Banana Coconut Bread

Christmas Pudding

Greese 2 small or 1 large basin.

Mix all the dry ingredients together. Fill the mixture into the basins, or if preferred a well seasoned pudding cloth. Place 2 thicknesses of foil over the basins and tie securly.

Boil steadily for 6 hours for the lrge pudding and 4 hours for the small. On the day pudding is to be served, boil for 1 hour.

Easter Chocolate Nests

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Line a baking tray with baking paper and spread out almonds on top of it. Bake for 8 minutes or until light golden in colour. Remove from tray and cool.

Lightly grease a patty pan tray.

Combine ingredients together in a bowl. Place spoonfuls into tray and shape into a nest using the back of a spoon. Refrigerate until set. Decorate with Easter eggs.

Chocolate Caramel Tart

Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan-forced. In a large bowl add Sunbeam Almond Meal, sugar the butter and egg and combine until a breadcrumb texture. Spoon into a greased 23cm (base measurement) fluted loose base tart tin. Press mixture to line the base and sides of the tin. Making sure you have made even base and sides, the palm of your hand for the base. Freeze for 15 minutes. Place the tart shell on a baking tray and bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until golden. Set aside to cool. 

Combine the Nestle Sweetened Condensed Milk, golden syrup and half the extra butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for 5-7 minutes or until golden in colour and caramel thickens. Remove from heat and immediately pour into the pastry case. Use a small palette knife to smooth the surface. 

Place the chocolate, cream and remaining extra butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan half-filled with simmering water and stir with a metal spoon for 5 minutes or until chocolate melts and mixture is glossy. Pour over the caramel and use the back of a spoon to smooth the surface. Set aside for 30 minutes to set.  

Toast almond in moderate oven for 10mins then roughly blitz to make nut sprinkles to decorate, add gold leaf & fresh berries. Cut into wedges to serve. 

Note: Packets of edible gold leaf are available from the baking aisle. Use tweezers to arrange pieces of 

Rum & Raisin Trifle

Place the raisins, sultanas, currants, mixed peel, almonds and dates in a bowl and pour over 3/4 cup rum.  Cover and allow to macerate for at least 8 hours or overnight. Keep additional raisins seperate and add 1/4 cup rum these will be used for garnishing the trifle.

Pre heat the oven to 140 degrees C.  

Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and creamy.  Gradually add the eggs and beat well.  

Place the butter mixture, soaked fruit mixture, flour bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and allspice in a large bowl and stir to combine.  

Line a 20cm square cake tin with two layers of non-stick baking paper.

Spoon in the mixture and bake for 2 hours or until cooked when tested with a skewer.  

Cool in the tin.  Once the cake has cooled remove from tin and freeze to semi-firm

Cut the fruit cake into 3cm pieces and decoratively line the base of trifle bowl & pour over the extra rum

Layer custard over fruit cake and repeat cake & custard layers if desired.

Whip caster sugar & thickened cream until stiff and add to trifle

Garnish with rum soaked raisins, and crushed ginger snaps

To make spun sugar, combine sugar with the water in small heavy-based saucepan. Stir over heat, without boiling, until sugar dissolves; bring to the boil.

Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, without stirring, until mixture is golden brown. Remove from heat; stand until bubbles subside. To make spun sugar, drizzle toffee between 2 wooden spoons over baking paper-lined oven tray.

Shape & stand at room temperature until set.

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.

Baked Spiced Cauliflower Salad