homemade Archives - My Capital Plate

Edible Gifts: Chocolate Bark – 5 ways

By Lisa @ My Capital Plate on January 19, 2016

With two little ones, and the growing number of daycare teachers, swimming teachers, gym teachers and the like, buying gifts for all of them at Christmas time can get a little pricey. So we went down the home-made route this year (or should that be ‘last year’?) and chose to make a variety of chocolate bark.

And yes, while it meant a little extra work, it was great to be able to involve Miss C in the whole mixing / sprinkling process.

We actually made five varieties – which does seem a bit overkill, but once they were cut and divided, it allowed each recipient to get a little sample of each.

Our chosen flavours?

White chocolate peppermint.

Dark chocolate, cranberry and pistachio

Milk chocolate, caramel and pretzel

White chocolate, apricot, walnut and coconut

Milk chocolate and honeycomb

And while you could certainly break the bark into ‘shards’, I sliced the mixture into ‘bars’ after it had been in the fridge for 5 minutes or so, making nice and even portions to fit into the gift boxes.

Divided with some pieces of baking paper, and with a little ‘list’ indicating the various flavours, I was really pleased with how these turned out.

All wrapped up and ready to go!

What about you? Do you have a ‘go to’ home-made gift?

Homemade yoghurt

By Lisa @ My Capital Plate on September 17, 2013 | 14 Comments

A while ago now, I mentioned that we have been making our own yoghurt. Not from scratch, but with the assistance of the Easi-yo yoghurt maker. Mainly because with 3 yoghurt lovers in our house, we were going through a lot each week and wanted to find something that was a little more cost effective. Actually, know I think about, we were originally inspired to start making our own after visiting my Aunty and Uncle almost 3 years ago now! A few people asked what my thoughts were on the process, and the product – so here they are! The ‘maker’ itself – set us back around $25 (?), and we picked it up from our local supermarket. The yoghurt packs themselves usually cost around $4.20- although I try to stock up when I see that they are on special and can sometimes get them for as little as $2.20. Think about it – $2.20 for a litre of yoghurt……bargain! Our favourite flavour, thus far, has been the full fat vanilla. We are not huge fans of the ‘fruit’ flavoured ones, although the Greek style is also rather nice. We generally prepare the yoghurt in the early evening. Starting by mixing the yoghurt base with water in the little tub, and shake shake shake! We then put boiling water into the yoghurt maker…. Sit the yoghurt tub on top… Close the lid, and let the maker work its magic overnight! And in the morning….beautiful creamy pot set yoghurt is awaiting us for breakfast! While this is a nice cost effective yoghurt, truthfully it will never beat my all time favourite – Chobani. So it seems only fitting that I do a comparison of the ingredients and nutritional stats for you… The Easi-yo vanilla – Per 100g it has 4g protein, 14g of sugar and 144mg of calcium. As for the ingredients list, it has 64% milk solids and does have sugar added. Compared with the passionfruit Chobani – for example… That has 8.1g protein (a clear winner), 11g sugar and 97mg of calcium. The Chobani has 80% of milk solids, although it too has sugar added. As I mentioned earlier, overall my true favourite remains the Chobani. Although the convenience and price of the homemade version also makes it appealing when the household is going through a yoghurt-fan phase. And having a few extra packets on hand means that there is never any danger of us running out (even if we make the realisation that supplies are low later in the evening!) What about you? Do you make your own yoghurt?

Homemade holiday treats – Apricot & coconut biscuits

By Lisa @ My Capital Plate on December 23, 2011 | 13 Comments

Happy Christmas Eve Eve I hope that you have all made it to the end of the working year safely. I for one, was most happy when the clock struck 1pm (yay for half work days), and it was time to head home and finish packing for our trip to Melbourne. Which included packing up the final treat in my homemade holiday treats series… On the menu today… Apricot and coconut biscuits (cookies)! aka. a break from chocolate overload that was occasioned by yesterday’s chocolate bark. Oats, spelt, brown sugar coconut, apricots and nuts. Mixed with eggs, vanilla and butter to form a sticky biscuit mix. Rolled into balls, flattened… And baked for 15 minutes until golden. These biscuits turned out nice and light, but also rather chewy… Quite reminding me of ANZAC biscuits actually. And, once they had cooled sufficiently, I wasted no time in filling a Christmas tin and leaving half of the batch on my neighbour’s front door step by way of a little Christmas gift. The rest, however, will be coming with us as we make our way down South for the Christmas holiday. Delish! Apricot & Coconut Biscuits (makes 16-18 large biscuits) (adapted from here)

1 cup spelt flour
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup rolled oats
1cup desiccated coconut
3/4 cup diced dried apricots
1/2 cup slivered almonds
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence

Preheat oven to 180°C, and line 2 large baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
Sift the flour and sugar into a large bowl. Add the oats, coconut, apricot and almonds and stir until well combined. Make a well in the centre.
Whisk together the melted butter, eggs and vanilla in a small bowl. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir until well combined.
Use your hands to roll heaped tablespoonfuls of the mixture into balls. Place balls onto the prepared trays (leaving room to spread) and flatten slightly.
Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack and set aside to cool completely

I hope that you have enjoyed this 5 days of Homemade Holiday treats. You can find links to all the treats below… Day 1 – Gingerbread doughnuts Day 2 – Salted caramel fudge Day 3 – Chilli lime nut mix Day 4 – Chocolate bark Day 5 – Apricot and coconut biscuits But enough ‘sweet talk, its time to get this BBB show on the road! Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas Eve Eve, safe travels if you are travelling and happy eating if you are eating! What about you? What are your plans for the festive season?

Homemade holiday treats – chocolate bark

By Lisa @ My Capital Plate on December 22, 2011 | 11 Comments

I don’t know why chocolate bark is not all that common in Australia. Sure, we have our fair share of biscuits, rocky road, slices and other sweet treats, but chocolate bark rarely seems to make an appearance. So when I came across chocolate bark on other blogs, and I realised that it would transport well, I just knew that I had to give it a try as part of my homemade holiday treats series. Actually, I was so excited to try it, that I decided to make two varieties…. Candy cane and orange pistachio. Starting with…the candy cane! Just milk and white chocolate – melted and mixed. Candy canes – crushed. And sprinkled. And next…the orange pistachio. Dark chocolate melted, and an orange zested. Spread… And topped with pistachios and more orange zest. Allowed to set then broken into pieces. The candy cane… And the orange pistachio… Oh my … these turned out to be quite the taste sensations. Very dangerous indeed. I was pleased to discover that not only is chocolate bark super easy to make, it is also super versatile. For it seems that no matter what you are craving, you can make a variety to satisfy. Lollies, nuts, fruit…. The options for toppings are endless! All I know is that many a piece of these two varieties has been sampled already. You know, for quality assurance So much so that I am not sure how many pieces will actually make it to our Christmas festivities safely…. What about you? Do you have a favourite chocolate bark flavour combination?