Boiled Fruit Cake
Preparation 30 Minutes
Cook 90 Minutes
Serves APPROX. 10
Method
- Soak fruit overnight in sherry or brandy
- Place soaked fruit, water, butter, golden 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.
- Place in a 20cm round or square cake tin. Decorate with almonds. Bake at 160°C for 75 to 90 minutes. Cool in tin.
Thermo cooker method:
- Soak fruit overnight in sherry or brandy.
- Place soaked fruit, water, butter, golden syrup and sugar into TM bowl and heat 7 min/100°C/Reverse/speed 1.
- Add bicarb soda mixed with one tablespoon boiling water and gently stir through with the spatula – the mix will froth up but should not spill over.
- Cool for 15 minutes in TM bowl.
- Carefully add all remaining ingredients apart from the blanched almonds in the order listed and mix 10 sec/Reverse/speed 4.
- Scrape down sides of the bowl and mix 5 sec/Reverse/speed 4.
- Place in a lined 20cm round or square cake tin. Decorate with almonds. Bake at 160ºC for 1¼ to 1½ hours. Cool in tin.
Ingredients
500g Sunbeam Mixed Fruit
½ cup sherry or brandy
1 cup water
125g butter
2 tablespoons golden syrup
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 tablespoon boiling water
2 x eggs
1 cup self raising flour
1 cup plain flour
½ teaspoon mixed spice
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
blanched almonds for decoration
Recipe Collection
Chocolate Bark
Line a 25cm x 35cm with baking paper. Place chocolate into a medium heat proof bowl; stir over a medium saucepan of simmering water until smooth (don’t let water touch base of bowl). Stir in puffed rice and coconut.
Working quickly, spread chocolate mixture onto tray as thinly as possible; sprinkle with dried fruits, nuts, remaining coconut & rice puffs.
Refrigerate until set. Break bark into pieces to serve.
Sweet Treats
Preheat the oven to 170°C. Line a large baking tray with baking paper.
- Combine oats, sugar, coconut, cinnamon, almonds, walnuts, oil and honey in a bowl. Mix with hands compacting together. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes and then stir and return for another 5 minutes.
- Stir in currants and sultanas and bake for a further 5-8 minutes to ensure the granola is evenly golden brown.
- Allow to cool completely before serving with milk or a good dollop of yoghurt.
Fruit & Nut Biscotti
Heat oven to 180 degrees C. Generously butter or spray bottom and sides of loaf pan with cooking spray.
In large bowl, stir flour, nuts, sultanas, flax seeds, brown sugar, salt and baking soda. Stir in milk. Pour batter evenly into prepared pan.
Bake 50 minutes until golden brown. Cool completely in pan on cooling rack. Transfer to freezer and freeze at least 1 hour, but no more than 3 hours.
Heat oven to 200 degrees c. Remove loaf from pan. Use sharp serrated knife to cut loaf into 1/8-inch thick slices. Arrange slices in single layer on rimmed baking sheets. Bake 15 minutes until golden brown, flipping halfway through baking. Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.
Store at room temperature in airtight container up to 1 week.
Sultana & Orange Friands
In a small saucepan heat the sultanas in orange juice, when the juice starts to bubble turn heat off and set aside to infuse.
Preheat oven to 180°C & Lightly grease a friand tin
Place egg whites in a medium bowl; whisk lightly with fork until combined. Add butter, milk, extract, ground almonds, orange rind, sifted icing sugar and flour; stir until combined.
Drain any excess liquid from sultanas and add to the mix & combine.
Pour mixture into pan; Bake friands 20 minutes; or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Stand friands 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool.
For the icing | In a bowl using an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth, light and fluffy. Use a piping bag to swirl icing across cooled friands, sprinkle with diced pistachios.
Dust the friands with sifted extra icing sugar & optional rose petals before serving.
Spiced Oat Slice
- Pre-heat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Line an 18 x 28cm slice tray. Place honey and butter in a small saucepan and heat gently until butter is melted.
- Place oats, dates, sultanas, apricots, seeds and cinnamon in a mixing bowl. Pour in the melted honey mixture and mix well. Press into prepared tray and bake for 20 minutes. Allow to cool. Cut into bars.
Notes:
Lightly wipe your knife blade with a little oil when cutting dates. It will ensure the dates don’t stick to the knife and making cutting easier.
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!
