Almond Star Bread
Preparation 15 Minutes
Cook 25 Minutes
Serves 6
Method
Preheat the oven to 180℃.
To make the Spiced Almond Cream: place butter and sugar into a stand mixer bowl. Mix for 2 minutes, until smooth. Slowly add the whisked eggs, salt and vanilla and mix again to incorporate. Fold in the almond meal and cinnamon and fold through with a wooden spoon to incorporate.
Slice each piece of puff pastry into 4 x 25cm circles.
Place one dough circle onto a piece of baking paper and spread 1 tablespoon of the Spiced Almond Cream evenly over the top. Stack the next dough circle on top and repeat with more Spiced Almond Cream. Repeat again with the final two dough circles.
Place a round object, about 7-8cm wide into the centre of the circle and make an indent, which becomes the centre of the star.
Cut the dough into 16 evenly spaced strips, starting from the indent to the edge of the dough. Take two strips next to each other and roll them away from each other. Press the two ends together to join. Repeat with the remaining 14 strips until each are twisted and paired up.
Transfer the star on the baking paper to a large baking tray. Brush with egg water wash and sprinkle over the flaked almonds. Place into the oven and bake for 25 minutes until puffed up and golden brown.
Remove from the oven, allow to cool and then dust with icing sugar, to serve.
Ingredients
4 sheets butter puff pastry
1 large egg whisked with 1 tablespoon of water
½ cup Sunbeam Flaked Almonds
¼ cup icing sugar, to serve
Spiced Almond Cream
100g unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature
100g caster sugar
2 medium eggs, at room temperature, whisked
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup Sunbeam Australian Almond Meal
1 teaspoon cinnamon
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!
Apricot & Sunmuscat Sultana Bread & Butter Pudding
Cut bread into 3 cm cubes. Layer bread and sultanas over base of a 2 litre baking dish, drizzle with 2 Tbsp of the melted butter, and toss gently.
In a bowl or large jug, whisk eggs until smooth. Add jam, milk, 1/3 cup sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and vanilla to the jug. Whisk again until all ingredients are well incorporated.
Pour egg mixture over bread cubes. Gently press with a spoon to submerge the bread in the liquid. Set aside for 15 mins while oven preheats.
Preheat oven to 200°C. Drizzle pudding with remaining 1 Tbsp butter and extra 1 Tbsp sugar.
Bake for 35 – 40 minutes, or until top is golden and puffed, but still just-wobbly in the centre. Cover loosely with foil in the last 15 minutes, if browning too quickly.
Cool 10 mins before cutting. Serve warm or at room temperature, with custard and fresh berries.
Tips
Milk and butter can be substituted with diary free versions if preferred.
Apricot jam can be substituted with orange marmalade.
If bread is fresh, leave on bench for an hour or two once diced, to dry out slightly.
Baby Spring Vegetables
Preheat oven to 180ºC.
- Place the carrots and corn in a large pot of boiling water and cook for 5 minutes or until almost tender. Add asparagus and zucchini and cook for 2 minutes. Drain well and place in serving dish.
- Combine butter, apricots, Brazil nuts and chives in a saucepan and cook until nuts have begun to brown. Pour over cooked baby vegetables and toss to coat. Serve.
Chocolate, Christmas, Gifting, Recipes, Sweet Treats
In slow 160 degree oven roast almonds on small tray for approx 10 min. Leave to cool then dice.
Roughly chop dates & apricots fairly fine. Place in small saucepan add water and heat on a low temperature till starting to soften.
Take off heat and stir in bi-carb till it starts to foam. Then set aside to cool.
Place biscuits in food processor and blitz to form fine bread crumbs. Add all the ingredients (except chocolate) and mix together, saving 10g of diced almonds to garnish.
Place in refrigerator for 1/2hr to cool and firm.
Melt Chocolate in a narrow deep jug for 1 minute in microwave, then 10-20sec intervals until fully melted.
Roll small balls of mixture and dip into melted chocolate. Use a fork to remove out of chocolate and tap excess off.
Place on tray covered in baking paper, garnish with almonds and refrigerate until set.
Fruit & Nut Chocolate Nests
Aiden and Bailey definitely approve!!
Classic Christmas Pudding
- Combine fruit, brandy, rinds and apple. Cover and set aside overnight or for at least 2 hours.
- Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, beat in golden syrup. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition.
- Combine breadcrumbs, flour, spices and almonds. Add creamed butter mixture and soaked fruit, mixing well to combine.
- Grease a 2 litre capacity pudding basin, line the base with a double layer of baking paper.
- Spoon mixture into the basin and smooth top. Double line the top with baking paper rounds.
- Take a 60cm long piece of baking paper and 60cm piece of foil, layer and fold in half, make a 3cm pleat in the middle (this allows for any expansionof the pudding). Place sheets over pudding and secure tightly with string. Place a wire rack onto the base of a large saucepan, fill one third with water and bring to boil. Carefully place pudding onto wire rack making sure the water level comes about halfway up pudding basin. Cover and simmer for 6 hours, replenish water when needed.
- Remove from water, stand for 10 minutes before turning out. Serve cut into slices with cream and maple syrup.
