Kate's Crazy Culinary Creations

Gingerbread is my go to biscuit for any occasion but especially at Christmas time. I have found the best recipe and it is really easy. But most importantly it is yummy.   So here goes. Firstly sift 3 1/2 cups of self raising flour, 1 cup of plain flour, 6 teaspoons of ground ginger, 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon and 2 teaspoons of ground mix spice into a bowl. And add 1 cup of brown sugar.   With an electric mixer place the dry ingredients and 185 grams of chopped soften butter. On a slow speed to start mix until it resembles breadcrumbs.   In a jug whisk together 1/2 a cup of golden syrup and 2 eggs. With the motor running add the egg mixture to form a dough.   Turn out dough onto a floured surface. Knead together until smooth. Cut the dough in half and wrap in cling wrap. Let it rest for at least 30 minutes.   Roll out 1 portion of the dough. The best way to get a smooth and even biscuit is to roll the dough out between 2 sheets of baking...

Well even though I am in Christmas mode there is still a birthday cake to make. This one was a lot easier than I thought it would be and looks impressive. Importantly, remove 2 x 250 gram packets of cream cheese from the fridge to soften whilst you make the base. For the base put 250 grams of plain chocolate biscuits into a food processor and process to a fine crumb. Melt 150 grams of butter. Pour into the food processor and bring together the mixture. Pour the mixture into a 20 cm spring form tin lined with baking paper, smooth out over the base. Refrigerate for 30 minutes whilst you make the filling. First for the caramel, in a small saucepan combine 2 tablespoons of cream, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and 20 grams of butter. Over a low heat allow sugar to melt for 3-4 minutes. Set aside for now. Now for the chocolate sauce, in a separate saucepan melt 50 grams of milk chocolate with 2 tablespoons of cream. Make sure it is a low heat to avoid burning the chocolate. Once combi...