Chocolate Pudding

Intro

This recipe dates from about 1991. I had a friend called Fran Lewis who used to bring this dessert whenever her and Pete were invited for dinner. Eventually she gave me the recipe and its now my kids all time favourite dessert. Its a microwave pudding so you can be eating it just 15 minutes after walking into the kitchen. Connor is the King of cooking this and he started making it when he was about 10.

Recipe

• 60g butter (2ozs)

In the microwave melt butter on high power for 30 seconds. Use a wide bottomed dish or bowl that you will cook the pudding in. Pull it out and lightly stir in the following - don't over mix it or the pudding will be tough.

• half a cup sugar
• 1 egg
• half a cup milk
• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

Scrape the batter off the sides of the bowl with a rubber scraper so it sits neatly on the bottom of the dish. Set aside.

In a small bowl mix together:

• half a cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cocoa

Sprinkle evenly over the batter. Gently pour one and half cups of boiling water over the back of a spoon onto the batter. Cook for 6.5 minutes at 100% power. Stand for 2 minutes.

Chocolate Cake

Intro 

So this one has to be first up because having just baked one, William has eaten about 1/2 of it and its barely cool enough to hold in bare hands! We don't usually ice it because the kids aren't big on sweet stuff but the original recipe had icing so I've included it. 

I found this recipe back in 1985 when I was living in Tin Can Bay, Queensland. We were working 12 hour days, 7 days a week and cashing our pay cheques and doing grocery shopping was a nightmare. We were living in a fully furnished holiday flat with only the bare essentials of kitchen equipment and a daggy wee bench-top stove. This recipe fit the bill because I could whip up something yummy from the pantry really quickly with a wooden spoon and cooked in a meat dish. 

Recipe

Preparation

• Turn oven to fan bake 180 degrees.
• Prepare either 2 small cake tins or 1 big one (a roasting dish is fine) by greasing with butter or lining with baking paper (my favourite).

Method

Sieve together:

• 2 cups plain flour
• 1 and half cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Beat lightly together with a fork: 

• 2 eggs
• half  a cup milk

Boil together:

• 4oz (125g) butter
• 1 cup of water
• 3 and half tablespoons cocoa

Once the butter and water mix comes to the boil pour it into the flour mixture and stir it together, tip in the egg mixture when its about half mixed. Tip the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean. 

Icing

Melt together:

• 2 oz butter (65g)
• 1/3 cup water (should be milk but I use water)

Add:

• 3 tablespoons cocoa
• 500g icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence.

Beat until smooth adding more liquid or icing sugar as required. Ice cake while slightly warm.

Why I started this blog

Because I lost my favourite cookbook for a few months and it was terrible - just terrible. I couldn't make Caramel Dumplings or Shortbread or Apple Cake - things I have been cooking since I was a kid. So here it is, my new digital surrogate, a cook book for posterity and being online the kids can look up recipes whereever they are, whenever they need them. Some of my recipes are old ones, old family ones, and I love the thought that my kids will be be able to cook recipes my Mum remembers her Grandmother cooking for her. Other recipes are new ones that I want to keep handy for posterity. Enjoy.