Baking: Vanilla/ Date or Lemon Scones

I love scones!

Sometimes all the extras with scones are a bit too much. I often use the maple syrup recipe but subsitiute the maple syrup with sugar and add a teaspoon of vanilla bean paste and a teaspoon if vanilla essence. These are fab with cream and raspberry jam!

Or I remove the maple syrup and replace with honey and add the rind of a lemon to make a plain scone a little magic.

Date scones are scones are made the same way replacing maple syrup with sugar and addding a handfull of chopped dates soaked in the milk which the scone recipe uses. Remember to warm it to achieve nice softened dates and allow to cool before adding to scone mix.

Below are some cinnamon, macadamia and raspberry scones!

Baking: Lemony Cupcakes

It is easy to make something simple different by adding and subtracting a few ingredients.

I made these cupcakes with my basic cupcake recipe (as used for rosewater teacupcakes minus the rosewater) and by adding a tablespoon of lemoncello and the zest of a lemon.

The icing is simply cream cheese, icing sugar, butter and a few tablespoons of lemoncello (you could use a little lemon juice instead).

Enjoyed best oI think they are a lovely summer treat outside.

I know I have been very vacant since I left Christchurch in late October. Since October, I have moved to Wellington,  been on a holiday to the USA and started a new job (my first real one). The holiday season is alway so busy I didn't seem to have time to post anything!


However the good news is that  Laura (my flatmate from last year...and can be seen in the cupcake party picture) is now my fellow blogger and food enthusiast.  Due to my move, and Laura becoming a fellow writer, the focus of the blog has moved more toward sharing recipes with one another (as now she is in Christchurch and I in Wellington) than documenting them for myself.


So as we start with a new year and focus I am sure Laura and I will start regularly posting again.


Happy belated New Year,
Chloe and Laura


PS. I also have tonnes of picture and recipes to share with you from the past few months!

Baking: Milo Fudge

This is the sweet staple in my family, it gets made every month and it's always gone by the end of the day that it was made on! You can put raisins or sultanas in the mix but dried apricots are the tastiest.

3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
150g butter
3 cups vanilla wine or Girl Guide biscuits crumbed (usually a 250g packet)
1 cup Milo
1 cup desiccated coconut
1 cup of raisins, sultanas or dried apricots -chopped



Chocolate Icing:
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
2 Tbs baking cocoa
1 Tb butter
1/4 vanilla essence
2 Tb boiling water (approx -add more for easier spread)



Method:

1. Place the condensed milk and butter in a small saucepan. Cook over a low heat, stirring, until butter melts, then set aside to cool.
2. Place the biscuit crumbs, Milo, coconut and dried fruit in a bowl. 
3. Add the butter mixture and stir until thoroughly combined.
4. Press the mixture into a greased 27cm x 18cm x 3cm tin and let it chill for 30min. Ice with the chocolate icing and refrigerate until firm. Cut into small squares.

Chocoloate Icing: mix all ingredients in small bowl and add the boiling water -mix.