Pineapple Pie Recipe

Something sweet?, something easy?, something tasty?, something summery?
Oh yeah! Then you gotta try this...

Pineapple Pie

1 ready-made pie crust (or shortcrust pastry, or a cheesecake base)
400g tin condensed milk
300ml cream
435g can of crushed pineapple (or crush your own fresh pineapple if you have it)
1/2 cup lemon juice

Combine lemon juice and condensed milk in a bowl
Drain the juice from the pineapple and mix this into the milk mixture
Whip cream 'til stiff and fold this into the pineapple mixture
Pour it into your crust and chill in the fridge 'till set

Enjoy...
Seriously, what couldn't be easier?

Add shredded coconut and lemon zest for something a little more tropical tasting



Pineapple Pie Recipe

Apricot (fudge) Slice recipe with pictures

Apricot Slice

This no-bake Apricot Slice treat is a variation on a number of different recipes.

Basic Apricot Slice is great but you may as well indulge a sweet-tooth to the max if you're putting in some effort. 

That simply means adding white macadamia chocolate bits to the base and complimenting the whole thing with lemon and coconut icing.

For the base

250g butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 can condensed milk

2 cups dried apricots, chopped

2 packets plain (wine) biscuits, crushed

½ cup white chocolate, roughly chopped

Melt butter, brown sugar and condensed milk. 

You can melt it in a microwave proof dish for 2 minutes, stir and microwave another minute, then another - and another...

or stir in a heavy based saucepan over a low heat until it's a fudgy-brown colour and everything is melted

Chop up dried apricots

view chopping as active relaxation instead of a chore

add chopped apricots to melted butter, sugar and condensed milk mix

then add the crushed wine (plain) biscuits

If you don't have white chocolate bits, feel free to leave this step out

Press the mix you have just made into a tin (20cm x 30cm) - lined with greaseproof paper

I omitted this step of the greaseproof paper and had a difficult time getting the slice out of the tin once it had set. 

For the topping

100g butter

1½ cups Icing Sugar (lemon flavoured)

1-2 Tablespoons hot water

¼ cup coconut

grated lemon zest (to your own preference - or leave out if you don't have lemons handy)

Beat butter until fluffy and pale

Add icing sugar and water until light and fluffy

Spread over the slice

Sprinkle with coconut and (optional) grated lemon zest

put it in the fridge for 2 hours to set

Then cut into squares or slice as is and enjoy with a good cup of tea

Apricot  Fudge  Slice

There you have it - Apricot Fudge Slice... enjoy

30 pieces of Chocolate Rough Slice recipe

For the base
1½ cups plain flour
3 tablespoons cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
¾ cup caster sugar
½ cup coconut
175g melted butter

For the topping
1 cup icing sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup coconut
4 tablespoons condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla (choice is yours: essence, paste or extract)

To make the base
Preheat oven to 180°C.
Grease and line a 20x30cm slice tin.
Sift the flour, cocoa and baking powder into a bowl, then stir in the sugar and coconut. 
Add the butter and mix to form moist crumbs.
Press the crumb base mixture into the prepared tin.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
Allow to cool.

To make the topping
Sift the icing sugar and cocoa into a bowl and stir in the melted butter, coconut, condensed milk and vanilla.
Mix well.
Spread over the base and refrigerate for 2 hours until firm.
Cut into pieces and enjoy

Tres Leches_three milk cake_with pictures

milk cake 

When my wife and I first saw this three milk cake (Tres Leches) recipe, we thought it may have originated in Iran because of it using pomegranate and the rich three milk mix. But, oh no; flick left, right across the globe – all the way to Mexico - with not a chilli in sight.

Here is the recipe with pictures...

For the cake

225g flour

¼ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

5 large eggs, separated

225g caster sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

½ cup full-cream milk

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Butter a 21cmx12cm loaf or cake tin and line with baking paper.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Place egg whites in a large bowl and beat ‘til stiff (to firm peaks) with a cake mixer or your old and trusted electric beater.

While still whisking/beating, gradually add the caster sugar.

Turn the motor to the lowest speed and whisk/mix in the egg yolks,

followed by the vanilla extract,

and then the lemon juice.

Fold in the flour mix and the milk.

Spoon into the tin

and bake for 40 minutes until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

For the three milks

200ml condensed milk

150ml cream

150ml full-cream milk

Combine all the ingredients in a jug. Our ‘fancy’ blue one holds exactly 500mls, so I measured the cream and milk into it first, then topped up with condensed milk.

Turn the baked cake on to a wire rack and cool for about 10 minutes.

Cut off the dark sides and feed to the birds – they’ll love you for it – assuming there are no kids in the house at the time of course...

Place the cake in a dish slightly bigger than the cake and poke holes in the top with a skewer.

Pour half the milk mix over, reserving the remainder.

Cool, then cover and refrigerate overnight so the cake can nicely soak up the milks.

For the marshmallow topping

2 egg whites,

125g caster sugar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon rose water

2 sheets leaf gelatine (or 1,5 teaspoons powdered)

125ml boiling water

Whisk the egg whites to firm peaks then gradually whisk in the sugar and finally the lemon juice and rose water.

Soak the leaf gelatine in a dish of cold water for 2 minutes.

Squeeze out the excess moisture then dissolve the gelatine (or add powdered here) in the boiling water.

Slowly pour the gelatine into the egg mixture while whisking.

Continue whisking until the mix is cool and firm (about 8 minutes).

Pile the marshmallow mixture on top of the cake. It doesn't matter if the sides are uneven as you can tidy these up after it has set. 

Chill for at least 1 hour or for up to a day.

Our marshmallow topping didn't quite turn out like the picture in the original recipe but tasty nonetheless. Next time we might double the quantity for the marshmallow...

To serve

1/2 cup pomegranate seeds,

1/2 cup (70g) pistachios, lightly roasted and chopped.

Remove the cake from fridge 30 minutes before serving.

Using a knife dipped in hot water, tidy up the sides of the marshmallow if desired then cut the cake into 6-8 pieces.

Place each in a bowl (or deep side plate) and pour in a little extra three-milk mix.

Sprinkle with pomegranate and pistachios.

Then enjoy.

If you don’t have pomegranate and pistachios, then try a topping of whatever suits you. I’ve seen this cake’s marshmallow topping decorated with (what looked like) edible shaved gold leaf and silver balls, mango, pineapple and peaches, berries...

Special thanks to Fiona Smith and Cuisine Magazine (Issue 143, November 2010, p82) for the recipe

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three milk cake recipe with pictures