Easter Blondies
Preparation 15 Minutes
Cook 40 Minutes
Serves 12
Method
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.
Ingredients
225gm Unsalted Butter diced
100gm white chocolate chips
250gm Muscovado Sugar
325gm plain flour
100gm Sunbeam Macadamias
100gm Sunbeam Blanched Almonds
150gm Caster sugar
1tsp baking powder
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
140gm Cadbury mini speckled eggs
Recipe Collection
Rocky Road
Grease and line the base and sides of a 20cm square baking tin.
Mix together raisins, cherries, marshmallows and pistachios. Pour 1 cup of the mixture into the base of the prepared tin.
Combine chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl, microwave for 30 seconds, stir then microwave in 10 second bursts until melted. Allow to cool for about 5 mins before adding the remaining fruit and nut mixture. Toss to coat then pour into the prepared tin, gently flattening the surface. Refrigerate until firm (about 2 hours).
Remove from tin and slice into 4 long rows. Wrap in cellophane for Christmas gifting.
Pumpkin Fruit Cake
Preheat oven to 160⁰C. Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin.
- Bring to the boil mixed fruit, sugar, syrup, butter and apricot nectar, stirring all the time and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add bicarbonate of soda. Allow mixture to cool.
- Add eggs and pumpkin. Beat till smooth. Then add flours and mix well to combine.
- Place in tin and bake for 90 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Hot Cross Buns
In a small saucepan, heat the milk until just boiling. Pour ¼ cup of the hot milk into a small bowl. Set aside remaining milk.
Add 1 tsp of the caster sugar to the ¼ cup of milk. Sprinkle the yeast of the top and stir. Sit at room temperature until bubbly and doubled in size, approx. 10 min.
Meanwhile, add the butter to remaining reserved hot milk and stir to combine. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
In a large bowl, place flour, bicarb, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Make a well in the centre. Pour in the milk and butter mix. Stir. Then add the yeast mix. Stir to combine. Add the egg. Continue to stir until a sticky dough forms.
Tip onto a lightly floured clean surface, and knead until it becomes a smooth dough, about 5 mins.
Place the dough into a large oiled bowl. Cover with cling film, sprayed with oil and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until it has doubled in size. Add the sultanas, mix again, and recover. Rest again in a warm place for another hour.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200C. Grease and line a baking tray with baking paper.
Divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll into balls on a lightly floured surface.
Arrange onto prepared tray, leaving a 2cm space between each ball. Spray with oil, cover and rest for 30-60 mins, or until dough has risen again.
For the paste:
In a small bowl, combine flour and icing sugar. Gradually add water, 1 tbspn at a time, until a paste forms.
Using a piping bag with a small nozzle (or a small snap lock bag with the corner snipped) fill with the paste and pipe along the centre of each row of rolls. Turn the tray and repeat this across the centre of the rolls to form a cross.
Bake on the middle rack in the oven for 20 mins or until golden.
Gently heat the jam to melt to a syrupy consistency. Brush the tops of the warm buns to glaze.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Asparagus Pastries
Preheat oven to 180°C.
- Cut each pastry sheets into 4 squares. Mark 1cm in from the edge of pastry to resemble a photo frame. Place on paper lined baking trays.
- Panfry onions in oil for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Pour in wine and brown sugar and cook for a further 5 minutes stirring continuously. Stir in pine nuts and cool.
- Place heaped spoonfuls of onion mixture into the centre of each pastry square. Arrange mushrooms and asparagus on top. Sprinkle with feta and brush edges with egg. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes. Serve.
Lemon Date Slice with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Line a 20 x 20cm slice tray. Place dates and 100g of the cream cheese in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until a paste has formed. Add oats, coconut and lemon rind. Pulse until smooth. Remove to a bowl and fold in blueberries. Press into prepared tray and refrigerate for at least 2 hours until firm.
- For frosting, whisk together the remaining cream cheese, icing sugar, juice and lemon rind. Spread over slice and sprinkle with pepitas, refrigerate until required and cut into squares.
Spiced Currant Biscuits
- Sift the flour and spices into a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugar with electric beaters until thick and pale, then add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Fold ii the flour mixture slowly, then stir in currants and lemon zest. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 2 hours.
- Line 2 baking trays with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Roll out dough 4-5mm thick then cut with a round biscuit cutter and place on the trays. Repeat with remaining dough, re-rolling the trimmings.
- Sprinkle biscuits with extra sugar. Bake for 10 minutes until firm to touch but still pale. Cool on trays for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
