Ginger and Chilli Caramel Biscuits

I first baked these biscuits over four years ago, and I've never forgotten how amazing they were! I remember being fascinated by making caramel, and somehow frustrated that biscuits continue to cook after they're out of the oven. I must admit I've never been great at baking biscuits, so it's always something that I've stayed away from. It was only when I started working at a cafe and observing how they've been baked, that I decided to try my hand at baking biscuits at home again. The only downside of this recipe is that 15 biscuits do tend to disappear rather quickly, but until I gain more confidence with biscuits, I'll stick to this number for now. Feels like perfect timing to drizzle the caramel before it hardens anyway!

50g unsalted butter, at room temperature
100g golden caster sugar
1 egg
50g crystallized ginger, finely chopped
130g plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger

Chilli caramel
100g golden caster sugar
a pinch of ground cayenne pepper or hot chilli powder (or more if you like the heat!)

1-2 baking trays, lined with greaseproof paper

Makes about 15

Preheat oven to 160 deg C (325 deg F) Gas 3.

Cream the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix well, then stir in the crystallized ginger. Mix the flour, baking powder and ground ginger in a separate bowl, then gently fold into the wet ingredients.

Take a generous teaspoon of the dough and place on one of the prepared baking trays. Flatten it slightly, then repeat this process with the remaining dough, spacing the dough balls well apart as they will spread when they are baking.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool while you make the chilli caramel.

To make the chilli caramel, put the sugar in a heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. The sugar can burn quite easily (which can render the caramel bitter), so stir it often and keep a close eye on it. After a few minutes, the sugar should have completely melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the pepper or chilli powder. Be very careful when handling caramel as it can easily burn you. Use it immediately before it starts to harden.

Using a spoon, drizzle the caramel over the biscuits any way you like. The caramel sets extremely quickly. When it has set, remove the biscuits from the tray. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week, but be warned that the caramel can seep into the biscuits in particularly humid conditions.

Green Curry Paste

Having lived away from the city for almost two years now, it was always a dream to live a more organic life. It was only recently that I decided to cut down on buying pre-made pastes from the supermarket, and I had all the tools at home for it. The irony is that I got my handy kitchen gadgets during a time when I could afford them (in my corporate past life), but have found myself having the time to use them only now that I'm leading a simpler life.

Having said that, I do wonder why I'd never done this earlier. It is so easy to make your own curry pastes, it's any funny why most of us still continue to buy them pre-made. One may argue that you either just have time or money on you. I'd like to think I now prefer to spend my time instead of spending my money when doing something.

If you prefer more spice in your paste, keep the chilli seeds in as I did. Have fun!

1 teaspoon white peppercorns
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 lemon grass stalk, chopped
6 garlic cloves, chopped
4 spring onions or 1 small red onion, chopped
2 tablespoons coriander roots or stems, chopped
3cm piece ginger, peeled and chopped
4 green chillies, de-seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons light flavoured oil

Heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the peppercorns, coriander and cumin seeds and toast for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Place the toasted spices and remaining ingredients in a food processor and pulse to a paste.

Makes about 250g (1 cup)

Mango Pudding

This was a fun one to put together, and I got a bit of help from Gillian who was staying with us for a few nights. We had a friend who's coeliac, and we searched for a recipe that she could also enjoy. I would recommend making this dessert the day before, so that it will set overnight.

2 gelatine leaves (4.5g) or 1 1/2 teaspoons powdered gelatine
3 tablespoons cream
115g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
375g mango flesh, pureed (about 1-2 mangoes)
3 tablespoons natural yoghurt
1 1/2 teaspoons lime juice
1 mango, peeled, stoned and diced

Soak the gelatine leave in cold water or gradually sprinkle powder over 1 1/2 tablespoons water in a medium-sized bowl. Place the cream, sugar and soaked gelatine in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 2 minutes.

Stir in the mango puree, yoghurt and lime juice and whisk gently to combine. Pour the mixture into four 180ml bowls, cover and refrigerate for 4 hours to set. Serve the individual puddings topped with the diced mango.

Serves 4.

If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider purchasing this cookbook at The Book Depository!

Gingerbread Biscuits

I've never been great at making cookies, and I usually leave it to others to share theirs. I did however find myself at home with a whole bunch of kids, and before I knew it, I had organised an afternoon for them to help with some cookies in the kitchen. Amazing the amount of dough that gets saved when you tell them the more cookies we will get. I guess many hands make light work, too. Of course I'd only read halfway through the recipe before starting, and realised that the dough had to rest for at least 3 hours, so there was a visit to town, a little walk around the lake, and some coffee in between. Plan ahead!

50 ml (1 3/4 fl oz) maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
a pinch of ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
100 ml (3 1/2 fl oz) pouring (single) cream
100 g (3 1/2 oz) caster (superfine) sugar
100 g (3 1/2 oz) butter, softened
1 egg
250 g (9 oz/2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

Put the maple syrup, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring to dissolve all the spices. Remove from the heat and allow to cool a bit, then stir in the cream with a wooden spoon. Mix well, making sure that nothing is left stuck on the bottom.

Beat the sugar and butter together for a minute or two, until the sugar dissolves. Add the egg. Mix in the flour and baking powder alternately with the maple syrup cream. Mix well with a wooden spoon until the mixture is thick and smooth. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and leave in the fridge for at least 3 hours or even overnight.

Preheat the oven to 190 deg C (375 deg F/Gas 5) and line two baking trays with baking paper.

Take lumps pf the dough and roll out on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin to about 5mm (1/4 thick). Add extra flour as you roll if you find the dough too soft to handle. (You can also make the biscuits very thin if you prefer, and they will need less time in the oven.) Cut out the shapes with your cookie cutters. Put about half the shapes on the baking trays, leaving just a little space between them for spreading. Bake one tray at a time for 12-15 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden with a deeper gold around the edges.

Lift them onto wire racks to cool and use the same trays to bake the rest of the biscuits. (If you are making holes to hang them from your Christmas tree, do that now and then hang them when they harden.) These will keep in a biscuit tin or plastic bag for up to 2 weeks.

Makes about 35 biscuits, depending on the shapes.

If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider purchasing this cookbook from The Book Depository!

Broad Bean and Mint Soup

We found ourselves with a whole bunch of broad beans from Sharon's garden, and thought we'd give this recipe a go. It's also a great way to use what's left in the fridge and pantry. Yum!

"We also do a broad bean and mint soup, which is basically hot stock, a potato, the shelled beans and a bunch of mint added to an onion and garlic that have been sweated in olive oil. When the potato is cooked, blend and pass through a colander, then put everything back in the pan, season and add a handful of parmesan before serving with bruschetta."

If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider purchasing this cookbook at The Book Depository!

Coconut Meringue Cake

What a wonderful way to start the New Year! The sky was overcast, so it wasn't too hot a summer's day for baking. I also stumbled across this recipe by accident, when I realised I didn't have enough butter for the Chocolate Brownies. It so happened I had just enough ingredients for this recipe, and I was up for the challenge of beating egg whites that day (I'm usually unsure of when it's ready, but this boosted my confidence). It was a big hit at the Glenlyon Sports Day that afternoon! Best served with Orange and Cardamon Ice-Cream.

120g butter

1 1/2 cups castor sugar

3 eggs, separated

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups self-raising flour

1/2 cup milk

1 cup desiccated coconut

Preheat oven to 180 deg C. Grease and line a 22-cm springform tin.

Cream butter and 1/2 cup of the sugar, then beat in egg yolks and vanilla. Add sifted flour and milk and beat until combined. Pour mixture into prepared tin.

In a clean bowl, whip egg whites until stiff peaks form. Add remaining sugar and beat until glossy. Gently fold in coconut.

Pour meringue mixture over cake mixture in tin and smooth top. Bake for 45 minutes, until risen and crisp on top.

Serves 8.

If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider purchasing this cookbook at The Book Depository!