Well not toast exactly….guessing you know how to toast bread without a Thermo Mixer of any description getting involved?? BUT, this recipe has officially been banished to the ‘Never Will Be Made Again’ list as I seriously ate almost all of it…it took a few days, but plow through it I did, one slice at a time, heroically even, never even trying to stop. I toasted, I buttered, I conquered….and now I must pay for it in so many ways! (Fat clothes…where are you???) My children have an objection to fruit in bread, and so it was that I was able to have something that lasted more than a few moments, but will be remembered forever on my hips!! I love the crunchy little resistance created by the toasted Crio Bru granules…I love the sweet surprise of a dried cherry, I love that it contains our beautiful freshly harvested honey and I must add, that should you get your hands on some raw honey, you will never look back….

I digress, recipe please??

NEED:

1 sachet dried yeast

20g raw honey + 30g extra

300g water

30g Crio Bru dry granules (not pre-brewed in other words)

500g Lauke bakers flour

Pinch Murray River pink salt flakes

2 tsp mixed ground spices of choice, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, allspice, ginger

20g butter plus some more for brushing

Generous handful dried cherries or craisins

DO:

Place yeast, 20g honey and water into Thermo bowl and warm 2 min/37º/speed 2.

Add remaining ingredients except cherries and blend 10 sec/speed 6.

Knead 2 min/Interval.

Add cherries and knead further 1 min/Interval.

Turn out onto floured bread mat and roll into tight ball. Wrap and prove. (Do I need to mention the Kleenmaid warming drawer, or is it just getting annoying??)

Cut the dough in half using your Super Kitchen  Machine Spatula and roll into two small loaf shapes. Place side by side in loaf tin. Return to warming drawer or cover and keep in draft free place.

Preheat oven to bread baking setting 220ºC.

When loaf has risen to top of the tin, place into the oven and reduce heat to 200ºC. Cook 15 minutes until golden and sounding hollow. Brush with melted butter immediately.

Try not to eat it all whilst warm and fragrant….save some for fruit toast…and slather both with more butter and raw honey to taste. Ahhh-mazing!

Choc Molten Pots uncookedOozing Choc Molten Puddingsssss

Oozing Choc Molten Puddingsssss

Not kidding…these have truffles in the center…so if you are on a diet, don’t read any further. You will just be tormenting yourself. Yes, just call me the devil.

You don’t have to make the truffles, but you may want to…they add such a chocolatey hit to this already amazing dessert. You will never go back to boring old chocolate cake again…at least not on my watch! In the process of doing a desserts book (you did read that correctly) I have had many many desserts that I felt were wrong for the project, but not wrong in any other way. When I say ‘wrong’ I mean, too long, too complicated, too hard to write without the benefit of pics to explain…etc. Our new little project will be up and running soon, so stay tuned for all the versions of dessert you ever wished for, in one handy location! In the meantime, be getting on with this hey?

NEED:

1 pre made batch Crio Bru Truffles (well you only need 6 actually, so that’s the upside…you also get truffles at the end of it!)

Enough butter to grease 6 small ramekins

Enough premium cocoa to dust 6 small ramekins

150g sugar

50g butter

1 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste

4 eggs

Pinch Murray River pink salt flakes

50g plain flour

350g dark chocolate, melted

DO:

Preheat oven to 200ºC and butter each ramekin very well. Dust generously with cocoa. Set ramekins aside on a baking tray.

Place sugar into Thermo bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 10.

Add butter and blend 10 sec/speed 4.

Add vanilla, eggs, salt and flour. Blend 10 sec/speed 5.

Add melted chocolate that has been slightly cooled. (I used microwave, but induction cooktop is excellent for melting chocolate as well. Of course it can be done in your Thermo, but it can be quite slow and you would need to do this first.)

Blend 10 sec/speed 4. Scrape down sides of bowl and repeat.

Divide mixture between the prepared ramekins. Push a truffle (without any nuts or other coating FYI) into the centre of each and cover with pudding batter.

Bake 10-12 minutes until still springy to  touch.

Use a knife to loosen outer edges of cake and turn upside down to serve.

Serve with cream, mascarpone or ice cream to taste. Dust with additional cocoa if desired. You can refrigerate these fully assembled, but uncooked until ready to serve. It is best to eat them hot, straight from the oven. They may take a little longer if being cooked straight from the fridge.

Choc Mint Ganache Tart

This was truly awesome…thank you dearest Tweak Editing….Chris, our editor for For Foods Sake sent me this recipe and asked for a Thermo version…well here it is…absolutely amazing, and totally easy. Be amazed. Be prepared to make it again. Go to the gym so you can eat another piece with less guilt. Or not. But a second piece you will definitely have…trust me! I have seen another version of this over at the Recipe Community from Splendiferous Thermomix, using my fave choccie product of all time (do I need to mention it by name?) Crio Bru. This is the every day, garden variety, without the Crio…she beat me to it! I swear!! (We’ll talk later Karyn!)

NEED:

Crust;

60g sugar

250g flour

130g butter, cubed

2 tbsp premium cocoa powder

1 egg yolk

A little iced water

Filling;

300g white chocolate callets

150g cream

1 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste

2 tsp peppermint oil

Ganache;

200g Lindt Dark Mint Intense chocolate, in pieces

200g cream

DO:

To make crust, place sugar into TM bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 10. Add flour and butter and blend 6 sec/speed 6.

Add remaining crust ingredients and blend 5 sec/speed 5 or until a ball is formed.

Press into 26cm pie or flan tin with removable base and place into freezer for around 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 180ºC and line the crust with baking paper. Using pie weights, rice or beans, blind bake 15 minutes. Remove weights and cook further 10 minutes until fragrant and crust is well cooked.

Cool.

TO make white filling place all ingredients into TM bowl and melt 5 min/50ºC/speed 1. Scrape down if necessary and stir until all callets are melted.

Pour into cold baked pie shell. Place into fridge until well set.

Place Ganache ingredients into clean, dry TM bowl and melt 5 min/50ºC/speed 2. Pour over filling and set completely before cutting into wedges to serve.

Aztec Hot Chocolate Shots….go steady!

Store this one away for a cold evening when the wind is howling and you feel as though you need to be warmed right through. Recently featured in all classes since For Food’s Sake was launched, it has been a BIG hit with the whole country, and now here you go…all yours for the asking! Once again starring the chocolatey-est chocolate, because it is pure chocolate, Crio Bru…your friend and mine…choose the dark chocolate you use carefully, try to get a 64% or higher…for the best flavour and highest nutritional value. (And then you can tell yourself it is a health food…really!)

NEED:

1 cinnamon stick

1 dried chilli (or less to taste)

Zest 1 orange, finely grated

100g palm sugar

100g Crio Bru granules

100g dark chocolate, in pieces

500g cream

200g milk

Pinch sea salt

DO:

Place cinnamon, chilli, zest, palm sugar, Crio Bru and chocolate into TM bowl and mill 15 sec/speed 10.

Add cream, milk and salt and cook 10 min/80°C/speed 2.

Strain and drink in small shot glasses. Try adding a vanilla bean in the first step for another flavour advantage…delish!

Crio Bru Easter Eggs with Pistachio Almond Paste Filling

You knew this had to be coming didn’t you? Really…it was only a matter of timing. And wait for it…if you blink you may miss it…Easter is upon us. I know, I know, I was just posting Christmas recipes but a moment ago, but here we are, the big pink bunny is on his way, camping trips, school holidays, over indulgence in all things chocolate…so this recipe is healthy. NOT KIDDING…totally healthy, just don’t eat it all at once. You too may be bouncing all over more than any bunny I’ve ever come across. Full of natural energy, go read about Crio Bru’s amazing benefits HERE and then proceed with confidence. Any flavour of the Bru will Do! Enjoy these Eggcellent eggs…oh and Hoppy Easter! (Sorry…please eggcuse me!)

NEED:

100g Crio Bru dry granules

100g Rapadura sugar

1 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste

65g cacao butter

Pinch Murray River pink salt

Paste Filling;

100g pistachios, shelled

40g almonds

50g Rapdura sugar

10g cacao butter

Pinch Murray River pink salt

Additional almonds and pistachios to garnish

Easter egg mould or other mould of choice

DO:

To make chocolate shells, place Crio Bru granules and sugar into Thermomix bowl and mill 20 sec/speed 10.

Add vanilla bean paste, cacao butter and salt and blend 10-15 sec/speed 6 until a chocolate paste forms. Spread into moulds of choice and place into fridge.

Without cleaning bowl, make paste by placing pistachios, almonds, and sugar into Thermomix bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 10. Add cacao butter and salt and blend 20 sec/speed 8, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as necessary. Fill each shell with the filling, placing a few of the additional nuts into the centres as desired. Finish off with additional nuts, making sure that you press them into the filling so that they will set into the egg.

Refrigerate.

Remove from moulds. Wrap and gift…or slice it to eat, or, well, put it on a plate and do a Seinfeld and get the knife and fork out! (But remember, it is very, very dark and rich and full of antioxidants and energy!)

Crio Bru and Avocado Dip or Spread

Well in Mexico they use unsweetened chocolate in savoury dishes all the time! That is my story and I’m sticking to it. THIS IS DELICIOUS….FYI! So do not judge me until you try it.

Part of our Chic Chocolate Cooking Class, we really had to have more than just sweets all the way through and so our menu did take on a bit of a Mexican theme, a cuisine with which I am totally in love. (Probably something to do with the chocolate they use indiscriminately!!)

Whip up a batch of this the next time you have left over Bru grounds and let me know what you think! And of course, don’t forget all those amazing health benefits you are eating as you polish this off…

NEED:

1 clove garlic

1/2 red chilli

Handful herbs of choice (I used a combo of mint, Italian parsley and coriander leaves)

Pinch sea salt

1 spring onion/shallot

Juice 1 lemon

1 tbsp Crio Bru grounds (left over from your morning cuppa!)

1 avocado, ripe

DO:

Place all ingredients except avocado into Thermomix bowl and blend 3 sec/speed 6.

Add avocado and blend further 3 sec/speed 4.

Eat on crackers, as a dressing for anything Mexicano! (Think Quesadillas, enchiladas, wraps, chilli con carne!)

Instant Banana Choc Chip Ice cream

It was 40ºC in the shade today and I sat outside for about 2 hours having a business lunch in the beautiful Casa Bianchi in Mt.Hawthorn…but seriously, I have never been so hot….and this was the only antidote I could come up with in a hurry. I love the simplicity, and if you are dairy intolerant, just grab coconut cream (making sure it is fridge cold) and replace accordingly.

Short and sweet….and to the point I’m thinking don’t you? Happy REALLY Hot Day!

NEED:

300g bananas, sliced and frozen

1 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste

60g cream

70-100g maple syrup

handful cacao nibs or Crio Bru grounds or choc chips

DO:

Place bananas and vanilla bean paste into Thermomix bowl and mill 8-10 sec/speed 10. This will be very loud.

Scrape down sides of bowl and add cream and maple syrup. Blend 5 sec/speed 6. Scrape down sides of bowl and insert Butterfly.

Whip 10 sec/speed 4. Add cacao nibs through hole in lid and whip further 5 sec/speed 4. Serve immediately.

After Dinner Mints

It goes without saying, if you have a Thermomix, you want to make EVERYTHING! (Am I right??) There is some sort of thing in the back of my mind when I shop for food, read a menu, see something new online, that I say to myself; ‘Huh, I can do that!’ And then I go home and I do…this is one of those recipes. I wouldnt say they were easy, the dipping is a little fiddly, but over all, not bad, and certainly worth all the drama. Whip out a tray of these after your next dinner party, casually mention you made them yourself and see everyone’s jaw drop…unless of course they have a Thermomix too. Then they will just smile a little and think to themselves, ‘Huh, I can do that!’

NEED:

260g icing sugar

25g unsalted butter

25g evaporated milk

½ tsp peppermint oil (not extract)

½ tsp lemon oil (not extract)

250g chocolate, broken into pieces

1 tbsp coconut oil

DO:

Place icing sugar, butter, milk and oils into Thermomix bowl and blend 30 sec/speed 6. Scrape down sides of bowl and knead 30 sec/Interval. Remove from bowl and roll into a smooth disc. Wrap in baking paper and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Break disc into small pieces and roll into balls about the size of a large macadamia. Place in freezer while you prepare the chocolate.

Place chocolate and coconut oil into clean, dry Thermomix bowl and heat 10 min/37ºC/speed 1. Scrape down sides of bowl as necessary until you have a nice liquid chocolate.

Press mint balls flat with the bottom of a glass, using a small piece of baking paper to prevent glass from sticking.

Dip each disc in chocolate and lay on lined metal tray. Refrigerate until use.

Jaffa Crio Bru Antioxidant Bites

Look there is no nice way to photograph little round brown things…so I apologise in advance…but you are going to love these. Quick and easy to make, full of antioxidants, sugar free and you will find the energy you never knew you had once you pop a couple of these. (Not recommended for 2 year olds…seriously!)

NEED:

130g salted cashew nuts

50g dates, pitted

50g dried cherries or craisins,

1 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste

50g Vega Real Crio Bru grounds

1 tsp pure orange oil

DO:

Place cashews into Thermomix bowl and blend to a paste 30 sec/speed 8.

Add remaining ingredients and blend 10 sec/speed 8.

Roll into balls using damp hands and refrigerate until serving.

Remember Crio Bru is full of slow releasing energy so these should not be eaten at night….no really…not kidding.

Vice Cream with Crio Beans

I saw this idea over on one of my fave blogs to read when I have a little time to relax, Not Quite Nigella. I changed it up a little because it was so totally perfect for your fave kitchen appliance and mine! I even made it as a Thermomix demo at my book launch, which incidentally WENT OFF! I hope if you were lucky enough to join me for that, you are still buzzing AND enjoying the spoils in For Foods Sake! I had a ball….If you would like a piece of the action, please go and purchase the book at the STORE.

If you would like a little Vice in your life, best make it this Vice, as it is all good for you! You could add all sorts of crunchy elements, as opposed to the macadamias, but add a little salt if you don’t use salty nuts. The salt will just elevate the flavor a little. Try Choc coated Crio beans, other nuts, chocolate chips or cacao nibs…or add orange zest and enjoy Jaffa Vice Cream…oh the possibilities.

NEED:

400g bananas, peeled and sliced, frozen

1 avocado

90g maple syrup

2 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste

40g Margaret River Chocolate cocoa powder (or other premium cocoa)

Handful roasted, salted macadamias

DO:

Place bananas into Thermomix bowl and chop 5 sec/speed 10.

Add remaining ingredients except nuts and blend 10-15 sec/speed 6. Scrape down sides of bowl and add nuts and blend a further 10 sec/speed 6.

Serve immediately.