Hibernation: Best cakes and biscuits in time for Mother’s Day
As we get set to celebrate our mums, why not bake her something special? Whether you’re baking for her, with her or as a salute to her, these familiar treats will make your Mother’s Day better.
Hibernation
Don't miss out on the headlines from Hibernation. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Mums and baking … it’s an enduring image at the heart of many fond family memories.
With Mother’s Day almost here, our Pantry Heroes pals are getting out the mixing bowls and checking ingredients for a weekend of comforting creation.
Their recipes — all at BestRecipes.com.au — are among the most-loved by ordinary Aussies; and there’s a selection for all tastes.
Whether you’re baking for her, with her or as a salute to her, these familiar treats will make your Mother’s Day better.
LEMONADE SCONES
These easy lemonade scones will be ready in just 20 minutes. Pop on the kettle and enjoy!
Easy 0:05 Prep 0:15 Cook Makes 9
INGREDIENTS
1 cup lemonade
1 cup cream
3 cups self-raising flour
1 egg
METHOD
Preheat oven to 220C
Add lemonade and cream to flour, mix to form a soft dough, then place on a floured surface.
Knead dough to a 2cm thickness and cut with a floured cutter.
Place close together (they help each other rise) on a tray, brush with beaten egg and bake for 10-15 minutes.
STRAWBERRY HAZELNUT BUTTER COOKIES
Easy 0:15 Prep 0:20 Cook Makes 42
Melt-in-your-mouth butter cookies with nutty hazelnuts and sweet strawberries.
INGREDIENTS
125 g unsalted butter cubed
2 1/4 cups plain flour
1/2 cup hazelnuts
1/3 cup frozen strawberries blitzed
1/2 cup icing sugar
METHOD
Preheat your oven to 180C
Line two baking trays and set aside.
Place hazelnuts in a food processor and blitz to form large, roughly chopped pieces. Set aside.
Place frozen strawberries in a food processor and blitz until roughly chopped. Set aside.
Cream butter and sugar together with electric beaters until light in colour and smooth in texture.
Add plain flour, mix until just combined.
Add hazelnuts and 2/3 cup of blitzed strawberries, mix until just combined.
Remove your dough from the mixing bowl, knead together into a neat ball and cover tightly in cling wrap. Place in the fridge.
OPTIONS
Rustic rock cookies: If you wish to make rustic little cookies, you will need a 2 teaspoon capacity cookie scoop or a pair of teaspoons. Retrieve your baking trays and your cookie dough, create roughly 2 teaspoon sized balls of cookie dough and set on your baking tray. Repeat until all cookie dough has been used. Place trays in the oven to bake for 18-20 minutes. Allow to cool and dust with icing sugar.
Using cookie cutters: If you wish to make cookie cutter cookies, you will need a rolling pin, your cutters and ensure your benchspace is coated with a thin layer of plain flour to prevent your dough from sticking when you roll it out. Retrieve your cookie dough from the fridge, and roll it out to roughly 6mm – 1cm thick depending on how you like your cookies. Using your cookie cutters, cut as many cookies from your dough as you can, move them to your baking trays and repeat the process until all your dough has been used. Place in the oven to bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool and dust with icing sugar or decorate with royal icing.
EASIEST MUD CAKE
Easy 0:30 Prep 1:35 Cook 12 Servings
This quick and easy chocolate mud cake looks impressive on the dinner table and is sure to be a hit with everyone.
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups hot water
250g unsalted butter
200g dark cooking chocolate
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 cups caster sugar
2 eggs lightly beaten
2 tsp vanilla essence
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
METHOD
In a saucepan over low heat melt together, butter, cocoa, chocolate, sugar, vanilla and hot water.
When cooled add flour and eggs and mix well. The mixture will be very runny.
Pour into a lined 30 cm cake tin and bake at 150 C for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Allow to cool for 5 minutes before turning out.
When cool sprinkle with icing sugar.
May be served reheated in the microwave or cool with cream or ice cream.
CUSTARD CAKE
Easy 0:15 Prep 1:10 Cook 10 Servings
A one bowl, no fuss, delicious cake. Bet you can’t stop at one slice!
INGREDIENTS
2 cups self-raising flour
250 g butter room temperature
2 tsp vanilla essence
2 cups caster sugar
4 eggs
3/4 cup custard powder
1 cup milk
METHOD
Preheat a fan-forced oven to 160C.
Put all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix with electric mixer until just combined.
Pour into lined 23cm deep square tin. Cook 1 hour.
Check cake with skewer. Sometimes it takes another 5-10 minutes to cook in the middle.
NANNA’S OLD FASHIONED APPLE TARTE TATIN
Easy 0:40 Prep 0:30 Cook 8 Servings
Nanna knows how to cook delicious apple tarte tatin in a simple way. This easy to make dessert uses frozen puff pastry and turns leftover apples into a delicious warm dessert.
INGREDIENTS
1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, thawed
4-5 Granny Smith apples
80g caster sugar
30g unsalted butter
METHOD
Peel and core apples and cut into 6-8 wedges. Heat the butter and sugar in a small pan over high heat until butter melt and sugar is dissolved.
Add the apples and cook over low heat for 30 minutes or until the bases of the apples are golden. Remove from heat and set aside.
Preheat oven to 190C. Line the base of an 18cm round cake pan with non-stick baking paper.
Pour the caramel sauce on the bottom of the cake pan, then arrange the apples over the sauce. Placed the pastry over apples, tucking any excess underneath. Bake for 30 minutes or until the pastry is cooked and golden.
Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes. Turn out on a serving plate.
Serve warm with cream or ice cream.
NOTES
You can use an ovenproof frying pan or skillet in place of the cake pan.
CONDENSED MILK PIE MAKER PANCAKES
Easy 0:05 Prep 0:08 Cook Makes 16
“This recipes makes a lovely batch of pancakes reminiscent of Banoffee pancakes,” says Best Recipes’ Serina Bird. “After popping a few in the pie maker, you may want to make a double batch!”
INGREDIENTS
1 cup self-raising flour
1 egg
1/4 can condensed milk (around 100g)
3/4 cup milk
CARAMEL SAUCE
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup water
3/4 can condensed milk
100g salted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 bananas
METHOD
In a medium sized bowl, add the flour, make a well in the middle then add the remaining ingredient. Mix until combined (don’t stress if it is still a bit lumpy). Allow to rest for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the caramel sauce.
In a heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, water, condensed milk, butter and vanilla. Stir over a low heat until the butter has melted. Bring to the boil then reduce the temperature and cook for around 20 minutes, stirring constantly, until it is a caramel colour. Put aside until ready to use.
To make the pancakes, heat the pie maker. Grease each of the pie maker holes with a little bit of butter, then add a slice of banana. Immediately top with a tablespoon of pancake batter. Cook for five minutes, then flip and cook on the other side for around four minutes.
To serve, place four pie maker pancakes on a plate, add some additional slices of banana and drizzle with caramel sauce.
Remaining caramel sauce is fabulous on ice-cream. Put in a wide-glass jar and store in the fridge until needed (do not fill to the top). It will solidify on cooling. Reheat in the microwave for 30 seconds and use while hot.
NOTES
Remaining caramel sauce is fabulous on ice-cream. Put in a wide-glass jar and store in the fridge until needed (do not fill to the top). It will solidify on cooling. Reheat in the microwave for 30 seconds and use while hot.
Originally published as Hibernation: Best cakes and biscuits in time for Mother’s Day
La Contessa and Nick find the ‘bootleg bar’
A weekly serial of life in COVID-19 isolation through the eyes of Nick Moore and La Contessa in the world’s first coronavirus novel.
Step aside sourdough, there’s a new lockdown obsession
If you thought hobbies picked up during our first stint in lockdown were bad, it’s only gotten weirder, and wheelier during the second wave. Please, put down the rollerblades.