Happy Christmas

Christmas is a time for gratitude, remembering all those things you are thankful for, and indulging in things that make you happy, spending time with loved ones and overdosing on favourite foods. I have a lot to be grateful for, and one thing that is high on my happiness list is chocolate. I decided to revisit a recipe from last year and improve on it by combining cocoa with my gingerbread recipe to create a chocolate version, and substituted milk for ginger beer.

This gingerbread is delicious by itself, dressed up with your favourite icing or used in trifle, which is what I will be doing later this week for Christmas.

Wishing you a very happy Christmas.

What I was cooking this time last year: Gingerbread Trifle

Chocolate Gingerbread

Ingredients

• 2 cups self-raising flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon mixed spice
• 1 cup ginger beer
• 1 cup sugar
•  2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 125g butter
• 1 cup golden syrup
• Cooking oil spray

Method

• Melt butter and syrup in saucepan over low heat until butter is melted and set aside to cool a little.

• Sift the flour, cocoa & spices into a bowl.

• Add sugar, eggs, ginger beer and butter syrup and mix well.

• Spray your baking tin(s) with cooking oil spray. Pour cake batter into tins – I used mini-cupcake tins.

• Bake for 20 minutes at 170°C [fan-forced] or 180°C normal oven (you will need to adjust the cooking time if using larger tins). Remove from oven when cooked – ie skewer comes out clean or the gingerbread springs back with lightly touched.

What is your favourite food that makes you happy? Has this post inspired any new ideas?

Retro

Some of the first recipes I learnt to perfect were from my mum’s Australian Women’s Weekly recipe card collection. It seems many Aussies have a soft spot for the Australian Women’s Weekly recipe card collection, and many of the recipes have stood the test of time. This caramel slice is always popular.

To create a gluten free version of the slice and ensure none of my guests had to miss out, I used a biscuit crumb base instead of the details prescribed in the original recipe. I blitzed a 200g packet of gluten free biscuits with 100g of softened butter in a food processor, pressed this into the bottom of the lined baking tray and put in the fridge to chill before adding the caramel and chocolate layers.

In Australia, condensed milk currently comes in 400ml cans, I’ve included the 440ml can below as specified in the original recipe, but when I make the slice I just use the readily available 400ml can. Following the current trend for salted caramel, I added a generous pinch of salt to my caramel as it was cooking. The coconut specified refers to desiccated coconut. I also added extra chocolate, increasing to 200g of dark chocolate and 2 tablespoons of cooking oil instead of vegetable shortening for the topping. If you are using cooking oil, I recommend you select a neutral flavoured oil, I used rice bran oil. If you feel so inclined, you could scatter crumbled salt fakes over the top of the chocolate topping as extra decoration.

I recommend you bring your finished slice to room temperature before slicing if you have refrigerated it, otherwise the chocolate topping will be prone to cracking as you chop. The slice is quite rich, I suggest you cut into dainty portions – you can always go back for seconds or thirds if you still have room.

What I was cooking this time last year: Choc Malt Brownies

Carmel Chocolate Slice

* This recipe is the original Caramel Chocolate Slice recipe published by The Australian Women’s Weekly recipe cards.

Biscuit Base

• 125g butter
• 1 cup coconut
• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed

• Sift flour into bowl, add sugar and coconut, stir until combined.
• Melt butter in pan, add to dry ingredients; mix well.
• Press into greased 28cm x 18cm (11 in x 7 in) lamington tin.
• Bake in moderate oven 10 minutes.
• Remove from oven, spread with prepared Caramel.
• Return to oven for further 10 minutes.
• When cold, spread with Topping.
• Cut into squares when set.

Caramel

• 440g (14 oz) can condensed milk
• 2 tablespoons golden syrup
• 30g (1 oz) butter

• Place all ingredients into saucepan, stir over low heat until caramel has thickened, bringing slowly to boil, remove from heat.

Topping

• Place 125g (4 oz) chopped dark chocolate and 30g (1 oz) solid white vegetable shortening in saucepan over hot water, stir until melted.

What is your favourite retro recipe? Has this post inspired any new (or old) ideas?

Crazy as a coconut

Banana bread has become a breakfast staple in cafés. A coconut bread recipe by Bill Granger was the inspiration for my recipe this week. I’ve changed ingredients and swapped it from a loaf to muffins, to come up with the below recipe.

I’ve packed in triple coconut, with desiccated coconut, coconut milk and coconut oil. Coconut oil is sometimes referred to as coconut butter, they are the same thing. If your coconut oil becomes solid, it can easily be melted my standing the jar in some hot water from the kettle and it will return to liquid again. Coconut oil is reported to be a good oil, with lots of health benefits, and works well in baking.

If you are not a confident baker, muffins are the perfect thing to try making to build up your confidence. No fancy equipment is needed for mixing the batter. In fact, the less mixing you do, the better. It’s also a good recipe to get the kids involved with.

The salt quantity below is based on using fine salt flakes, if you are using regular table salt you will need to reduce the amount you include – adjust to taste but start off cautiously. If you need to reduce or limit your salt intake, you can of course skip the salt.

Delicious served warm straight from the oven, with a slather of butter or just as they are. Suitable for breakfast, morning or afternoon tea or a snack. Any leftovers can be frozen and zapped for a few seconds in the microwave to warm through again.

What I was cooking this time last year: Strawberry and White Chocolate Mousse

Coconut Muffins

* This recipe was adapted from a Coconut Bread recipe by Bill Granger. I have modified and adapted it to come up with the below reincarnation.

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 300mls coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 350g self-raising flour
• 1 teaspoon mixed spice
• 100g brown sugar
• 150g shredded coconut
• 75mls coconut oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt flakes
• Cooking oil spray to grease your muffin tin

Method

• Pre-heat the oven on to 180°C.
• Add the dry ingredients (flour, mixed spice, coconut, salt and brown sugar) to a large bowl. Stir to combine.

• Add the coconut oil, eggs and vanilla to a measuring jug and mix to combine. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients in the bowl.

• Measure out 300mls coconut milk and add to the dry ingredients in the bowl.

• Stir until the mixture is just combined, being careful not to over-mix.
• Spray a muffin or cupcake tin with cooking spray.
• Pour the batter into the muffin tray.

• Cook your muffins in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes or until cooked through (test by pressing lightly on the middle of a muffin, it should bounce back, or when you insert a skewer into the center it comes out clean without any batter stuck to it).
• Remove from the oven, and serve still warm, or allow to cool in the muffin tray. Enjoy.

What is your favourite breakfast recipe? Has this post inspired any new ideas?

Poppy Seed cake

In preparation for embracing the “Swank Diet” in the new year, I am taking steps to wean myself off certain favourite foods. A lot of the diets books I have been reading say it is important not to put your body through sudden and / or drastic changes, so I am currently cutting back on coffee and dairy products, and if I am eating dairy, using low-fat or no-fat versions. If you are regular follower of this blog, you may have detected that I love baking and I believe cake should be classified as its’ own food group. The inspiration for this recipe is to come up with a cake that doesn’t use butter. I wouldn’t go as far as saying it’s healthy, but for me, it’s a step in the right direction.

The cake has been drowned in a sticky syrup, which you could skip if you want or need to reduce your sugar intake. Delicious served warm alongside a scoop of fat free natural yoghurt.

What I was cooking this time last year: Veggie Burgers

Lemon Poppy Seed Yoghurt Cake

Ingredients:

Cake

• 2 cups self-raising flour
• 3/4 cup raw sugar
• 1 cup zero fat yoghurt
• 1/2 cup rice bran oil (or other vegetable oil)
• 2 lemons
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Generous pinch salt
• 4 tablespoons poppy seeds

Lemon Syrup

• 2 lemons
• 1/2 cup raw sugar
• Water

Method

• Turn the oven on to 180°C to pre-heat.
• Add the flour, sugar, eggs, salt, vanilla, lemon zest, yoghurt and oil to your food processor bowl.
• Juice the zested lemons, and add 1/2 cup lemon juice to the food processor bowl.

• Mix until the cake batter is combined.
• Add the poppy seeds to the food processor bowl and pulse until mixed into the cake batter.

• Grease a cake tin.
• Pour the cake mix into your greased cake tin, and set a timer for 45 minutes (you may need to adjust the cooking time depending on your oven and cake tin size).

• To make the syrup zest 2 lemons to produce long strips of zest. Add to a saucepan.

• Juice the lemon, to create 1/4 cup lemon juice, add 1/4 cup of water and add to the saucepan.
• Add 1/2 cup of sugar to the lemon zest and juice mix.

• Cook the syrup mixture over a medium heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture comes to the boil.
• Take the syrup off the heat and set aside to cool.
• Once the cake is cooked, remove from the tin and pour over the syrup while the cake is still hot.
• Serve warm or once cooled. Enjoy.

What is your favourite healthy(ish) cake recipe? Has this post inspired any new ideas?

Zesty

One of my all time favourite flavours is lemon. When I was making the Australian Women’s Weekly classic, Caramel Chocolate Slice recently, I was inspired to try a citrusy version. This slice is my Lemon and White Chocolate Slice.

I like to use the zest and well as the juice of lemons to give an extra citrus boost when I am cooking. Cooking the lemon filling is more to cook out the egg yolks than to actually thicken the curd, the reaction between the lemon juice and condensed milk when mixing without any heat produces a thick filling. With the cooking oil you use, I recommend you select a neutral flavoured oil, I used rice bran oil.

I recommend you bring your finished slice to room temperature before slicing if you have refridgerated it, otherwise the chocolate topping will be prone to cracking as you chop (I learnt this the hard way, and the firm chocolate caused the lemon filling to ooze out a little). The slice is quite rich, you I recommend you cut into dainty portions – you can always go back for seconds or thirds if you still have room.

What I was cooking this time last year: Banoffee Pie

Lemon and White Chocolate Slide

* This recipe was adapted from a Caramel Chocolate Slice recipe by The Australian Women’s Weekly recipe cards. I have modified and adapted it to come up with the below reincarnation.

Ingredients:

Biscuit Base

• 120g butter
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 1/2 cup self-raising flour
• 1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed

Filling

• 400g can condensed milk
• 2 lemons
• 2 egg yolks
• Generous pinch of salt

Chocolate topping

• 22og white chocolate
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil

Method

• Turn the oven on to 180°C. to pre-heat.
• Melt the butter in a saucepan over a low heat.
• Add the oats, flours, brown sugar and melted butter to a food processor bowl. Mix the biscuit base mixture until combined.
• Line a baking tray with grease-proof paper.
• Tip the biscuit base mixture into the lined baking tray, and press out evenly over the base of the tray.

• Cook the biscuit base in the oven for 10 minutes.
• Remove the biscuit base from the oven and set aside to cool.
• Add the condensed milk to the saucepan used to melt the butter.
• Zest and juice the lemons and add to the condensed milk in the saucepan.
• Add the 2 egg yolks and salt to the saucepan and mix everything to combine.

• Cook the lemon filling over a medium-low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture is hot. Continue cooking for a further two minutes to ensure the egg yolks are cooked.

• Pour the hot lemon filling over the biscuit base, spread out to create an even layer. Set aside to cool.
• Add the white chocolate and cooking oil to a large bowl.

• Suspend the bowl over a saucepan of hot water and gently heat until the chocolate is melted and everything is combined.
• Pour the white chocolate over the lemon filling layer, spread out to create an even layer. Set aside to cool.
• Remove the lemon slice from the baking tray and cut into serving size pieces. Enjoy.

What is your favourite lemon recipe? Has this post inspired any new ideas?

Protein punch

When I came across a recipe in the Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Food section that used a tin of red kidney beans to produce a gluten-free chocolate cake, to say I was dubious is an understatement. Curiosity got the better of me however, so I decided to give it a try. I shared my experiment with my family, because I knew I would be guaranteed an honest opinion – my brother is never one to hold back with his reaction. I doubled the original recipe and split the mix among three cake tins to create a triple layer cake The result was a success, a fudge cake that I smothered in dark chocolate icing with white chocolate cream between the layers. I didn’t tell everyone about my secret ingredient, and everyone was genuinely surprised when I revealed the details. A great way to sneak in extra protein for kids or vegetarians, and of course, a perfect recipe to cater for those that are gluten-free. Feel free to decorate.

Tip: make sure the cocoa powder is gluten-free if you are catering for those that are intolerant.

What I was cooking this time last year: Zucchini Fritters

Chocolate Fudge Cake

* The basic cake recipe ingredients list is taken from a recipe by Debbie Skelton that appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Food section on 7 August 2013.

Ingredients:

Cake

• 2 x 420g tins of red kidney beans, drained
• 2 tablespoons espresso coffee
• 2 tablespoons vanilla paste
• 10 eggs, at room temperature
• 250g softened butter, plus extra to grease your cake tins
• 320g sugar
• 140g cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt flakes
• 2 teaspoons gluten free-baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

White Chocolate Cream

• 100g white chocolate
• 300mls cream
• 1/2 tin condensed milk (approx 200mls)

Dark Chocolate Ganache Icing

• 220g dark chocolate
• 300mls cream
• 1/2 tin condensed milk (approx 200mls)

Method:

Cake

• Turn the oven on to 180°C.

• In a food processor, purée the kidney beans, coffee, vanilla and two eggs until smooth.

• Add the butter and sugar and process until smooth.

• Add the remaining eggs, two at a time, processing until smooth.
• Add the cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt and process until smooth.
• Cut grease-proof paper to size to fit the bottom of three cake tins.
• Grease the three cake tins and line the bottoms with the grease-proof paper discs.
• Divide the cake mixture between the three cake tins and smooth out to encourage them to cook evenly.

• Cook in the oven for approximately 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
• Remove the cakes from the oven once cooked and allow to cool in their tins.

White Chocolate Cream

• To make the white chocolate cream, add the white chocolate, cream and condensed milk to a large bowl.
• Suspend the bowl over a saucepan of hot water and gently heat until the chocolate is melted and everything is combined. Allow the chocolate ganache to chill completely in the fridge.
• Once the white chocolate mixture has chilled, beat the cream until thick.

Chocolate Ganache Icing

• To make the chocolate ganache icing, add the dark chocolate, cream and condensed milk to a large bowl.
• Suspend the bowl over a saucepan of hot water and gently heat until the chocolate is melted and everything is combined. Allow the chocolate ganache to cool to room temperature.

Assembly

• To assemble, place one cake on your serving plate.
• Top with half of the white chocolate cream, and spread the cream across the top of the cake.
• Add the next cake on top of the white chocolate cream layer.
• Add the remaining white chocolate cream, and spread the cream across the top of the cake.

• Add the final cake to the top of the second layer of cream.
• Top the layered cake with dark chocolate ganache icing, and spread to cover the top and sides of the cake.

• Allow to chill in the fridge until ready to serve. Enjoy.

What is your favourite chocolate cake recipe? Has this post inspired any new ideas?

Gooey caramel

One of my all time favourite desserts is Nigella’s Molten Chocolate Babycakes. I wanted to play with this recipe and come up with a caramel version.

The salt quantity below is based on using fine salt flakes, if you are using regular table salt you will need to reduce the amount you include – adjust to taste but start off cautiously.

Babycakes are best cooked to order just before you are ready to serve. The original chocolate and these caramel puddings can be frozen before cooking (if you happen to have any such thing as extras), so that you have them on standby for emergencies. You will just need to add a couple of extra minutes to the cooking time if cooking straight from the freezer. You also may need to play with the cooking times depending on your oven, you want a cooked pudding that will turn out of its mould intact but retaining its gooey centre. Delicious with whipped cream or ice-cream.

What I was cooking this time last year: Pumpkin Cannelloni

Salted Caramel Babycakes

* This recipe was adapted from a Molten Chocolate Babycakes recipe by Nigella Lawson. I have modified and adapted it to come up with the below reincarnation.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 50g butter, softened
• 350g white chocolate
• 150g brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt flakes
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 50g plain flour
• Cooking oil spray to grease your cake tin

Method

• Add the white chocolate and brown sugar to a large bowl.

• Suspend the bowl over a saucepan of hot water and gently heat until the chocolate is melted and everything is combined. Allow the chocolate to cool slightly.
• Add the butter, vanilla, eggs, salt and plain flour to your food processor bowl. Blend until combined.

• Add the chocolate sugar mixture to the food processor and blend until combined.
• Spray 6 moulds with cooking spray, and you may want to line the bottom of each mould with a disc of grease-proof paper cut to size.
• Divide the batter between the 6 moulds.

• When ready to cook, pre-heat the oven on to 200°C.
• Cook your baby cake(s) for 12 – 15 minutes.

• Remove from the oven, run a knife around the outside of the cakes to loosen from the mould, then tip out onto small plates or shallow bowls.
• Serve with whipped cream or ice-cream. Enjoy.

What is your favourite gooey recipe? Has this post inspired any new ideas?

Such a tart

Many varieties of tomatoes are available at the moment in abundance, so I’ve used them as the basis for my recipe this week. Flavours that match well with tomatoes include oregano and garlic, but you could of course experiment with whatever flavours inspire you. The tomatoes have been roasted before adding to the tart to intensify their flavours. I used roma or egg tomatoes, but feel free to use whatever looks good when you are shopping. This tart can be served hot from the oven, warm or cold.

I’m lazy with my pastry making these days, and don’t roll out my pastry. I prefer to push it into shape in the tin then let it rest in the freezer before baking. This gives it a rustic, un-uniform edge but I quite like that. You can of course rest the pastry, roll it out and fit to your tin if you prefer. How many tarts you get out of this recipe depends on how big your tart tin(s) are and how thick you want your pastry, or you could use a muffin or cupcake pan to create mini tarts. Any leftover uncooked pastry can be frozen for use at a later date.

Tomato Tart

Ingredients

For the pastry case

• 125g butter, softened
• 250g plain flour
• 1 x generous pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon mustard
• 50g parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves
• 1 egg

For the tart filling

• 500g tomatoes
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon sumac
• 1 red onion
• 2 eggs
• 100mls cream
• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves
• Salt and pepper

Method

• Turn your oven on to 180°C to pre-heat.
• Chop the tomatoes into thick slices, for my roma tomatoes I chopped each into 3 long ways.
• Peel and finely chop the garlic and onion.
• Lay your tomato slices on a baking tray and sprinkle with the garlic, onion, cayenne pepper and sumac.
• Drizzle over the oil.
• Put your tray of tomatoes in the oven to roast for 40 minutes while you make your pastry.

• In a food processor mix the butter, flour, a pinch of salt, oregano leaves, parmesan and mustard until it resembles fine breadcrumbs [or you could do this by hand by rubbing small cubes of cold butter into the dry ingredients].

• Add the egg and combine until the mixture just comes together as soft dough. If the mixture is still a little dry after adding the egg, add a little cold water until the mixture just comes together into a ball.

• Tip the pastry into your tin and press into shape, and place in the freezer to rest and chill.

• After your tomatoes have been baking for 40 minutes, transfer them to a lower shelf in the oven and bake your pastry case until cooked and light brown. The time will vary depending on what sort of tart tin you are using, but as a guide allow approximately 20 minutes.
• Separate an egg, reserving the egg white and mix the egg yolk with a pastry brush. Brush egg yolk to glaze the inside of your pastry case, then cook for a further 10 minutes.
• Remove your tomatoes and pastry case from the oven.
• Scatter the oregano leaves over the base of the pastry case.
• Assemble your cooked tomatoes in the pastry case.
• Add another egg to your separated egg white, then add cream and salt and pepper. Mix to combine.

• Pour the egg mixture over the tomatoes in the pastry case.

• Return your tart to the oven and cook for 20 minutes or so or until the egg mixture is set (doesn’t wobble when you give the tart a shake).
• Your tart is ready to serve. Enjoy!

What is your favourite pastry tip? Has this post inspired any new ideas?

Grandma cake

I’m not exactly sure why, but for me rhubarb has always been a grandmaesque ingredient. Rhubarb is also popping up at farmers markets and green grocers in Sydney at the moment, so I used it as the inspiration for this week’s recipe. I love the pretty deep pink colour cooked rhubarb provides. Because I don’t like my rhubarb too stringy, I cut the pieces quite small, about 1cm wide. I used hazelnuts, but you could experiment with almonds or other nuts.

This cake could be served with some thick cream, ice-cream, natural yoghurt or custard, delicious warm or cooled.

What I was cooking this time last year: Orange Crème Caramel

Rhubarb and Hazelnut Crumble Cake

* The basic cake recipe ingredients list is taken from a Women’s Weekly Recipe Card recipe.

Ingredients:

Rhubarb

• 1 bunch of fresh rhubarb
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 vanilla bean pod
• water, to just cover the chopped rhubarb

Hazelnut crumble

• 150g hazelnuts
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon mixed spice

Cake

• 125g softened butter
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups self-raising flour
• 1 cup milk
• 50mls milk
• vanilla bean pod from the rhubarb
• Cooking oil spray to grease your cake tin

Method:

• Wash the rhubarb, chop off the green top and the bottom of the rhubarb stalks.
• Chop the rhubarb stalks into 1cm pieces and add to a saucepan.

• Add the sugar and vanilla pod to the rhubarb, and add water until just covered.
• Cook the rhubarb on a medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes until soft.
• Drain the cooked rhubarb from the liquid, and return the liquid to the saucepan.

• Cook the rhubarb liquid until it reduces and thickens.
• Add the rhubarb syrup to the cooked rhubarb and set aside to cool.
• To make the crumble, add the hazelnuts, brown sugar and mixed spice to your food processor bowl.

• Pulse the crumble mix until the nuts are chopped and everything is combined.
• Set the crumble aside.

• Turn the oven on to 180°C.
• To make the cake batter, add the butter, sugar and vanilla pod to the food processor bowl. Beat together until  light and creamy.
• Add the eggs and beat until combined.

• Mix in a little of the sifted flour alternately with the milk, until everything is combined.
• Spray your cake tin with cooking oil to prevent sticking.
• Add half of the cake batter, and spread out over the bottom of the cake tin.
• Top the cake batter with half of the cooked rhubarb, then half of the crumble mixture.

• Add the remaining cake batter, rhubarb and crumble layers.

• Cook in the oven for approximately 60 minutes or until the center of the cake springs back when lightly touched.
• Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 5 – 10 minutes, then remove from the tin. Your cake is ready to serve warm or you could wait until it is cool. Enjoy.

What is your favourite colour? Has this post inspired any new ideas?

Cheat chocolate tarts

It is my nephew’s first birthday party tomorrow, and my brother put in an order for macaroons. I ran out of time and energy this week, so I will have to politely decline his request (for now). Instead, I opted for a quick and easy, kid-friendly recipe. The tart base is something I learnt about on the Arnott’s website, and can easily be adapted to include whichever fillings you like or have available, banoffee pies, curd (lemon, peach or passionfruit) or chocolate. You could also experiment with different biscuits, and I also used a gluten-free ginger snap to make sure my sister-in-law didn’t miss out. The chocolate tarts could be topped with berries instead of sprinkles for a more grown-up version.

You will need 2 round bottomed tins, one to re-heat the biscuits, one to weigh them down once they are soft.

What I was cooking this time last year: Pumpkin cannelloni

Chocolate tarts

Ingredients:

• 1 packet Arnott’s Butternut Snap Cookies
• 300mls cream
• 220g chocolate
• 100g condensed milk
• Chocolate sprinkles to decorate

Method:

• Turn the oven on to 150°C.
• Add a biscuit over each hole of a round based tartlet tin (you may need to do this in 2 batches).

• Cook in the oven for 10 minutes or until the biscuits soften.
• Place another round based tartlet tin over the biscuits and push down to encourage the biscuits to form into a tart shape.
• Weigh down the top tray with a couple of tins until the biscuit tart cases have cooled.

• Remove the cooled biscuit tart cases from the tin.
• Repeat the biscuit moulding process until you have used all the biscuits.
• To make the chocolate ganache filling, add the chocolate, cream and condensed milk to a large bowl.

• Suspend the bowl over a saucepan of hot water and gently heat until the chocolate is melted and everything is combined. Allow the chocolate ganache to cool slightly.
• Fill the biscuit tart cases with chocolate ganache and refrigerate until the filling sets.

• Sprinkle the top of your chocolate tarts with sprinkles.
• Your tarts are ready to serve. Enjoy.

What is your favourite kids party food? Has this post inspired any new ideas?