180mL water

100g sour cream

100g plain yogurt

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp lemon juice

300g strong flour

110g rye flour

2 tsp rice flour

2 tbsp buckwheat flour

1 tsp salt

1.5 tsp dry yeast

25 ~ 30g finely crushed walnuts

Instructions:

1. Put the flours in a large bowl.
2. Stir in the sugar, yeast and salt.
3. Add the sour cream, lemon juice and yogurt, then gradually add enough warmish water to make a soft dough.
4. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for about 5 mins then put it back into the bowl.
5. Cover the dough with let it rise in a warm place for about an hour.

220g chocolate (I used a mix of normal milk chocolate and dark chocolate)

1 stick butter

50g sugar

4 tbsp weak flour

2 tsp cocoa powder

4 eggs

1/2 tsp bicarb soda

extra butter and cocoa powder for coating the muffin tins

Fresh cherries (pitted)

Instructions:

1. Melt chocolate and butter in a metal bowl (small enough to fit in your fridge but big enough to mix everything in..) over some hot but not boiling water. Stir well.
2. Remove the bowl from heat and sift the flour, cocoa powder, soda into the mixture.
3. Sprinkle in the sugar and mix with a beater.
4. Adding 1 egg at a time, beat until creamy (beat for about a minute between each egg.)
5. Preheat the oven to 375~400F (depending on how efficient your oven is.)
6. Let the mixture chill in the fridge while you prepare the muffin tins or muffin plate.
7. Melt some butter in a small bowl and coat the muffin tins thoroughly.
8. Dust tins with cocoa powder and shake out the excess.
9. Fill 1/3 of each tin with the mixture and put a couple of cherries in the middle.
10. Fill the tins to about 1/2 with more of the mixture so the cherries are covered.
11. Bake for about 15 to 18mins.
12. Serve it warm with a scoop of ice cream.

1 egg

5 tsp milk

1/4 to 1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese

1/4 cup shortening (garlic butter in this batch..)

1 cup light flour

about 40g blue cheese (crumbled up)

Cooking instructions:

1. preheat oven to 400F
2. process or blend together the egg, milk and grated cheese until the cheese is in much smaller bits. (If you use finely shredded cheese then you won’t need to use a processor or blender, just beat up the egg with a fork and mix together.)
3. add the egg mixture to the flour and mix
4. rub in the shortening then blue cheese
5. shape into little balls and flatten slightly
6. bake for about 15 to 20 minutes until you get a nice golden color

Ingredients:

• 3 cups bitter sweet choc melts
• 100mL fresh cream
  • crushed wafer crackers
  • raisins
  • chocolate cake
  • cocoa powder
  • green tea powder
  • powdered sugar

 Instructions:

1. In small saucepan, heat the cream to almost boiling.
2. Remove from heat.
3. Stir the chocolate into the cream.
4. Stir/fold until the chocolate is all melted and is mixed evenly with the cream.
5. Let mixture cool (if the weather’s warm, cool over a bowl of ice) to a firmer pastey-dough-like texture.
6. Mix in crushed wafers/raisins/nuts etc. or leave it as is.
7. Spoon mixture onto small pieces of clip wrap and shape into balls.
8. Put the truffle balls into the fridge and leave for about 1 hour.
9. Take out the truffle balls and coat in cocoa power/green tea power/powdered sugar etc.

 Notes/Alternatives:

• while the mixture is still melty, you can dip nuts/cubes of cake/cookies in it, then let them set in little patties
• fill little patties with a little bit of crushed biscuit/nuts/cake/raisins etc. then spoon the chocolate over the top

Ingredients:

• 200g butter
• about 300g flour
• 50g margarine
• about 100mL water

Instructions:

1. On a smooth flat surface, rub the margarine into the flour.
2. Put the butter in the flour and cut it up while mixing it with the flour.
3. Continue to cut and mix, cut and mix, cut and mix…. etc… until the butter is finely cut up and all mix in with the flour.
4. Shape the crumbly pile into a well and put a little bit of water in the middle.
5. Take some of the flour from around the outside and put it over the water (fill up the well).
6. Knead the floury crumbs in, then make a well, add a bit of water, and knead again.
7. Repeat until you used up the water. Don’t worry if it’s still crumbly and not smooth and dough like yet.
8. Shape into a ball and roll it flat with a rolling pin.
9. Fold one third of the dough over the center, then fold the other third over the top.
10. Turn the dough 90 degrees, roll flat again.
11. Continue to fold, turn and roll sequence until you get a smooth workable pastry. You’ll find that the first few times, the dough is still rather crumbly and not quite dough like at all, but keep at it and after the 4th time you’ll notice it holding together better. Continue on to the 6th or 7th time you’ll get a satisfying piece of pastry.
12. Sprinkle a little bit of flour over the pastry, fold in thirds and flatten it a little then cling wrap it.
13. Put it the in freezer until required.