Lemon Curd Tarts with Flaky Poppyseed Pastry

Taste.com.au is one of my favourite recipe sites and on my days off i scroll through the dessert sections and save recipes which i want to come back to and try.
Well today was that day for these lemon curd tarts with flaky poppyseed pastry with a beautiful tree in the backyard full of lemons and the afternoon off it was the perfect opportunity. The pastry is what caught my eye with this recipe as i am a huge pastry fan and have never seen poppyseed used before.
The recipe was very simple and i was left with amazing results. The curd was perfectly thick and tart with the pastry buttery and flaky. This would be the perfect party sweet as each element can be made in advance, its easy to prepare and look delicious.

Our beautiful big lemon tree

Breakfast Muffins

My favourite thing to eat for breakfast is porridge with cranberries and a sprinkle of brown sugar but when i am running out the door at 6:30 in the morning there just never seems to be enough time to make it. So after leaving this morning with no time for porridge again i decided to invent an on the go breakfast muffin which incorporates my favourite breakfast. Just 30 seconds in the microwave and i am running out the door with a warm muffin for breakfast...perfect.

My breakfast Muffin Recipe

1 1/3 cup self raising flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup quick rolled oats
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup bown sugar
1/3 cup sunflower oil
1 cup milk
1 beaten egg
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Method:
Pre heat oven to 200 degreese C. Combine flour, baking soda, cranberries, walnuts, sugar and oats in a mixing bowl. Add oil, beaten egg, vanilla and milk and stir until just combined. Evenly divide mixture between a 6 hole greased muffin tray and place in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden Brown and strings back when touched.
Recipe makes 6. Best served warm.

Salted Caramel and Vanilla Baked Cheesecake

While shopping in the supermarket last week this cheesecake caught my eye on the front page of this months Donna hay magazine. I am not a huge fan of cheesecake but this picture looked irresistible so i went ahead and brought all the ingredients there and then, along with the magazine and set off home to make it. This recipe had quite a few processes in it so i decided to make it over two days giving me plenty of time for the cheesecake to set. All my family loved cheesecake so needless to say it was a big hit. I love the hot caramel sauce and the fact that it looked just like the picture. This would make a great dinner party dessert as it is easy to prepare the day before and it looked really impressive. You can find the recipe in this months Donna Hay Magazine or here at her website http://www.donnahay.com.au/recipes/salted-caramel-and-vanilla-baked-cheesecake.

Apple Pie

Who doesn't love hot apple pie served with vanilla ice cream on a cold winters night? This is the easiest dessert to make, taught to me by my mum. All you need to do is line your pie dish with sweet, shortcrust pastry. Peel and slice 6 apples. Layer the apples and after each layer sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of brown sugar ,1 tablespoon of cubed butter and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. You should have around three layer by the time you reach the top of the dish. To finish off the pie i used a lattice technique with can be demonstrated here. Alternative you can roll a sheet of sweet shortcrust pastry over the top and trim the edges. The pie takes 50 minutes to cook in an oven set to 180 degrees C. This pie smells amazing and to me sums up everything good about winter.

Homemade Honeycomb dipped in chocolate

I have never had much practice with confectionery, always being put off by the high temperatures and sticky mess you are left with at the end but today feeling rather optimistic i searched and found this recipe for honeycomb. Always being a fan of the cadbury crunchy bar i couldn't resits turning this recipe into an old favourite by dipping the honeycomb pieces into milk chocolate to finish. I wont lie, this was not an easy task and it took me two attempts to get it right but the end was defiantly worth it.
My tips for working with sugar is to never take your eyes off the stove and stir consistently. To clean up place your utensils back into the empty pot, fill with water and return to the stove to boil. The heat will remove all the sticky sugar and leave your utensils clean at the end.