EASTER BROWNIES

I didn't manage to do any special Easter cooking this year we were to busy painting the lounge room. Instead my Dad made the most lush chocolate fudge brownies for everyone. Be warned, you can't stop at just one.

Triple Chock Brownies
2 x 100 gr blocks Lindt dark chocolate (either 70 or 85 per cent cocoa)
125 gr butter
3 tablespoons cocoa (Dutch if you can get it, but Cadbury’s will do)
1 and a quarter cups white sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup plain flour
1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 175 degrees. Line a 20 cms square pan with cooking paper (this is very fiddly but worth it), then coat lightly with vegetable oil spray. Melt the chocolates, butter, and cocoa in the microwave, stirring often, check after 1 minute.
2. Whisk the sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl until combined, about 15 seconds. Whisk in the melted chocolate mixture until smooth. Stir in the flour until no streaks remain.
3. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out with just a few crumbs attached, 35 minutes.
4. Let cool completely on a wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours, before removing from the pan and cutting into squares.
To make ahead
The uncut brownies can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 3 days. Do not cut the brownies until ready to serve or they will dry out. When taken from the fridge and cut they will be very hard. This is normal.
Note: wrap each pack of chocolate in a tea towel and bash evenly, back and front, with a hammer on a brick or concrete. This’ll break the chocolate into small bits so you don’t have to bother breaking it up by hand. Just unpack the chocolate and let the bits fall into whatever you’ll be melting it in.

PIPARKAKUT CHRISTMAS BISCUITS

These biscuits are thin, crunchy and very spicy. The sugar content is high so they burn easily, I've found that working with smaller sections easier to handle and I roll them out between two sheets of plastic.

PIPARKAKUT

1 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp dark syrup
1\2 cup water
200g unsalted butter
2 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1\2 tbsp ground cloves
2 tsp ground cardamom
zest of one orange
2 tsp baking soda-
(bicarbonate of soda)
4 cups plain flour-
(all-purpose)

Melt sugar, syrup and water in a saucepan.
Place butter, spices and orange zest in a large mixing bowl, add the melted mixture.
Stir until the the butter has melted.
Allow to cool.
Blend baking soda together with the flour.
Quickly mix the ingredients to a smooth dough.
Wrap in plastic and let rest overnight in fridge.
Lightly roll portions of the dough with a rolling pin.
Cut out shapes with cookie cutters.
Place the biscuits on silicon/baking paper.
Bake the biscuits at 200-220 C degrees for 5-8 minutes, middle shelf.
Check the biscuits while baking as they BURN EASILY!

My oven is a little temperamental so I have to stand watch right next to the oven for every batch. So I usually make them at night when it's cool and it helps to turn the tray about half way through the cooking time.
I finished Mum's throw at 1.00 am Christmas morning. This is the first year I've included handmade presents and Mum and Dad seemed to really like them. The colours of the mohair gave her skin a pink glow but not old lady pink. Then on Boxing Day I spent most of the day sleeping and I'm still tired.

BEETROOT RELISH

BEETROOT RELISH

INGREDIENTS
400 g grated beetroot
175 g grated green apple
1\2 red onion diced

1\2 cup white wine vinegar

1\2 cup balsamic vinegar
1\2 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice

1\2 teasp Dijon mustard

METHOD
Heat a splash of oil in a large saucepan and saute onion until transparent. Add all of the other ingredients, cook on the lowest heat for two hours until it resembles jam, then cool.

ORANGE AND ALMOND CAKE

We went for a drive on the weekend to Remarkable Cave which is past Port Arthur and it rained buckets as soon as we left the car. I was desperate for coffee so we called into the Eagle Hawk Cafe (top picture) for coffee and cake, here's my version.

ORANGE AND ALMOND CAKE based on the CLEMENTINE CAKE by NIGELLA LAWSON

4-5 oranges 375 g total weight
6 free range eggs from happy hens
225 g sugar
250 g ground almonds
1 heaped teaspoon baking powder

Put the oranges (whole) in a pan with some cold water, bring to the boil and cook for 2 hours.
Drain and when they're cool cut in half and remove pips.
Then pulp everything - skins, pith, fruit- in the processor.
Preheat the oven to 190 c / gas mark 5.
Line a 21 cm springform tin with silicon paper.
(Do the next bit by hand)
Beat the eggs, add the sugar, almonds and baking powder.
Mix well, adding the pulped oranges.
Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin and bake for an hour, when a skewer comes out clean (you may need to cover with foil or silicon paper after about 40 minutes to stop the top burning) remove from the oven and leave to cool, on a rack but in the tin.
When the cake's cold, you can take it out of the tin.