Well i have been a very busy girl the past couple of months and am again slacking on the blog updates!

But I have an excuse… I have been away getting married! The man and I have had the most wonderfully magical time, but now we’re back to our life and are spending our first weekend at VC as a married couple!

I’ll start blogging some stuff again and I might even create a little wedding wonderland blog to show all the things we have been doing before and during our wedding… so keep watching!

xxx

I made this delicious tart on Friday…

I have wanted to make a salted caramelie type tart for ages now, so after trawling the interweb I came across lots of different recipes that I decided to combine to make the ultimate tart!!!

Ingredients:

Hazelnut Pastry

• 50g hazelnut meal
• 200g plain flour (I used white wings Gluten Free)
• 1 tbsp of icing sugar
• 140g cold butter, diced
• 1 egg yolk (this turned into 2 as the flour absorbed so much!)
• 1-2 tbsp water (this again turned into 4-5 tbsp due to the gluten free flour!)
• flour for dusting

• 300g dark chocolate (I used Lindt 70%)
• 150g butter
• sea salt flakes

Method:

For the pastry -

Mix the hazelnut meal, flour, icing sugar and butter in the food processor until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.  Then add 1 yolk and 2 tbsp water and pulse, (at this stage the pastry was still very dry so I added another yolk and another 3 tbsp water and pulsed again).  Take the pastry from the food processor, squash together, shape into a flat disc, wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for 30 mins. 

Heat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/gas 4.

On floured surface roll the pastry then line a 23cm, loose bottomed, deep tart tin (mine was actually 24cm and I couldn’t roll the pastry so just shaped and pushed it into the tart tin).

Trim the edges and prick base with a fork, line with baking paper and fill with baking beans (I used rice).

Bake for 20 mins and then remove beans and baking paper and bake for another 10 mins until light golden.

Allow to cool.

For the salted caramel - 

Tip the sugar into a heavy based pan with a few tbsp water and heat gently until the sugar dissolves.  Increase the heat and cook until the sugar turns a caramel amber colour.  This will take a while and the sugar will re-crystalize and then melt and begin to colour.

Reduce the heat again and add the butter, cream and golden syrup.  Add the cream gradually and keep stirring over the heat.  The coldness of the cream etc will make the sugar hard but with a little heat it will remelt again.  Stir until the caramel thickens then add the salt.

Remove from heat and pour into the pastry.

Top with the toasted hazelnuts.

At this stage I put it into the fridge to set for about an hour or so.

For the chocolate top - 

Place broken up chocolate and butter into a bowl above simmering water or into the microwave. Gradually melt and stir until all combined.

Once melted pour over the tart and return to the fridge until set.

Finish with more flakes of salt.

On Sunday the man and I went for a little explore in our little Pug around the bush at VC.  Our plan was to go for a walk to the spot where we did our Sunday morning abseil however when we got there and started walking we took a ‘wrong’ turn!!  We wandered down a track for 20 minutes into a little gully and then turned and headed back figuring the track would only take us back to a road!

We climbed back into Pug and off we went.  The man decided to go for a little ‘explore’ down the other road to see where it took us and this is what we found!

The little track!!

The river Avon from the little beach!

So next summer if you come to stay we may take you to our ‘new little spot’ for a sun bathe and swim!!

I made this delicious apple cake last weekend to take to the bush block to have with the besties! It is so quick and easy!

I adapted it from a recipe I found on kidspot.com.au

It was absolutely delicious served with stewed rhubarb!!!!

Ingredients:

• 200g unsalted butter
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1.25 cup self-raising flour
• 3 tablespoons cream (or milk?)
• 1 large tin of apples - for making pies
• cinnamon
• caster sugar, extra

I love being able to go outside and pick my own flowers. I especially love these proteas! The bush is going crazy with flowers at the minute and will hopefully continue to do so over the next few months.