B A K I N G , D E C O R AT I N G & I D E A S
Recipes for your Easter Basket
APR 2014
Fair & Sustainable Vanilla
Win a Breville Mixer
Welcome Welcome to our second edition of Queen Pantry. After an exciting response to our Christmas edition, we thought you would appreciate even more creative recipes, ideas and tips to prepare you for Easter. We hope you’ll be inspired to bake, decorate and share wonderful, creative time together in the kitchen. Queen Pantry has been developed just for you. If you’d like to contribute to future editions, we welcome your suggestions and recipes. Simply like us on Facebook and share your ideas, or email admin@queen.com.au. Happy Easter from Queen Fine Foods. Enjoy!
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Get in touch Explore our tips and recipes on our website and find us on Facebook.
Contents
4
For your pantry A few of our products for your pantry.
13
About our vanilla
22
Oldie but a goodie
Our work in Tonga to rehabilitate the local vanilla industry.
Revisit classic recipes for some home cooked memories.
5
For your Easter basket Edible gift ideas to add to your Easter basket.
15
Last minute saviour
23
Baking with the kids
Quick recipes to save the day.
Have fun with the kids making these colourful rainbow recipes.
27
7
Easter Rainbow Pi単ata Cake
17
Something for dinner
25
6 ways with...
Decorating & Baking Class Jade Lipton explains how to get the best out of your Writing Icing with a few simple tricks.
Savoury meal ideas using Queen Natural Coconut Essence.
Six different Maple Syrup recipes.
Next issue Winter
Finest Organic Vanilla Since 1897 Queen’s commitment to unsurpassed quality and true care of the vanilla industry has earned its reputation as one of the world’s finest organic vanilla producers. Queen’s natural vanilla products are the culmination of a century old recipe to extract the rich, distinctive flavour of carefully selected organic vanilla beans, sourced from the Bourbon region (Madagascar, Comores and Reunion Islands, Seychelles), Indonesia and the South Pacific. Queen uses only the best vanilla — cured and ready for use with nothing artificial added. Use our organic vanilla in your desserts, drinks, sauces and custards.
It’s the natural choice. www.queen.com.au
For your
Pantry Writing Icing
Queen Writing Icings are bright, bold and delicious. Our convenient pack now holds five 21g tubes; blue, red, yellow, green, and new black. Our writing icings are a hassle-free, fun way to decorate all kinds of cakes and biscuits.
Concentrated Vanilla Extract Using 100% pure organic vanilla beans and all natural ingredients, our vanilla is then concentrated for a more intense flavour and aroma. Thicker in texture and stronger in taste, Queen Concentrated Vanilla Extract – Black Label – is perfect for baking and desserts, and creates delicious results.
Ready to Roll Coloured Icing Our bold coloured ready to roll icing makes cake decorating a dream. Easy to use, simply open the pack, knead the icing and start to roll – no mixing or cooking required. Use cookie cutters or a knife to cut out designs, or use your hands to model shapes.
For your
Easter basket
Chocolate Eggs Ingredients Queen Writing Icings Chocolate Easter Eggs
Everyone loves chocolate eggs at Easter, but why not make them that little bit more special? Step 1 Unwrap your chocolate egg and place in an egg cup or on a towel, so it cannot roll away. Step 2 Using the Queen Writing Icings, decorate the egg by writing or drawing shapes.
Tip: Be as creative as you like! The icing in the Queen Writing Icings set hard, so you can even use this product to stick on items like the Queen Mini Roses.
Easter Rainbow Piñata Cake What you need A cake of your choice Goodies to fill your cake Butter Cream Icing Rainbow Food Colours 4-pack Piping bag with a star tip
Meet Claire from Claire K Creations Try Claire’s recipe for Lime & Macadamia pound cake and follow the step by step instructions to create your own Rainbow Piñata treat!
CL IC K FO R
RE CI PE
Bunny biscuits on sticks Ingredients Vanilla sugar cookie dough Royal Icing Black Writing Icing Rose Pink Food Colouring Cake pop sticks
Step 1 Roll out the biscuit dough and cut out ‘B’ shapes. We used a heart cutter and trimmed off the point to flatten it. Press a cake pop stick gently into the biscuit and cover it with the trimmed off piece of dough. Step 2 Bake the biscuits according to the recipe then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Step 3 Make up the Royal Icing so it is quite thick. Remove a small portion and tint it pink. Step 4 Use a piping bag to pipe around the outside of each biscuit with the thick white icing leaving a small indent for the pink nose. Step 5 Pipe the pink onto the biscuit to form the nose. Step 6 Add a little water to the white icing to thin it and then fill the biscuits with the white icing and leave it to dry. Step 7 Use the black writing icing to draw on a mouth then leave them to dry.
Easter Cookies Ingredients 400g plain flour 180g caster sugar 300g butter 1 egg 1tsp Queen Natural Vanilla Extract 1/2 tsp salt Queen Royal Icing Queen Rainbow Colours
Tip: Don’t want to use Royal Icing? Why not try our Decorating Icing Kit – 3 coloured icings ready to use.
Step 1 Preheat oven to 180°C. Line two cookie trays with baking paper. Step 2 In an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add the egg, vanilla, salt and flour. Mix on low until combined. Step 3 Gently knead dough together, and form a soft ball. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Roll dough between two sheets of baking paper, until about 5mm thick. Cut with cookie cutters, then place on prepared trays. Any leftover dough can be re-rolled and cut – if dough gets too sticky, place it in the fridge for 10-15 minutes. Step 4 Bake for 12-16 minutes, until the edges start to go golden brown. When biscuits are cool, decorate with Queen Royal Icing. Step 5 Place the Royal Icing in a bowl with 50ml water. Mix on low speed for about 1 minute. Put about 1/4 of the prepared icing in a piping bag, with a small round tip. Pipe designs on your cookies. Divide the remaining royal icing into 4 bowls, and add a little colour to each. When the desired colour is reached, add a little water to make drizzling consistency. Use a spoon, or a disposable piping bag with a small hole cut in the end, to flood the designs on your cookies. Leave for 1-2 hours to dry before you cover cookies.
Coloured Easter Eggs Ingredients 2-4 tsp Queen Rainbow Food Colours (4 pack) 1 tsp white vinegar 3/4 cup hot water 12 boiled eggs vegetable oil
Step 1 Combine Queen Food Colouring, vinegar and hot water in a small bowl – more colour will give a stronger result. Step 2 Place three eggs in the bowl and, using a spoon, gently turn eggs in mixture to coat in colour. Continue turning until desired colour is reached – about five minutes. Step 3 Remove eggs from bowl; drain on absorbent paper towel. Repeat process with remaining eggs and colour mixture. Step 4 Polish finished eggs with a lightly oiled cloth. Place on your table for an Easter centrepiece. • •
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Tip: Wear plastic gloves If the kids are helping out, lay out a newspaper on bench top to prevent staining. For best colour results, choose eggs with a white shell rather than brown shell. Use rubber bands to make interesting patterns or simply draw your own pictures with a wax crayon or candle!
Ready-to-Roll Easter Bunny Bottoms Ingredients White Ready-to-Roll Icing Writing Glitter Gel
Step 1 Prepare a portion of white icing according to the instructions on the packet. Step 2 Roll out one big ball for the bottom, two medium balls for the feed and one little ball for the tail. Step 3 Press the big ball into the bench to flatten it slightly so it stands without rolling then shape the medium balls into feet and use a little bit of water to stick it all together. Step 4 Use a cake tester to make indents on the bunny tail and add a little bit of glitter pink to the bottom of his feet. Step 5 Leave to dry in a cool, dry place for at least 24 hours but ideally until hard.
Vava’u Tonga
Vanilla –UPDATE–
As we reported in our last edition, Queen has been working with the Vanilla Growers of Tonga to help re-establish their industry. The vanilla industry in Tonga laid mostly dormant for a decade. Damage from cyclones and unstable market conditions saw many farmers forced to leave their plantations. The future for Tonga Vanilla looked bleak.
In March 2013, Queen introduced a reclamation program to help get the industry back on its feet and put structure in place to make it sustainable for the future. After months of re-establishing plantations and hand pollinating individual vanilla flowers, we are happy to report that we are now seeing our first beans. The first new crop for Tonga Vanilla. The Vanilla beans will now grow rapidly over the next 6 weeks. They will grow to a size of about 18-20cm long. Growing in bunches they will slowly matured over the next 6 months. The bean will then develop a yellow tip, telling us it is time to pick. While the beans are growing we have a lot more work to do. Queen is helping to establish curing facilities for the growers. Curing is probably the
most important stage of Vanilla growing. A green bean has little or no flavour. Curing is where the true flavour and aroma of the vanilla is developed. By teaching and providing curing facilities Queen is helping the growers achieve a much higher return for their crops. This means growers can invest more back into their plantations and the industry as well as provide for their families. The introduction of these new curing facilities also means we can produce some of the world’s highest quality vanilla. This Vanilla will be used in your favourite Queen products. Come with us on the journey as we follow the process from farm to pantry and see Tongan vanilla become alive once more.
Vanilla Bean White and Dark Chocolate Brownies Ingredients 200g good quality dark cooking chocolate, broken into pieces 200g unsalted butter, chopped 3 eggs, lightly whisked 3 tsp Queen Vanilla Bean Paste
115g plain flour, sifted 30g cocoa powder, sifted 220g castor sugar 250g white chocolate, broken into pieces Queen Vanilla Bean Dusting Sugar
Step 1 Preheat oven to 170째C. Line base and sides of a square 20cm cake pan with baking paper. Step 2 Place dark chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl. Place over a saucepan of simmering water and stir until mixture is smooth. Remove bowl from pan and set aside for 10 minutes to cool slightly. Step 3 Add the eggs and Queen Vanilla Bean Paste to chocolate mixture and whisk to combine. Step 4 Combine the flour and cocoa in a medium bowl, add the sugar and dark chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined. Stir in the white chocolate pieces. Step 5 Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the surface. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes or until crumbs cling to a skewer inserted into the centre of the brownie. Remove from oven and cool in pan. Step 6 Dust with Queen Vanilla Bean Dusting Sugar and cut into pieces.
Something FOR DINNER
Indian Low Fat Coconut Curry Ingredients 1kg skinless chicken breast fillets 1 tbs vegetable 1 large red onion, sliced 2 tsp finely grated fresh ginger 3 cloves garlic, crushed 2 dried red chillies, crushed 2 tsp curry powder
Step 1 Cut each chicken breast into 5cm pieces. Step 2 Heat oil in medium saucepan. Add onion, ginger and garlic; cook, stirring until onion is softened. Step 3 Stir in chilli, curry and chicken pieces until well coated with spice mixture. Step 4 Add chicken stock and sugar, simmer, covered for 20 minutes or until chicken pieces are tender. Step 5 Add Queen Coconut Essence and flour into evaporated milk and stir the mixture into the curry.
3/4 cup chicken stock 1 tsp brown sugar 2 tsp Queen Natural Coconut Essence 1 tsp plain flour 1/4 cup light evaporated milk 1/4 cup chopped parsley 2 tbs finely chopped chives
Tip: Do not boil as the milk may curdle. Stir in parsley and chives just before serving. Serve with steamed rice if desired.
Crispy coconut Chicken with Coconut and Lime Mayonnaise Ingredients Chicken 1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs 1/2 cup shredded coconut 1/2 cup plain flour 2 eggs, whisked 1 tsp Queen Coconut Essence 750g chicken tenderloins
Spicy cucumber salad 3 Lebanese cucumber, trimmed 1 small red onion, thinly sliced 1/4 cup sweet chilli sauce 1 tbs fish sauce 1 tbs lime juice Steamed jasmine rice, to serve
Coconut & lime mayonnaise 1 cup whole egg mayonnaise or aioli 1 lime, finely grated rind and 2 tbsp juice 1 tsp Queen Coconut essence
Step 1 Combine breadcrumbs and shredded coconut in a bowl. Put flour into a shallow dish. Whisk eggs and coconut essence in a bowl. Step 2 Lightly coat chicken tenderloin with flour, coat with egg wash, then breadcrumb mixture. Place onto a large plate.
Note: Panko breadcrumbs are Japanese dried breadcrumbs available from the Asian food section or near the dried spice and herb section of supermarkets. If not available then use fresh white breadcrumbs.
Step 3 Preheat oven to 160째C. Heat oil in a non stick frying over medium heat. When hot, add chicken, 6 tenderloins at a time and cook for 5 minutes or until golden on all sides. Transfer to a baking tray and transfer to oven. Cook remaining tenderloins and place in oven until cooked through. Step 4 Combine mayonnaise, lime rind, lime juice and coconut essence in a bowl. Transfer to a serving bowl. Step 5 Using a vegetable peeler, run blade down the length of cucumbers forming ribbons. Put into a bowl. Add onion and toss until combined. Combine chilli sauce, fish sauce and lime juice in a bowl. Add to cucumber just before serving. Toss until combined. Serve chicken with lime & coconut mayonnaise, steamed rice and spicy cucumber salad.
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For Terms and Conditions see www.queen.com.au.
an oldie but a
Goodie Ingredients 125g Butter 1 cup Dessicated Coconut 250g pack Milk Arrowroot biscuits 3 tsp Queen Natural Lemon Essence 1/2 cup Sweetened Condensed Milk
Icing 1 1/2 cups Pure Icing Sugar 20g melted Butter 1 tbs Queen Natural Lemon Essence 2 tbs Dessicated Coconut
Step 1 In a small saucepan heat butter and sweetened condensed milk on a gentle heat until butter is melted and mixture is combined. Step 2 Crush biscuits finely or process in food processor. Step 3 Add coconut to biscuit mix and mix well, add the warm milk and butter mixture and Queen Lemon Essence and mix well until all combined. Step 4 Hand press firmly into a greased 18cm x 28cm slice tin, allow to set in fridge for an hour. Step 5 To make icing, combine the sifted icing sugar, melted butter and Queen Lemon Essence and mix well, add a enough warm water until you get a thick smooth paste. Step 6 Remove set slice from fridge and ice with lemon icing and sprinkle with coconut. Allow to set for a couple of hours and slice into pieces to serve.
Rainbow cakes Ingredients
1 cup caster sugar 125g butter, softened 2 large eggs 2 tsp Queen Vanilla Bean Paste 2 cups self-raising flour
1 cup milk Queen Rainbow Food Colours 4-pack Buttercream or cream to serve Small glass canning jars (250ml capacity at least). Do not use standard jars as they may shatter.
IN JARS
Step 1 To make rainbow cakes in jars – Preheat oven to 175°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper and place the glass jars on top. Step 2 Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat them through. Step 3 Sift in half the flour and mix it through then beat in half the milk and repeat. Step 4 Beat for another minute or until the batter is smooth. Step 5 Divide the batter between 6 bowls. Step 6 Use the colour guide on the back of the box to make purple, blue, green, yellow, orange and red. Step 7 Using a teaspoon, place a spoonful of each colour in the glass jars in the following order – purple, blue, green, yellow, orange and red. Step 8 Tap each one on the bench to get rid of any bubbles. Step 9 Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Step 10 Don’t worry if the cakes leak out the top a little, this can be sliced off. Leave the cakes to cool in the jars on a wire rack. Step 11 Ice the cakes with whipped cream or your favourite icing and sprinkle with crumbs.
Rainbow
ice creams Ingredients 1L vanilla ice cream Queen Rainbow food colours 4 waffle cones Baking paper 4 Paddle Pop Sticks
Step 1 Soften the ice-cream and divide into 5 bowls. Step 2 Place each waffle cone in a plastic cup and line with a cone of baking paper. Step 3 Tint each bowl of ice cream a different colour. Step 4 A spoonful at a time, divide the colours between the cones, alternating to create a rainbow. Step 5 Place the ice-creams in the freezer and set a timer for 1 hour. When the timer goes off, insert the sticks into the middle of the ice-creams. Step 6 When frozen solid, peel off the baking paper and cone to serve.
CLICK
Maple Vanilla Banana Bread with Maple Drizzle CLICK
M apl e Cinna mo n Buns CLICK
C L IC K
Stir Fry
Maple Ch
icken
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range Custard Tart O & e l p a M CLICK
Decorating & Baking Class LESSON #1
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Basic Decorating Techniques
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