Christmas Cupcakes

Toasted Almond & Blueberry Salad

1. Toast almonds in a pan on medium heat then set aside.
2. Wash berries and slice strawberries into halves.
3. Crumble blue cheese and combine salad ingredients together.
4. Combine dressing ingredients and blend until smooth, pour over salad when serving.

Butter Biscuit Wreaths

1. Preheat oven to 160°C and line with baking trays. Set aside 1/4 cup raisins for decorating. Roughly chop remaining raisins.

2. Beat butter and sugar with electric mixer until light and creamy. Sift in flour and mixed spice and add chopped raisins. Mix until combined. Divide dough in half and form into two disks. Wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes or until firm.

3. Roll dough between sheets of baking paper to 0.5cm thick. Cut 8cm rounds with cookie cutter. Transfer to lined baking trays and cut 3cm circles from middle of rounds to form rings. Reroll dough as necessary and refrigerate if too soft. Bake 15-20 minutes until lightly coloured. Cool on trays.

4. To decorate, working with one biscuit at a time, drizzle white chocolate over the top and decorate with raisins, almonds and other decorations.

Carrot & Walnut Cake Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius 

Whisk together your plain flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon 

In a separate bowl, mix your wet ingredients, milk, white vinegar, vegetable oil, eggs and brown sugar 

Once your wet ingredients are well combined, stir in your carrots, shredded coconut, pineapple, walnuts and raisins. 

Pour your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not over mix. 

Fill your muffin tins with your patty pans and then with a spoon or a lever ice cream scoop, fill them to the top. 

Bake in the oven for approximately 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.  

Let cool completely before decorating with meringue. 

Once your muffins are cool you can start on your meringue. Mix your egg whites and caster sugar together in a bowl over a pot of water on the stove. Once the heat from the pot has dissolved the sugar in your egg whites, put your bowl on your electric mixer and whisk until stiff peaks. 

Using a piping bag or a large ziplock bag with the corner cut off, pipe the top of your muffins in any shape you like. If you have a blow torch, give them some colour, or leave them natural and decorate with your favourite easter eggs.  

Chocolate Raisin Pudding

Pre-heat oven to 190°C (170°C fan-forced).

1. Roughly chop raisins and place in a small saucepan with port. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and set aside to cool.
2. Place chocolate and butter in a bowl over simmering water, stirring often until melted and smooth. Cool slightly.
3. Beat together the eggs, yolks and sugar until pale and increased in volume. Add chocolate mixture, mixing until well combined. Fold in flour with the raisins and mix well.
4. Spoon mixture between 6 x 250 ml capacity oven proof serving dishes. Place onto an oven tray and bake for 10-12 minutes until just cooked. Allow to sit for 3-4 minutes before serving with cream or ice-cream.

Gluten Free Cake

Preheat oven to 160°C

1. Grease and line a deep 23cm round cake tin with two layers of greased baking paper extending paper 5cm above rim
2. Place the mixed fruit, butter, whisky and sugar in a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and cool until lukewarm. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition. Sift flour with the baking powder, spice and soda and stir into mixture with Sunbeam Almond Meal and stir until thoroughly combined.
3. Spoon into the prepared tin and bake at 160°C for 1 ½ – 2 hours or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool cake in tin for 30 minutes before transferring to a wire rack and cool before removing paper.

Strawberry Almond Slice