Sunday, January 31, 2016

Spinach, feta and semi-dried tomato pull-apart


2 1/2 cups (375g) plain flour 
2 teaspoons (7g sachet) dried yeast 
2 teaspoons sea salt flakes 
1 teaspoons caster sugar 
1/4 cup (60ml) olive oil 
1 cup baby spinach, shredded 
100g feta, crumbled 
1/2 cup (75g) semi-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
Olive oil, extra, for brushing 
Sea salt flakes, extra, to sprinkle

Spinach Pesto
1 cup baby spinach leaves 
1/2cup basil leaves 
1/4 cup (40g) pine nuts, toasted 
1/4 cup (20g) Parmesan, finely grated 
1 garlic clove, crushed 
2 tablespoon olive oi

Combine flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre. Add 3/4 cup (185ml) warm water and the oil. Stir to combine. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 mins or until smooth and elastic. Place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover and set aside in a warm, draught-free place for 1 hour or until dough doubles in size.
To make the spinach pesto, place the spinach, basil, pine nuts, parmesan, garlic and oil in a food processor and process until smooth.
Grease a 10cm x 21cm loaf pan. Gently punch down dough. Knead for 2 mins or until dough returns to its original size. Divide into 8 portions. Roll 1 portion into a 5cm x 20cm rectangle. Spread with a little pesto. Sprinkle with spinach, feta and tomato. Starting from 1 short end, roll to enclose. Repeat with remaining dough portions, pesto, spinach, feta and tomato. Place rolls, side by side, in the pan. Cover and set aside in a warm, draught-free place for 30 mins to rise.
Preheat oven to 200C. Lightly brush the rolls with a little extra oil and sprinkle with the extra sea salt flakes. Bake for 10 mins. Reduce oven to 180C and bake for a further 20 mins or until golden.

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Sunday, January 3, 2016

Billionaire Bars (Caramel Slice)

Butter Cookie Base
1/2 cup white sugar
2 Tbs brown sugar
Pinch of salt
2 1/4 cups plain flour
250g unsalted butter


Filling
125g unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 (400ml) can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla

Topping
2 cups (350g) dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup (90g) white chocolate chips

Soften butter and add it to all the dry ingredients for the base. Mix ingredients until it holds together like a dough. Press into lined and greased baking tray. Bake for 25 mins at 160C or until lightly browned. Let this cool fully.

For the filling, heat the butter, brown sugar and condensed milk over low heat in a heavy sauce pan. Let the mixture lightly simmer, and stir constantly until it thickens and becomes a medium caramel color (about 20 mins). Remove from the heat, and stir in the vanilla. Pour the filling over the cookie base, and spread evenly. Let this cool completely before adding the chocolate topping.

To make topping, melt the the chocolates separately (using a double boiler).  Spread dark chocolate over caramel and drop spoonfuls of white chocolate on top. Lightly drag lines of melted chocolate all over the top to create a marbled effect. Let the bars sit in the refrigerator, until the chocolate becomes firm. Allow them to sit at room temperature before cutting to avoid chocolate cracking.