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These cookies are a treat and quite easy to make. I suggest making a dozen at a time as required and keeping the dough wrapped in plastic wrap in the freezer until needed. Then bake a fresh batch to enjoy!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 cup icing sugar

1/2 cup ground almonds

2 eggs

100 grams softened butter 

1 teaspoon almond essence

2 teaspoons lime zest

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and nutmeg powder

spray oil for baking only

Topping Ingredients

50 grams caramel, white chocolate

juice of 1/2 lime

Mix the wet ingredients together.

Mix the dry ingredients together.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients and gently knead into a firm dough. Add a little flour while kneading to stop it sticking to the bench.

Roll the dough into a log and wrap in plastic wrap. Hold the ends of the wrap and roll the log away from you a few times to tighten the wrap and form a tight log of dough about 4cm in diameter. Store the log in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. 

Line a flat baking tray (about 30 centimetres in diameter) with greaseproof paper and spray lightly with spray oil.

This dough makes about 3 dozen cookies so slice 1/3 of the dough into 12 discs and lay them flat on the baking tray. Leave enough room between each cookie as they will spread and rise while baking.

Bake for 30 minutes. 20 minutes if it is a fan-forced oven. Check the cookies after 10 and keep checking them every 5 minutes. Remove the cookies when lightly brown and allow them to cool completely.

Line a baking tray about 25 centimetres square with baking paper.

Add the lime juice to the caramel, white chocolate in a small dish and place in the microwave for 30 seconds on high. Then whisk vigorously and coat half the biscuits with the caramel mix, placing each biscuit on the tray to set. If it's a warm day place the biscuits in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to set the caramel topping.

Serve alone or with coffee, tea or white hot chocolate! These make a great gift so bag a few in some cellophane wrap, small plastic or paper bags or cute, gift boxes!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup brown sugar (add a cup if you like sweet cakes)

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon powder

1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg powder

1/2 cup of mandarin juice (3 mandarins. I used organic home-grown mandarins which were the size of kumquats so I used about 10)

1/2 cup of mandarin pulp (keep the pulp in the juicer, if you don't have a juicer, peel the mandarins, remove the seeds and finely mince them. No need for the mandarin juice listed above)

1 tablespoon of minced ginger

2 free-range eggs

1/2 cup olive oil

Sprau oil.

Decoration

1 dessert spoon icing sugar with a pinch of cinnamon powder.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Spray a Bundt cake tine with spray oil.

Mix the dry ingredients together.

Mix the wet ingredients together.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients.

Pour the mixture into the Bundt tin and bake for 45 minutes. Check the cake at 30 minutes to ensure it isn't burning.

Turn off the oven and leave the cake in there for 5 minutes.

Turn the cake onto a serving dish (It should come out easily from the tin)

Place the icing sugar and cinnamon powder into a sieve or strainer and dust over the warm cake.

Serving 

Serve warm with a cup of herb tea although this is delicious cold too!

Serves 10

Ingredients

2 cups self- raising flour

1/2 apple peeled and diced. 

1/2 cup blueberries. 

1/3 cup of sugar

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon powder. 

1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg powder. 

250ml luke-warm water

I tablespoon of sugar

1 tablespoon yeast

spray oil

Mix the warm water with a tablespoon of sugar and yeast and set aside for 10 minutes until the water is foamy and risen (the yeast is activated).

Spray a large bowl with spray oil.

Mix 1 1/2 cups of flour, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. 

Add the sugar, yeast and water mixture and mix into a dough. 

Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of flour while kneading the dough for 10 minutes to avoid the dough sticking to the kneading board and your hands.

Place the kneaded dough into the oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it sit (proof) in a warm room for 60 minutes. The dough will rise and double in size.

Spray a baking tray with spray oil. 

Knock the air out of the dough by punching it gently in the centre. Push the dough gently into a square or oval 3 centimetres thick with your finger tips. 

Push the diced apple and blueberries into the dough evenly spacing the fruit and  leaving a 2 centimetre border. 

Starting at one end, roll the dough gently until you have a loaf. 

You can pull and crimp the dough to seal it at the ends. 

Place the loaf on the baking tray. Cover with a tea-towel and keep in a warm room for 20 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

Place the loaf in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.

Cover the loaf with aluminium foil and bake for another 10 minutes. 

Turn off the oven and remove the loaf and let it cool for 10 minutes. 

Serve warm with margarine or butter. 

Ingredients

1 cup softened margarine

1 cup self-raising flour 

1/2 cup oats

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon coffee

1 tablespoon powder cocoa

1 egg

1 heaped teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons milk

Spray oil

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Spray 3 large baking trays with oil.

Combine all ingredients with a spoon.

Use an ice-cream scoop to portion the cookies onto the baking tray. About 4 each tray as they will spread out during baking.

Bake for 20 minutes. Cover the cookies on the top tray with some aluminium foil so they don’t burn.

Turn off the heat and let them stay in the oven for 10 more minutes. 

Remove the trays and gently lift the cookies with a spatula to loosen them from the tray. Let them cook on the tray until they harden.

Makes 12 large cookies. 

Ingredients 

2.5 cups self- raising flour

2 eggs

1 tablespoon of yeast

250ml luke warm water

3/4 cup sultanas

1/3 cup flakes almond

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon powder

1/4 cup olive 

spray oil

Mix the warm water with a tablespoon of sugar and yeast and set aside for 10 minutes until the water is foamy and risen ( the yeast is activated)

Spray a large bowl with spray oil.

Mix 2 cups of flour, eggs, oil, cinnamon powder, sultanas, almond flakes and remaining sugar and mix roughly.

Add the sugar, yeast and water mixture and mix into a dough. 

Use the remaining 1/2 cup of flour as needed to knead the dough for 10 minutes. 

Place the mix into the oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it sit (proof) in a warm room for 30 minutes. The dough will rise and double in size.

Spray a baking tray with spray oil. 

Knock the air out of the dough by punching it gently in the centre and quickly roll the dough into a 8 cm log. 

Divide the log into 8 equal pieces.

Roll each piece into a ball and place on the baking tray. Cover with a tea-towel and keep in a warm room for 20 minutes ( second proofing)

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Place the buns in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.

Cover the buns with aluminium foil and bake for another 10 minutes. 

These are delicious served warm with olive margarine or butter and marmalade.

Iced buns:

Icing:

Mix 1/2 cup of icing sugar with the juice of 1/2 a mandarin until the icing sugar is dissolved and the mixture is runny.

Drizzle the mixture with a teaspoon onto the cool buns and allow to set.

These iced buns are delicious served with butter or jam and whipped cream.

If there’s icing sugar left add it to 1/4 cup of softened margarine or butter and mix into a sweet citrus margarine. It’s great on the hot or cold buns. 

Makes 8 buns.

Ingredients for Cake

1 Apple, peeled, cored and sliced.

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour 

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg powder

1 egg

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup sultanas 

Juice of 1 mandarin

25 grams margarine

Icing:

100 grams icing sugar

Juice of 1/2 a mandarin

Zest of 1 mandarin

Combine and set aside.

Cake Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Grease a cake tin with the margarine.

Combine the apple, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, sultanas and mandarin juice together and let it sit.

Mix the other ingredients until they are combined. 

Add the apple mixture and combine well. 

Pour the batter into the cake tin and cover with a lid or aluminium foil.

Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clear when inserted into the centre of the cooked cake.

Remove the cake from the oven and set it rest for 30 minutes.

Loosen it from the sides by running the back of a knife around the cake tin. Place a plate over the tin and gently turn the cake tin into the plate.

The cake should fall away from the tin. The cake will be upside down and have a flat surface for icing.

When the cake is cool pour on the icing and spread it evenly on the top of the cake.

Serves 12-14. 

Ingredients

1.5 cups self-raising flour

1 cup sultanas

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract 

3/4 cup fine sugar

1/2 cup olive oil

2 eggs

1 cup milk

Zest of 1 tangelo

spray oil

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius 

Spray a baking dish with spray oil. 

Sift the flour and baking powder together into a mixing bowl.

Add the other ingredients and stir until combined well.

Pour the mixture into the baking dish.

Bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes clear. 

Remove from the oven and let it cool for 20 minutes. Run the back of a knife around edge of the cake to loosen it. Then place a plate on the cake dish and turn it over. The cake should come out easily.

Turn it over and dust with cinnamon icing sugar before serving. 

Serves 12-14 

Ingredients

Filling:

3 tablespoons lime curd (see recipe below)

Icing:

1 cup butter or margarine 

1 cup icing sugar

zest of 3 limes

Cake:

2 cups self-raising flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup yoghurt 

Zest and juice of 4 limes 

1 cup butter or margarine (olive margarine used)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Recipe

Icing:

Soften the butter but do not melt it.

Add the icing sugar and stir until combined.

Add the lime zest of 2 limes. Save the zest of the third lime for decorating the iced cake.

Cake:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Grease and line the base of a cake dish with grease proof paper. Also spray the paper.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl.

Add all the other ingredients and mix until just combined. Avoid over mixing the batter.

Transfer the mixture to a baking dish and cover with a lid or aluminium foil and bake for 30 minutes. 

Remove the lid and bake for 15 minutes or until a skewer comes out of the centre of the cake clean.

Remove the cake from the oven when cooked and allow to cool.

Slice the cake into 3 layers. 

Place a tablespoon of lime cured. 

Spread the curd evenly over each layer.

Cover and place the cake in the fridge for 30 minutes to set further.

Remove the cake from the fridge and cover it with the icing.

Decorate the cake with the remaining lemon zest.

Serves 12-16

Ingredients:

4 large figs sliced

2/3 cup Birch xylitol (natural sweetener from your local health food store)

I cup self-raising flour

1/3 cup olive oil

1/2 cup of olive oil margarine

2/3 cup of almond milk

1 flat teaspoon of baking soda

2 flat teaspoons of ground cinnamon

Spray oil

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Line a cake tray with grease proof paper and spray it with oil

Line the tray with the sliced figs and cover with a sprinkling of xylitol and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

Combine all the other ingredients and stir until the mixture is smooth.

Place the mixture over the fig lined tray and spread out evenly. 

Bake for 20 minutes. Cover with a sheet of aluminium foil and bake for another 25 minutes or until the cake is cooked through.

Allow to cool and then turn it onto a serving plate with the bottom side up exposing the cooked figs. This can be served hot or cold.

Serving suggestion: Dust it with icing sugar combined with a teaspoon of ground cinnamon.

Serves 8

Ingredients

1 cup self-raising flour

2 flat teaspoons soda bi-carbonate powder

I cup cold Badam milk (see recipe above)

1 tablespoon of green cardamom powder

1/4 cup birch xylitol

1/3 cup olive oil

1/2 cup of shelled pistachio nuts

spray oil

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Spray a muffin tray with spray oil.

Mix all the remaining ingredients together.

Spoon the mixture into the muffin tray (1/4 cup of mixture in each serve).

Bake on the lowest baking rack for 30 minutes until the muffins are cooked through.

Let them cool before icing.  These are delicious un-iced.  However this icing recipe takes it to the next level of deliciousness!

Icing:

1 cup of icing sugar

6 tablespoons of olive oil margarine (butter or regular margarine is ok)

2 flat teaspoons of cardamom powder.

Mix all the ingredients and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Place the mixture into a piping bag and pipe the icing onto each cooled cake. Alternatively you can ice them with a flat knife.

Makes 9 cakes.