Cream Cheese Slice

This is another family favourite that we often used to take to any meeting or function that called for a plate of something for afternoon tea. So easy to make and keeps okay for several days in the refridgerator. That is if any is left over.

PREPARATION:

250 g cream cheese
250 g unsalted butter
200 g caster sugar
1 dessertspoon of gelatine dissolved in 3 dessertspoons hot water and let to cool
2 pkts lattice biscuits (raspberry waffles)
few drops vanilla essence

Cream the butter and sugar. Add cream cheese, gelatine mix and vanilla essence and mix well together. Sandwich mixture between two biscuits. Continue this way until all mixture and biscuits are used up. Place on tray or plate in the fridge and let to set firmly. Serve with tea or coffee for a yummy treat.

Bircher Muesli

Everyone loves muesli done this way and you make your own just as good as what you find served at the very best hotels on the breakfast menu. You can alter some of these ingredients to suit your own taste but I find that this one works well for me. You can halve mixture if this recipe is too much and it keeps well in the fridge for several days. Make sure you keep it sealed or with plastic wrap over the bowl.

PREPARATION:

3 cups rolled oats
2 cups fresh orange juice
2 x 200 g tubs plain light yoghurt or honey yoghurt
1/2 cup sliced dried apples
1/4 cup dried apricots
1/4 cup sultanas
1/3 cup honey
1 cup milk
3 small plums, chopped
1/3 cup slivered almonds - toasted
extra plums

Combine oats, juice and yoghurt in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Remove from fridge and stir in apples, sultanas, apricots, honey, milk and chopped plums and mix well. Cover and refridgerate for 30 minutes. Serve muesli topped with almonds and the extra plums.

Potato Salad

This is a great version of an australian favourite salad. Whenever we have a barbecue or go on a picnic, we always make sure this is on the table.

PREPARATION:

1 - 1.2 kg Desiree potatoes
Cook approx 15 - 20 minutes. While still hot, chop into large chunks and add to the made dressing. You can also cut potatoes before you cook them. If you do make sure you don't peel them and adjust cooking time to approx 8 -10 mins at most.
Dressing:
Chop up some gherkins - to suit
Chop up a couple of pickled onions ( use a good brand)
1 apple diced up
1/2 cup walnuts
2 teaspoons seeded mustard
300 mls mayonaise
300 mls light sour cream
chopped chives and parsley
salt and black cracked pepper to taste.
If you find that there is too much dressing for this amount of potatoes, you can always keep it sealed in a jar in the fridge and it will keep for several days and can be used over other things such as fish for a different taste to using tartre sauce.

Mascapone Cheese and Plum Pie

I cannot remember who gave me this recipe and although I don't make it often, I always wonder afterwards why I don't. It is really a beautiful pie and one which leaves you wanting to have another helping, but know you really shouldn't.

PREPARATION:

Pastry:
240 grams plain flour
110 grams cold butter
110 grams icing sugar
1 egg
Rub butter into flour. Add icing sugar then the egg. Combine and refrigerate for 10 minutes. Roll to fit a square shallow pan and bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes.
Filling:
10 small plums
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup cream
1/4 cup mascopone cheese
1/4 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
vanilla essence
Beat eggs and sugar then add cheese and beat well. Place plums that have been quartered, cut side down onto pastry. In a pan warm cream, milk and vanilla to just below boiling point. Gradually stir in egg mixture to milk and pour over plums. Bake in moderate over 175 - 180 degrees for 30 - 35 minutes. Serve hot with whipped cream or vanilla icecream.

Pineapple Meringue Pie

This is a different version of Lemon Meringue Pie and I think it is even better. I have been serving this dessert up for years and every time I make it my guests always want the recipe for it. I'm not sure who gave my mum this recipe but it is certainly a winner. Serve with whipped cream. It is just as yummy hot or cold.

PREPARATION:

Pastry:
1 cup SR flour
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon sugar
2 egg yolks
little milk
Sift flour and rub butter into it. Add all other ingredients and combine well. Roll out on well floured surface and place in a baking dish. Bake in a moderate oven until golden brown. While this is cooking, make your filling.
Filling:
1 tin of crushed pineapple (can be either sweetened or in natural juice)
2 tablespoons custard powder
Drain the juice from pinapple and gradually add it to the custard powder. When well blended, add the pinapple and place in saucepan over a low heat until mixture boils and thickens. You need it to be a really thick mixture. While this is slightly cooling, make up the meringue mixture.
Meringue:
4 egg whites
4 tablespoons sugar
Beat together with an electric mixer until stiff.
Spread your filling over the pastry base and then then spread the meringue over this. Bake in a moderate oven until the top browns slightly. Don't overcook as you want this to be a very soft meringue.

Pikelets

This is the recipe that my mum always used to make pikelets. They have been around for ever and I have tried lots of versions but always come back to this one as it never fails and they always rise just right.

PREPARATION:

1 cup SR flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon bi carb soda
1 egg
1/2 cup sour milk (just add a little vinegar or lemon juice to milk)
1 dessertspoon melted butter
pinch salt

Put all ingredients apart from butter into a mixing bowl. Place butter on the baking surface of your frypan or gridle iron and melt over low heat. Pour off the melted butter into the bowl over your other ingredients and mix together with electric or hand beater. Have your frypan at about 380 degrees and place the batter onto this in required amounts. I usually use a tablespoon to measure out the size. When the air bubbles come up and you can see the batter is browning underneath, turn over with a spatula. Don't place too many pikelets in pan together as it will be too hard to turn them over without running into others. When cooked on both sides, either eat hot with butter and your favourite topping such as jam or honey or else eat cold. Either way they will be a winner for afternoon tea. Whenever I am required to take scones to an event, I always make some pikelets as well, just in case some of the guests don't eat scones. These also taste yummy with jam and cream on.

Banana Orange Ambrosia

This is a recipe that caught my eye about 35 years ago when I was on holidays down at Siesta Park, a beautiful little holiday spot on the south west coast, just down from Busselton. We had been staying at the caravan park there and I was reading the paper while waiting for the men to come home from fishing off the coast. Hoping that we would be having jewfish for tea, I thought that I would make this for dessert seeing it was such an easy recipe. So glad that I did as it is just lovely to finish off a summer meal with this lovely fresh summery dessert.

PREPARATION:

4 oranges
2 bananas
1/2 cup dessicated coconut
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon sweet sherry

Peel the oranges and cut crosswise into think slices, removing seeds and pith. Then peel the bananas and flute them by running the prongs of a fork down them before slicing them crossways about 70 mm thick. Arrange alternate layers of oranges and banana slices in a shallow serving dish, sprinkling each layer with sugar. Use orange slices for the bottom and the top layers. Sprinkle with the sherry and coconut and chill for one hour. Serve with whipped cream. So delicious and simple.