Dee's Most Delicious Pavlova Recipe

I get many requests from friends for this recipe - so here it is in all it's simplicity!

Makes 1 large pavlova or 2 smaller ones:

6 Egg Whites (#7 eggs - large)
2 cups Castor Sugar
2 tsp Malt Vinegar
1 tsp Vanilla Essence

1. Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff enough to form a peak.

2. Add castor sugar gradually until the mixture is shiny and then add vinegar and essence.

3. Pile onto a non-stick baking sheet (3 1/2 inches), on tray, and bake at 150'C (300'F) for approximately 1 - 1 1/2 hours for 2 small and 2 hours for a large one.

4. Remove from sheet and cool on rack.

TIP
If you don't have a non-stick baking sheet, use waxed paper as follows:-
Cut paper to twice the size of the oven tray and sprinkle dull side with water and then fold over so the waxy dry side is now on the outside. Pile the egg white mixture onto this and cook as above but leave it on the tray for about two minutes before removing the paper.

dairyfree carrot cupcakes

1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
salt, pinch
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
2 cups grated carrots

1. Blend all ingredients and mix very well.

2. Put in spoonful amounts into a prepared patty tin.

3. Bake until cooked (20 minutes) at 170 degrees Celcius.

Dairy Free Chocolate Cupcakes

This recipe is based on a very moist chocolate cake. I've also known it to be called Wacky Cake or Crazy Cake. It is delicious and similar to the other chocolate cake I have on this blog.

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
6 tablespoons cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vinegar
3/4 cup canola oil (almost any kind of cooking oil will do)
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
1 cup soy milk
1 cup water

1. Sift first 6 ingredients together in mixing bowl.

2. Make 3 wells and in each hole place the next 3 ingredients.

3. Pour 1 cup of water and 1 cup of soy milk over top and mix with a fork or wire whisk.

4. Put spoonfuls into patty tin.

5. Bake at 170 degrees Celcius for 20 minutes.

Cake #4

Dairy version of cake #2 – We promised to take a cake in for Aimee to share with her class, and Aimee wanted it to look like last years cake (My Little Pony on a meadow of green grass). :)

The things we mum’s do for our kidlets!!!

Cake #3

This "cake" I am pleased to say, cos' it was so terrible, was not made by me.

After a morning of shopping we didn't have time to make one, and so it was off to the supermarket to get one. Not the nicest, but did the job, so that we could all sing "Happy Birthday" once again... :D And it put a lovely smile on the birthday girls face!

HAPPY 8th BIRTHDAY AIMEE!!!!

Aimee’s Birthday Cake #2

Aimee had her two “boyfriends” from school over for a play date to celebrate her birthday, and so another cake was in order. I needed to find a nice dairy-free chocolate cake and couldn’t find one – so, thanks to Alison Holst, I adapted one of hers (Kirsten’s Chocolate Cake, page 258, Alison Holst’s Good Food) – it was delicious!!! A real success!

Chocolate Cake (Dairy-free & Delicious)

125g margarine (dairy-free)
2 rounded household tablespoons golden syrup
2 eggs
2 cups flour
2 Tbsp cocoa
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups soy milk

1. Put the margarine and golden syrup in a microwave dish and heat just until the margarine has melted. Stir to combine the two.

2. Put everything else in the food processor, with the eggs first and the soy milk last. Mix in brief busts, then add the golden syrup and margarine mixture, and process for two 30-second bursts, scraping down the sides of the food processor after the first burst.

3. Bake in two 20cm round tins for 25 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius, or until the centre springs back and a skewer in the centre comes out clean. Eat within three days.

TIP
Line the cake tin with baking paper to avoid the cake sticking or overflowing during baking.

Chocolate Icing:
1 Tbsp margarine
2 Tbsp hot water
1 Tbsp cocoa
1 cup icing sugar

1. Heat together the margarine, water and cocoa in a small saucepan until the margarine has softened and all the ingredients are easily combined when stirring with a fork.

2. Add the sifted icing sugar and beat with a wooden spoon until it has been mixed in thoroughly, and the icing is smooth.

Aimee's Birthday Cake #1

We are having a weekend of birthday cake's because Aimee is turning 8!! Tonight we had pavlova with lashings of cream - YUM! Aimee's best friend, Ashlee, stayed the night to help us celebrate! My little girl is getting older...