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Spiced Lemon Cake

Preparation 20 Minutes

Cook 45 Minutes

Serves 12-16

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Method
Ingredients

Method

Pre-heat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced).

Place butter and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer, beat until pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time until well incorporated.
Fold in the sifted flour, almond meal, baking powder and spice alternately with the sour cream, mixing until well combined. Add lemon juice and rind, mixing well.
Spoon batter into a greased and lined 20cm square cake pan. Sprinkle the pine nuts and currants over the top and bake for 40- 45 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.
For the syrup: Place sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer until reduced, thick and syrupy. Remove cinnamon stick.
Drizzle the syrup evenly over the cake, allowing it to be absorbed. Allow to cool in the pan for 1 hour. Serve cake pieces with a dollop of thick cream or yoghurt.

Ingredients

175g butter, diced and softened

1¼ cups caster sugar

3 extra large eggs

1 ½ cups plain flour

½ cup SUNBEAM Almond Meal

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp mixed spice

½ cup sour cream

¼ cup lemon juice

1 tbsp finely grated lemon rind

¼ cup SUNBEAM Currants

¼ cup SUNBEAM Pine Nuts

Spiced Syrup

¼ cup caster sugar

juice of 1 lemon (approx. 60ml)

1 cinnamon stick

Recipe Collection

Custard-stuffed Hot Cross Doughnuts

Place the water, sultanas, currants, cinnamon, vanilla bean and honey in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring to a simmer to cook for 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in Liqueur 43 (if using). Set aside for 30 minutes to steep and cool. Discard the vanilla bean and cinnamon quill. Drain through a sieve set over a jug, reserving the steeping liquid. Set aside.

To make the custard, place custard powder in a saucepan. Add 2 tablespoons of the milk and mix until smooth and well combined. Stir in the remaining milk, then add the cream. Cook over a medium heat, stirring constantly for 3-4 minutes or until the mixture boils and thickens. Add the chopped chocolate and mix until smooth. Set aside to cool. Spoon into a piping bag and place in the fridge until required.

Place the warmed milk in a jug. Add the yeast and 3 tablespoons of reserved steeping liquid to the warm milk. Set aside in a warm spot for 5-10 minutes until foaming. Place flour, mixed spice and butter into the bowl of a large food processor (your processor needs to be at least 12 cups). Process until butter is incorporated. With the motor running, pour the milk mixture and egg. Process for 1-2 minutes or until dough has formed a ball and is smooth and elastic. If the dough is a bit to sticky, add more flour, a tablespoon at a time, until it is the right consistency. Add drained sultanas and pulse to combine. Turn onto a floured surface and bring the dough together. Transfer to a lightly greased bowl. cover with a clean tea towel and set aside in a warm spot to rise for 1 hour or until mixture has doubled in size.

Line two trays with baking paper. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 2 minutes, knocking the air out. Cut the dough into 16 even portions. Roll each portion into a ball and place on the lined tray and flatten slightly, allowing a little room between each to expand. Cover with a tea towel and set aside for 30 minutes to prove.

Place 4 doughnuts in the wire basket of an air fryer and brush with melted butter. Air fry at 180°C for 8 minutes or until crisp and golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Repeat with the remaining doughnuts. (Alternatively, heat a saucepan of vegetable oil to 160°C and deep-fry doughnuts, turning halfway through, for 2-3 minutes or until golden and cooked through).

Cut a small slit into the base of each doughnut. Pipe custard into the slit on the base of each doughnut. Return to the rack, cut side down.Step 7

Brush the doughnuts with the remaining reserved steeping liquid and set aside for 5 minutes to set.

Place the melted white chocolate melts into a piping bag. Snip the corner and pipe a cross over each doughnut. Set aside for 5 minutes to set.

Walnut Sultana Zucchini Carrot Cake

Preheat oven to 180ºC (160ºC fan). Grease and line base and sides of two x 22.5cm (9”) round baking tins.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with beater attachment, combine zucchini, carrot, flour, sugar, 50g of walnuts, sultanas and spices. Mix on low until just combined.

Whisk together oil and eggs then add to the zucchini mixture and beat on low until just combined. Divide the mixture evenly between the prepared tins, smoothing the surfaces. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 mins or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cakes comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in tins for an hour, then invert onto a baking rack to cool completely.

To make the icing, combine butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Whisk until smooth. Add sifted icing sugar and whisk until smooth and fluffy.

To decorate, spread half the icing on top of one cake. Arrange the second cake on top and spread with remaining icing. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts to decorate.

Reindeer Raisin Bites

Add dark and milk chocolate, raisins, and almonds (excluding reserved almonds) to a food processor and blitz until very finely chopped.
Transfer chocolate to a bowl, pour over the hot thickened cream, add butter and salt and stir to combine. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours until firm but still able to be scooped with a spoon.
To make truffles, scoop 2 heaped tbsp of the mixture and use clean hands to roll into a ball. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
Roll balls in the chocolate sprinkles to coat.
Cut pretzels in half and insert 2 into each ball for antlers.
Just below the antlers, insert slivered almond to form reindeer’s ears.
Use white icing to stick an Ovalteenie to each ball to form a snout.
Use white icing to create two eyeballs just above the mouth. And a dot to each eye with the black gel.
Use the white icing to attach a red mini M&M to the top of each Ovalteenie to give your reindeers noses.
Refrigerate for a further hour to set the icing. Serve cold.

Chocolate Bark Variations

Place the chocolate in a large heat-proof bowl over a pot of gently simmering water. Cook until the chocolate is almost entirely melted, stirring frequently.

Cover a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a silicone or rubber spatula to spread chocolate evenly over the centre area of the baking sheet—aim for about ¼″ thickness

Sprinkle the nuts, seeds & fruit evenly over the chocolate. Lightly use your palms to press the toppings into the chocolate.

Place the pan on a flat surface in the refrigerator to set.

Once the chocolate is completely hardened, use your hands to break it into about 25 pieces. Serve immediately, or cover and store at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 170°C.

Line 24 cupcake pans with paper cases.
Sift flour, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl. Stir through the sugar and currants.
Whisk the buttermilk, butter, eggs, vinegar and vanilla in a large jug until combined.
Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture. Add the buttermilk mixture. Stir until just combined. Stir in the food colouring.
Spoon the mixture into the paper cases. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Couscous Dried Fruit Salad

Rinse the couscous under cold, running water. Add to a saucepan with 750ml water, bring to a boil then reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 15 mins or until soft. Drain and rinse under running water and set aside to cool completely.

Whisk together olive oil and lemon juice, season and pour over the cooled couscous. Toss to coat.

Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Spoon into a presentation bowl to serve.

This salad can be served cold or at room temperature.

Moghrabieh can be substituted for Israeli (pearl) couscous. Simply follow the cooking instructions on the packet as they can vary.

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