Slice – Page 2 – Sweet Tooth Experiments

Green Tea and Raspberry Slice

Posted on January 18, 2016 Posted in Slice .

Green Tea and Raspberry Slice

I have no idea where this recipes inspiration came from. I believe I wanted to use up some Matcha powder I had left over from recent baking.

To mix things up from the norm I wanted to play around with weird and unusual flavors I could pair with the Matcha’s green tea taste that would surprisingly work like partners in crime.

After a bit of experimenting it was the Green Tea and Raspberry pairing that was an interesting and tasty concoction of flavors.

Now if you are a follower of my blog you will note I have struggled in the past with green tea, which was a frenemy ingredient of mine until my recent Green Tea Melting Moments. This influenced me to make the green tea cake base as simple as possible.

It’s the raspberry layer where I have added in my unusualness by making a somewhat jelly style raspberry icing layer.

Another creation that has succeeded in impressing 🙂

Ingredients:

Cake:

125g butter
115g sugar
1 tsn vanilla essence
1 egg
175g self raising flour
3 tbsn matcha

Icing:

200g raspberries
155g butter
80g icing sugar
2 tsn gelatine powder
75ml hot water

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180c degrees and line a 20cm square cake tin.
Place the butter, sugar and vanilla in a bowl and beat with electric beaters for 5 minutes of until light and fluffy.
Add the egg and beat for a further minute.
Sift the flour and matcha and fold the mixture until combine.
Place the mix in the tin and bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until lightly golden on top.
To make the icing place the gelatine and 75ml of boiling water in a small bowl and whisk until the gelatine has dissolved and thickens.
In another bowl using electric beaters beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Mash the raspberry with a fork then beat the raspberry until well combine.
Add the gelatine and beat until the mix is smooth and combine.
Pour the icing mix over the cake base then place in the fridge for at least 3 hours to set.

Notes:

Matcha is a green tea powder that can be found in Asian supermarkets or specialty stores.

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Chia Spiced Crispy Slice

Posted on November 2, 2015 Posted in Slice .

Chia Spiced Crispy Slice

You may have already noticed but I do like the mix of spices that make up chai. I have made amazing chai latte cupcakes and spiced chai cakes (recipe yet to be rleased stay tuned) but have gravitated towards these flavors yet again!

This recipe itself have evolved from a chocolate and chestnut roll cake using marshmallows and rice bubbles to a chocolate and chestnut rice bubble crisp slice to somehow a crispy slice but with chai spices.

To ensure the slice was sturdy I added a white chocolate layer, which actually excelled the chai flavors.

Ingredients:

60g butter
280g vanilla marshmallows
1 tsn vanilla essence
1 tsn ground cardamom
1 tsn ground cinnamon
1 tsn mixed spice
½ tsn ground ginger
¼ tsn ground nutmeg
½ tsn ground cloves
5 cups rice bubbles

Topping:

50g butter
190g white chocolate

Methods:

Line a 20cm x 20cm square slice tin with baking paper.
Place the butter, marshmallows, essence and spices in a bowl and heat in the microwave for 45 seconds or until the marshmallows swell to double size.
With a spoon mix the ingredients until a smooth fluffy paste is made.
Add the rice bubbles to the mix and stir until well combine.
Spoon the mix into the prepared tin and using fingers push the mix down to a solid flat base.
Place the butter in the microwave and heat until bubbling.
Add the white chocolate and leave to melt for 1 minute.
Stir the chocolate mix until smooth and glossy and pour over the top of the rice bubble base.
Place in the fridge for 1 hour to set before cutting.

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Spiced Bourbon Marshmallow Slice

Posted on September 28, 2015 Posted in Slice .

Spiced Bourbon Marshmallow Slice

So I know that bourbon and chocolate go together very well (hello my Bourbon Chocolate Cake with Peanut Bourbon Icing recipe), however I wanted to use up some bourbon by making something different. Chocolate goes with most things as flavour parings tend to enhance and put a spin on the cocoa/cacoa taste. What I wanted to do was make a bourbon recipe that enhanced the bourbon flavour. On top of this as we know I do have a sweet tooth and bourbon is not sweet so I had to somehow also make it super appealing and absolutely tasty for by palate.

My solution to this was to play around with a variation of spices, mixing and matching until I found a set that went extremely well together, had similar flavour properties and also brought out the sweetness in the bourbon.

Sound impossible? See the below recipe and become a lover of bourbon!

Ingredients:

½ cup self raising flour
½ cup plain flour
¾ cup brown sugar
¼ tsn nutmeg
1/8 tsn ground ginger
1 + ½ ground cinnamon
1 + ½ mixed spice
100g butter
1 egg
1 tsn vanilla essence

Marshmallow:

1 tbsn gelatine powder
140g sugar
180ml cup water
4 tsn bourbon

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180c degrees and line a 20cm x 30cm cake tin with baking paper.
Place the flours, sugar and spices into a bowl and mix.
Melt the butter in a bowl and add the vanilla essence.
Stir the egg into the flour mix, add the butter mix and stir until well combine.
Place the mix into the cake tin and flatten with fingers.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes then set aside to cool.
Make the marshmallow mix by placing the gelatine into half the water and stir to combine the mix.
Place the remaining water, sugar and bourbon into a bowl and whisk with electric beaters for 4 minutes.
Place the gelatine mix in the microwave until warm and syrupy in texture.
Slowly pour the gelatine in a consistent stream while the beaters are on high.
Continue beating for a further 8 minutes or until the mix is light and fluffy.
Pour the mix over the cooled slice base and place in the fridge for 2 hours to set completely.
Cut and enjoy.

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Chocolate Avocado Peppermint Slice

Posted on March 16, 2015 Posted in Slice .

Chocolate Avocado Peppermint Slice

You may notice that I bake every few months with avocado as an ingredient, where it’s not generally the hero ingredient but a substitute for naughty ingredients (think butter, oil, thickener etc). This is mind, I decided that I would make a common flavour pairing slice (peppermint and chocolate) and turn this into a less guilty version.

If I added in avocado and used cocoa powder instead of adding in chocolate I could cut out primary refined processed elements and make the recipe more wholesome-friendly.

Of course it did take quite a few tweaks along the way to get to this final recipe but I am actually really happy with this one. It’s super simple, doesn’t need to be cooked, not too sweet but still tasty and does the 3pm treat trick.

How I see this recipe – think mint slice biscuits but a much nutritious version.

Ingredients:

Base:

120g flour
45g cocoa powder
75g brown sugar
90g butter

Filling:

280g avocado (2 avocado equivalent)
100g butter
100g brown sugar
¾ tsn peppermint oil (1 tsn if using essence)

Topping:

60g cocoa powder
60g butter
85g sugar

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180c degrees and line a 20x20cm cake tin with baking paper.
Place all the base ingredients into a food processor and blitz until the texture resembles fine crumbs.
Spoon mix into the prepared cake tin and flatten with finger tips.
Bake in the oven for 15-18 minutes until cooked then set aside to cool.
Place all the filling ingredients into the food processor and blitz until smooth and creamy.
Spoon the mix over the chocolate base, smooth with the back on a spoon and place into the freezer for 20 minutes.
To make the topping place all 3 ingredients into a saucepan on a medium heat on the stove and stir until the mix boils and the sugar has melted. You should have a glossy consistency.
Allow mix to cool slightly then pour over the avocado filling. Using the back of a spoon spread and smooth for a flat top.
Place in the freezer for 20 minutes, cut with a hot knife and enjoy.

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Marmalade Bread and Butter Port Slice

Posted on March 13, 2015 Posted in Slice .

Marmalade Bread and Butter Port Slice

Recently Bread & Butter pudding has been brought to my attention again, which for some reason happens to be one of my father’s favorite desserts.

To me, this dessert is quite bland. I get that the sultanas, cinnamon and/or nutmeg add flavour, however ultimately it’s still just soaked bread that is baked.

As the old English traditional recipe is so simple and only includes few ingredients for flavour I thought this was a good dessert to play with and bring it to a place I found appealing.

After a bit of trial and error I ended up happy with an orange and port flavour pairing and a slice as the form.

Outcome? I’m now a fan of a Bread & Butter dessert.

Ingredients:

300g white sourdough bread, crusts removed
300ml milk
80g butter, melted
3 eggs
100g brown sugar
280g orange marmalade
2 tsn cinnamon
2 tsn vanilla essence
2 tsn port
100g sultanas

Ingredients:

Pre-heat the oven to 180c degrees and line a 20cm square cake tin with baking paper.
Cut the bread into 1cm pieces and place in a bowl with the milk for 5 minutes until the bread is soft and has absorbed the milk.
In another bowl place the melted butter, eggs, sugar, marmalade, cinnamon, essence and port. Using a hand whisk beat until well combine.
Add in the bread to the butter mix and stir with the hand whisk until well combine and the bread starts to breakdown.
Add in the sultanas and stir.
Pour the mix into the tin, smooth the top and bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until lightly brown.
Cool in the tin for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.
Serve with ice-cream or cream.

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Parmesan Cheese Chocolate Slice

Posted on March 10, 2015 Posted in Slice .

Parmesan Cheese Chocolate Slice

While researching interesting flavour combos to experiment with I came across a reference to chocolate and parmesan cheese. This sparked my interest as (1) that just sounds so wrong and (2) it could be an interesting experiment considering baking with ricotta, mascarpone and cream cheese is so common.

Parmesan does have a very different texture and a much stronger taste than its creamy associates listed above; however, this would just skew the way I will need to incorporate the cheese and the volume placed in the recipe.

Therefore to complement the texture of the cheese I opted for a slice and undertook a lot of taste testing until I hit the volume of parmesan that I felt was the perfect ratio to chocolate.

Now, I do realise this flavour combo does sound weird but the output of this slice is perfection. The slice cuts like a dream and tastes like one to, seriously!

Ingredients:

Base:

190g flour
30g cocoa powder
80g brown sugar
150g butter

Filling:

330g icing sugar
120g grated parmesan cheese

Topping:

200g dark chocolate
20g vegetable oil

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180c and line a 20x20cm cake tin with baking paper.
Place the flour, cocoa powder, sugar and butter into a food processor and blitz until the mix resembles breadcrumbs.
Place the mix into the base of the tin and flatten down with your fingertips.
Bake in the oven for 15-18 minutes or until the top is firm.
Set the slice aside to cool.
Make the filling by placing the icing sugar, parmesan cheese and 50ml of water into a saucepan and stir on a medium heat until the mix is combine and the cheese is melted.
Pour over the top of the chocolate biscuit base and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to set firm.
Place chocolate and oil into a saucepan on low heat and stir until melted and smooth.
Pour the chocolate topping over the filling and place back in the fridge for 1 hour to set.
Cut and enjoy.

Notes:

I used grated packet cheese. If you are using fresh and grating yourself you may want to add 2/3 of the cheese that I have and taste test as the fresh Parmesan (depending on brand) could vary in taste strength.

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Banana and Bacon Caramel Slice

Posted on March 2, 2015 Posted in Slice .

Banana and Bacon Caramel Slice

I have had the flavour pairing of bacon and banana on my radar for quite some time now, however was unsure of how to incorporate these two ingredients into a recipe that would work, have the perfect texture, complement other ingredients and be super tasty.

I’m familiar with baking with bacon and know that it is a massive flavour enhancer (my Chocolate Bacon Cake is amazing).

After a bit of experimenting I ended up very happy with a caramel slice type recipe that incorporated the bacon and banana.

The caramel and bacon work so well together, the bacon is almost like a natural salt, thus making a lovely salted caramel flavour. Additionally banana and caramel are amazing together (hello Banoffee Pie). As banana is quite a soft ingredient and does not hold is shape well (unlike marshmallow) I have opted for banana chips for this recipe. The chips actually provide a lovely complementary crunch to the smooth caramel and fluffy marshmallows.

Ingredients:

Biscuit Base:

220g diced bacon
100g butter
90g sugar
30g rice flour
150 flour

Topping:

40g thickened cream
260g caramel sweets (lollies)
90g marshmallows
80g banana chips

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180c degrees and line a 15cm x 15cm square cake tin with baking paper.
On a high heat place the bacon pieces in a saucepan and fry until the bacon is brown and bubbling.
Place the bacon on paper towel to absorb the oil then place in a food processor (you will have 100g of cooked bacon pieces).
Place the melted bacon, butter, sugar and flours in the food processor and blitz on high until the bacon is as fine as breadcrumbs.
Pour the mix into the tin, flatten with a spoon and bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until firm to touch.
Cut up the banana chips into small pieces as well as the marshmallows.
Scatter the banana and marshmallows over the top of the biscuit base.
Place the cream and caramels in a saucepan on a medium heat and stir until the caramel and cream become smooth and melted.
Pour the warm caramel over the top of the slice.
Allow the caramel to set then cut into square pieces.

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Pretzel Slice

Posted on January 3, 2015 Posted in Slice .

Pretzel Slice

Revisiting the sweet and salty combo again, this time I have been influenced by my sweet chocolate covered salted pretzels that I made a few months back (still be be posted so stay tuned)!

In the past I have made a few sweet and salty recipes that have been huge successes; their was the popcorn biscuits and the chocolate bacon cake with maple frosting just to name a few. It’s just something about this combo where the salt intensifies the sweetness and takes it to the next level.

Now salted caramel was a significant baking trend of 2013 and 2014, however I decided to take this to an unusual level by adding the savory and salty pretzel to a caramel slice. The outcome of this recipe has the sweet and salty as well as a perfect crunchy and satisfying texture.

Ingredients:

250g butternut snap cookies
350g butter
250g brown sugar
½ cup honey
300g thickened cream
200g pretzels

Method:

Pre-heat your oven to 180c and line a 20cm x 20cm cake tin with baking paper.
Place the biscuits into a food processor and process.
Place 100g butter in a bowl and melt the butter in the microwave, following stir in the biscuit crumbs.
Press the mix into the cake tin and bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until golden.
Break up the pretzels into little pieces.
Place the honey, remaining butter and sugar in a sauce pan on a medium heat for 5 minutes or until bubbling.
Whisk in the cream and stir for 10 minutes or until the caramel forms a ball when dropped into water.
Add in the pretzels, stir until combine.
Pour the pretzel mix over the slice base and bake for 15 minutes.
Once cooked set aside to cool.
Once cooled cut into squares and place in the fridge to set.

Notes:

You are best cutting the slice while is has just cooled and not after its come out of the fridge as it will be very difficult to cut the hard set caramel.
You can use Arnott’s Arrowroot or Teddy Bear Biscuits if you are not a fan Butternut snap cookies.

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Peanut Butter and Jelly Slice Sandwiches

Posted on November 17, 2014 Posted in Slice, Unique .

Peanut Butter and Jelly Slice Sandwiches

Peanut Butter and Jelly Slice Sandwich recipe

You may have noticed by now that I do love to play with American style flavor favorites, (see my Devils Food Cake, Chocolate Bacon Cake with Maple Frosting, Spiced Pumpkin Pie, Hummingbird Cake to name a few). The whole savory and sweet combo they commonly serve is so interesting, something we don’t see much in Australia.

One thing I have yet to experiment with is their famous peanut and jelly (jam in AUS) sandwich, I don’t even think I have ever tasted one in my life.

So true Ella style instead of first tasting I threw myself into experimenting with this concept to incorporate these 2 key ingredients in a sweet baking tread.

I must say I attempted 3 versions of this…Originally I made a 3 layered slice with a peanut butter, a jelly and a white chocolate crumble topping slice. I wasn’t happy with this so I attempted it again with just the 2 layers and omitted the crumble layer – as suspected the jam turned into a toffee texture without the crumble layer to protect it.

As the peanut layer was absolutely delectable and satisfying I decided to slice pieces in half like 2 pieces of bread and with thick jelly (jam) placed in the center to sandwich the peanut slice together.

Outcome…better that expected – absolutely scrumptious! Best part (bar the taste) this is sooo easy to make! Below is the recipe to me easy Peanut Butter and Jelly Slice Sandwiches.

Ingredients:

½ cup butter
½ brown sugar
¼ cup white sugar
300g peanut butter
1 egg
1 tsn vanilla extract
1 + 1/2cup plain flour
½ tsn baking powder
½ tsn salt
½ tsn cinnamon
1/2 cup thick raspberry jam

Method:

Preheat the oven to 175c and line a 20cm square baking tray with baking paper.
In a bowl using electric beaters beat butter and sugar for 5 minutes until thick and creamy.
Add the peanut butter, egg and vanilla essence, beat.
In another bowl mix together the flour, powder, salt and cinnamon.
Using a spoon carefully fold the dry ingredients into the wet mix until just combined.
Spoon the mix into the tray and smooth out.
Cook for 35 minutes or until golden.
Allow the slice to fully cool then cut the slice horizontally through the middle.
Place the bottom layer back into the tray and spoon the thick jam to cover the bottom layer.
Place the second layer on the top of the jam to create a peanut slice sandwich with jam in the centre.
Allow to set in the fridge for 2 hours before removing from the tray and cutting the slice into bars.

Notes:

You can use whatever flavor jam you prefer, though raspberry is the most traditional.
The jam does need to be quite thick. If its not heat it in the microwave or on the stove until bubbling hot then whisk in 1 tsn of gelatine powder. Allow to cool, then follow on from step 9.

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Biscuit Coconut and Jelly Slice

Posted on June 5, 2014 Posted in Slice .

Biscuit Coconut and Jelly Slice

A few weeks ago I went shopping at an Asian grocer and got my hands on Taro Jelly powder. I love Taro and wanted to use this flavour in a cake which got me thinking back to a slice I once made with chocolate, coconut and raspberry layers, where the taro could work as the top jelly layer.

Now, coconut works well with Asian food but the chocolate…that needed to be replaced to a plain flavour. The end result was so interesting with varying textures and beautiful flavour.

However, the best part about this recipe is that it is so substitutable. YOU can be the experimenter and use whatever biscuit you want as well as whatever jelly flavour you like.

This recipe is all about inspiring you to make your own creation. A fan of strawberries and cream? Use a vanilla biscuit as the base, replace the coconut milk with cream and use a strawberry jelly on the top. Or maybe you love cherry ripe? Try a chocolate base with a cream middle and cherry jelly. The variations are endless!

Ingredients:

250g sweet biscuits
100g butter
2 tsn gelatin powder
2 tbsn warm water
I cup thickened cream
1 cup coconut milk
½ icing sugar
85g packet of Taro pudding powder (or any flavor jelly you like)

Method

Grease and line a 20cm square cake tin with baking paper.
Place the biscuits in a food processor until blitzed, pour into a bowl.
Pour the butter melted into the bowl and mix with the biscuits until combined.
Press into the slice tin and place into the fridge.
Place the gelatin into a bowl with the water and whisk to combined (it should look like a yellow tinged gel).
Place the cream, milk and icing sugar on a pot on the stove and whisk ingredients until the mix is warm – not boiling.
Add the gelatin and whisk on medium heat for 3 minutes.
Allow the mix to cool slighting and pour over the biscuit base.
Place back in the fridge and let the layer set for 2-3 hours.
Make the jelly according to the packet directions, let it cool completely then pour over the coconut layer.
Refrigerate for 4 hours or until set.

Notes:

I used Nice biscuits for the base.
If you don’t like coconut just use 2 cups of cream instead of the coconut milk.
This is such a simple recipe but you do need to let each layer set so it will take time to make, however 95% of the time is the gelatin setting in the fridge.

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