Chocolate chip muffins

2 cups plain flour
4 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
100g butter, melted
3/4 cup Caster Sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 cup milk

- Preheat oven to 180 deg C
- Mix all ingredients with electric beater. Do not overmix or muffins will be tough.
- Put in muffins cups or greased muffin tray.
- Bake for 10-15 mins or until golden - I think mine took 20 mins

Lime slice

3/4c plain flour
1/2tsp baking powder
60g softened butter
1/4c icing sugar
3 eggs
1/2c castor sugar (I used normal sugar)
2tbsp flour
Juice & zest of two limes (I only used juice, because I didn't have actual limes)

-Preheat oven to 180 deg C. Grease or line a 20x20cm baking dish (ideally smaller, I used this size and the base doesnt quite go that far, it cracked)
-Either rub butter into flour or beat well, add baking powder and icing sugar.
-Pat into the tin and bake for 15 mins or until cooked. Let cool.

-Beat eggs and sugar for approx 5-8 mins until pale and creamy and volume has increased (I didn't read this bit, so I did it after I added the flour)
-Add flour and lime juice. I also added vanilla essence as the original recipe called for 'vanilla infused castor sugar')
-Pour over the cooled base and bake for another 18-20 mins. It should be golden and set.


Hmm well my egg/sugar mixture didn't thicken, and it turned out very flat and chewy and a bit bitter! not the worst thing I've ever made though.

Tararua banana cake

Thanks Tararua for this recipe... http://www.tararua.net.nz/recipes/The-Best-Banana-Cake?r=8&i=4

2 1/2 cups Edmonds Self-Raising Flour
1 tsp Edmonds Baking Soda 
1 cup caster sugar
4 eggs
2 1/2 cups of mashed bananas (about 4 ) 
1 cup oil

- Preheat oven to 180 deg C
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mix well.
- Bake cake for approx 90 mins

Icing
250g Cream Cheese
100g Butter
2c icing sugar

Mix all ingredients thoroughly (butter stays lumpy for awhile, keep mixing) and spread over cooled cake.

I made this in two loaf tins, so I could take one cake to work and leave one for Tom. It was delicious, as always! It never dries out, always rises, this is the most fool-proof banana cake recipe EVER. It's worth using a ridiculous amount of oil, I promise.

Chewy chocolate chunk cookies

2c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
170g melted butter, cooled
1c brown sugar
1/2c sugar
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
2tsp vanilla
Chocolate chips/chunks

- Preheat the oven to 165 deg C
- Mix flour, baking soda and salt
- Combine the melted butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla until well mixed
- Add dry ingredients, stir well
- Add chocolate chips
- Place on lined baking trays and bake for approx 15 mins until browned. The darker the cookies, the crispier they'll be

Sour cream chocolate cake

1c cocoa
1c boiling water
1c softened butter (225g)
2.5c sugar
4 eggs
2tsp vanilla
3c flour
2tsp baking soda
1/2tsp baking powder
1/2tsp salt
1c sour cream

Preheat oven to 180deg C
- Dissolve cocoa in the hot water and set aside to cool.
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. USE A BIG BOWL. This is alot of ingredients, and a big cake.
- Add eggs one at a time, mix well after each.
- Add vanilla.
- Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl.
- Alternate adding flour mixture and sour cream to the butter/sugar bowl.
- Lastly add cocoa mixture and combine. Is your mixing bowl overflowing yet?
- Bake in 9inch round cake tin, but I used two loaf tins because I only have a small cake tin and I had a sneaking suspicion this mixture was going to be too big.
- Bake for 30-35 mins until you insert a knife and it comes out dry. Be careful not to overcook as rumour has it this cake can dry out easily.
- Cool for 10 mins then turn out onto a cooling rack.

This was terrible. It was dry. I don't know if that's because I had it in the oven for closer to an hour because it wouldn't cook, and if this was because there was two of them? It literally had a cake crust on it. I refused to take it to work for my work-mates (the original destination for the cakes) so they will be going to the ducks or more likely the rubbish bin. Such a shame, because I know people who have had major success baking with sour cream.

Caramel slice

BASE:
1.5c regular flour
1tsp baking powder
125g melted butter
1/2c brown sugar

Mix all together and press into a lined baking tin approx 15cmx30cm. Bake at 180 deg C for 10 mins.

TOPPING:
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2tbsp golden syrup (I used a bit extra)
1tbsp butter

Combine in a sauce pan, bring to the boil for approx 5 mins stirring constantly. Pour over baked base, a return to the oven for another 10 mins-15 mins until the centre is no longer liquidy.

ICING:
150g cooking chocolate
50g butter

Place butter and chocolate in a metal bowl. Boil water in a saucepan. Remove from heat and place the metal bowl firmly over the top. Do not let any water/steam get into the chocolate or it stiffens. Stir until chocolate is melted. Spread over the cooled filling.

Chill until chocolate is set then cut into slices using a warm knife. Store in a airtight container in the fridge.

This is REALLY hard to cut. I think I used a too small pan, resulting in a too thick base. Tom really loves it, I think it's too sweet... I don't usually like caramel slice anyway, it's the one thing in the world that I think is too sweet so no surprises there!

Banana cake with lemon icing

1c white sugar
100g melted butter
3 eggs
3 Mashed bananas
1tsp baking soda
1/2c milk
150ml yoghurt (any flavour, I used apple crumble Fresh n Fruity)
2c flour
3tsp baking powder

- Preheat oven to 160 deg C. Grease a 20cm round cake tin.
- Beat sugar, butter and eggs until smooth
- Add mashed bananas and mix well
- Heat milk in microwave for approx 1 min and add baking soda, stir well. Add to other mixture.
- Add yoghurt, flour and baking powder. Mix well
- Pour into cake tin and bake for 45-50 mins. Cool in tin for 5 mins before releasing onto cooling rack.

This was good! I really liked the addition of yoghurt, and I really like bnana cake. The use of yoghurt meant that I didn't have to use a cup of oil like my usual recipe!