It doesn't need any herbs or spices, salt and pepper is enough. But it should have a pastry rose on top.

You will need
a metal pie dish or enamel camping plate
2 sheets ready rolled frosen puff pastry
8-12 eggs depending on the size of the pie plate
250g or thereabouts bacon
milk for brushing

To make

1. Defrost pastry. Line pie dish.



2. Chop the bacon into strips.



3. Break half the eggs into the lined pie dish.



4. Add bacon, making sure that the pieces are separated, and some salt and pepper.



5. Add eggs until you reach the top of the pie dish or decide you've used enough eggs.



6. Break egg yolks with a fork and mix a little.



7. Using a pastry brush, moisten the edge of the pie with egg.Cover with remaining sheet of pastry.



8. Trim and crimp edges together. Brush top with milk.  Add pastry roses and leaves.



9. Bake at 180C until risen and nicely browned.



10. Transport in pie plate, wrapped in a tea towell.

Lemon Butter

 
I like my lemon butter to hover on a knife edge between sweet and sour. I want a double take with each mouthful, followed by a smooth butteriness. It won't last long, it should be exciting!

The secret to nicely smooth lemon butter is to use a double boiler. I use a metal mixing bowl that fits snugly into the pasta pot half filled with gently boiling water. I still need to be careful not to let the mixture boil and curdle, but it's not as scary as cooking it directly on the stove.

You will need
three medium jars or an assortment of smaller jars
cellophane jam covers
4-7 lemons depending on size
6 eggs
350g white sugar
200g butter

To make

1. Wash and rinse jars well and place on a tray in a gentle oven to dry out.
2. Scrape the rind off the lemons using a vegetable peeler, trying to get as little pith as possible. Either chop the rind finely with a knife or place in a food processor with some of the sugar. 
3. Juice the lemons. 
4. Place the juice, sugar and rind in a saucepan and cook until the sugar has dissolved. Taste for acid/sugar balance. Adjust if necessary.
5. Add the butter and heat until butter melts. Strain and return to saucepan.
6. In the bowl you will be using atop the double boiler, whisk the eggs thoroughly. Slowly dribble the sugar/lemon/butter mixture in, whisking the whole time.
7. Place on top of double boiler and cook without boiling, stirring or whisking constantly. When the mixture has thickened so that it will thickly coat the back of a spoon, remove from heat.
8. Using a jug, pour into prepared jars and seal with wetted cellophane and elastic bands.

Yo-Yos

 

My mum is a legendary yo-yo maker and she has very definite ideas on the perfect yo-yo. It should not be browned, lemon icing is a must. I prefer my yo-yos to be very crisp. In my oven this means that some will be a bit brown and some will be a perfect color and very crisp. I've promised to ice some with chocolate icing next time I make them because G is a chocolate, as opposed to lemon, sort of guy.

They definitely use a lot of butter which I think is what makes them so nice. However if butter is not your thing, I've heard they can be made with margarine. My mother's original recipe calls for 12oz butter, 4oz icing sugar, 4oz custard powder, 12 oz plain flour. That's an awful lot of butter to make into a form of biscuit that will probably get eaten rather quickly. Unless baking for sale or gifts, I wouldn't make too many at once.

You will need

250g butter at room temperature
80g icing sugar
80g custard powder
250g plain flour

juice of about half a lemon
about a cup of icing sugar
a piece of butter the size of two peas

To make

1. Cream the butter and icing sugar until it is very pale and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl several times.


2. On a low speed, add custard powder an half the flour. When that is well combined, add the rest of the flour gradually. Sometimes you won't need all the flour, flours vary a bit. The dough should come together easily into a ball without being sticky.


3. Turn the dough out onto a board and gently press into a ball. Shapes into a flat squarish shape.Cut into four and then cut each square into eight. Roll each little sqare into a ball and place on the baking sheet. When all are done, press into each biscuit with the tines of a fork dipped in flour.


4. Bake for approximately 15 minutes at 170C. Rotate trays at the seven minute mark. Keep a close eye on them at the end. They are done just before they begin to brown, or when the end ones are starting to colour. Remove from oven and leave to cool on the trays (protect from marauding cats).

To finish

1. Make the lemon icing by mixing the juice of half a lemon, the little nob of melted butter and the icing sugar into a thick paste.


2. Match each biscuit with another the same size and doneness. Sandwich together with lemon icing. Allow to set before handling or eating.