White Chocolate Hot Cross Cakes

These Easter cakes are a real treat, and are best served with a lashing of butter in the middle. They're like a cross between a hot cross bun and a fruit loaf. Try them for morning or afternoon tea instead of your usual Good Friday hot cross buns. 

Ingredients (makes 10):

• 50grams butter
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup currants - or raisins 
• 1/4 cup of cranberries
• 50 grams of white chocolate chips 
• 3/4 cup wholemeal flour 
• 3/4 cup plain flour 
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp allspice 
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 cup milk 
• 1/2 tsp baking soda 

Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius. Grease 10 muffin holes of a muffin tray. 

Cream butter and sugar till fluffy. Beat in the egg. Stir in the dried fruit and white chocolate. 

In another bowl sift the flours, baking soda and spices. Tip the wholemeal husks into the bowl with the flour. 

Mix the baking soda and milk together. 

Stir the flour and milk into the creamed butter alternatively till all is well combined. 

Spoon mixture into 10 muffin tins. 

Bake for 12 - 15 minutes.

When cooled melt the remaining white chocolate. Spoon the melted chocolate into a clean plastic bag and snip 1mm off the corner. Pipe crosses onto the top of each muffin. 

Serve with a spread of softened butter in the middle of each. 

Chocolate Berry Truffles

You know when you make one of those fancy birthday cakes that requires you cutting the big cake into shapes to piece together to make something else... What do you do with all those off cuts of cake? Well this easy and decadent truffle recipe solves that problem. If you don't have 'offcuts' don't worry, any piece of leftover cake would work just as well. 

I'll be making these again for our Easter celebration. 

Ingredients (makes 30 truffles):

• 350 grams (approx) of leftover cake
• 1/4 c coconut cream, or milk
• 1/2 cup desiccated coconut 
• 1/4 cup of defrosted raspberries, or dried cranberries, or both
• 160 grams melted dark chocolate - try Whittaker's 72% Dark Ghana 
• 1 cup of desiccated coconut, to coat 

Crumble cake into a bowl and pour over the coconut cream. Add desiccated coconut, berries and melted chocolate. Mix well to combine. 

Put the 1 cup of coconut into a bowl. 

Use wet hands to roll into small balls. Drop each ball into the coconut and use two spoons to toss it to coat completely. 

Chill in the fridge for 1 hour before serving.Will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for one week.

Top: Chocolate Berry Truffles
Bottom Ginger Crunch and Afghans with Chocolate Fudge Icing

Spicy Oaty White-Chocolatey Cranberry Cookies

This is my failsafe cookie recipe. I make it whenever I have to take a morning tea plate, or am craving cookies. They are chewy, crunchy, sweet, and spicy. 
Not to mention the cookie dough freezes well too. So I usually have dough ready to thaw out for unexpected guests. Simply preheat the oven to 180º and by the time it's ready the dough is thawed enough to handle and shape into balls. 
This recipe will make either 40 small cookies or 20 LARGE ones. I prefer small, but always end up eating two or three so should probably save myself time and make the large ones anyway!
I made these recently for staff morning tea, and they were gobbled up in no time, with many of my colleagues asking for the recipe. Hence, here I am sharing it with you all. 
Thanks for reading and enjoy! 





Ingredients
1/2 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
150g butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
2 tbsp water
2/3 c flour
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 c rolled oats
1 c dried cranberries
1/2 c white chocolate (Whittaker's is best, but any will do)

Method

• Preheat oven to 180º and grease two baking trays (if cooking the full batch, just one if you plan to freeze half the mix)
• Place both sugars in a bowl with softened (not melted) butter. Add vanilla, and beat using an electric beater till creamed. 
• Add egg and beat well. Add the 2 tbsp of water and beat well again. 

• Sift in flour, spices, salt and baking soda, add oats, cranberries and roughly chopped chocolate, mix together using a wooden spoon till well combined. 
• Using wet hands, roll the mixture into balls (a bit smaller than a golf ball for small cookies) and place on greased trays. Make sure that they are far apart as they will flatten and spread during cooking. If making larger ones press them down a little before baking.
• Place in oven and cook for 15-20 minutes, till golden and smelling delicious (20-25 if making large ones).
• Leave to cool on trays for 5 minutes or so before transferring to a cooling rack, as they will be very soft.