Breakfast Scones

Makes:  about 8 (depending on size)

Ingredients:

• 1000ml (4 cups) cake flour
• 2ml (half teaspoon) salt
• 30ml (3 heaped teaspoons) baking powder
• 80ml (4 tablespoons) margarine or butter
• 1 egg
• 250ml (1 cup) buttermilk
• 125ml (half cup) water

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 240ºC (460ºF)
2. Mix all the dry ingredients together.
3. Rub in the margarine, handling as quickly and lightly as possible.
4. In a separate bowl beat egg together with buttermilk and water.
5. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients about half a cup at a time, mixing with hands or a wooden spoon. 
6. Do step 5 until all the liquid has been added or until a medium to firm dough is formed. 
7. If the dough becomes sticky then add flour until it is neither crumbling or sticking to your fingers.
8. Pat or roll (with a rolling pin) the dough on a floured surface and cut scones 3cm thick.  I use a drinking glass coated with flour instead of a cookie cutter.
9. Place on a greased baking sheet some distance apart (the scones rise) and bake for 12 to 15 minutes.
10. Take out of oven and allow to cool enough so they can be handled with your hands.
11. Cut in half, spread with butter and serve with jam and whipped cream or grated cheese.

Egg and Cheese Toast

I made these for breakfast some time back. It is really nice, much like a fried egg on toast, but without all the grease from the oil.

Ingredients (this is per person):

• 1 slice of bread

• 15ml Margarine/butter (1 tablespoon)

• 1 egg (separate yoke from white)

• salt to taste

• 25ml cheddar cheese (grated) (about 2 tablespoons)

• Parsley and paprika (optional)

Method:

1. Toast the bread lightly

2. Spread the bread with margarine (or butter)

3. Beat the egg white until stiff

4. Spoon the egg white over the bread, sprinkle with salt and hollow the center of the egg white (like a little valley!).

5. Place the egg yolk in the center/hole and spread the remaining white over the yolk.

6. Sprinkle with cheese.

7. Place the bread under the top element of the oven and toast until brown and the egg yolk is cooked.

8. Garnish with parsley and paprika.

Cheesy French Toast

Ingredients:

• 4 slices of bread
• 25ml cheese (grated)
• 2 eggs
• 200ml milk
• salt and pepper to taste
• 125ml Margarine (for frying)

Method:

1. Place cheese on 2 slices of bread, sandwich with the other 2 slices.
2. Beat eggs. milk, salt and pepper together.
3. Dip sandwiches into egg mixture.
4. Melt margarine and fry slowly on both sides until bread is golden.
5. Serve hot!

Chocolate Peppermint-Crisp Fudge

Makes: 20cm x 20cm x 1.5cm slab

Ingredients:

• 375ml (1.5 cups) sugar
• 150ml (0.6 cups) evaporated milk
• 30ml (2 tablespoons) butter
• 500ml (2 cups) marshmallows cut into smaller pieces
• 300g (roughly 3 slabs) dark chocolate
• 5ml (1 teaspoon) vanilla essence
• 1 bar Peppermint Crisp (broken or grated into pieces)

Method:

1. Line a 20cm x 20cm (7.8 inch) tin with foil.
2. Heat the sugar, evaporated milk and butter together in a saucepan / pot
3. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly.
4. Boil for four to five minutes then remove from the heat.
5. Stir in marshmallows, chocolate and vanilla essence until melted.
6. Pour into the lined tin and sprinkle the peppermint crisp over the top.
7. Leave to set in the fridge for 24 hours.
8. Remove from tin and peel off the foil.
9. Use a sharp knife to cut into blocks of the desired size.

Creamy Vanilla Fudge

Makes:  20cm x 20cm x 1.3cm

Ingredients:

• 470ml (1.9 cups) sugar
• 150ml (0.6 cups) evaporated milk
• 65ml (3 tablespoons) butter or margarine
• 25ml (1.5 tablespoons) golden syrup
• 1 can condensed milk
• 5ml (1 teaspoon) vanilla essence

Method:

1. Heat the sugar, evaporated milk and butter together in a saucepan.
2. Stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved.
3. Add syrup and condensed milk.
4. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the mixture reaches the soft-ball stage.  (Drop a small ball of the mixture into a bowl of cold water.  The mixture should form a soft ball when you roll it between your fingers.)  Stir continuously.
5. Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly (1-2 minutes).
6. Stir in the vanilla essence and then beat with a wooden spoon until the fudge begins to form crystals and to thicken (basically – stir until you get to the point that you wouldn’t be able to pour it out the pot if you stir anymore)
7. Pour into a greased square tin (20cm by 20cm or 7.8 inches by 7.8 inches) and leave to set.
8. Once almost set, turn out onto a work surface and cut into squares with a sharp knife.

Note from the cook:

Mine turned out tasting like a mixture of toffee and fudge.  I believe that is how it is supposed to taste because everybody who sampled it says it was the best fudge they have ever tasted.

Brown or White Bread

For this recipe you can use brown bread flour or white bread flour.  The images are of brown bread.

INGREDIENTS:

• 7 cups (1kg) bread flour (brown or white)
• 10ml salt
• 10ml sugar
• 10g (1 sachet) instant dry yeast
• 20ml (1 tablespoon) Margarine
• 650ml (2.4 cups) lukewarm water

The ingredients

METHOD:

The bread dough after step 3

1. Sift flour, salt and sugar together.  Add dry yeast and mix.
2. Rub margarine into dry ingredients and gradually add lukewarm water to mix to a soft dough.  Add more water if needed.
3. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and kneed the dough vigorously for 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
4. Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and allow to rest for 20 minutes.
5. Knock down the dough and divide into two.
6. Place each portion in a greased 23cm loaf tin, cover with oiled plastic wrap, and leave to rise in a warm place for 30-40 minutes, until double in size.
7. Brush top with water and bake in a preheated oven at 200ºC (400ºF) for 35 minutes.

Total time: Approximately 2 hours.

Quantity: 2 loaves

Chocolate Oil Cake

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 eggs
• 250ml sugar (1 cup)
• 375ml cake flower (1 & a half cups)
• 50ml cocoa powder (2 heaped tablespoons)
• 15ml baking powder (3 teaspoons)
• 2ml salt (half a teaspoon)
• 125ml boiling water (half cup)
• 125ml cooking oil (half cup)

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC (350ºF)
2. Whisk the eggs and sugar together until light and fluffy.
3. Sift dry ingredients and gently fold into mixture, with water and oil.
4. Turn into two lined, greased 20cm cake tims and bake for 20-25 minutes
5. Leave for 5-10 minutes in tins before turning out onto a wire rack to continue cooling

ICING:

INGREDIENTS:

• 125g margarine (half cup)
• 375ml icing sugar (1 & a half cups)
• 30ml cocoa powder (2 tablespoons - not heaped)
• 5ml vanilla essence (1 teaspoon)

METHOD:

1. Beat all ingredients together until smooth and creamy
2. Decorate the cake.  I also used caramel and peppermint crisp (hand grated) to decorate.