We have been on a bit of a pizza kick at work. I am happy to say I have never been off my pizza kick. Always loved it, always will. I have a fantastic pizza stone that is unrivalled. It is ceramic with tunnels running from front to back and seems to produce a superior product. (Or maybe I’m just a damn fine pizza cook!) Anyhoo, I don’t have any recipes for pizza up here…a grave error, (Recipe? Bread dough, slap on a sauce, topping and cheese and we’re done, right?) and of course, when it comes to this site, the first pizza I come up with is for dessert. Not traditional, but certainly worth the effort. Enjoy!

NEED:

Starter;

1tsp sugar

1tsp granulated yeast

160g bakers flour

220g cold water

pinch sea salt

Base;

1 egg

250g buttermilk or milk

30g butter

400g bakers flour

olive oil

DO:

Place all starter ingredients into Thermomix bowl and mix for 10 seconds on speed 7. Scrape into non plastic bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Leave overnight at room temperature. (Cool is fine!)

The next day, place all of starter and remaining ingredients (except oil) into Thermomix bowl and mix together for 6 seconds on speed 6. The dough will appear sticky. With dial set to closed lid position, knead for 2 minutes at Interval speed.

Turn out onto oiled Silpat mat and knead into tight ball by hand. Place into oiled glass bowl and cover bowl with plastic wrap so it is airtight. Allow to double, again, a slow rise in a cooler temperature will give you a nicer crumb in the finished base.

Gently tip dough out onto baking paper or Silpat mat and divide into 3 equal pieces. Push each piece into desired shape with finger tips so as to dimple the top of the dough. Do not roll out or stretch out…allow the elasticity in the dough to work for you.

Top with variety of toppings. Bake by sliding pizza straight onto preheated pizza stone and cook until golden and bubbly. (Raspberry, lime option will have a lot of caramelised sauce) Serve immediately with lashings of mascarpone cream cheese or double cream or possibly ice cream.

I did two on this occasion (see below) photographed both and in a flu induced haze, deleted them both off my SD card before saving them, thus the singular pic. Did a cheesecake cherry topping at work…and luckily took that pic at work, so all safe and sound on my desktop, so have included that in the trio. All three were delicious and did not last long.

Topping One;

Press a few raspberries into the base, add thinly sliced lime. Drizzle with grapeseed oil and sprinkle the whole thing generously with organic raw sugar. When eating the lime slices can be removed, tho I quite enjoyed the crunchy caramelised skins.

Topping Two;

Sprinkle base with cranberries and dark mini chocolate nibs. Be quite liberal. Drizzle entire pizza with organic maple syrup.

Topping Three;

Cherry Sauce NEED:
60g sugar
670g jar morello pitted cherries
30g cornflour

DO:

Place sugar into Thermomix bowl and mill for 10 seconds on speed 10.
Insert basket into Thermomix bowl and pour whole jar of cherries in. Remove basket (with cherries) and set aside.
Add cornflour to Thermomix bowl and cook for 4-5 minutes at 100ºC on speed 4. Set aside.

Lemon Cheesecake NEED:
80g sugar
Zest and juice 1 lemon
2 eggs
500g cream cheese

DO:
Place sugar and zest into Thermomix bowl and mill together for 10 seconds on speed 10.
Add remaining ingredients and blend together for 10 seconds on speed 7. Scrape down sides of bowl and repeat.

ASSEMBLE:

Divide dough into two portions and roll out each separately on a piece of baking paper.

Place first pizza onto pizza stone and bake for approximately 7-8 minutes or until starting to brown slightly. The pizza may puff up as there are no toppings, but this is not a problem.

Remove from oven and generously spread half of the cheesecake mixture onto the pizza.

Drizzle with half of the cherry sauce, top with a few of the reserved cherries and return to the oven for 3-4 minutes or until lemon cheesecake topping has set. Serve immediately and make a second one….cos you’re going to need it!

NEED:
200 gram pkg Malt biscuits
90 grams butter
1 can condensed milk (390 grams)
400 grams cream cheese
5 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
600 grams whipping cream
150 grams Jersey Caramels

DO:
Place biscuits and butter into Thermomix (food processor) bowl and pulverize for 10 seconds on
speed 9.
Push into 26 cm spring form pan and bake in 160 degree oven for 10 minutes exactly. Remove and cool.
Meanwhile empty contents of milk can into Thermomix bowl and cook on Varoma temperature for 20 minutes on speed 2. Cool slightly in bowl.
(If you are using a cook top to caramelize your milk cook in nonstick pan, stirring constantly on Induction 6-7 until browned and thickened.)
Add cheese, vanilla bean paste, eggs to Thermomix bowl and beat for 20 seconds on speed 8. Scrape down sides of bowl and insert Butterfly attachment.
Beat for 3 minutes on speed 4.
Pour into baked base and process in steam oven for 1 hour. Cool overnight.
In clean Thermomix bowl, and with butterfly attachment in, whip cream for 20-40 seconds (depending on freshness of cream) until thick. Pipe (a bit seventies I know) or spread onto cold cheesecake.
Without cleaning bowl, add Jersey caramels and heat until melted on 70 degrees and speed 2. Add a little cream if necessary to get a nice pourable sauce. Drizzle over top of whipped cream, serve and EAT! (This is better the next day and cuts perfectly.)

I had a great dessert at lunch the other day and decided to try and replicate it, and if I say so myself…mine is better. (No-one else would say it, so I had to!) I had intended on a rhubarb clafoutis after reading a great recipe for Cherry Clafouti on Foodbuzz, but this idea took over after the lunch! I have had a lot of good feedback about Rhubarb Mousse, so I know rhubarb is on your radars…Love the tangy-ness, the tart-ness, the color, and paired with Raspberry, YUMM-O!

It is a rhubarb, crumble with a cheesecake-y centre…so unsure of exactly what I was making I began with flavor and color in mind, added raspberries for both…and voila! You can see the results and give the recipe a go. Please tell me what results you get….BUT ONLY IF THEY’RE GOOD! Hahahahaha.

NEED:
Base: 1 pkg gingernut biscuits
125 grams butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
1 cup quick oats
Filling: 1 kilo chopped fresh rhubarb stalks
350 grams frozen raspberries thawed (Fresh are impossible to get where I live, but use them if you can!)
5 tablespoons raw sugar
1/2 cup caster sugar
500 grams creamed ricotta cheese
5 large eggs
150 grams sour cream (not light)
2 teaspoons vanilla

DO:
Steam rhubarb with raw sugar in steam oven for 25 minutes.
Cool completely.
Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees Celcius.
Spray 10 inch spring-form pan with cooking spray.
Make base by processing all ingredients except oats in Thermomix Speed 8 until blended.
Turn blade in reverse and add oats, using stirring function until oats are mixed through.
Push 3/4 of base mix into prepared pan with the back of a spoon, making sure mix is packed down firmly.
Reserve remaining base mix for topping and set aside in seperate bowl.
Bake the base in pre-heated oven for 15 minutes until fragrant.
Without cleaning Thermomix bowl, blend all filling ingredients except fruit until smooth and creamy.
Mix raspberries with steamed rhubarb gently so as not to break the fruit up too much.
Pour cheesecake mix onto base.
Gently put fruit on top of cheese filling and try to distribute evenly throughout cake.
Place crumble (base) mix on top.
Bake in oven for around 75 minutes or until middle is set when you shake it.
Chill completely.

SERVE:
Slice and serve with fresh cream (I used King Island Cream…THE best in Australia!) Of course the addition of cream totally kills the low-fat properties of the ricotta….but you could argue that it halves the fat content that you would have if the recipe called for cream cheese…AND a dollop of cream to serve!  Female logic…you can’t beat it.

3 pkgs  low fat cream cheese
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup sour cream
juice of one lemon
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
4 large eggs

14 small ramekins or 6-8 large

DO:
Make toffee for bottom of ramekins by heating honey, butter  and sugar together on Induction 4 until sugar is dissolved,
butter melts and mix is blended.
Increase heat to 6 and whisk with balloon whisk until mix goes a deep caramel color.
Set the timer for 5 minutes continuing to whisk.
Remove from heat and add water. (Mix will bubble and spit)
Whisk to blend.
Divide topping between ramekins. Set aside.

Prepare filling by blending cheese and sugar in food processor until creamy.
Add sour cream, lemon and vanmilla; Process until smooth.
Add eggs blending between additions.
Divide mix between ramekins.
Process in steam oven for 20 minutes.
Chill until completely cold.

SERVE:
Run a knife around the edge and upturn onto a plate.
Garnish with fresh or thawed berries and whipped cream.

USED:
Le Creuset 7-3/4 oz. Ramekins, Set of 2, Cherry

Sorry to do this to all those of you looking forward to putting on a swimsuit in the next few months, but you won’t be able to just have one piece: thus ‘Gluttony’.

NEED:
1 pkg Butternut snap biscuits
75 grams butter
4 x 250 grams cream cheese
5 eggs
3/4 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon vanilla essence
300 grams Toblerone chocolate (3 bars)
FOR PRALINE GARNISH:
1/2 cup chocolate melts
1 cup caster sugar
vegetable spray
Large springform pan

DO:
Make crust by mixing biscuits and butter in food processor.
Press into spring form pan and bake on 165 degrees fan forced for
10 minutes. Cool
Beat cream cheese with sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time,
then vanilla and cream and continue to whip until light and blended.
Pour into pan.
Melt Toblerone on Induction 1 until pourable.
With a spoon, dollop even amounts on the top of the cheesecake,
swirl through the cheesecake with a skewer for marbled effect.
Process in steam oven for 70 minutes or until set in centre.
Chill for several hours or overnight.
TO MAKE PRALINE:
Spray a sheet of baking paper with vegetable spray.
Evenly spread the sugar and place in 160 degree on fan grill function.
for around 8-10 minutes.
Watch this closely as a 30 seconds can be the difference between praline
and a smoking burnt mess!!
Leave toffee to cool and set hard. Meanwhile melt choc melts on
Induction 1. When toffee is set, drizzle chocolate over it. Set in fridge.

SERVE:
Slice into wedges with a wet knife. Break praline into large pieces, and serve
with whipped cream and stick praline in large end of wedge.
Garnish with fresh strawberries.

USED:
Large springform pan

Envy? You’ll be envying anyone who can eat more than one slice of this one!

NEED:
2 x 250 gram blocks Dream chocolate
2 x packets oreo biscuits
125 grams unsalted butter
5 eggs
3 x 250 grams Cream cheese at room temp
¼ cup castor sugar
1 tspn vanilla bean paste
¼ cup good quality raspberry jam
250 grams dark chocolate
¼ cup cream
Frozen raspberries

DO:
Process oreos in food processor until fine crumbs.
Melt butter and mix into biscuit mixture.
Press into 9” springform pan and bake on 180 degrees for 10 minutes and cool.
Meanwhile beat cream cheese with sugar and vanilla paste. Add eggs one at a time.
Melt white chocolate until smooth (Induction 1) and cool slightly and pour into cream cheese mix.
Beat thoroughly. Pour into biscuit base.
Place in steam oven for 60 minutes until middle is set. Cool.
Melt dark chocolate with cream and jam (Induction 3) until pourable,
spread on top of cheesecake.
Place frozen raspberries on top of ganache to decorate
and set in fridge for several hours.

Serve with whipped cream.

BLACK BOTTOM CHEESECAKE

NEED:
2 x 250 gram blocks Dream chocolate
2 x packets oreo biscuits
75 grams unsalted butter
5 eggs
3 x 250 grams Cream cheese at room temp
¼ cup castor sugar
1 tspn vanilla bean paste
¼ cup good quality raspberry jam
250 grams dark chocolate
¼ cup cream
Frozen raspberries

DO:
Process oreos in food processor until fine crumbs.
Melt butter and mix into biscuit mixture.
Press into 9” springform pan and bake on 180 degrees for 10 minutes and cool.
Meanwhile in same Thermomix bowl, beat cream cheese with sugar and vanilla paste. Add eggs one at a time.
Melt white chocolate until smooth (INDUCTION 1) and cool slightly and pour into cream cheese mix. Beat thoroughly. (About 1 minute on Speed 4)
Pour into biscuit base.
Place in steam oven for 60 minutes until middle is set. Cool.
Melt dark chocolate with cream and jam until pourable, spread on top of cheesecake.
Place frozen raspberries on top of ganache to decorate and set in fridge for several hours.

Serve with whipped cream.