Wagon Wheel Slice

WAGON WHEEL SLICE

The Wagon Wheel Slice had been on my list of things to make for a while but I'd never gotten around to making it. After trying it at my recent Madonna birthday party, I wish I'd done it earlier. It was certainly the favourite for the night with my guests. The wonderful thing is that it does have that taste of the old fashioned Wagon Wheel, but in a delicious slice. There weren't many of them left after the party, but the ones which were I took into work the next day and they disappeared very fast as well. One of my friends who has tasted a lot of my baking said they were one of the best I'd made. Thanks Cas!

I think I held off making them because I thought it was going to be delicate and difficult to make. I'm a pretty robust baker, and have never been described as delicate. But the thing is, when I made these, they were much simpler than I thought. Not at all hard, and parents, you could certainly make these with the kids. Think this could become quite the family favourite for you.

One more biscuit for you guys during the week and then I may go back and blog some of my older recipe attempts. Trying to be good over the next few weeks and drop a few kilos for an upcoming photo shoot I have. But don't worry, baking will never be too far away from me. I'll just have to do a few more push ups to make up for it!

Recipe originally found out: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/29889/wagon+wheel+slice

INGREDIENTS:

235g Unsalted Butter, softened

1/3 cup Caster Sugar

1&1/2 cups Plain Flour

1/3 cup Self Raising Flour

1/2 cup Raspberry Jam (I only had Strawberry and still came out well)

145g Marshmallows, white preferred but doesn't really matter - I had to use some pink too

200g Dark Chocolate Melts

DIRECTIONS:

1 - Preheat oven to 180°c and grease and line a slice pan.

2 - Using electric mixer, beat 185g of butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Sift flours over butter mixture. Stir with spoon until dough comes together.

3 - Press mixture into prepared pan. Level and press down with the back of your spoon. Don't over fill (I ended up not using a little of my mixture - as seen in the above picture).

4 - Bake for 20 minutes or until golden. While baking, use scissors to cut marshmallows in half.

5 - Spread warm base with jam. Cover with marshmallows, cut size down. Bake for 2 minutes. Remove from oven. Press down on marshmallows to level surface. Cool completely in tin.

6 - Combine chocolate and remaining butter in a small saucepan over low heat (I used a double boiler saucepan). Cook until completely melted and smooth, don't rush this process. Pour over marshmallows and smooth the top. Refrigerate until set.

7 - Cut in pieces to serve and enjoy.

Catch you during the week with the lemon and lime shortbread in one of the pictures.

Wayne
xx

Coca Cola Chocolate Cake

COCA COLA CHOCOLATE CAKE

Here's part two of the birthday cakes I cooked last weekend for friend's birthdays. This one was one of my boyfriend's closest friend's, Elyse, who's also become a great friend of mine. Now Elyse loves a drink of Coke, we joke she's addicted. Now I had heard you could put Coke in cakes and it tastes great, but hadn't tried it. This was my chance to have a go, and wow it was worth it. This is one of the best cakes I've made in a longtime. The Coke made the cake light and fluffy, and combined with my standard ganche recipe, it was perfect. I always know when the cake is good because it goes fast. We cut the cake up and everyone had a slice and ate it all - a sure sign the cake was a hit. People said they had hints of coke as they ate it. So have a go at this cake and I know you'll love it.

There's a few things I want to try over the next few weeks, experiment a little. Some may work, some may not. So I look forward to sharing the successes with you.

Original Recipe from: http://www.bestrecipes.com.au/recipe/coca-cola-chocolate-cake-L1378.html

INGREDIENTS:

For the cake:

1 1/2 cups Marshmallows

1/2 cup Oil

1/2 cup Margarine

3 tablespoons Cocoa

1 cup Coke

1 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda

2 Eggs

1 1./4 cups of Sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence

1/2 cup Buttermilk

2 cups Self Raising Flour

Ganache:

400g Milk Chocolate, roughly chopped

300g Thickened Cream

Lolly Coke Bottles to decorate

DIRECTIONS:

1 - Preheat oven to 160°c and grease line a springform tin with baking paper.

2 - Place marshmallows, oil, margarine, cocoa and Coke in a saucepan and heat and stir on medium heat until melted.

3 - Mix in bicarbonate soda.

4 - Beat flour, sugar, eggs, vanilla essence and buttermilk.

5 - Mix all ingredients together, including flour, and pour into springform tin. The mixture will be runny, so don't worry.

6 - Bake for one hour or until cake bounces back or skewer comes out clean.

7 - Let cool in pan. When cool, cut in half, ready to ice.

8 - To prepare the ganache, place cream in a small saucepan over a medium heat and bring just to boil.

9 - Remove from heat and pour over chopped chocolate (in a heatproof bowl). Leave for 5 minutes and then whisk mixture together. Chill in fridge, stirring every few minutes until it gets thicker.

10 - Spread the ganache liberally over the cake and the side. Refridgerate to set.

11 - Top with fizzy Coke bottle lollies and enjoy.

Catch you on Tuesday for the results of my national cheesecake day bake.

Wayne

xx

Homemade Snickers Bar

HOMEMADE SNICKERS BAR

Last year my boyfriend sent me a recipe, a homemade Snickers bar, that he wanted me to try and make for him. It looked tricky, but I am someone who loves a challenge. So I decided to make these little wonders. They took some effort, but it was worth it as they are divine. D-VINE! I made them the first time and then waited for well over a year to try again, because making this the first time, I heard Whitney Houston died. Now Whitney was my first ever favourite singer. And through the years she still remained someone I loved. So the recipe was tainted slightly, I remember making it while playing Whitney loud and bawling my eyes out.

I made it again for my birthday this year, no one died, and everyone loved it. So I won't hold it against this recipe anymore.This recipe makes a large amount, and because it's so rich you only need to cut small pieces. So I cut it all up for my birthday party and assumed there would be some left over for my Mum to take back to Sydney. I wish I had put some aside, because it all went - very fast! I only got one piece, but it was okay, it made me feel like I'd done a good job. I then also made two trays for my friend Corey's short film and people raved about the slice. I have included the photo of the uncut tray with the other baked goods I made. All tasty!

So here's the recipe. I've done it differently than before. Each layer is listed with its ingredients and directions. Happy baking (even though this one is all done on the stove top.)

Now for making it, I always use a tin tray that I throw out after. I use canola spray to grease it beforehand.

BOTTOM CHOCOLATE LAYER

1 1/4 Milk Chocolate Melts

1/4 cup Smooth Peanut Butter

Melt ingredients together in a heatproof bowl above a saucepan of boiling water. Don't melt too fast, keep flame on a medium heat. Pour into the dish and spread until even. Let cool to room temperature and place in fridge until completely set.

NOUGAT LAYER

60 grams Unsalted Butter

1 cup Granulated Sugar

1/4 cup Evaporated Milk

1 1/2 cups Marshmallow Fluff (included photo above - found in a US sweet store or online)

1/4 cup Smooth Peanut Butter

1 1/2 cups Salted Peanuts, roughly chopped

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add in sugar and milk, stirring until dissolved and bring to boil. Let cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in fluff, peanut butter and vanilla - stirring until smooth. Turn off heat and fold in peanuts, then pour over bottom chocolate layer and spread until it covers it completely. Let cool to room temperature and then cool in fridge until completely set.

CARAMEL LAYER

1 can of Top 'n' Fill Caramel (photo below)

1/4 cup Double Cream

Combine ingredients in a saucepan over low heat. Stir occasionally until smooth and fully combined. Pour over nougat layer and let cool completely. Put in fridge and make sure it is completely set.

TOP CHOCOLATE LAYER

1 1/4 cups Milk Chocolate Bits

1/4 cup Smooth Peanut Butter

Melt ingredients together in a heatproof bowl above a saucepan of boiling water. Don't melt too fast, keep flame on a medium heat. Pour into the dish and spread until even. Let cool to room temperature and place in fridge until completely set.

Cut to size you want and keep in fridge when not eating. Share these round and EVERYONE will love you (or hate you - depending on whether they are on a diet). 

Can't wait till I make these again. If you make them, please send a pic - love to see how they turn out.

Wayne

xx