Mary's Lemon Pie

Mary's Lemon Pie

This is Mary Bollards easy lemon pie recipe. She is the queen of quick, easy and tasty, and this recipe is no exception.

Ingredients:
125g Butter
1 Cup Flour
1/2 Cup Icing Sugar
4 Lemons, Juiced and zested
2 Cups Sugar
2 Tablespoons Flour
4 Large Eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.

2. Combine butter, flour and icing sugar in the flood processor until it clings together and press into a pie dish.

3. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes then bake blind bake for 10 - 15 minutes.

4. Place lemon, sugar, flour and eggs in a bowl and beat until combined.

5. Pour into the hot pastry crust and bake for a further 25 - 30 minutes until set.

6. To serve remove from the tin and sprinkle with icing sugar.

Baking: Break-Up Cake

Break-up Cake

Most people claim their "break-up" cake (or comfort food) is a heavy chocolate torte, however I love this lemon curd cake. A fat wedge warmed and accompanied with some low fat natural yogurts and a dollop of lemon curd it is delish!

Ingredients:
250g Butter
3 Eggs
1 1/2 Cup Sugar
2 Heaped Teaspoons Lemon Curd
1 Tablespoon Golden Syrup
2 Cups Flour
1/2 Cup Water
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder

1. Preheat oven to 170C.

2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy in an electric mixer.

3. Add eggs one at time to butter mixture, then lemon curd and golden syrup and mix well. 

4. Add flour and baking powder and mix until almost combined, then add water and mix until combined.

5. Pour mixture into a 20cm tin (which is greased and the bottom is baking paper lined).

6. Bake for 40 -50 mins until a cake tester comes out clean. 

Baking: Brioche

Brioche

After coming back from the States I craved some homemade bread. The bread in the US seemed sweet no matter if it was a white dinner roll or burger bun. Ironically enough this brioche recipe has very little sugar, despite being what I think of as a dessert bread. To be honest I quite enjoyed the less sweet verison.

This is my favourite bread to make french toast from, so that is excatly what I did with mine!

Ingredients:
2 Heaped Teaspoons Sugar
2 Teaspoons Dried Activated Yeast
1/4 Cup Water, Warm
4 Cups Flour
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Cup Milk, Warm
3 Eggs, Lightly Beaten
150g Butter, Softened
1 Egg Yolk, Beaten

1. Place sugar, yeast and water in a large bowl and leave for five to ten minutes.

2. Add milk, eggs and salt to water mixture, then half mix in flour.

3. Add butter and mix until just combined.

4. Turn out onto floured surface and  kneed until fully butter combined into mixture.

5. Place in a oiled (I use baking spray) glass/cermanic bowl and leave in a warm place for at least an hour.

6. Lightly knock down the dough and place in a oiled loaf tin to bake (or you can divide recipe by 12 and place into individual brioche moulds).

7. Allow to rise again, for at least 30 minutes in a warm place.

8. Brush the top with egg yolk.

9. Bake in a 180C oven for approximately 30 minutes, until just firm and a crust has formed (if making individual brioche bake for approximately 15 minutes).

Baking: Banana Cake

Banana Cake

I think banana cake is somewhat boring and dull, however this one has been made so many  times by my Nanny (grandmother), Mother and Myself that I believe for a banana cake it is a winner!

 Its is one of our staple tin fillers, esp. when we have to many bananas sitting in the fruit bowl. Un-iced banana cake can also be frozen for when you need one in a hurry. Just thaw it on the bench for a couple of hours and slap some icing on it. Done.

Below you can see it iced with the same carmel icing as the banana muffins featured earlier in the blog. It could also be iced with cream cheese, chocolate or lemon icing if you wish.

Ingredients:
115 g Butter
1 Cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1.5 Cup flour
2 Mashed Bananas
1 Teaspoon Soda
2 Tablespoons Milk, Heated until hot
1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1. Preheat oven to 180C.

2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Then add eggs one by one (beating after each addition).

3. Lastly combine milk and soda in a small jug and stir until stops foaming.
4. Add flour, baking powder, mashed bananas and foamy mixture and give a good beat..

5. Cook for 25 – 30 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean

6. Ice with caramel icing.

Enjoy!

Dessert: Eat Your Heart Out Bleeding Hearts

Dessert: Eat Your Heart Out Bleeding Hearts

They have a spongy dense cakey crust and a gooey chocolate centre. 

Quick to make and sooo satisfying! This is what I whip up when unexpected guests arrive. They are also a favourite of my brother, so when I was at Uni and he was still living at home, before I went back to Christchurch I would make a batch and freeze them in a silicon muffin or friand tray. He could then take them straight from the freezer and pop them in the oven (baking takes a wee bit longer...perhaps approx 15 minutes) 

I find that perhaps the full mixture makes a little much, and consumes a lot of eggs. I often make a half batch (using 4 small eggs), and this makes enough to fill 8 friand cups. However if you have more than five people perhaps making the full batch is safer (someone always wants seconds)!

Ingredients:

250g Butter

250g Good Quality Chocolate (at least 60% Cocoa)

¾ Cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence
7 Eggs
Pinch Salt

7 Tablespoons Flour

1. Preheat oven to 160C.

2. Melt butter and chocolate in a double boiler. Remove from heat and allow to cool to luke warm.

3. Add vanilla sugar and salt. Then eggs one at a time and mix after each addition and then untill completely combined.

4. Add flour and fold gently in until just combined.

5. Spoon into greased and cocoaed muffin trays (or what I use are greased silcon trays as it makes it easy to get them out after baking) until each of 12 cups are 3/4 full.

5. Bake for about 10 minutes or until cooked around outside and just set on top.

6. Use a knife to run around the cups, then turn all out onto a plate.

7. Serve with cream or as desired.