Lamington Bites

Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi! Happy Australia Day. Even though I am many miles away I always try to make something that reminds me of the country I grew up in - sausage rolls, fairy bread, butterfly cakes, pavlova - there are just so many great things to choose from. I decided to go back to the classic lamingtons.

Dark Chocolate Beet Bundt Cake - #BundtBakers

Do you have any strange but good-weird flavor combinations that you love to eat?  I love to eat my french fries by dipping them in a chocolate fudge sundae. There, I said it out loud.  Call me weird but there is just something about that sweet and salty taste that has me going back for more. A few months ago I saw a chocolate cake in a magazine that had a secret ingredient - beets. When this month's theme for #BundtBakers, strange but good-weird flavor combinations, was revealed I knew that this would be the perfect cake for me to try.

Aloha Linzer Cookies - #Creative Cookie Exchange

Aloha.  Most people think of this word as hello or goodbye but it is so much more.  You could say it is the word for love, but that would not be totally accurate either.  Aloha can mean love, affection, peace, compassion, respect, kindness, and sympathy but the simple truth is that it is a way of life. It is a connection to each other and to nature, and a code of behavior as to how we should live our lives.

Glazed Cranberry, Lemon & Dried Ginger Loaf

Hands up if you still have a bag of cranberries in your refrigerator. I may have more than one.  And a few in the freezer.  And maybe a few of the bags are in the freezer are from last year.  What can I say?  I panic that I will run out of cranberries throughout the year so I always stock up.  Anyway I saw this recipe from PassThe Sushi and knew that I had to make it straight away as it has three of my favorite ingredients - cranberries, lemon, and ginger.

Five Grain Loaf with Cranberries & Pecans ~ #Twelve Loaves

I met this month's #TwelveLoaves theme with a mixture of excitement and trepidation.  Bread baking is still quite new to me, and I'm trying to find my way.  Every month I learn a little more about how the dough should feel after each stage, so would the theme of New-to-You Flour Breads be my undoing?