Vanilla Butter Cake with Passionfruit Icing

125g butter, chopped

¾ cup milk

3 eggs

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 cup caster sugar

1 ½ cups self raising flour

Preheat oven to 180°c and grease cake pan

Stir butter and milk in a small saucepan over heat until butter is melted.

Remove from heat and cool to room temperature

Beat eggs and extract in a small bowl with an electric mixer until thick and creamy.

Gradually add sugar, beating until sugar dissolves between each addition

Transfer mixture to a larger bowl and stur in sifted flour and butter mixture, in two batches.

Pour mixture into pan

Bake for about 45minutes.

Stand cake in pan for 5 minutes

Turn top-side up, onto a wire rack to cool

For passionfruit icing please refer to the Passionfruit butter yoyo bite recipe




From Women’s Weekly MIX. Cakes, muffins, biscuits and puddings

Passionfruit Butter Yoyo Bites

Yoyo Bites

250g butter, softened, chopped

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup icing sugar

1 ½ cups plain flour

½ cup cornflour

Passionfruit butter

80g butter, softened

2/3 cup icing sugar

1 tbsp passionfruit pulp

Preheat oven to 160°c and grease two oven trays

Beat butter, extract and sugar in a medium bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy.

Stir in sifted dry ingredients, in two batches

Roll rounded teaspoons of mixture into balls; place on tray about 3cm apart.

Using fork dusted with a little flour; press tines gently onto each biscuit to flatten slightly.

Bake biscuits for about 12 minutes or until firm.

Stand on tray for 5 minutes then transfer to wire rack to cool

Meanwhile make the passionfruit butter by beating together butter and sugar in a small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy, then stirring in the passionfruit pulp.

Sandwich cool biscuits with passionfruit butter.

From Women’s Weekly MIX. Cakes, muffins, biscuits and puddings

Potato and Haloumi Frittata with a Tomato Salad

Ingredients fro Potato and Haloumi Frittata

700g potatoes, peeled and chopped into wedges

5 vegetarian sausages (original recipe calls for a chorizo sausage)

olive oil

8 eggs

1 ½ cup cream

200g haloumi

200g cup caramelised onion or onion jam

Preheat oven to 200°C. Place the potato, sausage and oil in a 12cup-capacity ovenproof dish and toss to coat.

Roast for 30-45mins or until golden.

Place the eggs and cream in a bowl and whisk until well combined.

Pour over the potato and sausage and top with the haloumi and caramelised onion.

Cook for 15-20 mins or until the egg is set and the top is golden.

By Donna Hay from the Weekend Herald - Canvas



Ingredients for Tomato Salad (all to your own taste)

Tomatoes

Fresh Basil

Balsamic Vinegar

Sugar

Salt

Cracked pepper

Slice the tomatoes into thin wheels.

Roughly chop the basil

Drizzle over the vinegar then sprinkle salt, sugar and cracked pepper over the top.

Rhubarb and Berry Shortcake

Ingredients

Fruit
3-4 stalks rhubarb
3 tbsp sugar
1 heaped cup of mixed berries

Shortcake
125g butter, softened
125g sugar
1 egg
225g standard flour
25g cornflour
1 tsp baking powder

To serve
icing sugar
lightly whipped cream

Preheat the oven 180ºC. Line the bottom of a 20-22cm shallow round non-stick cake tin with baking paper.

To prepare the fruit, trim and slice the rhubarb and put in a large non-stick frying pan with sugar.
Place over a low heat and shake the pan every now and then, until the fruit is almost tender.
Trim and slice the berry and add to the pan.
Give the pan another shake and set aside until the mixture is lukewarm.

To make the shortcake, put the softened butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy, then beat in the egg.
Sift the flour, cornflour, and baking powder together and beat in until just thoroughly mixed.
Scoop two-thirds of the dough into the cake tins and press it evenly over the bottom and up the sides.
The remaining dough will be used for the topping.

Spread the warm fruit over the shortcake base, then grate the remaining dough over the top, allowing a little of  fruit to pep through.

Bake for about 30 mins, until the shortcake is a light biscuit brown,
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before upending on to a wire rack and then on to a plate

Serve warm, cool or cold, dusted with icing sugar and with lightly whipped cream on the side


By Lois Daish - A Treasury of New Zealand Baking