Chocolate and Caramel Ripple Cheesecake with Brownie Base.

I have said it before but I will say it again. Cheesecake is my favourite dessert. It is also one of my favourite foods to experiment with. I love thinking up and trying out new flavours. This weekend brought the idea of mixing things up with a brownie base instead of the usual biscuit base. Now I don't know about you but I love, love, love brownies. Particularly when they are fudgy in the middle but crispy, bordering on over cooked on the edges. Pair this with a delicious, light cheesecake filling and I think that sounds like a darn good sweet treat.



The cheesecake filling I used is a delicious, light and fluffy filling. It is light on flavour which lets the brownie base remain the star of the dessert. And the chocolate and caramel sauces which are rippled throughout just finish it off. The gelatine in the cheesecake filling also means that you don't have to worry as much about getting the perfect consistency or allowing the cheesecake to set overnight. 4 hours in the fridge and you are good to go.



No fluffy around this week, it's straight to the recipe!

This week's tips and hints:
* I use about half of the chocolate and caramel sauces to ripple through the filling and save the rest to drizzle over when you serve.
* Don't stress if your filling is a little lumpy when you fold all the ingredients together. While you want it to be as smooth as possible, you also don't want to beat all the air out of the whipped cream. As long as the cream cheese was whipped until smooth and it is relatively well combined with the cream you will still get a delicious and smooth cheesecake.



Enjoy! Xxx

Chocolate and Caramel Ripple Cheesecake



Serves: 8 - 12
Prep time: 20 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes
Setting time: 4+ hours

Ingredients

Brownie base
125g butter
1 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup plain flour
40g cocoa
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1/2 cup choc chips

Cheesecake filling
3 tsp powdered gelatine
1/2 cup water
250g cream cheese
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 tbls lemon juice
300ml thickened cream

Chocolate sauce
120g good quality milk chocolate
4 tbls thickened cream

Caramel sauce
2 tbls brown sugar
40g butter
4 tbls thickened cream

Method

Preheat oven to 160ºC. Line the base of a 20cm springform fan with baking paper and grease the sides with butter.

Melt butter in a saucepan, over medium heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, until the mixture is thick and glossy.

Sift in flour and cocoa and stir until well combined.

Stir in the vanilla and choc chips.

Bake for 30 minutes. Set aside to cool completely.

Once the brownie base has cooled start on your sauces and filing.

Caramel sauce

Place butter, cream and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Stir over low heat until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Do not boil! Set sauce aside to cool.

Chocolate sauce

Place chocolate and cream in a small saucepan.  Stir over a low-medium heat until the chocolate has melted. Do not boil! Set aside to cool.

Cheesecake filling

Sprinkle gelatine over water in a cup and stand in a small pan of simmering water. Stir until dissolved. Set aside to cool.

Beat cream cheese, lemon juice and sugar with electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Transfer to a large bowl.

Whip cream until soft peaks form. Fold cream into cheese mixture. Fold in gelatine mixture.

Pour half the cheesecake mixture into springform pan on top of brownie base. Drizzle 1/4 of the chocolate and brownie sauces over the mixture. Swirl with a wooden skewer.

Pour the rest of the cheesecake mixture into pan. Drizzle with another 1/4 of the chocolate and caramel sauces. Swirl with a wooden skewer.

Place in fridge to set for at least 4 hours.

Before serving heat leftover caramel and chocolate sauces for 15 seconds in microwave and stir until smooth. Drizzle over each slice of cheesecake as served.

DIY Lightbox and Triple Choc Muffin Recipe

The quality of the photos I have been taking for The Weekly Feast has been a problem for me since the very beginning. I only own a smart phone and a basic point and shoot which already lower the quality of photos I can produce. But I also live in a house which has a poor amount of natural light for taking photos. And, well, photography just isn't my greatest strength. Then recently a friend made her own photography lightbox and the difference it made was incredible! Being the procrastinator that I am, though, it has taken me months to actually get myself organised and make my own. Now that I have, I have spent most of my afternoon taking photos of all kinds of things just to play around with my new toy.

A side by side comparison. Same lighting, same position, taken within a minute of each other and both have received a little cropping and the same editing (brightening etc). Lightbox on the left, normal on the right. Look at the difference!

Over the last few months I have read lots of tutorials and tips on making your own photography lightbox. The idea of a lightbox is to diffuse light (whether natural or artificial) and provide your image with a uniform background. This gives you a crisp, clear, well light image. And the best part is that they can be cheap and easy to make. All you need is a box the size you want your lightbox to be (I used a small box today but might make myself a bigger one down the track), some white card (this will need to be at least 30% longer than the length of the box) and some white tissue paper.

Another comparison. I mean, really, which one would you rather eat? Oh wait, did I mention that's the same muffin?!?!

Simply cut off the top of the box, and then cut out a rectangle 2.5cm from the edges on three of the four sides. Once you have popped the cut outs out, piece together the tissue paper to create a piece large enough to cover one side of the box. Attach the tissue paper to the side of the box with sticky tape, covering the whole you have made. Repeat with the other two sides. You then need to cut your white cardboard to the same width as the inside of the box. Place the card in the box, making sure it curves at the back. Now your lightbox is ready to use!
Place it an area with lots of light, or use some lamps to add light. Place your object on the flat part of the cardboard and click away!

A few shots of my new lightbox in use.

Now what would be the point of going to all this effort if I didn't have something delicious to photograph in my new light box. Enter my triple choc muffins! These babies are delicious and hit that chocolate craving right in the .... well craving. Haha!



This weeks tips and hints:
*  These are a great base. Mix it up with whatever you like. Fruit, nuts, marshmallows. Use you imagination.
* If the batter seems a little dry, add extra milk in small amounts until you are happy with the consistency.
* These are super delicious fresh out of the oven, or pop them in the microwave for 10-20 seconds before eating. They will stay fresh for a couple of days or can freeze well.

Enjoy! Xxx

Triple Choc Muffins


Serves: 12
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 20 - 25 minutes

Ingredients

60g butter, melted
2 cups self raising flour
1/2 brown sugar
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1tsp vanilla bean paste
1 cup choc chips (I used half milk chocolate and half white chocolate)

Method

Preheat oven to 180ºC (160ºC fan forced). Place muffin cases in 12 pan muffin tin.
Lightly beat together eggs, milk and melted butter.
Combine wet ingredients with flour, sugar and vanilla in a bowl. Once combined stir through choc chips.
Divide mixture between muffin cases.
Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until firm on top when lightly touched.
Allow to cool on wire rack.

Scrolls

This week at The Weekly Feast HQ we are babysitting my littlest niece and nephew for a couple of days. Tuesday was a rainy and miserable day (so please excuse the terrible quality of this week's photos!) and Mr 4 was desperate to get outside and play. His attention span was wavering, being stuck inside. Lego had lost its excitement, we had already watched a movie, and he was just getting plain restless. So while Miss 17mths was having her nap I decided it was the perfect time to do some baking with Mr 4.

Scrolls are a perfect recipe to bake with kids who have a short attention span. They are super easy and are made up of several quick steps with breaks in between. They are also super versatile and make a great lunch box item for school or work and freeze really well. Today we chose to make 'pizza' scrolls using things we had in the fridge.



Mr 4 was quite excited to measure out the ingredients and feel the dough once it was mixed, but I think he was sceptical when I told him we were going to leave the dough to rest and that it was going to get bigger. So when I brought the dough out half an hour later he was quite impressed to see how big it was! He was very excited about the whole baking experience, until the scrolls came out of the over when, in true 4 year old style, he decided he didn't even want to try them. Oh well, more for the rest of us I say!



This week's tips and hints:
* As I said these are great for using whatever you have in the fridge. Today we used ham, cheese and tomato sauce but the possible fillings are as limitless as your imagination.
* I used my Thermo-style mixer, Dorris, to mix the dough which made the whole experience even easier, but you can easily make the dough by hand.
* I find it's a good idea to lightly oil the bowl you plan to prove your dough in the help stop it from sticking.

Enjoy! Xxx

Scrolls




Serves: 10 -12
Prep time: 50 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

310g (1 1/3 cups) warm water
1 sachet of dried yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
510g (3 1/2 cups) plain flour
30g (3 tbls) extra virgin olive oil

desired fillings, eg ham, cheese, tomato sauce

Method

Thermo-style mixer Dough Method
Add water, yeast, salt, sugar, oil and flour to bowl.
Mix on speed 6 for 12 seconds.
Mix on knead for 1.5 minutes.
Place dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and place in a warm spot. Allow to prove for 30 minutes.

Normal Dough Method
Place water, yeast, salt, sugar, oil and flour in a bowl.
Mix with a spoon until just combined.
Use your hands to form a ball and knead for 10 minutes.
Place dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and place in a warm spot. Allow to prove for 30 minutes.

While the dough is proving, prepare your filling.

Once dough has finished proving, turn out onto bench and punch down.
Form a ball again and then roll dough out to form a large rectangle (it doesn't matter if it's a bit wonky).
Evenly cover the dough with your desired fillings.
Starting from one side, roll up your dough until you reach the end and it forms a roll.
Using a knife (a bread knife will do) cut your roll into even sections and place on a baking paper lined tray.
Place the scrolls in a warm spot and allow to prove for another 15 - 20 minutes.

Once the scrolls have proved, place the tray in a cold oven.
Set oven to 180°c - 190°c and cook for 15 - 20 minutes until scrolls are golden.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.

Sunday Roast: Yorkshire Puddings

Sunday roasts have held a place in our family for as long as I can remember. When I was little my Nan would cook a roast every Sunday after church. As I grew older and then when we moved away from my grandparents Sunday roasts still happened but they weren't the huge family affair and they didn't happen every weekend. But like all things wonderful, the Sunday roast has come around again and has started a tradition for a new generation.

Life is busy and things get in the way of the little things we sometimes enjoy. But for the most part one of my brothers, his wife and their two little ones are at Mum and Dad's for a family dinner on the weekend. We mix it up every once in a while and have tacos or lasagne but most weeks it is a roast. And I have to say that I love the 'tradition' of it. The memories that are being made, the delicious food we share and the crazy, silly things we talk and laugh about at the table.



Last weekend we mixed it up with a Saturday night dinner and a simple meal of jacket potatoes using bolognese left over from my Super Charged Lasagne. So when Sunday came around and I was longing for that roast and a little bit of nostalgia as well.

As I mentioned, as a kid it was my Nan who cooked the Sunday roasts and let me tell you they generally had all the trimmings. One of my favourite trimmings is Yorkshire Pudding. I mean how much more of a nod can there be to my family's heritage than gorgeous little golden puddings to go with your roast beef and gravy! I haven't had Yorkshire Pudding in... well I can't even remember when the last time was. So my mission last weekend was to give this nostalgic classic a go. My puddings ended up with a hollow centre but let me tell you they did not disappoint! I am going to do a bit of research and try them again in the near future to figure out what went wrong but they tasted super yummy so I'm not stressed. I have a feeling it might be from leaving the fat filter in the oven after the roast which has a tendency to mess with baked goods.



This week's tips/hints:
* These little babies are just wonderful with your roast beef and lots of delicious gravy.
* Once they have cooled, pop the leftovers in the freezer. Now you can have Yorkshire Puddings ready whenever you want them!
* Make sure you get the pans and the oil really hot. The batter should sizzle when you pour it in.
* Make sure you let the batter rest for at least 30 minutes. This is a really important step in ensuring that your batter is smoother leading to deliciously light and crispy puddings.

Enjoy! Xxx

Yorkshire Puddings

Serves: 12
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 15 - 20 minutes

Ingredients

3 eggs
115g plain flour
285ml milk
a pinch of salt
vegetable oil

Method

Whisk eggs, flour, milk and salt together until well combined.
Pour batter into a jug and let rest for at least 30 minutes.

While the batter is resting, preheat oven to 225°C.
While the oven is warming up, place a 12 pan muffin tray in the oven, on the top shelf.
Once the oven is up to temp and the muffin tray is hot, carefully remove the tray and close the oven again to maintain the high heat.
Place a tablespoon of vegetable oil in each muffin hole.
Pop the tray back in the oven for 5 minutes or so until the oil is smoking hot.
Slide the shelf with the tray half way out and fill each muffin hole with Yorkshire Pudding batter and gently slide back into the oven, as quickly as possible.
Allow the puddings to cook until they are golden and crispy, about 15 minutes. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DURING THIS COOKING TIME! It will lead to sunken puddings.
Remove from the oven and serve as soon as possible.

Comfort Food: Supercharged Lasagne

Comfort food. It is a marvellous thing and everyone you know has at least one type of comfort food. Now I'll be honest, none of my comfort foods could be termed 'healthy'. I like to comfort myself with salt and carbs and greasy food. Two of my big comfort foods though are lasagne and mac & cheese.



I remember, as a teen, that my best friend's Mum made THE BEST MAC & CHEESE EVER! I'm sure she still does but it's not really convenient for me to turn up on her door step requesting mac & cheese anymore. So for years I have been trying to perfect my own recipe. I still haven't managed it but I will not give up!

Lasagne, however, I have got down pat. Basic lasagne is in my regular rotation of meals that I cook, sometimes though you just want or need that little bit extra. Enter my supercharged lasagne. This baby takes the classic to a new level, with added bacon, mushrooms and five types of cheese.

The added bonus is that I cooked up a double batch of bolognese mince so that we can have jacket potatoes for a cheeky Saturday night dinner as well.

This weeks tips and hints:
* I chose to use a packet of shredded four cheese blend and some extra parmesan cheese. You can use any cheese you want. I often just use tasty cheese.
* This recipe is great for adding hidden veggies for those stubborn kids (or grown ups ;) ). Simply grate some carrot and zucchini into the mince.
* You could add the mushrooms to the mince, instead of layering them.
* Similarly you could keep the bacon as whole short cuts and layer it through instead.
* I have found that using fresh lasagne sheets makes a huge difference. You can buy them from the fridge section at the supermarket. They are also great for cannelloni, no more breaking dried pasta tubes, simply roll them around your filling!

Supercharged Lasagne

Serves: 4-6
Prep time:
Cooking time:

Ingredients

1-2 cups cheese
fresh lasagne sheets
3 Portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced

Bolognese Mince
1/2 onion, diced
2 pieces short cut bacon, diced
500g beef mince
1 tin crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
salt & pepper, to taste
dried or fresh herbs (I use thyme, oregano and basil), to taste

Béchamel Sauce
30g butter
60g plain flour
500ml milk
1 cup cheese
salt & pepper, to taste
nutmeg, to taste

Method

Fry off onion in a large frypan until them begin to change colour.
Add the diced bacon and gently fry until the onion is golden.
Once the onion is a nice golden colour, add the mince and brown on a medium-high heat. Use a spoon to gently break apart the meet as it cooks.
Once the mince has browned add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, herbs and salt & pepper, lower heat to medium-low and simmer gently until the sauce has reduced down and thickened.

While the mince is simmering, melt butter for béchamel sauce in a saucepan.
Add flour and cook for a minute or two, stirring regularly.
Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly.
Bring sauce to the boil, stirring constantly.
Reduce heat and simmer, stirring regularly, until it begins to thicken.
Remove from heat and stir in cheese.
Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Set aside until you are ready to assemble. Stir occasionally to stop a skin from forming.

Gently fry off mushrooms in a little butter and olive oil.

When you are ready to assemble preheat oven to 200°C.

Now get ready to layer!
Scoop a little of the sauce out of the bolognese and spread around the bottom of you baking dish.
Place a layer of lasagne sheet on top of sauce, cut pieces to fit.
Place a third of the béchamel sauce.
Place half of the mushrooms.
Top with half of the bolognese.
If you are feeling particularly naughty, add a little cheese.
Place another layer of lasagne sheets.
Place another third of the béchamel sauce.
Place the rest of the mushrooms.
Top with the remaining bolognese.
Place a final layer of lasagne sheets.
Top with the remaining béchamel sauce.
Finish off with a layer of cheese (I add a generous sprinkle of grated parmesan here) and a sprinkle of herbs.

Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes - 1 hour, depending how crispy and golden you like your cheese.

Serve with your favourite sides. In our house we love to have potato gems, garlic bread and salad. Enjoy!

Deluxe Hot Dogs

Hot dogs are without a doubt one of my favourite foods. I know, I know, mystery meat, preservatives, calories, carbs but do you know what? I just don't care. I love them!

My dad is also a hot dog lover, and while I don't think he shares my level of devotion, I know he enjoys a good hot dog, particularly with all the trimmings. So I figured for a treat this Father's Day I would up my hot dog game and cook up some deluxe hot dogs, combining some of the best foods (in my opinion) with hot dogs, cheese, bacon, onion and of course tomato sauce.

While they may not look like stunners, these fancy suckers are super delicious, super decedent, super impressive, and I'll let you in on a little secret, super easy!

This weeks hints & tips:
* I cooked my hot dogs in the oven but you could just as easily cook them on the bbq or in a fry pan.
* You can add any of your favourite hot dog toppings to these deluxe dogs. I add onion, avocado and spicy red tomato sauce. My Dad added onion, mustard and spicy red tomato sauce to his. It's all up to you!
* Make sure you get the skinless hot dogs (known as American style or Footy franks), they are generally available pre-packaged in the fridge aisle of the supermarket.
* If you are an extreme bacon lover, you could finely dice the left over bacon and fry it off to add as a garnish to your deluxe dogs.

Deluxe Hot Dogs

Serves: 6
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients
Hot dogs
6 skinless hot dogs
6 bacon rashers
Cheese Sauce
25g butter
1 tablespoon plain flour
1.5 cups milk
2 cups grated cheese
25g grated parmesan cheese

6 bread rolls
any extras you choose

Method
Preheat oven to 190°C.
Trim the bacon rashers, removing the short cut and the rind so you are left with just the tail.
Wrap the tail around the hot dogs, securing with a tooth pick at either end.
Place hot dogs in the oven for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt butter in a medium saucepan.
Once the butter has melted, stir in the flour and cook off for a couple of minutes.
Slowly add milk, whisking constantly.
Bring your sauce mixture to a simmer, stirring regularly.
Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until it has thickened.
Stir in all the cheese until melted and season to taste.
Let sauce cool slightly, stirring regularly.
Once the hot dogs have finished, go crazy! Place your hot dog in a bun and top with cheese sauce and all your favourite toppings!

Chocolate Tart

I have mentioned before that I am generally more of a savoury food type of person. Give me a plate of cheese, biscuits and chips any day! Ironically, however, I find myself creating more sweets recipes than savoury and getting more enjoyment from cooking sweets. The only problem is that I will often eat one, small, portion of what I have cooked and am left with nearly a whole dessert.



This comes in very handy when we are having guests though. Last night was one of those nights. We were having some family and friends over for homemade pizzas (my Dad's specialty) so dinner was sorted. While browsing through my sweets recipes for dessert I had the urge to make a chocolate tart. Always a winner in my books! And it is super, super simple but looks impressive (again a win if you ask me).



Well the night was a success and both the pizzas and the tart were a big hit. So I thought I would share the recipe with you.



This weeks hints/tips:
* You can use frozen shortcrust pastry or even a pre-made pastry shell. I have gotten my shortcrust down pat these days so I don't bother but I know that some people find pastry intimidating.
* I used a food processor to make my pastry but it is simple to make by hand.
* Make sure you use decent chocolate, not home-brand! I use Nestle chocolate melts.
* This would be lovely made with dark chocolate as well.
* A little salt added to the ganache filling would cut through some of the sweetness and really make the chocolate sing.
* I used fresh raspberries to serve with the tart, but any berries, fresh or froze, would work wonderfully.
Enjoy xxx

Chocolate Tart



Servings: 16
Prep time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes
Total time: 3 hours

Ingredients
Pastry
200g plain flour
Pinch of salt
100g chilled butter, cubed
50-60g ice cold water
Ganache Filling
500g milk chocolate
300g thickened cream
Optional
Cream or ice cream, to serve
Berries, to serve

Method
Place flour, salt and butter in food processor. Mix for 10 seconds on med-high.
Add water and mix for a further 5-6 seconds on medium high or until it forms a rough dough.
Knead lightly on a floured surface, wrap in glad wrap and place in fridge for 30 minutes.
Pre heat oven to 180ºC.
Once the dough has rested, roll it out on a lightly floured surface. Then place it in a greased pie dish or tart tan and prick the base with a fork.
Gently place baking paper inside the case and fill with blind baking beans or uncooked rice.
Cook in oven for 15 minutes. Remove beans or rice and baking paper and bake for a further 15 minutes.
Remove tart case from the oven and allow to cool for about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, place chocolate and cream in a microwave safe bowl.
Microwave on high for 60 seconds. Stir chocolate and cream until the chocolate is melted and they are well combined. If necessary, microwave ganache for a further 30 seconds.
Allow ganache to cool slightly.
Pour ganache into the tart case and place the tart in the oven to set (I like to let it set for at least 2 hours).
Serve with cream or ice cream and berries.