Summer Entertaining {Australia Day}

Sponsored by Target

We love to invite friends over for breakfast/brunch in summer. Breakfast is such an easy, relaxing meal to prepare. We live near the coast, so there is usually a nice sea breeze to keep us cool. We hosted a casual early Australia Day breakfast this morning with some friends. I dropped into Target earlier in the week to pick up a few items for our outdoor space. I was after a modern coastal Australian feel and found the perfect homewares for our outdoor table.

The Capri Stripe range is modern and practical. Made of melamine, it is perfect for casual outdoor dining. There is a large range of plates, bowls, platters etc available with prices starting from $3. The small lanterns added a burst of colour.

Nothing says Australia Day like eucalyptus. We decorated the table with some sprigs from our gum tree. I tied the cutlery together with raffia, and placed in some glasses with a napkin.

A simple breakfast menu of cereal, fruit, pancakes, croissants, and muffins; plus some eggs, bacon, and sausages cooked on the BBQ. It couldn’t be easier!

We gave our favourite muffin recipe an Australia Day twist – Lamington Muffins. Chocolate chip muffins with added coconut essence, topped with chocolate icing and moist coconut flakes. Check out our easy recipe.

Lamington Muffins

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

35 mins

Delicious chocolate chip muffins have been given an Australian Day twist with the addition of some coconut flavouring and chocolate frosting.

Author: Lisa

Recipe type: Baking

Cuisine: Muffins and Cupcakes

Serves: 16

Ingredients

2½ cups self raising flour
90 g butter (0.8 stick) , chopped
1 cup caster (superfine) sugar
1¼ cups buttermilk
1 egg, beaten lightly
¾ cup choc chips
1 teaspoon coconut essence
Icing:
1 cup icing (confectioners) sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
40 g (0.35 stick) butter
1 tablespoon milk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180 deg C. Put baking cases in muffin pan. Place flour in bowl and rub in butter. Stir in sugar, milk, essence, egg, and choc chips until just combined. Divide mixture among baking cases. Bake for approx 20 minutes.
Icing: Sift icing sugar and cocoa together into a medium bowl. Add butter and milk. Using an electric mixer on low speed, mix until ingredients are combined. Increase speed to medium. Beat for a further 2 minutes. Spread cooled muffins with icing, and sprinkle with moist coconut flakes.