Pina Colada Trifle

I like Pina Colada's, and being caught in the rain... then this is the trifle recipe you've been dreaming of. Okay, maybe not the rain part, though there is something ridiculously refreshing about being caught in a summer rain pour on a hot sticky day.  

Needless to say, this trifle is also a refreshing summer (let's be honest - any time of year) dessert. What's not to like about trifle... cake, fruit, custard, booze... all mingled together to create a flavour explosion, and this cocktail inspired version really does take you to the tropics. 

Also, by using coconut cream and coconut milk to make the custard it becomes dairy free - so great for those people who aren't partial to milk and cream. It also means it's a little bit less rich on the stomach, which makes going back for seconds that little bit less guilty. 

NOTE: To make the coconut custard I chilled two cans of coconut cream (full fat = full flavour) and when opened poured the liquid in to make the custard and reserved the thick cream for whipping on the top of the trifle. If you're not a fan of the thick whipped coconut cream topping them don't bother chilling and separating the coconut cream. Just use the lot, and reduce the amount of additional coconut milk by 1 cup.  

Ingredients (Serves approx 12):

• 6 egg yolks
• 2 cans of coconut cream - full fat - chilled and separated (see NOTE above)
• 2 cups of coconut milk - This time I used the Vitasoy Unsweetened COCO-NUT milk, but I also highly recommend the Little Island Coconut Milk.   
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 1 whole pineapple, peeled, cored, and chopped into bite sized chunks - If not in season you could use 2 tins of pineapple pieces instead. 
• 2 cups of Golden Circle Pine Coconut Fruit Drink - alternatively pineapple juice can be used, but will be a little sweeter
• 3/4 cup of Malibu Coconut Rum
• 1 large pre-made sponge cake - I used one that was approx 30 x 18 x 8cm * Note: Store bought sponge may not be dairy free if this is a requirement. 

First prepare the coconut custard. This can be done a day or two in advance, and needs to be done early so that it has time to cool thoroughly before assembling the trifle. 

In a large saucepan whisk the egg yolks, sugar, coconut liquid from the canned coconut cream and additional coconut milk. Place on a medium-low heat and whisk constantly for about 10 minutes till custard begins to thicken. The time will vary depending on your stove top, but be sure to whisk or stir so that it does not stick to the bottom. Once it begins to thicken remove from the heat. You can aid the cooling by placing the whole saucepan into a sink filled with cold water so that the water comes midway up the side of the saucepan. Otherwise leave to cool to room temperature before transferring to the fridge to cool further. 

Prepare the pineapple by peeling, coring, and chopping into bite-sized chunks.

Prepare the remaining chilled coconut cream from the cans by whisking till smooth. I sweetened and thinned mine a little by adding a splash of the Pine Coconut juice till it was the desired consistency. 

Prepare the liquid by combining the Pine Coconut Fruit Drink and the Malibu Coconut Rum in a jug. 

To assemble the trifle place a layer of sponge cake into the base of a large glass trifle bowl. I broke the sponge into pieces to make it fit snugly into the bowl. Pour 1/3 of the liquid mixture over the sponge then top with half of the chopped pineapple chunks. Next pour over 1/3 of the custard. Repeat, layering sponge, juice, pineapple, custard, sponge, juice, custard and finally top with the coconut cream. 

I used two spoons to shape the coconut cream into quenelles to decorate the top, then finished it off with a scatter of finely chopped leftover pineapple and sprig of mint. Alternatively you can as I mentioned above thin your coconut cream with a little juice so it's more spreadable to cover the top completely.  

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

Ham and Egg Pie

We had an influx of ham over the holiday season. Then after the christmas day feast, it's always up to me to find new and delicious ways to use it up. This is my take on the classic bacon and egg pie, it was so popular the lads asked for another one the very next day. Needless to say, it was a real crowd pleaser with no leftovers on either occasion. Best of all it's made with ingredients that are generally lying around or in the freezer. I always keep a block of pastry in the freezer, so give it time to thaw before rolling. Also, even if you don't have leftover ham, it's worth buying more, just for this pie. 

Ingredients (serves 6 - 12 depending on if it's a meal or a snack): 

• 400g block of puff pastry 
• 750g (approx) of sliced, diced, or shaved ham
• 2 1/2 cups of frozen peas
• 10 large free range eggs
• 1/3 cup of whole milk, or cream
• 3 tbsp wholegrain mustard
• pinch of salt
• 1 spring onion, finely sliced

Method: 

Preheat oven to 220 degrees celsius. Grease a lasagne dish with loads of butter. 

On a floured bench, gently roll out half of the pastry in a rectangular shape so it is slightly larger than your dish. Transfer to the dish, it should come up to the sides of the dish, but is it doesn't completely that is okay, just do the best you can. 

Boil the kettle, and in a heatproof bowl measure the peas. Pour the boiling water over the peas, and after a minute, drain thoroughly. 

Next, roughly chop the ham and spread of it in the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle peas evenly over the top. Layer with the rest of the ham. 

Crack 6 eggs into a large bowl, and mix well with milk, wholegrain mustard and salt. Pour this mixture over the ham. 

Crack the remaining four eggs onto the top of the pie.  Sprinkle with spring onions. 

Roll the remaining pastry so that it will fit the top. Place over, and crimp the edges of the pastry with a fork to seal the two together. Prick the top of the pastry all over with the fork. 

Brush the pastry with a couple of tablespoons of milk - this will give it the great golden colour. If you don't have a pastry brush just pour it on and spread it gently with clean hands. 

Place in the hot oven for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 180 degrees and continue to cook for another 20 minutes, till the egg mixture is set. It should be puffed and golden.

Now this is the hard bit: remove from the oven and allow to sit for 15 - 30 minutes before slicing and eating. This will allow the egg to set properly, make it easier to slice, and stop you from burning your mouth. 

Of course leftovers also taste great cold over the next couple of days, so don't worry if there's no crowd to feed, you'll get through it. 

Champagne Brunch

Bacon, eggs, sausages, toast, fried tomatoes. Brunch is pretty simple right? Yes. There's the usual fry up favourites, but there's also some really easy sides and ways to incorporate veggies, that can make your brunch the better. The best thing about most of these is that they can be prepared in advance and just warmed to serve, which makes them perfect for entertaining a crowd. 

The following recipes include Potato Rosti, Garlic Spinach and Thyme Mushrooms. They go great alongside your usual brunch fry ups and are prefect accompaniments for that champagne breakfast celebration. 

Potato Rosti (makes 8 small) 

• 4 large potatoes, scrubbed clean
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cracked pepper
• 2 stalks of fresh rosemary, leaves only. 
• 2 egg whites
• olive oil

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius. Spread about 3 tbsp olive oil over a baking tray or roasting pan. 

Scrub the potatoes clean and use a food processor to finely shred them. 

Squeeze excess moisture from the potatoes and put them in a large bowl with rosemary, salt pepper and egg whites (the yolks can be reserved to make hollandaise or added to your scrambled eggs). 

Shape handfuls into patties and arrange on the baking tray. 

Drizzle liberally with more olive oil. Bake for 20 minutes turning once with a metal spatula. 

These can be eaten straight away. Or, set aside and crisp each side for a couple of minutes on the BBQ hotplate or a frying pan just before serving. 

Thyme Mushrooms (serves 4-6) 

• 2-3 tbsp fresh thyme leaves (or 2 tsp dried) 
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, sliced thinly
• 20 grams butter
• 3 cups of button mushrooms, sliced about 1 cm thick
• salt and pepper 
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar 

Heat the olive oil on a low heat in a frying pan. Add the onion and thyme. 

Saute for 2 minutes till softened. 

Add the butter and sliced mushrooms, stir regularly for the next few minutes. 

When mushrooms begin to soften add the salt, pepper, red wine and balsamic vinegar. 

Increase to a medium heat and simmer for 5 - 10 minutes till mushrooms are soft and liquid is reduced. 

If preparing in advance simply reheat in a saucepan or microwave. 

Garlic Spinach (serves 4-6) 

• 1 bag of large spinach leaves (about 300g), stalks removed. 
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 spring onion, green parts only, sliced 5mm thick

Remove spinach stalks and place in a large bowl. Cover with boiling water and leave for 1 minute. Drain, squeeze excess liquid when cool enough to handle. If preparing in advance, set aside till you're ready to eat. 

Roughly chop squeezed spinach. Heat olive oil in a frying pan, add the spinach, garlic and spring onion. Toss for 1 minute. Serve immediately. 

Simply Nigella

When I think of Nigella I always think of decadent chocolate desserts and midnight snacks straight from the refrigerator. Not too mention those silky black robes she would somehow manage to keep clean as she cooked... Early last year however, the media had a field day with tearing her apart, so it's great to see something positive coming out again. With the release of her new book titled SIMPLY NIGELLA: FEEL GOOD FOOD Nigella is proving herself to be an extremely talented and attainable cook. Best of all, it's out on shelves just in time for Christmas. 

Feel good food is just that loaded with recipes to make you feel good, but in two ways. Feel good comfort and indulgent recipes, as well as some really healthy feel good food. 
This fusion of rich meaty stews, fresh vibrant salads, comforting pasta rice and noodle dishes, breakfast beginnings, if finished with only a small, but delightful, section of sweet treats. 

One of the things I love the most about this book is, as per the title, is the simplicity of most of the recipes. Using simple ingredients, plus a few spices and sauces which can easily be found at the local asian supermarket or international section at the supermarket. Though there is no real theme to the recipes, dabbling with Moroccan, Thai, Indian, Greek, Italian, even her take on the kiwi ANZAC, the book flows with her own themes of seven unique chapters. 

Chapters include: 

• QUICK & CALM - easy light meals & salads, featuring an abundance of seafood 
• BOWLFOOD - perfect for weeknight comfort food couch meals: pasta, noodles, rice
• DINE - simple yet elegant large dishes to share with friends, & meat, lots of meat
• BREATHE - all about the slow-cooking, slow, tender, feel good food
• SIDES - some creative takes on getting in your 5+ a day, including sauces & pickles
• SWEET - baking, bundt cakes, tarts, cookies, no-churn ice creams and more
• BEGINNINGS - start your day & fuel your snacks with compotes, loaves, bars, muffins, muesli, french toast, and pancakes Nigella style. 

Though most of these sound like classic recipes, she includes a lot of really elegant twists along the way, but if the recipes alone weren't enough to tempt you, just reading her introduction to each recipe is enough. You can hear her posh sultry accent oozing out of the pages as she describes the origin and the making of each dish, so you really do feel as though Nigella is in your kitchen with you. This book would make a great Christmas gift for anyone who loves cooking, and loves being creative in the kitchen, but is a little like me, and is a bit of a lazy cook. 

I've got a few meat dishes already flagged, ready to cook sometime soon: Oven-cooked chicken shawarma, Thai turkey meatballs, Indian spiced cod, Asian-flavoured short ribs & Beef chilli with bourbon, beer and black beans. Not to mention the veggies: Roast radishes, Sweet and sour slaw, Criss-cross potatoes & Quick-pickled beetroot with nigella seeds. 

This week however, I made her Old Rag Pie, a Greek dish traditionally known as Patsavouropita, she describes it as a greek cheesecake, merging sweet and salty, for what was called in my house, "bloody delicious". Basically crumple filo, drizzle butter, crumble feta cheese, thyme leaves, repeat, pour egg and milk mixture, bake, drizzle with honey and devour. If your a fan of cheeseboards, or sweet fruit pastes with cheese, then this is sure to impress. 

Christmas spiced pikelets with kiwifruit and strawberry salsa

Every year we do Christmas Brunch with my family, usually a bacon and egg combo with all the sides, mushrooms, spinach, tomato avocado etc. But today I though I would experiment with something new. These pikelets are quick and easy to make, similar to your edmonds recipe, egg flour milk, but with millet flour instead of regular flour, making them gluten free and with a deeper texture and flavour.

Millet is a slightly sweet golden coloured grain, which originated in China. It has many health benefits including being a source of protein, dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals including copper, manganese, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, potassium, and B-complex vitamins (especially niacin and B6). As well as all that it contains amino acid tryptophan, which can help regulate people's appetite, sleep and moods. Millet can be cooked as a grain like rice or barley, or as I used in this recipe, be ground to a flour. It doesn't make a perfect substitute for regular flour in recipes, usually needing to be mixed with other flours, but does make great, slightly crunchy and nutty flavoured pancakes. 

Hence, I came up with this recipe, having some millet flour to use, and not much experience using it in other recipes, I decided to make pikelets. This is my third time making them and I think I'm definitely onto a winner.

Ingredients

• 1 egg, whisked
• 3/4 milk
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 mashed ripe banana (I freeze mine, then thaw them as I need them) 
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 cup millet flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 kiwifruit
• 6-8 strawberries
• 6-8 mint leaves
• squeeze of lemon juice
• golden syrup (or any other syrup you like) 
• butter or oil for frying. 

Method

Whisk the egg quickly, add milk, spices, banana and sugar. Mix well. 

Add the flour and baking powder, mix well and put in fridge to chill for 30 mins... Use this time to get the salsa ready and any other morning chores. 

Use a paring knife to peel and dice the kiwifruit. Hull and dice the strawberries. 

Mix together with finely chopped mint leaves and a squeeze of lemon juice. Chill. 

Heat butter or oil (or a combination of both) in a heavy frypan over a medium heat. Drop about 1/4c at a time into the pan. Swirl the pan a little to spread the batter if necessary. Watch as small bubbles appear on the surface, once the bubbles pop, they are ready to flip. Cook for another minute or two on the other side. Place in a warm oven while you cook the rest. 

Serve stacked with salsa and a good drizzle of syrup on top. 

You could also serve with greek yogurt or whipped cream on the side. 

To make these finger food, place a single layer of pikelets on a serving tray. Put a dollop of cream or yogurt on top, followed by a small amount of the salsa. Drizzle with syrup and serve.