Gingernuts

• 100g butter
• 1 tablespoon golden syrup
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ginger (or tablespoons if you like it spicy)
• 1 3/4 or more cups of plain flour

1. Use a wooden spoon for all the beating and mixing
2. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan.
3. Stir in the golden syrup.
4. Stir in the sugar.
5. Beat in (by hand) the egg.
6. Beat in the baking soda, making sure there are no lumps.
7. Stir in the ginger.
8. Start with a cup of flour, and then keep stirring in more until the dough leaves the sides of the pot.
9. Roll into large marble sized balls and put on greased tray.
10. Bake 10-12 minutes at 180 degrees celsius.

Breadmaker Bread

• 1 cup warm water (lukewarm)
• 2 teaspoons active yeast mixture ("Surebake", not the granulated stuff)
• 350g high grade flour
• 50g gluten flour (fluffy) or wholemeal flour (sliceable)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (optional)

1. Stir the yeast into the warm water in the bottom of the breadmaker tub.
2. Leave the yeast to activate while you weigh out the dry ingredients in another bowl.
3. Shake the dry ingredients together.
4. Stir olive oil into the yeast/water mixture.
5. Dump the dry ingredients into the yeast/water mixture
6. Start the regular white recipe on the breadmaker.

Square

• 125g butter
• 1 tablespoon golden syrup
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup sultanas
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 or more cups of plain flour

1. Use a wooden spoon for all the beating and mixing.
2. Melt the butter and syrup together in a medium saucepan.
3. Stir in the sugar.
4. Beat in (by hand) the baking powder, making sure there are no lumps.
5. Stir in the sultanas.
6. Start with a cup of flour, and then keep stirring in more until the dough leaves the sides of the pot.
7. Press into a greased swiss roll tray.
8. Bake 20 minutes at 180 degrees celsius.
9. Ice while still a little warm (but not too warm) with about a 3/4 cup of icing sugar whisked together with 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder and about 3 tablespooons of boiling water to make a thick paste.
10. Slice while not yet cold, but when the icing has set a bit

Praline

• 340g white sugar
• 160g brown sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 150g pecans (or other nut e.g. almonds)
• 85g butter, diced
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1. Use a wooden spoon for all the stirring.
2. Stir together the sugars, the milk and the cream of tartar in a decent sized, heavy based saucepan.
3. Get the butter, essence and nuts ready. Lay out sheets of greaseproof paper (about three decent sized sheets).
4. Put the saucepan on a medium heat. Stir constantly until a thermometer shows 114.5°C - the mixture will be bubbling, frothing and steaming.
5. Take off the heat.
6. Dump in the butter, essence and nuts.
7. Stir until the mixture is cloudy, starting to thicken, and the nuts are suspended. This will be about 95°C.
8. Spoon dessert spoons onto sheets of greaseproof paper.
9. Allow to cool and set.