Gettin' my bake on - Banana choc-chip muffins & Cheesy puffs

This week's baking challenge comes to you because of little misses lunchbox.

I never thought putting together a lunchbox could be so darn difficult. I search pinterest for inspiration and ideas and have mainly found gourmet dishes that would no doubt fall out all over the ground or be thrown around the playground.

Banana choc-chip wholemeal muffins

Thanks to the lovely Bron at Maxabella Loves, this week little miss is going to school with some choc-chip banana wholemeal muffins.

And thanks Bron for the tips on freezing these and using during the week.

For a newbie lunchboxer all that can be confusing about what you can and can't freeze and how long it takes to defrost.

Cheesy Puffs

And I also made some savoury cheesy puffs.

You'll need...

1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 zucchini, grated
2 spring onions, finely chopped
2 cups grated cheese
1 cup wholemeal self-raising flour



Then you will need to do....

1. Preheat oven to 190 degrees Celsius. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Whisk together the milk and egg. Add the paprika, zucchini, spring onions and cheese.
3. Sift over the flour. Mix well (it will become a thick pastey consistency). 
4. Dollop out tablespoon portions on to the baking tray.
5. Bake 20 minutes until brown and cooked through.

What do you put in your kid's lunchbox?

Or do you have a go-to for your own lunch?

Gettin' my bake on - Caramel Slice

I am definitely not a baker. But shit I love baked goods and pastry. Mmmm, pastry.

Anyway, I am attempting to be slightly more bakerific therefore trying it once a week and sharing the results with you. Because if I can make it work out, anyone can! Trust me!

The first thing I attempted was caramel slice. This is something to make when you have a whole day to float around the house because there are three steps in creating your caramel slice - the base, caramel filling and chocolate top. And after each stage you need to let it cool before proceeding to the next one....hence needing the whole day to float (read, do household chores).

You'll need...

Base
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
125g butter, melted
Filling
400g can sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons golden syrup
60g butter, melted
Topping
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
125g premium cooking chocolate

To make...

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line a square pan. (Some recipes out there suggest a lamington pan.)
2. Combine all base ingredients in a bowl. Mix well. Press into the prepared pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until light golden. Remove from oven. Cool. (Now is the time you want to float about and do something else for a bit.)
3. Next up, combine all the filling ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, whisking, for 8 minutes or until golden (and you want to keep whisking, otherwise it will burn to the bottom of the pot in a terrible caramel tragedy). Pour it over the cooked base. Bake in the oven for 12 minutes or until firm. Cool completely. Refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours, or until set. (Another time to float off and do something else.)
4. Finally comes time to make the topping, place the chocolate and vegetable oil into a heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (don't fill your saucepan too full, otherwise you will have a volcano of boiling water cascading everywhere before long). Stir until melted. Pour over caramel filling. Refrigerate...again to set.

Once all that is done and dusted you can cut them into little squares and enjoy!

Do you have a rockin' caramel slice recipe? 

Do you need to float between layers too?