Fruit & Maple Chocolate Cupcakes

Preparation 1 hour plus chilling for cookie dough

Cook 30

Serves 12

Method

To make the cupcakes line a standard muffin tray with 12 cupcake cases. Add Cadbury Baking Chocolate, cocoa powder, instant coffee and Coles Finest Maple Syrup to a heatproof bowl, pour over 100ml boiling water and whisk until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth. Cool for 5 mins before whisking in sour cream, olive oil, eggs and Coles Make and Bake Vanilla Paste.

In a separate bowl, mix together Sunbeam Sultanas, flour, dark sugar, McKenzie’s Baking Powder and sea salt. Add to the chocolate mixture and mix until combined. Divide evenly between cupcake cases and bake for 20 mins until the cupcakes spring back when gently pressed in the centre. Cool completely.

To make the buttercream, use an electric beater to whisk butter until smooth and creamy.  With the mixer running, add Coles Sweetened Condensed Milk in a slow and thin stream until completely incorporated, then add Coles Make and Bake Vanilla Paste and whisk for 2 mins on a high speed until fluffy and smooth.

Decorate cupcakes with the buttercream.

Ingredients

180g Cadbury Baking Chocolate Dark 70% Cocoa, finely chopped

30g cocoa powder

1 tsp instant coffee

75g Coles Finest Maple Syrup

100ml boiling water

115g sour cream

60ml light olive oil

2 whole eggs plus one yolk

1 tsp Coles Bake and Create Vanilla Paste

150g Sunbeam Australian Sultanas

100g plain flour

100g dark brown sugar

2 tsp McKenzie’s Baking Powder

1 tsp sea salt flakes

CONDENSED MILK BUTTERCREAM

500g butter softened to room temperature

397g tin Coles Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 tsp Coles Bake and Create Vanilla Paste

Recipe Collection

Christmas Fruit Cake

Pre-heat oven to 150°C (130°C fan-forced). Use an oil spray to grease a deep bunting cake tin. 

Combine mixed fruit, raisins, dates and currants in a large saucepan. Add water and port, mix through.

Place over a low heat for 5 minutes until liquid is absorbed and fruit softened.

Set aside to cool.

Using electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until creamy. Add eggs one at a time until all incorporated. 

Fold in flours and spices. Remove from mixing stand and fold in the fruit mixture with a large spoon.

Mixing until well combined. Spoon batter into prepared bunting cake tin and tap on counter to remove air bubbles and ensure bater has filled the tin evenly. 

Bake for 2 hours or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. 

Allow to cool in the cake tin placed on wet tea towel before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely. 

**To serve drizzle with your favourite glaze by mixing 1 cup of icing sugar & 2 tbsp lemon juice

Sunshine Pudding

Prepare a 2 litre pudding basin – grease well and double line base with baking paper circles.

  1. Combine raisins, sultanas, cherries and Cointreau in a bowl and leave to soak for 30 minutes.
  2. Place apricots, apricot nectar, orange juice and rind in a small saucepan and simmer covered for ten minutes, stirring occasionally. Allow to cool and puree.
  3. Cream butter and brown sugar in a small bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition.
  4. Sift flours into a large bowl, add butter cake crumbs, macadamias, soaked fruit, pureed apricots and butter mixture and mix well to combine. Spoon mixture into the basin and smooth the top. Top with baking paper round.
  5. Take a 60cm long piece of baking paper and foil, layer and make a 3cm pleat in the middle of the sheets. Place onto pudding basin and secure with kitchen string.
  6. Place a wire rack onto the base of a large saucepan, a third filled with water and bring to the boil. Carefully place pudding onto rack, making sure the water comes about halfway up basin. Cover and simmer for 6 hours, topping up water when needed. Remove from saucepan and stand for 10 minutes before turning out.
  7. Serve with cream, custard or ice-cream if desired.

Candied nuts decoration:

  1. Place sugar and water in a medium, heavy-based saucepan and stir over low heat until sugar has completely dissolved. Stop stirring, increase heat and bring to boil. Reduce to medium heat and gently boil until the toffee begins to change colour. Do not stir toffee once it has boiled.
  2. Working quickly, drop macadamias one at a time into the toffee and toss with a fork to coat, remove and place on a tray lined with baking paper. Repeat with remaining macadamias.
  3. Decorate the top of the pudding and serve.

Easter Blondies

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius and butter or line with parchment paper a 20cm x 20cm baking tin.

Melt the butter and white chocolate in a bowl over a pot of water and take off to cool once combined and fully melted.

In another bowl, mix the muscovado sugar, caster sugar and eggs together until thick and glossy. Approximately 2 minutes.

Once the butter and white chocolate mixture is cooled, mix in 1/3 to the sugar and eggs, and then fold in the rest.

Add in your flour, baking powder, vanilla, almonds and macadamias and mix until just combined.

Pour batter into your lines baking tin and for 35-45 minutes. The centre should still have a little wobble and a tooth pick should come out a little fudgy.

Straight from the oven, press your speckled eggs into the top of your blondie and let cool on a wire rack.

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.

Sultana Cinnamon Mini Muffins

Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Line two 12-hole (1-tablespoon/20ml) mini muffin pans with paper cases. Combine flour, brown sugar, oats and sultanas in medium bowl. Whisk milk, melted butter and egg in small bowl, stir into dry ingredients (do not overmix, mixture should be lumpy).

Divide mixture into paper cases. Bake about 15 minutes, turn, top-side up, onto wire rack. Combine caster sugar with cinnamon, sprinkle over hot muffins.

Beef Crostini Sunmuscat Relish

This appetiser is nice way to begin a Christmas meal.

For the relish. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a pan over medium-low heat. Add shallots, and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Add Sunmuscats, port, vinegar, chilly, and thyme sprig. Raise heat to medium-high, and simmer until thickened, about 8 minutes. Let cool slightly. stir in chopped thyme, celery, salt, and pepper.

To serve, combine mayonnaise and mustard, and spread about 2 teaspoons on each slice of baguette. Top with a slice of beef, season with salt, and top with 1 teaspoon sunmuscat-port relish. Garnish with micro herbs.

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