Ginger Cake

1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 cup self raising flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp mixed spice
pinch salt
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup milk
125g butter
1 cup golden syrup
Sift flours, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, spice and salt into a bowl.  Add sugar, beaten eggs and milk, mix well.  Put butter, golden syrup into saucepan, stir over low heat until butter has melted.  Stir into flour mixture, mix until well combined.  Grease a deep 20cm square tin and line with baking paper.  Pour cake batter evenly into a tin.  Bake @ 180 degrees C for 60-75 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer.  Leave in the tin 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.  When cold ice with lemon icing.

Lemon Icing
1 cup icing sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp softened butter

Beat until smooth. 

Peach Roll Ups

4 Tbs butter
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
2 cups self raising flour
85g butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
can of peaches, drained
1 tsp orange zest
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp cinnamon

Mix butter, juice, zest & sugar in a saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes then pour half in a greased 22 cm square baking dish.  Sift flour and salt in a bowl, rub in butter and add milk and mix.  Roll out into a rectangle.  Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.  Spread out peaches over the top and roll up.  Cut into 9 slices and place in the dish.  Pour over the remaining syrup.  Bake at 200 degrees C for 25-30 minutes

The Best Ever Chocolate Fudge Self Saucing Pudding

This is my other half's favourite - he is not much of a dessert eater but he'd eat all of this given half the chance!

batter:
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract

sauce:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1 1/4 cup hot water

Preheat oven to 180°C. Combine sugar, egg, flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Stir in milk, butter and vanilla; beat until smooth.  Pour batter into ungreased 9-inch square baking pan. Stir together the brown sugar and cocoa; sprinkle mixture evenly over batter. Pour hot water gently over top; do not stir. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Remove from oven; let stand 15 minutes.

Cinnamon Star Biscuits

I think this recipe originally came from a Better Homes & Gardens magazine about 20 years ago, my mum first made these for Christmas so they always remind me of that time of year. 

185g ground almonds, toasted
90g ground hazelnuts, toasted
2 Tbs plain flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 egg whites
icing sugar

Stir together nuts, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg.  In a small bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form.  Gradually add sugar, beating until stiff.  Fold the nut mixture into the beaten egg whites.  Cover and let stand for 30 minutes so nuts absorb moisture.  On a surface lightly sprinkled with icing sugar, roll out dough 5 mm thick.  Cut with a 3.5-5 cm star shaped cutter.  Place on baking tray lined with baking paper.  Bake @ 160 degrees C for 10-15 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack

Nana's Muesli

For as long as I can remember, breakfast at my grandparent's house has always been this muesli.  Over the years I have tried out other recipes that are healthier but nothing compares with the taste of nana's muesli - I would rather have a little bit less of something that tastes amazing than a big bowl of something very ordinary.

2 cups rolled oats
1 cup unprocessed bran
1 cup shredded coconut
100g pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup skim milk powder
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup honey
60g butter
1/4 cup oil

Combine all ingredients in a large shallow dish.  Bake uncovered in a slow oven for 1 hour stirring every 15 minutes.  Store in an airtight container.

Serve with fruit and thick greek yogurt.

You could also add dried fruit and/or nuts to this to change the flavour but I don't usually bother.  Add the nuts in the last 15 minutes in the oven so they don't burn, add dried fruit after cooking. 

Lemon Gin Cake

Another of my nana's wonderful recipes.  This is beautifully moist and a favourite in our family (any excuse for a bit of alcohol!)

200g butter, softened
1 1/2 cup caster sugar
zest of 2 lemons
4 eggs
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk (room temperature, not straight from the fridge)

topping:
1/2 cup caster sugar
juice of 2 lemons
4 Tbs gin

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C (fanbake, a bit hotter if you don't have fan bake).  Line the base of a 24 cm springform cake tin with baking paper, brush sides with melted butter and dust lightly with flour.
Cream butter, sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs one at a time.  Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together and fold carefully into the egg mixture.  Add the milk and stir gently.  Pile the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 50-60 minutes or until cake shrinks from the sides of the tin. 
While the cake is baking, prepare the topping.  Stir the sugar, lemon juice and gin together.  When the cake is removed from the oven, pour the topping over the hot cake and allow to cool.

Serve with yogurt cream (1/2 cup whipped cream & 1/2 cup thick greek yogurt folded together)

Raspberry Yogurt Cake

125g low fat spread or reduced fat butter
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 wholemeal self raising flour
1/2 cup low fat natural yogurt
100g frozen raspberries

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.  Line the base and sides of a 14 x 21cm loaf pan with baking paper.  Beat the spread and sugar until light and fluffy, add eggs one at a time and mix..  Sift in flour and yogurt and mix until just combined then fold in raspberries.  Bake approximately 1 hour.  Stand cake 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.  Ice with cream cheese icing.

80g light cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup icing sugar
1 tsp lemon juice

Whisk together in a small bowl until smooth