Beef and Cheddar Pie

Preparation time: 30 mins

Cooking time: 2 hours 10 mins

Serves 4

1 Tbsp olive oil
500g diced chuck steak

30g butter

200g mushrooms, thickly sliced

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

3 eschalots, roughly chopped

1 Tbsp plain flour

1/2 cup stout

1 cup beef stock

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Melted butter, for greasing

PASTRY

2 cups plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp dry mustard powder

1½ cups finely grated tasty cheddar

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1/3 cup iced water

Extra flour, for kneading

1 Tbsp milk, to glaze

1. Heat oil in a large heavy-based pan over a medium heat. Add half the meat and cook for 3-4 minutes or until browned. Repeat with remaining meat and set aside. Heat butter in the same pan over a medium heat and cook mushroom, garlic and eschalot for 5 minutes, stirring often, until lightly browned.
2. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute, remove from heat and slowly add stout, stock and Worcestershire, stirring until combined. Return to the heat, add meat and stir until mixture comes to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, for 1 hour. Remove lid, stir and simmer, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes or until liquid has reduced and thickened slightly. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 4-cup-capacity pie plate or ovenproof dish with melted butter. Spoon meat-and-mushroom mixture into dish.
4. To make pastry, sift flour, baking powder and mustard powder into a bowl. Stir in cheese, season with salt and pepper, then make a well in the centre. Add water and stir until combined and mixture forms a soft dough. Lightly knead on a floured surface until smooth, then press out dough 5cm larger than the top of the pie dish. Brush rim of ovenproof dish with milk. Put dough on top of pie and make a slit in the dough. Trim excess dough and use your fingers to make a decorative edge. Brush top with milk. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden.

Sourdough Loaf

Preparation time: 5 days plus 4 hours 30 mins proving time

Cooking time: 50 mins

Makes 1 loaf plus re-starter

starter

Plain flour

Warm water

3 grapes or sultanas

bread

3-6 cups

plain flour

Salt

1. To make Sourdough starter, put 1 cup flour in a bowl and slowly add 1 cup water, stirring constantly until a smooth batter forms. Add grapes or sultanas and leave, uncovered, in a warm place for 24 hours. Remove fruit. Each day for the next 4 days, feed starter with ½ cup flour and ¹⁄³ cup warm water, stirring until well combined. After first feeding, cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place. By day 5, starter will have a beery, malty and sour smell.
2. Measure starter in a large bowl and combine equal quantities of sourdough and flour. If you have 3 cups sourdough mix, add 3 cups plain flour and 1 teaspoon salt. Remove ½ cup dough and put in a bowl to make your re-starter (see note at end of recipe). Knead remaining dough on a lightly floured surface for 5 minutes. Form into a round and put in a lightly oiled and floured bowl. Cover and stand for 4 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 220°C. Punch down dough and knead for 1-2 minutes until smooth. Form into a round. Dust with flour and use a sharp knife to make 4 cuts, forming a square on top. Stand for 30 minutes or until risen. Brush with water and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden and crusty. Reduce heat to 180°C and cook for a further 20-25 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when tapped. Cool on a wire rack.

Note: The Sourdough starter collects wild yeasts. These are present in the re-starter and can be kept alive for years to make loaf after loaf. Simply follow the feeding method in Step 1, using the same quantities of flour and water, and you’re ready to make your next Sourdough loaf.

Chocolate Mint Swirl Fudge

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 10 mins

Serves: 2o pieces

Ingredients
4 cups pure icing sugar
155ml cream
150g unsalted butter
225g peppermint cream-filled chocolate, broken into pieces
1 tablespoon liquid glucose
2 x 35g peppermint crisp bars, chopped
80g white chocolate, roughly chopped

Here's how
1. Line a 20cm (8 inch) square cake tin with aluminium foil and brush lightly with melted butter or oil. Combine the icing sugar, cream, butter and the peppermint cream-filled chocolate, with the glucose, in a medium heavy based pan; stir over medium-low heat until smooth. Stirring constantly, bring the mixture slowly to the boil. Keep stirring while the mixture boils for 5 minutes.
2. Remove the pan from the heat and use a wooden spoon to beat the mixture until it has cooled, lost its shine and has thickened slightly. Quickly stir the chopped peppermint crisp into the mixture. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin.
3. Place the white chocolate in a small heatproof bowl and stand it over a pan of barely simmering water, until softened. When soft, stir with a wooden spoon until melted and smooth. Take care not to overheat the chocolate. Drop spoonfuls of the white chocolate randomly onto the surface of the peppermint crisp mixture in the tin. Use the tip of a knife or a skewer to swirl the two mixtures together. Allow to set.
4. When the fudge is firm, remove from the tin and carefully peel away the aluminium foil. To serve, cut into squares or rectangles. The fudge will keep for up to 3 days, stored in an airtight container. Refrigerate only if the weather is very hot.

Banana apricot and lime cake

Prep Time: 25 mins

Cook Time: 35 mins
Serves: One ring cake

Ingredients
150g diced dried apricots
1 banana packet cake mix
buttermilk or milk
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp finely grated lime rind

Here's how
1. Preheat the oven to moderate (180C). Brush a 23cm fluted ring tin with melted butter or oil.
2. Place the apricots in a heatproof bowl. Cover with boiling water and allow the apricots to soak while preparing the cake.
3. Make the packet cake mix according to the manufacturer's instructions, using buttermilk or milk as the liquid. Beat in the vanilla essence, lime rind and then the drained apricots. Spoon the mixture evenly into the prepared tin and smooth the surface with a spatula. Bake for 35 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted in the centre of the cake. Spread icing when cold.

Tip: use the icing that comes with the packet cake mix and add 3-4 tsp lime juice instead of water or milk.

Pineapple and Coconut Cake

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 45 mins

Serves: One Cake

Ingredients
2 tblsp desiccated coconut
2/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs, lightly beaten cup caster sugar
2 tsp imitation vanilla essence
2/3 cup unsweetened crushed pineapple, well drained
1 cup desiccated coconut, extra
2 cups self-raising flour
2 tblsp milk
Toasted shredded coconut, optional, for decoration
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
2 tblsp pineapple juice
2 tsp unsalted butter

Here's how

Preheat the oven to 180C. Brush a deep, 20cm baba tin with melted butter or oil. Coat base and sides evenly with desiccated coconut; shake off excess.
1. Using electric beaters, beat the oil, eggs, sugar and the essence in a small mixing bowl at high speed for 3 minutes or until mixture is thick and increased in volume.

2. Transfer mixture to large mixing bowl; add pineapple and coconut. Using a metal spoon, fold in the sifted flour alternately with the milk. Stir until just combined and the mixture is almost smooth. Spoon mixture evenly into prepared tin; smooth the surface. Bake for 45 minutes or until skewer comes out clean when inserted in the centre. Leave the cake in the tin for 5 minutes before turning it onto a wire rack to cool.

3. To make pineapple icing: combine sifted icing sugar, juice and butter in a small heatproof bowl. Stand bowl in a pan of simmering water, stirring mixture until the butter has melted and the icing is glossy and smooth. Cool slightly. Using a spoon, drizzle the icing over the top of the cake, allowing it to run freely down the sides. Scatter the toasted, shredded coconut over the cake, if using.

Tip: This cake stores for three days in an airtight container in the refrigerator or up to two months in the freezer un-iced.

Hummingbird Cake

Serves 12

Ingredients
3 cups plain flour
2 cups caster sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp bicarb soda
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups oil
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 x 250g can crushed pineapple (with its liquid)
2 ripe bananas, chopped
250g cream cheese, softened
80g butter, cut in small cubes
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 cup icing sugar
Flesh of 1 mango, cubed

Here's how
1. Preheat oven to 160C. Combine flour, sugar, salt, bicarb soda, baking powder and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Stir in eggs and oil, then add vanilla essence, crushed pineapple with its liquid and the bananas.
2. Pour into two buttered and floured 20cm cake tins. Bake for 40 minutes or until cooked. Leave in tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto a cake rack to cool.
3. To make the icing beat cream cheese, butter, juice and icing sugar until light and fluffy but not too soft. Mix in three-quarters of the mango flesh.
4. Use half the mango icing to sandwich the two cakes. Spread remaining icing on top and decorate with any remaining mango flesh. Store in the fridge until 10 minutes before serving.