Categories
Cookies

Angel’s Gingernut Biscuits

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups plain flour
  • 1 cup castor sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 125g (4oz) soft butter
  • 1 small egg
  • 1 teaspoon maple syrup

Method:

Sift into basin flour, sugar, soda, cinnamon, salt and ginger. Rub in butter until mixture has a very fine crumb consistency.  Beat egg with maple syrup, add to dry ingredients.  Work into a firm dough with hand. Take teaspoonfuls of mixture, roll into small balls, place on lightly greased oven trays about 5cm (2in) apart.  Bake in moderately slow oven about 15 minutes.  Loosen biscuits and cool on the trays. Makes about 40.

Categories
Cakes

Butterscotch’s Brownies

It appears that Chewy has finally coerced me to give up my recipe for my brownies, apparently they’re extremely popular and he cannot hold off the petitions any longer! Now a lot of people want to know how to make this gluten-free, simply ensure that the baking powder and cocoa powder are gluten-free and use a substitute of gluten-free or quinoa flour for the plain flour. The substitution also seems to be preferable as it makes the brownies more chewy and less crumbly.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups caster sugar
  • 1 cup baking cocoa
  • 3/4 cup plain flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • 4 lightly-beated eggs
  • 150g melted butter
  • 250g choc chips

Method:

Begin by pre-heating the oven to 160°C and line a square of rectangular tin with baking paper. Put the caster sugar, baking powder, plain (or gluten-free) flour, baking powder, and vanilla essence into a large bowl. Beat or stir in the eggs and the butter and when everything has been properly combined stir in the choc chips. These can be all one type or a mix of milk, white, and/or dark. Personally, I use half white and half dark. Mix the choc chips in thoroughly and spoon into the tin. Bake in the oven for one hour and remove immediately if you want to eat warm or leave to cool down to eat later. I really do like making brownies and I hope that you enjoy them too!

Categories
Cakes

Xander’s Non-Bake Chocolate Cheesecake

Honestly, Uncle Chewy can be so forgetful, I gave him this easy, yummy recipe ages ago but he never published it and finally he’s remembered it exists!

Ingredients:

  • 150g crushed digestive biscuits
  • 45g butter
  • 110g caster sugar
  • 120ml thickened cream
  • 150g dark chocolate
  • 2 tablespoons baking cocoa mixed with a bit of water
  • 200g cream cheese

Method:

Firsts mix the crushed biscuits with the melted butter and a tablespoon of the sugar, then press the mixture into an regular sized cake tin that has been lined with baking paper and greased with butter and place in a fridge to set. The next step is to whip the cream until it’s nice and thick and then melting the dark chocolate before blending them together when the chocolate has cooled down along with the baking cocoa and the water.

After this, beat together the cream cheese and the sugar (excluding, of course, the tablespoon used previously) and then fold the cream and chocolate, that was mixed together before, in. Finish up the cake by spreading the mixture into the tin on top of the biscuits and freeze for an hour. If it’s still too hard before serving, place it into the fridge for another half hour or longer. I really do love eating this and it’s just sooo easy, who can resist?

Categories
Cakes

Buffy’s Banana Cake

Uncle Chewy has finally decided to make my delicious banana cake a feature on his website. I also enjoy making it, and then eating it, so I hope that you all delight in my recipe as well!

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of self-raising flour
  • 2/3 cup of brown sugar
  • 90g of melted butter
  • 2 lightly beaten eggs
  • 2 tablespoons of milk
  • 2 teaspoons of lemon juice or vanilla essence

First preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius, then use a mixer to combine the sugar and flour together. Next add the butter, eggs, milk, and the lemon juice (or vanilla essence) and mix those in too. Get a cake tin, doesn’t really matter what shape or type, but I prefer a rectangular flexible pan for banana cake. Grease the pan with butter or line it with baking paper and finally pour the batter into it. Put it into the oven for about 40-45 minutes or until lightly brown on top and take it out for it cool down. When the cake is cool enough to take out of the pan without falling apart do so and next onto the icing.

You can make this icing as caramel or vanilla or even just normal. Simply add 1 cup of icing sugar with water, enough to make it spreadable, ¼ cup of brown sugar for caramel icing, and about 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence for vanilla icing. When the icing’s at the right consistency, adding more icing sugar or water if necessary, spread it over the cake and get ready to enjoy!

Categories
Cakes

Mischief’s Milk Chocolate Cupcakes

I love food, in fact I always know exactly when it’s time for dinner! Now I can offer a new sweet to try. I hope you enjoy one of my delicious milk chocolate cupcakes.

Ingredients:

  • 75g unsalted butter
  • 75g chopped milk chocolate
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 2 lightly beaten eggs
  • 1/2 self-raising flour

Method:

First things first, preheat the oven to 315 degrees Fahrenheit and put 12 cupcake holders into a cupcake pan. Next, heat and mix the butter and chocolate together on the stove until melted. The best way to do this is to put the chocolate and butter into a heat proof bowl or jug and heat it over a saucepan of water. After the mixture has finished melting, put it into a large bowl and mix in the sugar, eggs, and flour. Next, pour the chocolate mixture into the cupcake pan and bake the cupcakes in the oven for 20 minutes. Before taking the cupcakes out, check that they are cooked and then put them out on a cooling rack.

Icing ingredients:

  • 80g chopped milk chocolate
  • 2 tablespoons thick cream

The next step is to make the icing, in this case called ganache. Like before, heat the chocolate, this time with cream, in a heat proof bowl until melted. Spread the icing onto the cupcakes and then decorate them.

Mmmm, yummy. I bet you can’t wait to try them!

Categories
Chewy's Chatter

Christmas Present

Guess what?!? I bet you can’t guess? So, I’ll tell you, I have been adopted! It is awesome to be in a new home and, even better, I’m with my sister, Leia.

I’m going to have a great time with my new family and it looks like there will be loads of new experiences I can talk about. My sister and I are already very busy exploring in our home. I wish every cat could get such a wonderful Christmas present, in fact, all four of the kittens who were living with me were also adopted and will be going to new homes, but I don’t think they could be as happy as I am.

Categories
Chewy's Chatter

FourPaws

I might be Chef Chewy Changa, the famous baking cat, but unfortunately, as great as I am, I don’t have a permanent home. At the moment I am a foster cat and even though I love the people I live with, I still want to be adopted. The foster agency that is looking after me is called FourPaws and everything they raise goes to support cats who need a home instead of the people who do the fostering. That means I get more presents and love. All the other kittens and cats that live with me are also foster cats including my sister Leia. I hope I get adopted soon!

It is Thanksgiving and a time to consider charitable organisations like FourPaws. I owe a lot to FourPaws, it was through them that I got into baking all these delicious cakes. It is also because of FourPaws that my brothers and my mum were adopted by loving people and now have great homes.

My friends help out at the FourPaws Petco pet fairs that are held regularly each month. They hold a little bake sale to help raise funds for the organisation which helps little orphan cats and kittens (like me) find a home. You can find out more about FourPaws from their website, www.fourpaws.org and see when a pet fair is being held at a Petco store near you.

Categories
Cakes

Willow’s White Chocolate Muffins

Uncle Chewy let me put a recipe on his website. He isn’t my real uncle but he treats me like family which is great. My specialty is making white chocolate muffins and I’m going to teach you how to make them. Yay!

Ingredients:

  • 125g of unsalted softened butter
  • 3/4 cup of caster sugar
  • 2 eggs, slightly beaten
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 2 cups of self-raising flour
  • 125ml or 1/2 cup of buttermilk
  • 250g of white chocolate chips

First preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and spread melted butter oven 12 muffin holes. Next beat the butter and sugar into a large bowl until the mixture is all creamy. Add the eggs and the vanilla extract into the mixture and beat until it is all mixed up. Then mix in the flour and the buttermilk and fold in the chocolate chips. Spoon the mixture equally into the muffin pan and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

When the muffins are cooked, put them out on a rack to cool but not too soon or they will stick to the pan. Next, it is time make the icing!

Ingredients:

  • 100g white chocolate
  • 3 tablespoons of whipping cream
  • 200g of cream cheese
  • 1/3 cup of icing sugar

Melt the chocolate and cream together in a small saucepan over low heat. Next, mix the chocolate mixture with the cream cheese and icing sugar. Then spread it on top of the muffins. For a finale delicious touch, shave some more white chocolate on to the muffins. This recipe is so good you will be wanting to make them every day.

Categories
Chewy's Chatter

Netball

Aftershock Team - USA Netball Team

Ah, one of the greatest sports in the world, Netball. And guess what? I sponsored a team! In fact, the only youth team that played in the most recent USA Netball Tournament held in Maryland. Needless to say, they didn’t win but that doesn’t mean the team didn’t score any goals. Trust me, against teams twice their age and experience, the Aftershock team did a brilliant job. We even got medals! Well the team and I received one for being the team sponsor.

The USA Netball Tournament was hosted by the DMV Tigers Netball Team and they also played in games on the day. They provided some free food but I don’t think it was as good as my sweets. It was an amazing event and everyone really enjoyed it, including me.

Categories
Cakes

Leia’s Lemon Cheesecake

Finally! A post just for me, its time I introduced myself. I’m Chewy’s sister and let me tell you, he isn’t as great as he seems. At least that’s from my perspective. Anyway, I am just as good of a chef as he is and this is my very own recipe.

Ingredients:

  • 15 digestive biscuits
  • 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 50g melted butter
  • 1 tub (250g) mascarpone cheese
  • 200ml whipping cream
  • 1 tin (400g) sweetened condensed milk
  • 3 lemons zested and juiced

Method:

First crush all of the digestive biscuits to crumbs. Then mix in the melted butter with the biscuits and the brown sugar. A helpful hint, make sure you use enough butter (maybe more then 50g) but too much will make the base too runny. Press the base into a circular or rectangular pan but make sure it is really wide or really tall. Before pressing the base in, cut out and place baking paper just in the bottom of the pan. After pressing the base in, put it in the freezer and leave it to set while you make the rest.

Mix together the mascarpone cheese, the whipping cream, the condensed milk, and the lemon zest. When mixing these ingredients together, slowly add the lemon juice. When it is all mixed up, pour it on top of the base and put it into the freezer again. For some reason, it never seems to set properly so don’t worry about it being too hard when you take it out of the freezer. It is always ready to serve straight away.

Trust me, this is delicious, but I will leave it up to you to decide when you make it.