Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Roughly chop the chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl that fits snuggly in a saucepan (this stops water spraying into the chocolate). Half-fill the saucepan with water and bring to a simmer. Place the bowl on top, making sure it doesn’t touch the water (or it will overheat). Stir chocolate with a metal spoon until melted. Remove from the heat.

Working quickly, dip the strawberries into chocolate, hold above the bowl to allow the excess chocolate to drizzle from the strawberry. Place onto lined tray. If the chocolate starts to set in the bowl, place back over simmering water to melt again.

Once all strawberries are coated leave aside to set and then enjoy!

Try these variations:

Vanilla and White Chocolate Strawberries (top left)
Replace milk chocolate with white chocolate and add the seeds from one Vanilla Bean to the melted chocolate.

Choc on Choc Strawberries (top centre)
You can use either milk or dark chocolate to dip the strawberries. Roughly chop an additional 200g of milk or dark chocolate and place into a bowl. As you dip the strawberries coat the chocolate in the chocolate pieces before placing onto the lined tray.

Pretty in Pink Strawberries (top right)
Replace milk chocolate with white chocolate. You will need some sugar sprinkles (we’ve used pink, try Christmas colours, Orange for Halloween, etc.). As you dip the strawberries coat the chocolate in the sprinkles before placing onto the lined tray.

White Choc Drizzle Strawberries (middle left)
You can use either milk or dark chocolate to dip the strawberries. Once the chocolate has set – melt an additional 100g of white chocolate and use the metal spoon to drizzle the white chocolate lightly over the coated strawberries.

Coconut and White Chocolate Strawberries (middle centre)
Replace milk chocolate with white chocolate. You will also need 100g of shredded or desiccated coconut. As you dip the strawberries coat the chocolate in the coconut before placing onto the lined tray.

Chocolate Sprinkled Strawberries (middle right)
You can use either milk or dark chocolate to dip the strawberries. You will need some chocolate sugar sprinkles. As you dip the strawberries coat the chocolate in the sprinkles before placing onto the lined tray.

Nutty Strawberries (bottom left)
You will need an additional 150g of chopped nuts. As you dip the strawberries coat the chocolate in the nuts before placing onto the lined tray. We’ve used peanuts and milk chocolate, try chopped pistachios and dark chocolate or flaked almonds and white chocolate.

Colourful Strawberries (bottom centre)
You will need an additional 150g of colourful lollies (like Mini M&Ms, roughly chopped Smarties, etc.). As you dip the strawberries coat the chocolate in the lollies before placing onto the lined tray.

Milk Choc Drizzle Strawberries (bottom right)
Replace milk chocolate with white chocolate to dip the strawberries. Once the chocolate has set on the dipped strawberries – melt an additional 100g of milk chocolate and use the metal spoon to drizzle the milk chocolate lightly over the coated strawberries. You can of course try this with dark chocolate drizzles.

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• Filed under recipe, strawberry.

Preheat oven to 180ºC and line with patty paper a 12 x 1/3 cup capacity muffin pan.

Cream the butter and sugar by beating them at a high speed until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, mixing well after each addition. Add the flour and milk and stir until combined. Fold through the chocolate and raspberries.

Spoon the mixture evenly into the lined muffin pan.

Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until cooked when tested with a skewer. Cool on a wire rack – try serving with a dusting of icing sugar.

I used a block of roughly chopped Green & Black’s White Chocolate for this, but any chocolate would work. You could also substitute the raspberries for blueberries or strawberries…

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• Filed under muffin, raspberry, recipe.

Preheat oven to 200ºC and line oven trays with baking paper.

Beat butter, vanilla, sugar and egg in a small bowl with an electric mixture until light and fluffy.

Beat in sifted flour, soda and cocoa plus buttermilk on low speed, until mixture is well combined and smooth.

Drop level tablespoons of mixture onto trays 4cm apart. Bake for 8 – 10 minutes. Allow to fully cool on trays.

To make butter cream filling beat butter in a small bowl with electric mixer until as white as possible. Gradually beat in half the sifted icing sugar and the milk until well combine and then beat in the remaining sifted icing sugar until well combined.

Generously spread the filling over half of the rounds and then sandwich together with the remaining rounds. You can decorate your Whoopie Pies by rolling them on their sides in sprinkles, chocolate flakes or chopped nuts or just enjoy them as they are!

Another popular filling for Whoopie Pies involves using marshmallow – to make this place 100g of marshmallows and 1 teaspoon of warm water in a microwave-safe dish and microwave on high for 20 seconds, then stir and repeat until fully melted and smooth. Use this in place of the butter cream filling.

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• Filed under recipe, whoopie pie.

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• Filed under christmas, recipe.

Preheat oven to 180ºC. Grease and line a 30cm by 35cm baking tray.

Beat the eggs and sugar together in an electric mixer for 5 minutes until light and fluffy.

Sift the flour and cocoa together over the egg mixture. Pour in the cooled, melted butter and gently fold the mixture until well combined.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tray and smooth level with a spatula. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until sponge springs back. Allow the cake to cool, covered with a slightly damp, clean towel.

To make the ganache filling and topping, combine the cream and chocolate in a heat proof bowl over simmering water and stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Refrigerate until the consistency of thick cream.

Place roughly one third of the ganache into a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. The ganache must be completely cool before you attempt to beat it.

Place a sheet of baking paper on your bench and lay out your sponge. Spread the whipped ganache over the top of the sponge and then gently roll the cake, peeling the paper off as you go. Don’t worry if your cake cracks.

Place your rolled cake onto your serving plate and then coat with the smooth ganache, spread the ganache to cover the edges and ends of the roll. Using a fork or knife, make rough scores across the ganache topping to resemble the log’s “bark”.

Refrigerate until you are ready to serve, and then dust lightly with icing sugar.

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• Filed under christmas, recipe, yule log.

Place the butter and sugar together in an electric mixer and beat for 10 minutes or until pale and creamy.

Add the eggs and vanilla bean seeds and beat for a further 2-3 minutes or until combined. Add the flour and beat on a low speed until a smooth dough forms.

Remove half of the dough and set aside. Add the cocoa to the other half of the dough in the mixer and beat until combined.

Roll the vanilla dough portion out between two sheets of baking paper until it is roughly 3mm thick and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm. Repeat with the chocolate dough. Preheat oven to 160ºC.

Line baking trays with baking paper. Using a 7cm round cookie cutter, cut 8 rounds from the vanilla dough and 8 rounds from the chocolate dough and place onto lined tray.

Using a 4.5cm Christmas cookie cutter cut 8 shapes from the vanilla dough and 8 shapes from the chocolate dough and place on top of the rounds in the opposite colour. If you don’t have the cookie cutter you can print the images of a Christmas Star or Christmas Tree and use them as a stencil to cut the shapes out of the dough with a knife.

Bake cookies for 12-13 minutes or until lightly golden. Allow your cute festive creations to cool on wire racks and then enjoy!

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• Filed under christmas, cookies, recipe.

Method

Grease and line a 24cm round springform pan.

Process biscuits in a food processor until they become fine crumbs. Transfer to a bowl and add the melted butter. Stir until well combined. Use your fingertips to press into the base of the prepared pan and refrigerate for 20 minutes or until firm.

Place water into a heatproof microwave safe bowl. Sprinkle over the gelatine. Stand for 1 minute. Microwave, uncovered, on high (100%) power for 20 to 40 seconds until gelatine dissolves. Set aside for 15 minutes.

Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, sugar and milk until smooth. The cream cheese needs to be softened at room temperature or it will mix lumpy. Stir in the gelatine. Divide cream cheese mixture between 2 bowls.

Stir the melted white chocolate into one of the cream cheese mixture and the melted dark chocolate into the other.

Pour the dark chocolate mixture over the biscuit base. Freeze for 10 minutes or until slightly firm to the touch. Then carefully spread the white chocolate mixture over the dark. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Release sides of pan, sprinkle cheesecake with the grated milk chocolate and try not to eat it all in one day…

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• Filed under cheesecake, recipe.

Grease three large baking trays and line with baking paper.

Sift almond meal, cocoa and icing sugar together into a bowl.

Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites in a bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, beating until dissolved.

Fold half the almond mixture into the eggs until just combined. Fold in remaining mixture until combined and glossy.

Preheat oven to 130°C. Pipe 4cm rounds of mixture onto trays, 4cm apart. Tap trays on bench to remove any air bubbles. Set aside for 1 hour. Setting the macarons aside for 1 hour after piping creates a skin which maintains their shape during cooking.

Bake macarons, one tray at a time, for 15 to 20 minutes or until tops are firm. Cool on trays. Make sure you cool macarons before removing from trays, or they will stick.

To make the filling, bring the cream to the boil in a medium saucepan, remove from heat. When the bubbles subside, add the chocolate and stir until smooth. Set aside to cool.

Spread 1/2 teaspoon of filling over flat sides of half the macarons. Sandwich with remaining macarons. Enjoy!

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• Filed under macaron, recipe.

Line a tray with baking paper. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.

Add popping corn to hot oil and cover with a tight-fitting lid. When corn starts popping, shake saucepan gently. Remove from heat when corn stops popping. Transfer to a large bowl and discard any unpopped corn.

To make the caramel, combine butter, sugar and honey in a saucepan over a medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until sugar has dissolved. Bring mixture to the boil and cook, uncovered, without stirring, for a further 5 minutes or until light golden.

Working quickly, remove caramel from heat and pour over popcorn then stir until popcorn is coated. Spread over prepared tray. Set aside to cool and then break into pieces.

Roughly chop the chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl that fits snuggly in a saucepan (this stops water spraying into the chocolate). You can use whichever chocolate you prefer, dark chocolate is my usual choice for this recipe though. Half-fill the saucepan with water and bring to a simmer. Place the bowl on top, making sure it doesn’t touch the water (or it will overheat). Stir with a metal spoon until melted and then use the spoon to drizzle the chocolate over the popcorn. Once the chocolate has set, serve and enjoy!

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• Filed under popcorn, recipe.

Place rice into a sieve and rinse under cold water until water runs clear. Transfer rice to a heavy-based saucepan.

Whisk together 1/4 cup of milk and cocoa to form a paste and then stir in remaining milk and caster sugar.

Add milk mixture to rice. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring. Reduce heat to low and cover. Cook for 35 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Remove lid and cook for a further 10 minutes stirring occasionally.

Serve rice pudding with fruit, cream or more chocolate (in this case white chocolate curls created by scrapping a knife down the flat side of a block of white chocolate).

For a Vanilla Rice Pudding omit the Cocoa Powder and add the seeds from one Vanilla Bean, and for a Caramel Rice Pudding omit the Cocoa Powder, add the seeds from one Vanilla Bean and use Brown Sugar instead of Caster Sugar.

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• Filed under recipe, rice pudding.