Sunbeam Traditional Fruit Cake

Preparation 30 mins plus overnight soaking

Cook 3 hours

Serves 12

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Method

You will need a 21cm round tin for this recipe (base measurement)

  1. Soak fruit overnight in brandy, if you warm the brandy it infuses faster and you can soak for a few hours instead of overnight.
  2. Place soaked fruit, water, butter, maple syrup and sugar in a saucepan. Slowly bring to the boil then remove from heat and add bicarbonate of soda mixed with one tablespoon boiling water. Cool for 15 minutes. Add lightly beaten eggs, mixing thoroughly. Fold in sifted flours, spices and vanilla essence.
  3. Preheat oven to 160ºC. We used a 21cm bundt tin. Spoon batter into the prepared tin, using a spatula to smooth the surface. Bake for up to 75 to 90 minutes or until the cake springs back when gently pressed in the centre. Allow cake to cool in the tin for an hour then invert onto a cooling rake to remove. Allow to cool completely.

TIP: Liquor can be substituted with flavoured syrup or orange juice.

Optional cinnamon burnt buttercream:  Heat 500g butter in a large frypan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until a deep golden colour.  Pour the butter and milk solids into a heatproof bowl and refrigerate until hard.  Remove burnt butter from fridge for 1 hour to soften then add 250g of the butter to a stand mixer and beat for 4-5 mins until creamy.  Add 320g sifted icing sugar mixture, ½ tsp ground cinnamon and 2 tbsp milk and beat for a further 6 mins or until light and fluffy.

Ingredients

500g Sunbeam Bake Fruit Blend for Cake

1 cup brandy

1 cup water

125g butter

2 tbsp S&W Maple syrup

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tbsp boiling water

2 x eggs

1 cup self raising flour

1 cup plain flour

½ tsp mixed spice

¼ tsp nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla essence

Recipe Collection

Sunbeam Raisin Toast

Gather the ingredients.

Yeast needs warm water to activate, not hot. Just warm. Sprinkle your packet of yeast over the top of the warm water. You don’t even need to stir it in.

Once you get the yeast on the water, add about a teaspoon of granulated sugar.

After a couple of minutes it will start to look cloudy and have a little bit of foam on top.

Once you see the foam, & bubbling you’re ready to use your yeast in this recipe.

In a large bowl, combine the Sunbeam raisins, warm milk, butter, sugar, and salt; stir to dissolve the sugar. Let the mixture cool to lukewarm.

Stir 1 1/2 cups of the flour into the milk mixture and beat until smooth.

Add the yeast mixture and the beaten eggs to the milk mixture and mix to blend well.

Add enough of the remaining flour to make a soft but stiff dough.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Butter or oil a large bowl. Place the dough in the greased bowl. Turn it over to grease the entire surface of the dough.

Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let it stand in a warm, draft-free place until it has doubled in bulk, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Punch the dough down and divide it into two equal portions. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Shape the dough into two loaves and place them in two greased 8-by-4-inch loaf pans.

Cover the pans with a kitchen towel and let the loaves rise for about 45 to 60 minutes, or until the dough has almost doubled in bulk. Then preheat oven to 180c.

Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Place foil over the loaves for the last 10 minutes if they look overly brown.

Remove the loaves from the pans and let them cool on racks.

Toast & enjoy!

Bread and Butter Pudding

Pre-heat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced).

  1. Combine sultanas and juice in a small bowl and set aside.

  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, milk, sugar and vanilla.

  3. Sprinkle some of the sultanas and chocolate over the base of a rectangular baking dish. Arrange half of croissants in the baking dish, slightly overlapping. Sprinkle with more of the sultanas and chocolate. Top with remaining croissants, sultanas and chocolate.

  4. Pour egg mixture over croissants allowing time for it to be absorbed, approximately 30 minutes. Sprinkle with almonds. 

  5. Bake pudding for 35-40 minutes or until set. Serve warm with cream or ice-cream.

Quick and Easy Christmas Pudding

  1. Place fruit and brandy in microwaveable bowl and heat for 1 minute or until warmed through. Set aside to cool, stirring occasionally.

  2. Beat butter and sugar with electric mixer until light and creamy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Sift flour and mixed spice over butter mixture, then stir in breadcrumbs and fruit mixture. Mix well.

  3. Grease and flour a 1.5L microwaveable bowl. Spoon mixture into bowl and smooth top. Cover with a pleated, double-layer of baking paper secured with kitchen string.

  4. Cook in microwave on defrost setting (300W) for 30 minutes, rotating the bowl after 20 minutes. Test with a skewer inserted into pudding. If it doesn’t come out clean, microwave at 5 minute intervals until done. Leave pudding to stand for 10 minutes before turning onto a plate. Serve with custard.

Mini Choc Raisin & Hazelnut Puddings

  1. Preheat oven to 170ºC. Place raisins, sultanas and rum in a bowl and set to one side.
  2. Cream butter and brown sugar, until light and fluffy.
  3. Beat in eggs one at a time beating well after each addition.
  4. Sift flours, mixed spice and cinnamon.
  5. Add breadcrumbs, finely chopped hazelnuts, chocolate, buttermilk, rum soaked fruit and butter mixture and mix well to combine.
  6. Prepare 8 pudding basins (200ml capacity): spray pudding basins with oil and line the bottom with baking paper.
  7. Divide evenly between prepared pudding basins.

Steaming Instructions
Place basins into a baking dish, and pour in enough boiling water to ½ fill the baking dish, cover with foil. Steam bake for 1 hour. Remove foil and bake for a further 20 minutes.

Microwave Instructions
Cook in microwave on defrost setting (300W) for 15 minutes, check if a skewer inserted into pudding comes out clean. If not cooked, microwave at 5 minute intervals, until skewer comes out clean. Stand for 10 minutes before turning out. Repeat with remaining mixture. (Note: Do not use foil in microwave).

Christmas Slice

Preheat oven 150°C (fan-forced).

  1. Line a loaf tin (20cm x 10cm) with baking paper.
  2. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir until well combined.
  3. Spoon mixture into prepared tin and bake for 40mins. Allow to cool. Dust with icing sugar and slice thinly.

Honey Roast Chicken with Nutty Stuffing

Preheat the oven to 220c on fan-forced.

Combine stuffing ingredients in a food processor until roughly chopped.

Remove stems from rosemary and combine with honey, olive oil in a small bowl.

Fill chicken with nutty stuffing and roast chicken for 20 mins.

Remove chicken after 20 mins and cover outside with honey glaze, season with salt.

Cook for a further 25 mins on 180c until golden
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