Date & Raisin Liquor Truffles

Preparation 15 Minutes

Cook SET TIME: 1 1/2 HRS Minutes

Serves 20 balls

Print Recipe Share

Method

Place the dates, raisins and liqueur in a small food processor and process to combine.

Place the mixture in a bowl with the melted chocolate and mix to combine.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until just set.

Using a tablespoon, roll the mixture into balls.

Roll the truffles in the almonds to coat and place on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until set.

Makes 20. Store in refrigerator and bring to room temperature when you serve.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups (345g) Angas Park pitted dates, chopped

1/2 cup (75g) Sunbeam raisins

1 tablespoon hazelnut liqueur

200g dark chocolate, melted

1 cup (80g) Sunbeam flaked almonds, chopped

Recipe Collection

Chocolate Hazelnut Fudge

  1. Line a 20cm x 20cm slice tin. Combine condensed milk and butter in a saucepan until heated through and butter has melted. Remove from heat and add chopped chocolate. Stirring until smooth.
  2. Add cherries to chocolate mixture and mix well. Pour into prepared pan and tap on the bench gently so the surface is smooth. Sprinkle with hazelnuts and refrigerate for 1 hour until firm.
  3. For serving, remove from pan and trim the edges. Cut into squares and package up to give as gifts.

Carrot & Walnut Cake Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius 

Whisk together your plain flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon 

In a separate bowl, mix your wet ingredients, milk, white vinegar, vegetable oil, eggs and brown sugar 

Once your wet ingredients are well combined, stir in your carrots, shredded coconut, pineapple, walnuts and raisins. 

Pour your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not over mix. 

Fill your muffin tins with your patty pans and then with a spoon or a lever ice cream scoop, fill them to the top. 

Bake in the oven for approximately 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.  

Let cool completely before decorating with meringue. 

Once your muffins are cool you can start on your meringue. Mix your egg whites and caster sugar together in a bowl over a pot of water on the stove. Once the heat from the pot has dissolved the sugar in your egg whites, put your bowl on your electric mixer and whisk until stiff peaks. 

Using a piping bag or a large ziplock bag with the corner cut off, pipe the top of your muffins in any shape you like. If you have a blow torch, give them some colour, or leave them natural and decorate with your favourite easter eggs.  

Pumpkin Fruit Cake

Preheat oven to 160⁰C. Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin.

  1. Bring to the boil mixed fruit, sugar, syrup, butter and apricot nectar, stirring all the time and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add bicarbonate of soda. Allow mixture to cool.
  2. Add eggs and pumpkin. Beat till smooth. Then add flours and mix well to combine.
  3. Place in tin and bake for 90 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Moroccan Chicken with Raisins, Almonds and Honey

Pat chicken dry with paper towel, and sprinkle both sides of meat with salt and pepper. Drizzle the olive oil into a large heavy-based pot over medium-high heat.

When oil is shimmering, add half the chicken pieces and cook 5 – 7 mins per side, until golden brown. Transfer to a plate and repeat with remaining chicken pieces.

Reduce heat to medium, and add onion, garlic, ras el hanout, cinnamon stick, and ginger to the hot oil. Stir well, then cook for 5 mins, until onions have started to soften.

Return chicken and any resting juices to the pot. Add stock, bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 1.5 hrs, until the chicken is tender.

Remove cinnamon stick and add raisins and honey to the pot. Gently stir to combine and increase heat to medium. Simmer uncovered, for a further 30 – 45 min, until the sauce has reduced and the raisins are plump. Stir through lemon juice.

Garnish with almonds and parsley. Serve with crusty bread, rice, or couscous.

Christmas Cheesecake

Preheat oven to 180oC (160oC fan). Generously grease a 20cm round, loose-bottom (or springform) tin. Line the base with baking paper.
In the bowl of a food processor, add biscuits. Blitz to a fine crumb. Add 250g of the melted butter and blitz until just combined. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and use a spatula to gentle push half of the mixture up the sides of the tin. Spread remaining mixture evenly over the base (using a drinking glass can help to compact the mixture around the sides and base). Refrigerate.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, combine remaining butter with sugar and whisk until combined. With the motor running, add eggs one at a time until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add cream cheese, quark, sour cream and vanilla, whisk until smooth. Add cornflour and mix until incorporated.

Add peel and sultanas and gently fold through the cream mixture, then spoon into the prepared base and smooth the surface.
Bake cheesecake for 10mins then reduce oven temperature to 170°C (150°C fan) and bake for a further 50 mins. Turn off the oven, leaving the door slightly open, allow cheesecake to sit in the oven for a further hour until the edges of the cheesecake feel firm when gently pressed.

Allow the cheesecake to cool completely at room temperature then remove sides of tin and transfer cheesecake to refrigerator to cool overnight.
To make the meringue decoration, place the egg whites and caster sugar in a large bowl and whip into soft peaks. Spoon the meringue on top of the cheese cake and shape with a spatula. Use kitchen blow torch to lightly crisp the outside of the meringue. Serve and enjoy!

Christmas Fruit Pudding

  1. Combine fruit, brandy, rinds and apple. Cover and set aside overnight or for at least 2 hours.

  2. Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, beat in golden syrup. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition

  3. Combine breadcrumbs, flour, spices and almonds. Add creamed butter mixture and soaked fruit, mixing well to combine.

  4. Grease a 2 litre capacity pudding basin, line the base with a double layer of baking paper.

  5. Spoon mixture into the basin and smooth top. Double line the top with baking paper rounds.

  6. Take a 60cm long piece of baking paper and 60cm piece of foil, layer and fold in half, make a 3cm pleat in the middle (this allows for any expansion of the pudding). Place sheets over pudding and secure tightly with string. Place a wire rack onto the base of a large saucepan, fill one third with water and bring to boil. Carefully place pudding onto wire rack making sure the water level comes about halfway up pudding basin. Cover and simmer for 6 hours, replenish water when needed.

  7. Remove from water, stand for 10 minutes before turning out. Serve cut into slices with cream and maple syrup.
More Recipes

Join Our Recipe Club