Saturday 30 April 2016

Cheesecake


The following recipe is one that I have used for many years.  It's a family favourite and dare I say it.. almost a pantry staple in our house 😆

It's a KRAFT recipe which has been adapted slightly to a cater for us gluten free folk.  I have made it thousands of times and every time it is a triumph & warmly received. 


Ingredients
1 + 1/4 Cups Gluten Free sweet biscuit crumbs
80g butter, melted

2 x 250g block Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
3/4 Cup Caster sugar
1/4 Cup lemon juice
3 teaspoons GF gelatine, dissolved in 1/4 cup boiling water
1 Cup cream, lightly whipped

Method
Combine biscuits crumbs and melted butter and press into your tin. Refrigerate whilst you prepare the filling.

Using a mixer, beat Phily and sugar until smooth
Add lemon juice & gelatine mixture and beat well until combined.
Fold through cream.
Pour mix into prepared base and chill for 3 hours.

You can incorporate some passionfruit pulp, lime zest, raspberries, or other creative additional extras  into the mix before setting for that extra special something. I would avoid using fruits such as Pineapple or Kiwi Fruit in the mix as they may inhibit the gelatine working it's magic and setting the cheesecake.  Save these for toppings. 

Generally, any plain gluten free sweet biscuit works well. My favourite used to be Naturally Good Coconut Bakehouse Cookies but unfortunately not as readily available (locally) to me anymore. If you can find them, they make for an excellent cheesecake base. I have used Schar Maria plain biscuits and Eskal Tea Biscuits successfully.  

You could also incorporate some desiccated coconut into the biscuit base for that something special.  Toppings can be simple or elaborate. From strawberries & a dusting of icing sugar, to a medley of fruits, chocolate, meringue or even spun sugar.  You are only limited by your imagination.

This recipe makes 1 standard sized cheesecake (9-inch springform pan) or a dozen individual servings using disposable foil baking cups (8 x 3.8cm)


This is not a sponsored post


Wednesday 13 April 2016

That's all very Well and Good


The last 8 weeks in our house have been a whole lot of CRAZY to say the least.


We have had mad LEARNER DRIVER practise, Gymnastics, Taekwondo, Netball season starting, Footy season starting, THE Practical Driving Assessment (third time's a charm 😉), wisdom teeth extractions, teenage recovery from aforementioned wisdom teeth extractions.. 
5 year old tantrums from time restrictions placed on electronics 😖 and for the 8 year old - a Rapid Maxillary Expander Appliance thrown in just for good measure. Good times. I'll just tack on the end here, the majority happening whilst the husband has been away for work. But you know what?  I have come to realise that this is OUR kind of normal.  It's all or nothing in Casa Hart. (Usually weighing heavily on the ALL end of the scale) Sound familiar?  Not whingeing (OK maybe a little bit).  
I know it's a lot of families' kind of NORMAL these days - more of an explanation of why things have been quiet on the old blogging front. Apologies. 

I have however, managed to road test a couple of superb products from the lovely people at 
Well and Good in between ORGANISED CHAOS and am here today to tell you about them. 

In my opinion the individual products stand on their own merits but hey I'll let you be the judge. ENJOY!

CRUSTY BREAD MIX

This is photographic proof that the mix produces an excellent result.  I was REALLY impressed with this product.  It was very user friendly and bucking the system in my usual haphazard manner, I used my mixer against recommendation (to which I only discovered recently - oops! Pays to actually read instructions..) Well what a brilliant result.  Good Friday saw me making pumpkin soup which killed 2 birds with one stone so to speak (with one wisdom teeth impaired individual in the house).  
The bread complimented the soup perfectly.  It was crusty & delicious on the outside and soft in the middle.  True to their word, Well and Good have delivered an excellent product here.  




                 GLUTEN FREE SELF RAISING FLOUR


This gluten free flour fortified with Quinoa and Calcium produces an excellent baked good.  It comes in a resealable 1kg bag and is not only gluten free but dairy free & nut free as well.  I have road tested the merits of this flour in some Hart family favourites several times. Several times because the baked results don't seem to last very long around here so I keep baking more just to make sure. You know. Purely for quality control.  

My theory is, if it tastes good they'll eat it.  
If there is added nutritious stuff concealed in there and it gets eaten just as heartily, WIN WIN. 
Nice one Well and Good. Mothers everywhere will love this sneaky tactic 👍
For those wondering, the Gluten Free Plain Flour is an equally quality product. It has been used frequently in my kitchen and I would purchase both again without hesitation.


Easy Chocolate Brownies


CHOCOLATE MOUSSE CAKE

Mmm.. Chocolate Mousse
Mmm.. Choccy Cake
Imagine having them both at the same time.. in one cake! Imagine no more! Well and Good have made this dream a reality. Good Grief. Do we really need this? Don't be ridiculous. OF COURSE WE DO.
This scrummy delight is from Well and Good's NEW range of gluten free products that contain a twist of superfood without compromising on taste.  In this case raw Cacao - organic and cold pressed added to the mousse topping.  The mousse is rich and decadent and perfectly compliments the moist chocolate cake base underneath. If you're looking for the WOW factor with the convenience and ease of a cake mix to whip up and seriously impress..




My teenage son tells me that the SALTED CARAMEL PUDDING IN A MUG was also pretty decent (Those of you that have teenagers will know, this is a POSITIVE affirmation).
Apologies for lack of photographic evidence of said pudding but due to immediate and ill-mannered consumption of dessert I will take this as a BIG thumbs up.  Also, the fact that he could follow the 2 step instruction on the reverse of pack (1. Combine milk, oil and pudding mix in mug 2. Cook in the microwave for 50 seconds) - a monumental achievement.
GMO free. Gluten & Nut Free and containing no artificial colours or flavours. With Gooey Chocolate Pudding and Spiced Banana Cake varieties also available, I'd say this little gem will appeal to many.




Well and Good is a proudly Australian owned family business. All of their products are made in Melbourne in a strictly Gluten, Dairy and Nut Free environment. You will find their products in Coles, IGAs and health stores throughout Australia.  Products are also available online ($4 postage Australia wide). Try their handy STORE LOCATOR HERE

You will also find an excellent recipe resource available via their website HERE and if Youtube is your thing, they have that covered as well.  With step-by-step tutorials using the Well and Good range of  baking mixes and recipes.




Well and Good sent me the above products to sample
All opinions expressed are my own.  
I was not paid for this post.