Williams started out with a sandwich making business, then a food truck, followed by a small catering business before she discovered the power of Instagram. It enabled her to fully indulge in her passion for "naughty ingredients". As she says, "butter is good for the soul".
The Book
These recipes are an extract from Kitty’s Kitchen: Just a little bit naughty by Kitty Williams, food photography by Chris Sharpe, published by Bateman Books, RRP $49.99, released October 9.
Banana and chocolate chip mug cakes
These are so delicious, yet so easy to whip up — if you are only wanting to make a mug cake for yourself, you can easily just cut the recipe in half.
Serves 2
Ingredients
2 very ripe bananas, peeled
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
25g butter, melted
½ cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
½ cup milk chocolate chips
walnuts, roughly chopped, to serve
Cream cheese icing
50g butter
100g cream cheese, at room temperature
2 heaped Tbsp icing sugar
Method
For the cream cheese icing, put the butter in a small bowl. Heat in the microwave on high for 30 seconds or so, until melted. Add the cream cheese and icing sugar. Whisk until smooth then set aside.
Put the bananas into a large bowl. Mash until smooth. Add eggs, vanilla essence and melted butter and stir until well combined.
Place a sieve over the bowl and add flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Sift through. Stir until well combined but take care not to over-stir. Add chocolate chips and fold in.
Divide the mixture between two mugs. One at a time, cook the mug cakes in the microwave for 2 minutes on high. (Every microwave is different so test after 1 minute and go from there.) It’s better to be undercooked than overcooked — when you press the cake it should feel light and springy.
Once your mug cakes are ready it’s time to pipe on the cream cheese icing! The cakes will be quite hot so it’s best to leave them for at least a couple of minutes to cool down slightly so the icing doesn’t melt. Pop the cream cheese icing into a snap-lock bag, or use a piping bag. You want to fill the corner. Twist the bag around until it feels tight, then snip the corner off using scissors. Do whatever design you desire, then top with the walnuts.
Extra naughty cheese rolls
These delectable snacks are sure to turn a frown upside down. Plus, the more cheese the better, right?
Makes 12
Ingredients
230ml can reduced cream
1 packet onion soup
100g mozzarella, grated
100g tasty cheese, grated
100g cream cheese, at room temperature
12 slices white bread
2 eggs, whisked
1 Tbsp white sesame seeds
1 Tbsp black sesame seeds
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Put the reduced cream, onion soup, mozzarella, tasty cheese, cream cheese and salt and pepper in a bowl and stir until well combined.
Place the slices of bread on to a clean workbench. Spread the cheese mixture evenly over the bottom of each piece of bread, covering half of the slice. Roll them up, starting from the cheese end, until you have a nice, even roll (with the ends of the bread underneath so the rolls don’t unravel).
Once completed, brush over the egg wash, then sprinkle with sesame seeds. Place the cheese rolls on to the prepared tray, then whack into the oven for 12-15 minutes, or until they are golden brown and the cheese has melted.
These keep well, so you can pop untoasted rolls into an airtight container, chuck them in the fridge and bake them whenever you need!
Spicy prawn spaghetti with whipped parmesan ricotta
This a great dish to serve up when you’re having friends over. I like serving mine with garlic bread.
Serves 4
Ingredients
500g tomatoes, halved (I used vine tomatoes)
1 red onion, roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp olive oil
500g ricotta
150g Parmesan, grated
juice of ½ lemon
200g spaghetti
2½ cups thawed frozen prawns, peeled and deveined
1 tsp chilli flakes
butter for cooking
handful of parsley, roughly chopped
handful of basil, roughly chopped
handful of coriander, roughly chopped
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Put the tomatoes, red onion, garlic, balsamic vinegar and a drizzle of olive oil in an ovenproof dish and season with salt and pepper. Give it a good toss then chuck in the oven for 35-40 minutes. The tomatoes should collapse into a sauce by this point and the house should smell divine!
Put the ricotta, Parmesan, lemon juice, a pinch of salt and a glug of olive oil into a blender and blitz until smooth.
Bring a pot of water to the boil and add the spaghetti. Cook until al dente.
Drain, reserving a cup of the starchy cooking water.
Drain off any excess liquid from the prawns, then pat them dry with a paper towel.
Coat the prawns in chilli flakes then pop them into a hot pan with a knob of butter. Once the prawns are almost cooked (they should still be just a touch translucent), add the tomato sauce to the prawns, stir through, then add the spaghetti and the reserved starchy water. Turn off the heat and add all of the fresh herbs, then stir again.
Let’s plate up! Grab a large serving dish. Put the whipped Parmesan ricotta on first, then top with the prawn spaghetti.
