Ginger Orange Scones

Make tea time a special occasion with Ginger Orange Scones 

served with a Cream Cheese Spread. 

The perfect sweet-savoury combination!

Ingredients:

For the Scones:

240g cake flour (500ml)
5ml baking powder
2.5ml salt

65g butter, cut into small pieces
75ml White Sugar
2.5ml grated orange rind
1 large egg
125ml milk
125ml drained, finely chopped Stem Ginger in Syrup

For the Cream Cheese Spread:

230g tub smooth cottage or cream cheese
30ml orange juice
15ml orange zest
3 pieces Stem Ginger in Syrup, finely chopped
10ml Golden Syrup

Method:

For the Scones:

Preheat oven to 200˚C. Grease and oven tray.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl.

Rub in the butter until mixture resembles fresh breadcrumbs. Stir in White sugar and orange rind.

Mix egg and milk together, and pour onto dry mixture along with the Ginger in Syrup, cutting in with the back of a knife to soft dough.

Turn out dough onto floured worktop and pat out lightly to 2cm thickness. Cut into rounds and bake on prepared tray for 12 minutes.

Transfer onto cake cooling rack.

For the Cream Cheese Spread:

Combine all ingredients until creamy and light.

Store in the fridge until required for spreading on scones

Makes 8 medium size scones

Jalapeno Popper Chicken Chilli

Jalapeno Popper Chicken Chilli is a delicious meal and perfect for cool nights. It has a lot of incredible flavours and protein, and will keep you full for a long time!


Ingredients:
50ml virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
5 jalapeno peppers, chopped. I like to leave the seeds in for extra heat, but you can take them out if you wish.
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 boneless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces
10ml chilli powder
5ml ground cumin
5ml dried oregano

A pinch of chilli flakes

1 tin of chopped tomatoes with green chillies

375ml chicken stock

1tin cannelloni beans, drained

1 tin of sweetcorn, drained

250g cream cheese

500g streaky bacon, cooked crispy and crumbles

Cheddar cheese

Method:

In a large pan that is deep enough to make soup heat half of the olive oil over medium heat and saute the onion, jalaoeno and garlic until tender.

Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper, then add to the pan with the rest of the oil. Add cumin, chilli powder, oregano and chilli flakes. Toss the chicken and seasoning together and lightly brown the chicken on all sides.

Stir in the diced tomatoes, chicken stock, sweetcorn and beans and turn up the heat to bring the contents of pan to the boil.Simmer for 30 minutes.

Stir in the cream cheese, stirring till completely melted. 

Stir in half of the bacon and remove from the heat. Check the seasoning and add more salt and pepper if required. Add mor chicken stock if the sauce is too thick.

Serve garnished with Cheddar cheese and the rest of the crumbled bacon.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cream-Cheese Filling

Ingredients:
For the Cream-Cheese Filling:

3 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


For the Pumpkin Whoopie Cookies:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground cloves
2 cups firmly packed dark-brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 cups pumpkin puree, chilled
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


Directions:

Make the cookies: Preheat oven to 180 C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves; set aside. In another large bowl, whisk together brown sugar and oil until well combined. Add pumpkin puree and whisk until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and whisk until well combined. Sprinkle flour mixture over pumpkin mixture and whisk until fully incorporated.

Using a small ice cream scoop with a release mechanism, drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Transfer to oven and bake until cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of each cookie comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely on pan.

Make the filling: Sift confectioner' sugar into a medium bowl; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth. Add cream cheese and beat until well combined. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla, beat just until smooth. (Filling can be made up to a day in advance. Cover and refrigerate; let stand at room temperature to soften before using.)

Assemble the whoopie pies: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Transfer filling to a disposable pastry bag and snip the end. When cookies have cooled completely, pipe a large dollop of filling on the flat side of half of the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, pressing down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edge of the cookies. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate cookies at least 30 minutes before serving and up to 3 days.

Yield: Makes 12 whoopie pies.

Cheesecake Factory Copycat Carrot Cake Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Cheesecake:
450g cream cheese (at room temperature)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon flour
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Carrot Cake:
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
5ml vanilla
1 cup flour
5ml baking soda
5ml cinnamon 
2.5ml salt
1 227g can crushed pineapple, well drained with juice reserved
1 cup grated carrots
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Pineapple Cream Cheese Icing:
60ml cream cheese, softened
30ml butter, softened
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2.5ml vanilla
20-30ml reserved pineapple juice
Dash of salt

Method:

Grease a 9-10 inch spring-form pan and set aside.

For the cream cheese batter: In a large bowl of an electric mixer  beat together the cream cheese and 3/4 cup of sugar until smooth. Beat in 15ml flour, 3 eggs and 10ml of vanilla until smooth. Set aside. 


For the carrot cake batter: In a large bowl, combine oil, 1 cup sugar, 2 eggs and 5m of vanilla, blending thoroughly. Stir in 1 cup of flour, baking soda, cinnamon and a pich of salt, mixing well. Fold in the drained pineapple, carrots, coconut and walnuts.

Spread 1 ½ cups carrot cake batter over bottom of prepared pan. Drop large spoonfuls of cream cheese batter over carrot cake batter. Top with large spoonfuls of remaining carrot cake batter. Repeat with remaining cream cheese batter, spreading evenly and smoothly with a knife.

Bake in preheated 180˚C oven for 50 to 65 minutes, or until cake is set and cooked through. Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate. When cake is cold, prepare the icing.

For the icing: In a bowl of an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, 2.5ml vanilla, 20-30ml reserved pineapple juice and a dash of salt. Beat until smooth and of spreading consistency. Ice the top of the cheesecake and refrigerate 3 to 4 hours before serving.