Mother’s Day is a great opportunity to take some time out and celebrate the great work done by mothers.  The late nights pasting glitter onto poster boards, early taxiing children to sports or music and the endless dedication and sacrifice.  My mother is in another state so I don’t get to spend time with her on Mother’s day.

In a way my mother is responsible for my blog as she taught me how to cook.  I presume many mothers are responsible for food bloggers developing an insatiable desire for food, cooking and all things edible.  I started my apprenticeship under mother’s wing as the licker of the spatula.  After this I moved onto peeling potatoes, measuring out ingredients and stirring sauces.  This process continued until I was trusted to cook a whole meal.  In retrospect although these were childhood chores I learnt a great deal and had a good time with Mum.  And now I cook!

So today I decided to share another one of Mum’s great recipes.  This one is apple shortcake.  It is very easy and is great as afternoon tea.  I hope you enjoy.

There is something sort of magical about a chocolate bar.  It is difficult to put your finger on what exactly it is.  They are like a self contained dessert that can be enjoyed at anytime of day.  There are numerous varieties so there is one for every persons taste.  They are sold in a myriad of different sizes to exactly match your appetite (I’m not sure what is so fun about a ‘fun sized bar’ as all I can see is small).  Proliferation of these bricks of confectionary can be attributed to convenience, they are everywhere you look when out at the shops including on supermarket shelves, at the point of sale and even in vending machines.

So what is it we like so much about these gems?  Well the sugar hit is always a plus.  Most importantly is the sense of indulgence.  There is no functional reason for a chocolate bar.  I am pretty sure they have no nutritional value except accounting for 200% of your recommended daily intake of fats and sugars.  When I bite into my favourite chocolate bar there is some nostalgia too.  I think of other times I have enjoyed the exact same treat.  Like Roald Dahl’s Wonka bar we all want for the bliss of finding a golden ticket each time we unwrap a bar.

These tarts were inspired by the Chocolate Ganache Tarts in the Bourke Street Bakery cookbook.  I love Cherry Ripe chocolate bars so I have included some of its essential ingredients of cherries, coconut and most importantly dark chocolate.  These do take a while to cook but they are very indulgent and will bring a smile to anybody’s face.

This morning I woke up early, brewed myself a coffee and proceeded to catch up on episodes of MasterChef and Iron Chef from last week.  At some point in my viewing I had an urge to eat.  I was sitting where I sit now writing and thinking predictably about food.  Like a flash it comes to me.  “I have an idea,” said Mark.  It was decided I would cook banana bread.  And I wanted it now!  So my challenge began.  I would have some fresh banana bread in my paws in 90 minutes time.  The race was on.  Below is a summary of my progress.

I take a few quick photos and I dig in and I’m satisfied.  The result was very moist and very bananary (yes I did just make that word up).  Remember it’s okay to eat junk food if you cook it yourself.

afternoon tea

(noun)

A light midafternoon meal of tea and sandwiches or cakes; “an Englishman would interrupt a war to have his afternoon tea”#

I think afternoon tea is probably one of the most likeable meals (if you could call it that) of the day.  It fills that expansive period between lunch and dinner.  At my work the dedicated lunch time is 11:30 and due to my culinary ambition or laziness I usually eat dinner at about 8pm.  This means there is eight and a half hours between meals.  This is way too long for my liking.  By about 5:30 my stomach has started consuming itself.

The great thing about afternoon tea is that it fits that gap perfectly with class and sophistication.  It’s there when you need it most wearing a top hat and tails.  No matter what it is on offer, it will be appreciated.  A unique feature of afternoon tea is that it serves no nutritional value.  It doesn’t have to be meat and three veg, you don’t have to add an obligatory side dish of rice or pasta.  Afternoon tea just is….. goodness.

As a child we would always come home and raid the refrigerator.  It was like Genghis Khan and his band of marauding hungry Mongols were descending.  We would fight each other and nag our mother to get the best that was on offer.  Some days Mum would pity on us and indulge our whims and cook up a little treat.  She would often cook scones or pikelets.  When something a little more refined was required this little cake would appear.  It is light and simple and goes well with tea or a freshly brewed espresso.

Easter is an interesting time of year.  It is usually my break for the year.  This I feel as if work has only just started and Easter is upon us.  It has snuck up on me.  I think I prefer Easter to Christmas because it is not as commercialised (noting that the true meaning of Easter is marginalised more each year).

I didn’t realise it was really Easter until I saw a few blogs for Hot Cross buns and other delights mentioning Easter.  I immediately panicked a little because I had not given any thought about an festive recipe.  Whilst sitting through some boring meetings on Monday I formulated a plan.  On my A4 pad I started jotting down a few ideas and formulating my recipe.  I wanted something both familiar and different at the same time.

I decided upon hot cross buns (HCB), these are a favourite for all.  Good old Wikipedia has numerous explanations about the origin of these buns but I don’t really care.  They have always been associated with Easter in my house.  The first time my Dad cooked them he used the recipe out of the 1980’s Women Weekly Celebration Cookbook.  Since then we have gone through multiple iterations.  Last year I cooked the Hot Cross Tea Bread from Delicious magazine.  It was nice and very doughy but it was just glorified raisin toast.  Nothing special.  This year I wanted something new and exciting.

And so here we have it.  My Easter creation.  White Chocolate and Macadamia Hot Cross Buns.  These are still a yeast based bun but I have cooked it in a muffin pan.  Essentially the recipe is the same as a regular HCB except I have removed the spices and added cocoa and substituted the dried mixed fruit for white chocolate and chopped macadamia nuts.  Only after making these did I think of dark chocolate and hazel nuts, maybe next year.  I took these to work today and they were devoured very quickly so they must be good

Have a great Easter.

White Chocolate and Macadamia Hot Cross Buns
Adapted from Delicious “Hot Cross Buns” Makes 12 Ingredients
200g	Milk, warmed
¼ cup (50g)	Brown sugar, firmly packed and an extra teaspoon
2 2/3 cups (400g)	Plain flour
7g	Dried Yeast
1 ½ tbs	Cocoa
50g	Unsalted butter, melted
2	Eggs, lightly beaten
100g	White chocolate melts, chopped
75g	Macadamia nuts, chopped
2 tbs	Plain four, for the crosses
2 tbs	Honey
Method
Grease a 12 hole muffin pan with butter Mix warm milk with the extra teaspoon of brown sugar, 100g of the flour and all the yeast and stir until smooth. Set aside for about 15 minutes until frothy. Sift remaining flour and cocca into a bowl.  Knead in melted butter, beaten egg and yeast mixture.  Once combined knead in white chocolate and madadamia nuts.  Divide dough into 12 portions.  Knead each portion for about 30 seconds until it forms a smooth ball shape.  Place in muffin pan and repeat process with remaining dough. Allow buns to prove in a warm place for approximately 45 minutes.  Meanwhile preheat oven to 180°C (170°C fan forced). Mix two table spoons of flour with cold water to make a paste.  Using a piping bag draw crosses on the top of the buns. Bake buns in oven for 15 mintues until golden brown.  Soon after removing buns from the oven glaze with warm honey using a pastry brush.