Old fashioned lemon tarty pies

the humble little lemon
To tart on it's own,
Sugar has shown,
That lemon can too,
Definitely woo!

Juiced and into a tart,
It likes to be the main part,
A friend to the sweet,
& savoury cannot beat.

The humble little lemon!

lemon tarty pies
makes: 1 large tart OR 12-14 mini tarty pies
keeps: best eaten immediately or covered, refrigerated up to 3 days
ingredients
4 sheets frozen short crust pastry, thawed
Lemon Filling:
125g butter
1 ½ cups (345g) caster sugar
4 x 60g eggs
170ml (2/3 cup) natural yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
juice and zest of 2 lemons
90g (1 cup) coconut
icing sugar, to dust

to do...
Pre-heat oven to 180C.
Cut pastry into rounds using a 8x8cm cookie cutter. Place pastry rounds evenly into the (silicone) mini tart cases. Place another (silicone) mini tart case on top, pushing down gently to blind bake. Repeat with remaining pastry and tart cases.
Place tarts onto a baking tray and blind bake pastry for 8 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
To make the filling:
Beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy.
Add eggs one at a time until well combined. Add yogurt, vanilla, lemon juice and zest.
Stir through coconut and pour mixture into prepared tart bases.
Bake for 15 minutes or until the filling is golden and slightly puffed.

love amie x

salty crepe goodness

Are you not a fan of crepes unless they're sweet? Then try this salty recipe twist for a quick weekend brunch.

Salty crepes

makes: 5-6 crepes

keeps: covered, refrigerated 3-4 days
ingredients

crepe batter

1 1/3 cups buttermilk

2/3 cup water

4 x 60g eggs

1 1/2 cups (225g) plain flour

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

large pinch salt

topping - per crepe

1 egg, lightly beaten

1-2 teaspoons mixed fresh herbs - sage, parsley, rosemary, chopped

2 tablespoons mozzarella cheese, grated

3 teaspoons goats curd

to do...

Combine all ingredients into a large jug or bowl. Whisk well until smooth. Set aside to rest for 15 minutes.

Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. Pour 1/3 cup mixture into the pan, swirl the mixture around the pan until firm. Cook for 1 minute and then turn crepe over.

Pour a beaten egg on top of the whole crepe, stirring until egg is almost set. Sprinkle half one side of the crepe with herbs, mozzarella, and dollop with goats curd. Fold one side over on top of the other and cook for a further 1-2 minutes or until filling is melted and warmed through.

Slide crepe onto a plate and eat immediately to be in cheesy heaven!

love amie x

lazy 'ladies' luncheon

When the girls pop in un-announced, something quick and of course, delish is on the menu.
Freshly sliced cured meats, Dutch Gouda, goats curd all served with quinoa and soy bread.
Next is a 'warm your tummy' vegetarian Dahl. A combination of slowly roasted spices cooked with ginger and garlic then simmered gently with lentils (of choice), and stock until soft.
Serve with fresh natural yogurt and a squeeze of lime!

love amie x

the chocolate teddy bear recipe.

My sister, Kate was busy at home one day as a mother of two young children often is. When here little 4 year old daughter, Charlotte called out to her.
'Mummy, what is in biscuits'?
Kate answered, remembering the few ingredients from the last time they had baked biscuits together.
'Butter, sugar, eggs, cocoa and flour, Charlotte.' Returning hurriedly back to her house jobs & thinking nothing of her daughter's recipe question.
Kate returned to check on Charlotte who had been busy drawing. But instead found her in the kitchen with flour and cocoa dusted all over the kitchen floor and bench
'Oh know, what a mess!', Kate thought to herself looking around bewildered.
At the centre bench of the large family kitchen a tiny plastic chair had been pushed up against the bench with Charlotte standing on top of the chair, tall and proud. Her tiny hands inside the mixing bowl, mixing ingredients. Before Kate could remark, Charlotte opened her little mouth and exclaimed.
'Mummy look at my recipe I have made'.
With those few little words Kate's worry of mess dissolved. Kate peered inside Charlotte's mixing bowl. There inside were chunks of butter surrounded by sugar, cocoa, flour and eggs. All of which Charlotte had sourced from the cupboards and fridge on her own.
Kate was amazed that her little girl could remember, write and then find the exact ingredients she had mentioned briefly to her earlier.
Kate then helped Charlotte melt the bits of butter and added them to the mixture. Charlotte decided the mixture still wasn't correct and announced that:
'I think we should add some milk, Mummy'.
So together they added some milk to the mixture. Poured the mixture evenly into the tiny teddy moulds Charlotte's Aunt Ame had given her and baked her first recipe.
They were so delicious Charlotte wanted to send one to Aunt Ame who lives interstate, but mummy loved them too much to give away.

If you look close enough at the image above you can almost read the first recipe my 4 year old niece, Charlotte wrote and tested all by herself.


It reads:

- butter

- sugar
- eggs
- cocoa
- flour
plus some milk to combine!

love aunt ame x

little vanilla kisses with chocolate ganache

ingredients

3-4 eggs whites

1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter

1 1/4 cups sugar

dark chocolate ganache

300ml pure cream

250g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

to make kisses (meringue)

Preheat conventional oven to 120C.

Beat egg whites and cream of tarter in a clean bowl until stiff peaks form.

Add 1/4 cup sugar at a time, beating well between additions. Continue to beat mixture until sugar has dissolved.

Spoon meringue mixture into piping bag, pipe 2cm kisses evenly onto a baking tray lined with baking paper.

Bake for 20 minutes or until meringue is set. Leave in oven with the door ajar for a further 15 minutes.

to make ganache

Heat cream in a non stick saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until just starting to bubble. Immediately remove from heat and add chocolate, stirring constantly until chocolate is melted and mixture is combined. Set aside to cool or place in the refrigerator until desired dollop consistency is reached.

Sandwich kisses with chocolate ganache and set aside. Voila!

love amie x

'ode' to the pink macaron

Shopping for a birthday present, it was my mothers 50th. I aimlessly wandered into the book section of Myer. A shower of macaron books lay ever so delicately ahead. Shades of pastels and polka dots shone bright, pulling teasingly on my sweet and girly Achilles heal - the macaron. The sweet macaron.

When did this perfect, petite French biscuit become so popular?

It made me feel a little sad, that the glamour and exquisiteness of the macaron had lost some sparkle for myself. Could it have 'had it's day' with all the overdone array of mediocrity's I had and was continuing to experience to date.

Had the delicate macaron fallen from grace?
Become so common, it now missed the elusive elegance that once made it so fabulous. From sharing company with 'creme brulee' to be more of a friend to the cute but common 'cupcake'. I still very much adore, but...

I pondered back to when I first experienced a 'macaron'.

love amie x

pass curd

For something sweet on your lips, this passion fruit curd is a winter winner!

The passion fruit vine was my first garden responsibility at the tender age of 7. Dad generously allowed each of my sisters and I a strip of garden to design, plant and care for our very own little green patch. My patch was beside the old wood shed and facing north, which showered my little garden with afternoon warmth. Already established was my prized and beloved passion fruit vine. Dad had already set up a crawler for the mysterious vine to wind upwards and onwards. Later to Dads dismay, the tank above. My job was to water, weed and fill the remaining dirt with pretty little flowers, which would brighten this dull and grey area of our garden. I childishly chose plants, which were the most fun flowers; snapdragons and pansies.

This memory was provoked when my dear 'mother in law', Fay offered me some of her passion fruit curd she freshly made. 

The recipe is delicious when bundled up inside freshly made pancakes or with some freshly toasted brioche. 

'Mmm, delicious...'

Passion fruit curd 

Takes 15 minutes 

Makes 4-5 jars

the ingredients 

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons butter

12 passion fruits (pulp only) 

a little love

Beat eggs in a medium bowl until light and creamy.

Combine beaten eggs with the remaining ingredients in a medium sized non-stick saucepan.

Cook, stirring constantly over a medium heat until mixture starts to thicken. 

Remove from heat, pour evenly into sterilised jars. Refrigerate until ready to use. 

love amie x