The first of many....

Today’s an inside kind of day in Wellington, so there’s no excuse for not starting up this much talked about blog! Hopefully my post will now inspire my fellow bloggers, Becky & Libby to also start posting.

I though I’d try out Blueberry Sour Cream Slice from my new cookbook A Treasury of New Zealand Baking.

The slice was delicious and I will certainly make it again. I used a slightly larger tin (due to a lack of appropriately sized tins in the cupboard) - next time I’ll stick to the recommended size, as I would have preferred the slice to be a little bit higher. I’m not sure if I’ll use the redcurrant jelly glaze again, as I quite like the finish without it.

Blueberry Sour Cream Slice

125g butter
½ cup caster sugar
1 egg
1 cup standard flour
1 tsp baking powder
Seeds of 1 vanilla pod (I used 1 tsp vanilla paste)
2 cups blueberries fresh or frozen
2 cups sour cream
½ cup caster sugar
3 egg yolks
2 tbsp redcurrant jelly, melted

Preheat the oven to 160C. Grease and line a 25x15 cm baking dish. Cream butter and sugar. Beat in the egg, the fold in flour, baking powder and vanilla. Spread the batter over the base of the prepared tin. Pile the blueberries on top. Beat together the sour cream, sugar and egg yolks. Pour this mixture over the blueberries. Bake for 55-60 mins, or until set. When cool, melt redcurrant jelly in the microwave and brush on to glaze Cut into squares and serve at room temperature.


I also made some tasty cheese straws using an adaptation from an Alison Holst recipe.


Cheese Straws

1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
75g cold butter
½ cup grated tasty cheese
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1-2 tbsp cold water

Combine all ingredients except water in a food processor. Slowly add just enough water to dampen the mixture until it comes together. Roll out thinly and cut into shapes or long sticks. Cook at 200C for 5-10 minutes until golden watching carefully as they can burn quickly.