Daisy Celebration Cake

     

This absolutely perfect spring daisy cake has flowers in white and yellow dancing all over the top. Simple piping and delicious layers make it a darling celebration cake.

We all need daisies in our life. And when they come in the sugary, sweet form of fondant flowers, layer cake and frosting, it's even better!

Sunny yellow and white daisies make this cake super adorable. You can even use a cake mix if you want to keep it simple. Of course you can use canned frosting. But oh my, I don't recommend it when buttery vanilla frosting is just a few whips of mixer away !

I add this cute ladybird to make this cake more vibrant in colour. I made the ladybird with red and black fondant. When the ladybird has hardened, I then add the dot with edible black pen.

I make this cake for 75th birthday. As it is in spring it will be more appropriate to make a daisy cake for the occasion. 

Chicken Balti

This authentic chicken balti dish  is a wonderful addition to your regular meal plans for family dinners. It's a good fragrant dish packed with flavour  that is equally good made with chicken or vegetables.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• ½ inch piece of garlic, grated and finely chopped
• 2 fresh green chillies
• ½ large green or red pepper roughly chopped
• 1 tomato, diced
• 2-4 tbsp tomato puree
• 2 tbsp tandori masala
• 2 tsp Madras curry powder
• 300g chicken, cut into 1 inch chunks
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp chopped coriander
• juice of ½ lime
• salt to taste

Method:

Heat the oil in a large frying pan.

Todd in the chopped onion and allow to fry for about 5 minutes or until the onion is beginning to turn soft and translucent.

Add the garlic and ginger an stir to combine. About 30 seconds should do. You just want to cook off the rawness.

Spoon in the tandori masala and curry powder.

Now add the green chillies, red or green peppers, chopped tomatoes and tomato puree. Give this all a good stir to combine.

Add in the chicken pieces and brown this in the onion mixture. Stir continuously to brown the chicken evenly.

Now add about  ½ cup water. You can add more to assist in cooking the chicken but Baltis are dry curries so try not to add too much.

Simmer for about 8 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Add the cider vinegar and simmer for another minute.

Just before serving, sprinkle the coriander into the curry and season with salt and pepper to taste and add the lime juice.

Pork Tenderloin with Honey Garlic Sauce

Pork tenderloin seasoned with a rub, seared until golden then oven baked in an incredible Honey Garlic Sauce until it's sticky on the outside and juicy on the inside! This is a quick and easy pork fillet recipe with high returns for  very minimal effort. And most important very few ingredients required!

Tender, succulent pork fillet seasoned with a rub, seared until golden then baked in a Honey Garlic Sauce until sticky on the outside and juicy on the inside. Simply incredible !! And really, it is SIMPLE!

Ingredients:

• pork tenderloin, about 500g
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic, finely chopped

Pork tenderloin rub:

• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper

Honey Garlic Sauce:

• 2 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• ½ cup honey

Method:

Preheat oven to 180ºC.

Mix sauce ingredients together.

Mix rub ingredients then sprinkle over the pork.

Heat oil in a large oven proof skillet over high heat. Add pork and sear until golden all over.

Pour sauce in, Turn pork once, then immediately  transfer to the oven. Roast for 15-18 minutes or until the internal temperature is 68ºC . Remove pork onto a plate, cover loosely with foil and rest for 5 minutes.

Place skillet with sauce on stove over medium high heat, simmer rapidly for 3 minutes until liquid reduces down to a thin syrup. 

Remove from stove, put pork in and turn to coat in sauce. Cut pork into thick slices and serve with sauce.

Lemon Bars

You will love these bright and zingy lemon bars with a crisp shortbread crust and luscious lemon filing. Beyond easy to make and oh so delicious!

Lemon bars are one of the easiest desserts to make but they are guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. I love the soft lemon filing paired with a crisp shortbread crust and the flavour is beyond delicious; so bright and zingy with all the lemon flavour from the juice, they are simply irresistible !!

You only need 7 ingredients to make these lemon bars. Always bake lemon bars at a lower temperature to avoid over-baking. They are simply the best lemon bars and are perfect for picnics, bake sales, spring brunches, baby showers and bridal showers.

Ingredients:

Shortbread crust:

• 230g unsalted butter, melted
• 100g granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp salt
• 265g plain flour

Lemon Filing:

• 400g granulated sugar
• 48g plain flour
• 6 large eggs
• 1 cup lemon juice
• icing sugar, for dusting

Method:

Preheat the oven to 160ºC for fan assist oven. Line the bottom and sides of a 9x13 baking pan with baking paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to lift the finished bars out. Set aside.

To make the crust: Mix the melted butter, sugar, vanilla extract and salt together in a medium bowl. Add the flour and stir to completely combine. The dough will be thick. Press firmly into the prepared pan, making sure the layer of crust is nice and even. Bake for 20- 22 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Remove from the oven. Using a fork, poke holes all over the top of the warm crust, not all the way through the crust. This helps the filing stick and holds the crust in place. Set aside.

Making the filing: Sift the sugar and flour in a large bowl. Add the eggs and lemon juice  and whisk until completely combined.

Pour filing over the warm crust. Bake the bars for 22 to 25 minutes or until the centre is relatively set and no longer jiggles. Remove bars from the oven and cool completely at room temperature. Then stick in the refrigerator for 2 hours until pretty chilled. 

Once cool, lift the baking paper out of the pan using the overhang on the sides. Dust with icing sugar and cut into squares before serving. For neat squares, wipe the knife clean between each cut. Cover and store leftover lemon bars in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Lemon bars can be frozen for up to 3-4 months. Cut the cooled bars without the icing sugar topping into squares, then place onto a baking sheet. Freeze for 1 hour. Individually wrap each bar in aluminium foil or plastic wrap and place into a large bag or freezer container to freeze. Thaw in the refrigerator, then dust with icing sugar before serving.

Vegan Steak

 This vegan Seitan Steak is juicy and super easy to make!. You can combine all the ingredients in a food processor-so no kneading required !

You can eat this vegan steak with any sides you like, of course it is a personal preference. Not only this vegan steak is delicious but it can fool anyone who's looking at it. The consistency is similar to that of steak, sure, but the taste is not. Having said that, with the right spices and sauces, this actually has a smokey, slightly tarty flavour.

The only downside of this vegan steak is not gluten-free! It is made with vital wheat gluten, so this cannot be consumed by those who are gluten intolerant. The vital wheat gluten is super high in protein.

No need to skip those fun summer BBQ gatherings anymore. You can now enjoy a delicious Vegan Steak which can be fried or grilled. Either way, this easy vegan steak will taste incredible.

Ingredients:

For the vegan steak:

• ¾ cup water
• ¾ cup green lentils, rinsed and drained
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp no-meat beef bouillon
• 1 tsp yellow mustar
• ¼ tsp liquid smoke
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp granulated onion
• ½ tsp granulated garlic
• ½ tsp dried dill
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• 11/3 cups vital wheat gluten

For the marinate:

• 3 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1½ tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
• ½ tsp yellow mustard
• 1½ tbsp brown sugar
• ½ tsp Italian seasoning
• ¼ tsp granulated garlic
• pinch of salt and pepper

Method:

For the seitan vegan: First add the ingredients for the seitan steaks in your food processor (except vital wheat gluten) and process until smooth.

Now add the gluten evenly on top of the wet mix. Process until just combined!. You do not want to over mix or the steaks could turn out tough.

Turn the seitan dough onto the counter. Do not knead the dough!. Press into a disk approximately 8-9 inches in diameter and about ½ inch thick. Portion the steaks like you would a pie, into 4-6 pieces. Wrap steaks individually in tin foil, wrap loosely to leave room for expansion during steaming.

To cook the raw seitan: Place in your steamer pot with lid and steam for 30 minutes over medium heat, flipping them halfway through.

While the steaks are steaming make the marinade. Add all the ingredients to a medium bowl and whisk together until sugar is dissolved. Set aside.

When steaks are done, remove from foil packets and place in a shallow dish or a large freezer bag. Pour the marinade evenly over the steaks. Marinade for a minimum of one hour or longer. I prefer to marinate mine overnight.

To grill: Cook the steaks on your grill pan or BBQ over medium heat for 2-3 minutes per side, to get some good char marks and flavour! basting frequently with marinade.

Move to a serving platter and add a little more marinade for added juiciness. Serve and enjoy!