Salted Caramel Cupcakes

I've been practicing my cupcake making skills to use for S's future parties and decided to have a go at making salted caramel cupcakes. They turned out so good I made them twice in 3 weeks (the guys at P's work enjoyed them from what I heard). 

I won't post the recipe as its quite long, but I used this one: Triple Salted Caramel Cupcakes

and the recipe for salted caramel is this one I posted last week. 

My beloved KitchenAid in action

 

Creaming butter and sugar

Adding eggs

Delicious batter (too good not to eat off the spoon)

Ready to bake

Ta-da!

Waiting to be dressed

Salted caramel buttercream

A better look

And the final product, triple salted caramel cupcakes.

You need to make these like yesterday!

Riette

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Beef Osso Buco Recipe

I've been loving my slow cooker this winter, especially since having a baby because I can just whack a bunch of things in there in the morning, and by dinner time we have a delicious meal ready to go. 

Instead of doing my usual beef stew, I thought I'd try making Osso Buco, a dish made traditionally with veal shanks. I don't like to eat veal, so made it with beef shanks instead and it still turned out great. Its such an easy meal with only a small amount of prep required, but tastes like you've spent all day cooking!

Ingredients

1 kilo veal or beef shanks (cross cut)

2 tablespoons plain flour 

1 tablespoon olive oil 

2 medium red onions, coarsely chopped 

2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 medium carrots, thickly sliced 

2 sticks celery, thickly sliced 

410g can crushed tomatoes 

2/3 cup (165ml) dry white wine 

1 cup (250ml) beef stock
2 teaspoons dried Italian herbs 

2 tablespoons tomato paste 

Cooked polenta, to serve

Coat the veal or beef in the flour, and brown in a deep pan with olive oil.

Remove the browned meat, and add the prepared onions, garlic, carrots and celery to the same pan. Cook for around 5 minutes until starting to brown and soften.

Add the cooked vegetables to the bottom of the slow cooker. Place the browned meat on top, and then add the tomatoes, tomato paste, wine, beef stock and herbs on top. Turn on the slow cooker to low and cook for at least 6 hours or until the meat is tender and falls off the bone. 

The result:

I served this with creamy polenta, the perfect winter meal!

Give it a go, you'll love it.

Riette

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Homemade Peanut Butter & Bacon Dog Treats

Since becoming a stay at home mum, I have been cooking Jessie's food rather than buying it from the shops. I feel that is it healthier for her, and I'm sure it tastes better to. Of course, sometimes we like to give her treats for being such a good girl. Here's a great recipe that any dog would love.

Recipe adapted from here: http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/10/23/homemade-peanut-butter-dog-treats/

Ingredients:

1 cup (255g) peanut butter (I used crunchy but smooth is also fine)

3/4 cup (180ml) low fat milk

1 large egg

2 cups (244g) wholemeal flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup (30g) oats

2-3 strips bacon, chopped

First preheat the oven to 160C and line two baking trays with greaseproof paper. 

In a large bowl, mix the peanut butter, milk and egg with a whisk until the peanut butter is dissolved. Add the flour and baking powder and mix until a dough is formed. You will need to use your hands to mix the last part of the dough. Turn dough out onto bench and mix in the oats and bacon.

Roll out the dough with a rolling pin, until it is approximately 5mm thick. Either using biscuit cutters, or a knife, cut the preferred shapes (I made bones and hearts) and place spaced out on the lined trays. Roll out the remaining dough and repeat until all dough is used up.

Place the trays in the oven for approximately 16-20 minutes or until golden brown. 

 

Leave too cool before giving to your dog. Store in an air tight container for a week, or freeze.

I think these were pretty successful, but I think Jessie is the best judge. She scoffed them down so I'm sure that a big thumbs up (if dogs had thumbs...).

What treats do your furry friends love?

Riette

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Homemade Muesli Bar Recipe

Since becoming a stay at home mum, I am trying to make as much from scratch as I can, which is beneficial for us both financially and health wise. Rather than buying Uncle Toby's muesli bars, I make these for P every week (he takes them to work every day). I love the combination of the pepitas with honey which makes them a little bit smokey but still sweet, and they are much more satisfying than store bought ones.

 

Ingredients

 

50g unsalted butter

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup raw sugar (could use coconut sugar instead)

150g pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

90g sultanas

1/4 cup flaked almonds

1/2 cup wholemeal self raising flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

Method

 

1. Pre-heat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Line a 21cm square tin with baking paper.

2. Add the butter, honey and raw sugar to a small saucepan and heat until sugar is melted. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes.

3. In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients (everything else).

 4. Add the sugar mixture to the bowl and mix thoroughly.

5. Put the mixture into the prepared pan and spread out with a spoon. With the back of a spatula, press down to flatten the mixture so it is nice and even.

6. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown (I always check at 15 to make sure they don't overcook). Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely in the pan (If you remove before cooled they will most likely crumble).

7. Once cooled, cut into 12 bar pieces using a serrated knife. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

 

I hope you enjoy!