Caramel Mud Cake

22/12/14

 

This yummy morsel was for another office birthday…. This time Linda’s.

Delicious caramel mud cake with caramel icing and Tim Tam truffles…. How can you go wrong??

Caramel Mud Cake

Ingredients

375g butter

225g good white chocolate (I use Cadbury Dream)

3 cups brown sugar

1½ cups milk

2 ¼ cups plain flour

¾ cup SR flour

1 ½ tsp vanilla essence

3 eggs

1 can of top n fill caramel

Method

Grease and line base and sides of cake pan (25cm round or 23cm square) with baking paper, bringing paper 5cm above side of pan.

Combine chopped butter, chopped chocolate, sugar and milk in saucepan and stir over low heat until chocolate is melted and sugar dissolved. Transfer Mixture to a bowl, stir in Top n fill and let cool for 15 minutes.

Stir in sifted flours, essence and lightly beaten eggs. Pour mixture into prepared pan.

Bake in moderately slow oven for approx 2 ¼ hours.

Cool cake in pan.

*** Note: I wrap the outside of the cake pan with strips of towel that I soak in water first… this stops the cake from burning on the outside and helps to keep it flat unless it rises above the tin.

Icing

½ cup brown sugar      

2 tbsp thickened cream

60g butter, chopped

1 ½ cups icing sugar

¼ cup white chocolate buttons

 

Method

Place brown sugar, cream, butter and chocolate buttons in a saucepan and heat until butter and chocolate have melted.

Remove from heat and gradually stir in the sifted icing sugar to a spreadable consistency.

Spread or pipe icing quickly over the cooled caramel mud cake before it set.

Enjoy!

Thimbelina

Taco Chicken Salad

10/09/14

  

This delicious salad has become a household favourite of ours – and a specialty of Miss 16’s.

I found the recipe on the ‘Pioneer Woman’s’ website and we haven’t eaten taco’s since, which my children used to love. We’ve changed it a little both for ease and to suit our tastes…. But you can find the original recipe here if you prefer.

Ingredients

DRESSING:

3/4 cups Ranch Dressing

1/4 cup Salsa (as Spicy As You'd Like)

CHICKEN:

2 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

1 packet taco seasoning

Oil for cooking

SALAD:

1 head Green Leaf Lettuce

3 whole Tomatoes, Diced

1/2 cup Grated Cheese

2 ears Corn, Shucked (or a can of corn kernels)

2 whole Avocados, Diced

3 whole Green Onions, Sliced

Tortilla Chips of your choice, Crushed Slightly

Method

Combine dressing ingredients in a jar and shake to combine.

Slice the chicken into small pieces and toss with the seasoning. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken until golden brown on the outside and done in the middle. Remove and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

Cook the corn in the same pan you used to cook the chicken, (add more oil if necessary) rolling it around so that the oil coats the corn. Slice off the kernels with a sharp knife and set aside.

To assemble the salad, pile shredded lettuce, chicken, tomatoes, cheese, corn, avocado, green onion and crushed chips on a big platter. Drizzle the dressing all over the top, serving part on the side if you'd like.

Enjoy!

Thimbelina