A winner and some recipes to share...

To everyone who entered my giveaway thanks so much for the birthday wishes and for sharing your favourite birthday memories. I really enjoyed reading each and every one! I just wish I could send out 6 parcels instead of the one so I'll have to have another giveaway sooner rather than later. So on to the winner. The Random Generator picked:

Number 18 Heather A from Canada! Congratulations Heather! I'll be in touch via email soon!

And now here's a couple of recipe's to share with you....

I quite often do a little baking in the late afternoon just before I get dinner on to make the most of heating up the oven. Yesterday afternoon after I whipped up a batch of muesli for my breakfast I made this Chocolate Banana bread from Julie Le Clerc's book "Cafe @ home". I have many recipe books but this book is one I cook from often. The recipe's are modern and fresh and use ingredients that I usually have in the pantry. Plus it has a pretty mint green elastic band to use as a page marker! This is the second time I have made this loaf and we like it so much I thought it would be nice to share. It is actually under the section 'Breakfast in bed' ! Now if you are like me and don't like the taste of banana cake I can assure you, you will like this as the banana taste is not there but makes this loaf nice and moist. So on to the recipe:

You will need:

• 150g butter
• 3/4 cup caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder ( the best quality you can afford :-)
• 1/2 cup Chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 180 C on fan-bake. Grease and flour a loaf tin.
2. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar together until pale. Beat in eggs then milk and bananas.
3. Stir in sifted dry ingredients to combine. Lastly, stir in chocolate chips. Spoon mixture into loaf tin and bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool. Slice to serve.
4. Loaf will last 3-4 days if stored in an airtight container.

Also I thought I'd share the recipe for Belgium biscuits (from the previous post) for those who are unable (and had never heard of) to get the Edmonds cook book. Belgium biscuits are quite an old recipe and a classic biscuit recipe here in New Zealand and maybe in Australia. A lovely elderly lady who until recently used to live across the road from us used to make them regularly. She was one of those very generous people who was always giving us and other neighbours things such as baking as a thank-you for helping her out and was famous in our street for her apple shortcake, sponges, chocolate fudge and other baking. I would often send the girls over to return a plate to her and they would always come back with some home-made biscuits, fudge or lollies. Sadly for us she has recently moved to a home closer to her family.

So here is the recipe for Belgium biscuits:

You will need:

125 grams butter, softened

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1egg
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon mixed spice
• 1 teaspoon cocoa
• 1/2 cup raspberry jam approximately

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well.
2. Sift flour, baking powder, spices and cocoa together and mix into creamed mixture to make afirm dough.
3. On a lightly floured board roll dough out to 3mm thickness. Cut out rounds using a 6.5 cutter. Arrange on a greased oven tray and bake at 180 C for 15 minutes or until golden. 
4. When cold ice half the biscuits. Spread the un-iced biscuits with raspberry jam and place iced biscuits on top. Makes 18.

For Pink Icing:

• 3/4 to 1 cup icing sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon rasberry essence
• few drops of red food colouring
• water

Mix icing sugar with essence and colouring. Add sufficient water to make a pink spreadable icing.

Enjoy!!!!