Sweets – Cooking Blog – Find the best recipes, cooking and food tips at Our Kitchen.

Spiced pumpkin tarte tatin

October 25, 2017 4 Comments

Rosie McLean is a final year student studying for a Bachelor of Culinary Arts at Otago Polytechnic. Rosie has her own blog where she indulges us in her weakness for all things sweet. As a special Halloween treat, Rosie popped in and cooked this amazing dish. I must admit that I personally ate four of the six servings….how very selfish of me. Check out Rosie’s blog www.aspaceforpudding.com and definitely give this dessert a try – I gave it a big double thumbs up! Thanks Rosie!

Zucchini Loaf with Honey Mascarpone

February 20, 2017 No Comments

For a long time I really hated Zucchini, served to me as a child… horrendously over cooked and soggy, adorning a plate of roast. Oh, the ways I would try and get around it; most notably by saving it for last, hiding it in my mouth then running it off to spit it in the toilet.

Roast vegetable cake

December 9, 2016 No Comments

Anyone that knows me knows that I have an enormous sweet tooth, so naturally when we were discussing what we could make as a part of the 2016 Love Food Hate Waste campaign to “use up your leftovers” I immediately thought of something sweet.

Peanut Butter Cup Tart

August 26, 2016 1 Comment

Late one night, I found myself craving a certain American sweet treat. Salty but smooth peanut filling encased in deliciously creamy chocolate.

Chocolate bark

August 17, 2016 3 Comments

For a sweet treat with a twist, you can’t go past this simple recipe for chocolate bark. It is sure to wow, but is also incredibly easy to make – especially if you’re lucky enough to be using an induction cooktop, where the heat control is so precise so you can melt the chocolate directly in the pot without any need for a double boiler.

Ricotta filled, orange scented doughnuts

January 2, 2016 10 Comments

Almost two years ago now, while travelling around southern Italy for a few weeks, we happened upon a small café in the town square of Catania, Sicily, with a counter stacked high with sweet treats. Choosing to forgo the famous cannoli, I bought the biggest doughnut I could find

Chocolate Cherry Rum Cake

February 26, 2015 2 Comments

If you want to drop a bomb on your dinner party. This cake it totally nuclear. The Engineers (our poor friends who we inflict our culinary experiments on) didn’t stop their thumbs up mutterings for days after this went out at afternoon tea. The lovely Genevieve (one of our superstar product evaluators) and I have been plotting and planning this cake for quite some time.

Avocado ice creams

January 20, 2014 No Comments

I spent Saturday with three friends and we talked food. One had purchased a juicer and was giving us a run-down on her latest concoction – pineapple, lime and watermelon. One had cut out dairy and eggs and was talking about a plant-based diet. And one was contemplating going vegan for a period of time in order to find out first hand its effect on the mind and body

Date and almond guilt-free slice

January 4, 2014 2 Comments

You’ve indulged a little too much at Christmas right? Me too. What I find is that you can’t go cold-turkey on the sugar, you still crave that sweet hit mid-morning or mid-afternoon. This sweet treat is guilt-free and will trick your mind, leaving you sat-is-fied

Oaty ginger crunch

June 6, 2013 16 Comments

Nothing beats a beautiful slice of ginger crunch along side a nice cup of tea. Dedicated fans will have a favourite style, from the purist form of a plain shortcrust base with an equal depth of icing to those with‘creative extra’s’ like mine (surely you can make most things better with pistachio nuts?).

s’mores

March 25, 2013 1 Comment

I have spent many a cold winter in the states, thanks to my obsession with the cold, white stuff, and in that time I quickly developed a taste for the great campfire treat our American friends call s’mores. On many occasions, during a bonfire evening, where we were wrapped up warm and surrounded by snow, a pack of marshmallows would be revealed.

Raspberry Marshmallows

March 22, 2013 2 Comments

Are you a careful, artful toaster? Slowly, turning your stick with a steady hand, creating golden perfection with your pillowed confection? Or are you more of a fire fiend, roasting close for sugary fireworks? Burnt to a crisp, the instant fix. These raspberry marshmallows are seriously good, but toasting them takes their real raspberry flavour to the next level.

Bliss balls

February 27, 2013 1 Comment

I couldn’t place more emphasis on the importance of eating fresh, unprocessed food. Having an awareness of the origins and make-up of the ingredients that we cook with is a very important step in the cooking process and one that shouldn’t be underestimated. Avoiding processed foods and instead starting with fresh, unprocessed ingredients when cooking means