Fancy Fruit and Nut Cake

Preparation 30 Minutes

Cook 3.5 hours Minutes

Serves 12

Method

Preheat oven to 150°C

  1. Grease a standard loaf tin (21 x 13cm or larger). Line base and sides with baking paper, extending paper 6cm above rim to form a collar.
  2. Coarsely chop half the nuts, glacé fruit and cherries and place in a large bowl (reserve the remainder of each for topping). Add raisins and dates and stir to combine.
  3. Sift flours and cinnamon, then stir 1⁄4 cup into the fruit mixture.
  4. Beat eggs, sugar, 2 tablespoons of brandy and rind together until light. Add remaining flour and stir to combine, then fold through fruit mixture. Spoon into prepared tin/s and press down with back of a spoon.
  5. Cut remaining glacé fruits into quarters. Press gently on top of cake along with whole nuts and whole cherries.
  6. Cover top of cake with paper bag or baking paper, resting on the collar. Bake large cake for 11⁄2-13⁄4 hours or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Cool in tin.
  7. Place apricot conserve and remaining brandy in a small saucepan. Simmer, stirring for 3 minutes. Strain, then brush over cake. To serve, cut into thick slices.

Ingredients

1/3 cup Sunbeam Dry Roasted Almonds

¾ cup Sunbeam Brazil Nuts

1 cup Sunbeam Macadamia Halves

400g mixed glacé fruit – pineapple rings,

whole apricots and whole figs

200g Sunbeam Mixed Glacé Cherries

1 cup Sunbeam Raisins

1½ cups Trident Pitted Dates, halved

½ cup plain flour

¼ cup self raising flour

1 tsp cinnamon, ground

2 eggs

1/3 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

1/3 cup brandy

2 tsp orange rind, finely grated

½ cup apricot conserve

Recipe Collection

Fruit & Nut Slice

  1. Preheat oven 150°C (fan-forced).
  2. Line a loaf tin (20cm x 10cm) with
    baking paper.
  3. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and
    stir until well combined.
  4. Spoon mixture into prepared tin and
    bake for 40mins. Allow to cool. Dust with icing sugar and slice thinly.

Bircher Muesli

  1. Combine oats, water, lemon juice and sultanas in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
  2. Stir in yoghurt, apple and honey.
  3. Top with almonds and hazelnuts.

Fruit Cake Trifle

  1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Line the base and sides of a 20cm round cake tin. Place mixed fruit and juice in a saucepan and gently heat through. Set aside to cool.
  2. Combine butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until creamy and pale. Add eggs one at a time until well combined. Add flour, almond meal, cinnamon and baking powder. Continue mixing until batter is smooth. Stir in fruit mixture until well combined. Pour into prepared tin and smooth the surface. Sprinkle with slivered almonds and bake for 35-40 minutes until golden and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool completely.
  3. For assembly, whip the cream and sugar to firm peaks. Set aside ¼ of the cream for decoration. Stir the custard into remaining cream until well combined. Slice cake horizontally into 3 even discs. You may need to trim the edges slightly to fit your serving bowl.
  4. Press one round of cake into the base of a 20cm serving bowl. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of the brandy. Press half of the strawberries around the edge of the bowl and cover with half of the custard mixture. Place a second round of cake on top of custard and sprinkle with another tablespoon of brandy. Repeat process with strawberries and remaining custard. Finish with final round of cake and remaining brandy. Cover and allow to sit for at least 4 hours or overnight. For serving, top with the cream that was set aside and decorate with additional strawberries and cherries.

Turmeric Chicken Curry

  1. Heat oil in a frying pan. Add onion, ginger and garlic, cooking over low heat for 4-5 minutes until tender. Stir in spices and cook a further minute.

  2. Add coconut milk, chicken and almond meal to pan. Simmer over a low heat partially covered until chicken is cooked through.

  3. Serve curry sprinkled with flaked almonds, tomatoes and coriander. Accompany with rice and cucumber.

Date Cookies

  1. Pre-heat oven to 170°C (150°C fan-forced). Line oven trays with baking paper. Place oats, flour, dates and pepitas in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Remove to a mixing bowl.
  2. Place butter and honey in a small saucepan and heat until melted. Add to oat mixture with the banana and mix well. Spoon tablespoons of mixture onto prepared trays. Bake for 20 minutes or until just golden. Remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Beef & Apricot Tagine

1. Heat half of the oil in a large frying pan, add onion and garlic and cook for 3-4 minutes until tender. Add spices and cook a further minute until fragrant. Add to the pot of a slow cooker.

2. Using the remaining oil, sear beef in batches until well browned. Add to the slow cooker with the stock, tomatoes, cinnamon and orange peel. Cook on low heat for 8 hours.

3. Add the apricots and chickpeas in the last 30 minutes of cooking time. Season well. Serve beef with almonds and coriander and accompany with rice and yoghurt.

*For a faster cooking time, cook on High heat for 4 hours.

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