“Doughnuts. Is there anything they can’t do?” Well, that’s what Homer Simpson thinks, anyway. Whether it’s true or not, doughnuts have certainly conquered the world. Almost every country has its own version of a doughnut. France has beignets, Italy has bomboloni, Spain has churros and Germany has berliners. Less well known are Belgian smoutebollen, Russian ponchiki and Israeli sufganiyot.

Not all doughnuts are created equal. In Japan, they can be filled with sweet adzuki bean paste. In Thailand, street hawkers sell deep fried snacks known as Patongkos. In Indonesia, donat kentang are made from flour and mashed potatoes.

Australians are partial to a hot jam doughnut.

For as long as I can remember, doughnuts have punctuated my existence: from early memories of cloyingly sweet pineapple doughnuts at the school tuckshop, through to amazing bomboloni during travels in Italy. As I’ve grown up, my tastes may have changed, but I still enjoy doughnuts. And they’re easy to make.

And the best thing about making your own doughnuts is that you get them while they’re hot.

Italian potato doughnuts

½ (half) cup milk

2 tsp dry yeast

500g  baking potatoes, like Ranger Russets, peeled and cut into chunks

2 eggs

3 ½ (three and a half) cups plain flour

2 tbsp sugar

¼ (quarter) cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 orange, zested and juiced

2 lt rice bran oil for deep frying

3 tbsp lemon juice

150g icing sugar

In a small saucepan, heat the milk over low heat until warm. Add the yeast to the milk and allow to sit for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the potatoes in a large pot, cover with water and bring to the boil, cooking until tender. Drain and pass through a food mill or ricer and place in a large bowl. Add the eggs, flour, sugar, 1/4 (quarter) cup oil, juice, and zest of orange and mix well to combine. Add the yeast mixture and knead well, adding more flour if necessary to keep the batter from becoming too sticky. Cover and let the dough rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until doubled in size.

Roll the dough out on a lightly floured bench to approximately 2 cm thickness.

Use an 8cm round cutter to cut the doughnut shapes.  Cut a small hole in the middle of each doughnut with a small cutter, or simply poke through a hole with your thumb. Re roll the doughnut off-cuts to use up the remaining dough. Place the doughnuts on a baking paper lined tray, cover with non-stick baking paper and a clean tea towel and let rise for another 15 minutes.

Heat oil in deep fryer to 190C.

Working in batches, fry the doughnuts until golden brown, about 5 minutes, turning over halfway through. Remove with a slotted spoon and allow to drain on a plate lined with paper towels.

Make the lemon icing by mixing the lemon juice with icing sugar in a shallow bowl to a runny consistency.

Dip the doughnuts in the icing, then serve.

Makes 12-14 doughnuts.

Orange yoghurt syrup cake

This delicious, moist cake can be served warm from the oven with a little extra yoghurt on the side.

125g butter, softened

250g caster sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup Greek yoghurt

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

zest 2 oranges

3 tbsp orange juice

400g self raising flour

½ tsp bicarb soda

syrup:

1 cup caster sugar

1 cup water

4 tbsp orange juice

2 oranges, segmented

1 pink grapefruit, segmented

Preheat oven to 180C.

Grease and line a 23cm cake tin with removable base.

Cream butter and sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time and continue to mix until combined. Add yoghurt, vanilla, orange zest and juice and mix. Add flour and bicarb and gently fold through.

Place mixture in cake tin and smooth the surface. The mixture will be quite firm.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until cake is cooked through.

Meanwhile, make the syrup. Combine sugar, water and juice in a small saucepan and cook over low heat to dissolve the sugar. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add citrus segments.

When cake is cooked, remove from oven and poke all over with a bamboo skewer, to make lots of small holes. Slowly pour the orange syrup over the hot cake until it is all absorbed and place the citrus segments in the middle.

Allow to cool, then remove from tin.

This lemon yoghurt syrup cake has lovely lemony tang. It is not overly sweet and the syrup soaks into the cake, without making it too wet. I think it is at its most delicious, served still slightly warm. Dollop with extra yoghurt, if you like, but it doesn’t really need it.

lemon yoghurt syrup cake

A lovely, moist cake with a lemony tang.

125g butter, softened

250g caster sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup greek yoghurt

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

zest 2 lemons

3 tbsp lemon juice

400g self raising flour

½ tsp bicarb soda

syrup:

1 cup caster sugar

1 cup water

4 tbsp lemon juice

2 lemons, finely sliced

Preheat oven to 180C.

Grease and line a 23cm cake tin with removable base.

Cream butter and sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time and continue to mix until combined. Add yoghurt, vanilla, lemon zest and juice and mix. Add flour and bicarb and gently fold through.

Place mixture in cake tin and smooth the surface. The mixture will be quite firm.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until cake is cooked through.

Meanwhile, make the syrup. Combine sugar, water and lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook over low heat to dissolve the sugar. Add lemon slices and simmer for 10 minutes, to soften the lemons. Set aside.

When cake is cooked, remove from oven and poke all over with a bamboo skewer, to make lots of small holes. Slowly pour the lemon syrup over the hot cake until it is all absorbed.

Place the lemon slices decoratively on top.

Allow to cool, then remove from tin.

When the baking mood hits you, a batch of biscuits is not only quick and easy to whip up, but extremely satisfying. 

These old fashioned recipes can be made by hand, as my mother and grandmother did, or whipped up using an electric mixer or food processor.

For the baking novice, there are a few rules to follow.

Start with the ingredients at room temperature. If your butter is cold, use a grater to break up into small pieces. Otherwise, microwave in short bursts to soften.

To bring eggs to room temperature, take them out of the fridge 30 minutes before you plan to use them. Alternatively, you can warm them up very quickly by placing them in a bowl of warm water for 5-10 minutes.

Sifting flour and other dry ingredients together helps to integrate and aerate the mixture. Sift onto a piece of baking paper to make it easier to add to the mixing bowl.

When using cup and spoon measures, check that they are Australian Standard Metric measures. An Australian metric tablespoon is 20ml and a cup is 250ml. Many kitchenware shops sell cup and spoon measures that have been designed overseas, where the measurements are different. This can lead to disaster when baking.

When measuring flour using a cup, first stir the flour in its container to aerate and lift it. Then scoop out the required amount, heaping it slightly in the cup. Level it off with the back of a knife. Don’t be tempted to tap or shake the cup, as the flour shouldn’t be packed in.

A more failsafe approach is to weigh all ingredients. Digital scales are a good investment as your measurements will be accurate.

The following recipe for Monte Carlos is for old fashioned, filled biscuits. So find an excuse to get baking. And may these become some of your family favourites.

Monte carlos

190g butter at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla essence

125g brown sugar

1 large egg

150g self raising flour

100g plain flour

¼ (quarter) tsp bicarb soda

75g fine dessicated coconut

½ (half) cup raspberry jam

cream filling:

75g butter

½ (half) tsp vanilla essence

2 tsp milk

190g icing sugar

Preheat oven to 180C.

Beat butter, vanilla and sugar with an electric mixer until just combined. Add egg and beat to combine.

Sift flours with bicarb soda and add to butter mixture in two batches, alternating with coconut. Mix well.

Roll 2 tsp of mixture into ovals, place on lined oven trays and flatten slightly with the back of a fork. Allow room for spreading.

Bake for 7-10 minutes.

Remove and cool on trays for a few minutes to firm up, then lift onto wire racks to cool completely.

To make the filling, beat butter, vanilla, milk and icing sugar in a small bowl until fluffy. 

Place a small amount of raspberry jam on the flat side of one biscuit and spread some icing on the flat side of a similar size biscuit. Sandwich both biscuits together. Repeat with remaining biscuits.

Makes 28 filled biscuits.

Hazelnut and chocolate baci di dama

Baci di Dama means ladies kisses. They are like little mouthfuls of heaven.

¾ cup hazelnuts

1 cup icing sugar

125g butter, softened

zest of 1 lemon

1 cup plain flour

120g dark chocolate (between 58 -70% cocoa content)

Preheat oven to 180C.

Place hazelnuts on an oven tray and heat in oven for 5 minutes. Remove and place hazelnuts in tea towel. Rub vigorously to remove the skins. Allow to cool.

Process the hazelnuts with icing sugar in a food processor until finely ground.

Add butter and lemon rind and process until creamy.

Remove from processor and gently incorporate flour until just combined (do not over mix).

Use a teaspoon to scoop up a small amount of mix and roll into a ball. Place on lined oven trays, well spaced to allow for spreading.

Bake for 12-15 minutes until lightly golden, then cool on trays on a wire rack.

Melt chocolate in a glass bowl over a pot of just boiled water from the kettle or in a microwave on medium power for 1 minute or so. Stir until smooth and glossy.

Spread a small amount of chocolate on one side of the cooled biscuit, then sandwich with another biscuit. Repeat with remaining biscuits.

Makes 60 filled biscuits.

Hit the sweet spot with these Valentine’s Day treats

Homemade + Chocolate = Valentine’s Day success.

Try these easy recipes and share a little love around.

When choosing chocolate for cooking, know your percentages. Basically, all chocolates contain various ratios of cocoa powder, cocoa fat and sugar.

The cocoa content is listed as a percentage. So “70%” refers to chocolate with 70% cocoa and cocoa fat and the remaining 30% sugar. The percentage indicates the balance between chocolate flavour and sweetness. The higher the percentage, the more bitter the chocolate.

For most baking, I use a chocolate with around 58% cocoa content.

Start with my fudgy chocolate brownies. Such a simple recipe, all made in one pot. The important principle for a perfect brownie is to get the baking time right; undercooked and it’s too gooey, overcooked and it’s cake. For moist and delicious brownie, you will need to take it out of the oven whilst it’s still very moist. A skewer inserted will be covered with lots of gooey crumbs. The top should be set, risen and slightly cracked.

For more baking, try the baci di dama (ladies kisses). These delicate little hazelnut and lemon flavoured biscuits are sandwiched together with dark chocolate. I prefer to use a bitter dark chocolate with a 70% cocoa content, but any good quality chocolate will do.

To spice things up, finish with my chilli chocolate truffles. The chilli adds warmth to the chocolate without being overwhelming. It’s a flavour combination that really works.

Hope these hit the sweet spot.

Fudgy chocolate brownies

Everyone should have a dependable brownie recipe. It’s important to get the baking time right, so check regularly with a skewer until the mixture looks set, yet still moist and slightly gooey.

250g unsalted butter

125g dark chocolate (58% cocoa content), chopped

2 cups caster sugar

4 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 cup plain flour

¼ cup dutch cocoa

½ tsp salt

125g toasted walnuts, chopped

¼ cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 180C fan forced (200C conventional).

Lightly grease and line a 180 x 280mm rectangular shallow cake pan.

Heat butter and chocolate in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon.

Remove from heat and stir in sugar.

Beat in eggs, one at a time and stir in vanilla.

Sift in dry ingredients and mix until thoroughly blended.

Stir in walnuts. Pour into prepared pan and sprinkle over the chocolate chips.

Bake for 45 - 50 minutes, or until a skewer comes out covered with lots of gooey crumbs. At this stage, remove from oven and allow to cool completely in pan.

Cut into rectangles.

Makes about 28.

Mexican wedding cakes

These melt in the mouth, shortbread-like cookies are also known as Russian tea cakes.  They are perfect for Christmas and are easy to make. Use good quality nuts and butter for the best results. Roll in sugar whilst the biscuits are still warm, then again when they have cooled.

125g pecans, almonds or hazelnuts

300g plain flour

90g caster sugar

250g unsalted butter, chilled and cubed

1 tsp vanilla extract

125g icing sugar

Process nuts until finely ground.

Add flour and caster sugar and process to combine.

Add butter and vanilla and pulse to form a dough.

Divide dough into four, then roll out each piece into a 40cm length, wrap in cling film, place on a tray and refrigerate for 30 minutes (the logs can be frozen at this stage).

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 160C (140 fan forced).

Slice off 1 cm rounds, place on lined oven tray and bake for 20 minutes until lightly coloured.

Remove from oven and rest on tray for a few minutes, then roll in icing sugar to coat.

makes 90.

Only 12 sleeps ‘til Christmas. That means only 12 shopping days left. How to avoid the last minute madness and mayhem? Instead of buying presents, crank up the oven and make some old fashioned home made goodies.

It can be something as simple as a box of handmade biscuits or as extravagant as a gourmet hamper overflowing with treats.

Pick up some decorative biscuit cutters, pretty boxes and ribbon and you’re on your way.

Try the gingerbread Christmas biscuits. This is a simple recipe that both adults and kids will enjoy. For a professional touch, decorate them with readymade, ready to roll white icing, available at most supermarkets.

Gingerbread Christmas biscuits

Nothing says Christmas to me quite like gingerbread. These biscuits are easy to make and look very professional with readymade icing, which is available from the supermarket. For coloured icing, add a few drops of food colouring before kneading. You will need to mix it in well.

200g butter

90g sugar

90g brown sugar

¼ (quarter) cup treacle

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

¼ (quarter) tsp ground cloves

1 egg, beaten

450g plain flour

2 tsp bicarb soda

pinch salt

500g ready made ready to roll white icing (available at supermarkets)

Cream the butter and both sugars together until light and fluffy. Add treacle, spices and egg. Mix well.

Sift flour with baking soda and salt. Add flour to butter and egg mix, a little at a time, stirring well after each addition. Knead dough lightly, wrap in cling film  and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 180C (160C fan forced).

Roll out dough thinly on a lightly floured surface. Cut out shapes and place on trays lined with baking paper. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, place on wire racks and allow to cool.

Take the readymade icing out of the wrapper and knead. (If the icing is hard, microwave on medium power for 20-30 seconds to soften). Lightly dust the work surface with icing sugar and roll out the icing thinly. Cut out shapes with a pastry cutter.

Brush the cooled biscuits with water and place the icing shapes on top. Press down lightly.

makes 40.

old fashioned meat pie

This is a real meat pie. Use cheaper cuts of meat, such as oyster blade or skirt, to provide loads of flavour and benefit from slow cooking. I have used ready made pastry here, but it would be delicious with homemade shortcrust. Individual aluminium pie tins are readily available at the supermarket, or make one large family pie for dinner.

1 brown onion

1 carrot

1 stick celery

4 tbsp olive oil

750g oyster blade steak (or skirt steak)

4 tbsp plain flour

2 cups veal stock (or water)

salt and pepper to season

8 sheets ready rolled shortcrust pastry (or homemade)

1 egg, beaten for pastry glaze

tomato sauce to serve

Roughly chop onion, carrot and celery, then put into a food processor and finely chop.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy based pot and fry the vegetables for 5 minutes until softened. Remove and set aside.

Cut the meat into 2 cm cubes and toss in flour to coat. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in the same pot and brown the meat in two batches. Pour in one cup of stock to deglaze the pot and scrape off any bits sticking to the bottom. Return the vegetables to the pot, add enough stock to just cover the meat, bring to the boil, cover with a lid then reduce heat and cook for 1 ½ hours. Stir from time to time to make sure the meat doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot. Add salt and pepper to season and set aside to cool completely.

Preheat oven to 220C.

Use a side plate as a guide to cut 6 x 16 cm diameter circles in the pastry. Cut 6 x 11 cm diameter circles as pastry lids.

Gently place the larger pastry in the bottom of 6 aluminium pie tins. Trim any excess.

Place cooled meat filling in the pie. Before placing on the pastry lid, brush around the edges of the pie with the beaten egg to create a seal. Press down the lid firmly at the edges and cut a small vent in the centre. Brush the top of the pastry with more egg glaze.

Place pies on a baking tray in oven and cook for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 180C and cook for a further 25 minutes, until golden brown.

Serve with tomato sauce.

makes 6.

My childhood memories of Grandma’s kitchen always include the taste of her homemade ginger nut biscuits. Fresh out of the oven, the heady aroma from the spices would permeate her small home and we never waited for them to cool too long before sneaking one or two from the wire racks on the bench.

Make up a batch of these and you’ll possibly do the same. Keep them simple without adding the butterscotch filling and they’re still irresistible.

ginger nuts with butterscotch cream

300g plain flour

1 ½ (one and a half) tsp bicarb soda

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp ginger

1 tsp allspice

125g unsalted butter, room temp

220g caster sugar

1 egg

¼ (quarter) cup treacle

½ (half) cup raw sugar

butterscotch cream:

300g caster sugar

150g thickened cream (35% fat)

200g unsalted butter, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 180C.

Sift flour, bicarb soda and spices together.

Cream butter and caster sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

Add egg and treacle and mix well.

Add flour mixture and mix well to combine.

Roll into small balls and roll in raw sugar.

Place on lined oven trays and flatten slightly. Allow room to spread.

Bake for 10 minutes, until crisp.

Remove from oven and cool on trays for a few minutes before lifting onto wire racks to cool.

To make the butterscotch cream filling, melt sugar in large heavy based frypan, stirring with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat, add cream and stir until combined. Set aside to cool.

Place butter in an electric mixer with a whisk attachment and whisk until light and fluffy. Add cooled caramel and continue to whisk until combined.

Sandwich biscuits together with butterscotch cream.

Makes 20 large filled biscuits.