Beer Damper

 

One of life’s simple pleasures is a warm slice of damper, laden with butter and golden syrup. Perfect for a cold winter’s morning.

Following a quick phone call to the damper Queen (Nana Jaques) to confirm the recipe, my Mum and I whipped up the dough in a matter of minutes. We only had a Corona on hand, which certainly did the job, but I’m sure a XXXX Gold would have usually been the beer of choice.

It really is so simple, yet so rewarding.

Ingredients: 3 cups self-raising flour, 3 tablespoons castor sugar, 1 can ‘stubby’ of beer, pinch of salt & ¼ cup melted butter.

 Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
2. Place the flour, castor sugar and salt in a bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour the beer into the well.
3. Use a knife to combine the ingredients together. Or simply use your hands. Only lightly knead to form the dough.
4. Turn out onto a floured surface and shape. Place on a baking tray, cut a few slits in the top and brush with melted butter.
5. Cook in the preheated oven for ~25 minutes.
6. Enjoy warm with butter and your choice of jam, honey or golden syrup!

Zucchini, corned beef and pea fritters

On a recent trip to Rocky, I spied leftover corned beef in the fridge and had the idea to make something I remember fondly from my childhood: corned beef fritters. This recipe can easily be adapted to whatever leftover roast or lunch meat you have in the fridge. These crispy golden treats are delicious whether served hot out of the pan, or cold for lunch the next day. Keeping with the old school favourites, we served them with a tomato, cucumber and onion salad and a tomato relish.

Ingredients: 1 medium zucchini (grated), 1 onion finely chopped, 1 cup peas, 4 slices of corned beef cut into ~1cm squares, 2 eggs, 40mL milk, handful of grated parmesan, handful of chopped parsley, 100g flour, 1 teaspoon baking power, salt and pepper.

Method:

1. Mix together the zucchini, peas, corned beef, onion, Parmesan and parsley.
2. Beat the eggs with the milk, add the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper. Mix well and add to the vegetable and meat batter.
3. Heat a large frying pan on medium heat and add a glug of oil. Ladle batter into the pan and cook for approximately 3-4 minutes on each side until golden.

 

Enjoy! Bri xx

Blueberry and Ricotta Cake

A couple of weeks ago I happily volunteered to bake a cake for my BFF’s birthday. Given she’s a chocolate lover, I would usually have gone for something a little more decadent, however, with a foodie weekend in Sydney on the cards, I opted for something a little lighter. This cake is easy to whip together and has a lovely crumb. I served it quite simply with fresh figs and thick Greek yoghurt.

Ingredients: 1 ½ cups plain flour, 1 cup castor sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ¾ teaspoon salt, 3 large eggs, 1 ½ cups ricotta, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ cup unsalted butter (melted), 1 cup of frozen blueberries.

NB. You could easily substitute raspberries or mixed berries.

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line a 9” pan with baking paper and lightly spray with non-stick oil (I used a springform cake pan).
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
3. Whisk together eggs, ricotta and vanilla; gently fold into dry ingredients.
4. Fold in butter and gently combine ¾ cup of berries.
5. Pour into prepared tin and top with the remaining ¼ cup of blueberries.
6. Bake for ~60 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Let cool for 20 minutes before removing from pan.

 

Enjoy! Bri xx