Hot Cake Cook Off

Me, trying to work out how to make a bechamel sauce that doesn't get lumps!

As a parent you might not have been told that there are two things you should teach your kids before they leave home.

1. How to make a decent white sauce
2. How to make a decent red sauce.


If your offspring have the ability to do the above it will provide them the skills to make so many dishes. Starting with their own mac and cheese to lasagna to cauliflower and white sauce, tuna casserole, soups and the list goes on. The money a uni student can save with simple dishes that start with a basic sauce is huge and really you can add any old veggies in and cover them with bechamel and you have a meal!

My white sauce is a bit fickle. At times it's extraordinary. At other times, it hits the bin and I have to start again.

I think I know why now. I never used to heat the milk. Who knew??

Smiling sans teeth is hard work.

On Sunday Immy and I went along to an event held by Dairy Australia and before we headed to our kitchen stations for the 'Hot Cake Cook Off' we learnt a few things about cooking with milk and a few basic recipes.  The bechamel sauce recipe was as usual very basic, but it worked perfectly.

The tips were use the same amount of butter/flour/cheese and warm your milk first.

The rest you can make up yourself, but here is a super basic recipe if you need help to get started.

When it came time to have the cook off, Immy was totally in charge.

She collected her ingredients and decided pretty quickly exactly how these were going to look. Once I figured out how to turn the stove top on, the rest really was basic. Your kids can start making you breakfast!

The hot cake recipe we were given had ricotta in them which I think I would have really liked, but in our hot cake cook off challenge, Immy decided that disgusting ingredients like ricotta should be replaced with raspberries and blue berries.

She also wanted chocolate and a caramel sauce, but the timer went off before she made it back to collect her caramel. Ahhh, the pressure in the kitchen.

Her hot cakes actually came up fantastic. Who wouldn't pay $17.50 at a cafe on Sunday morning for such a treat?

Raspberry infused hot cakes with strawberries, blue berries and smashed chocolate. 

Thanks to Dairy Australia and the Legendairy team for inviting us along, and for the scones, and lasagna and smoothies, totally delicious day.