Couscous Dried Fruit Salad

Shortbread Layered Fruit Mince Butter Cake

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F.

Grease 3 round 20cm (8-inch) cake pans; line base and sides with baking paper.

Beat butter, extract and sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

Beat in eggs, one at a time.

Stir in sifted flours and milk, in two batches. Spread mixture into pan; smooth surface.

Bake cake about 1/2 hour. Stand in pan 5 minutes; turn, top-side up, onto a wire rack to cool. Grab your prepared Sunbeam Fruit Mince and spread a generous layer over each cake then cover with a layer of cream. Stack the 3 cakes and then cover whole cake with cream icing.

Arrange summer fruits on top & dust with sifted icing sugar, arrange the gingerbread cookies as desired to decorate before serving.

Sunbeam Traditional Fruit Cake

You will need a 21cm round tin for this recipe (base measurement)

1. Soak fruit overnight in brandy, if you warm the brandy it infuses faster and you can soak for a few hours instead of overnight.
2. Place soaked fruit, water, butter, maple syrup and sugar in a saucepan. Slowly bring to the boil then remove from heat and add bicarbonate of soda mixed with one tablespoon boiling water. Cool for 15 minutes. Add lightly beaten eggs, mixing thoroughly. Fold in sifted flours, spices and vanilla essence.
3. Preheat oven to 160ºC. We used a 21cm bundt tin. Spoon batter into the prepared tin, using a spatula to smooth the surface. Bake for up to 75 to 90 minutes or until the cake springs back when gently pressed in the centre. Allow cake to cool in the tin for an hour then invert onto a cooling rake to remove. Allow to cool completely.

TIP: Liquor can be substituted with flavoured syrup or orange juice.

Optional cinnamon burnt buttercream:  Heat 500g butter in a large frypan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until a deep golden colour.  Pour the butter and milk solids into a heatproof bowl and refrigerate until hard.  Remove burnt butter from fridge for 1 hour to soften then add 250g of the butter to a stand mixer and beat for 4-5 mins until creamy.  Add 320g sifted icing sugar mixture, ½ tsp ground cinnamon and 2 tbsp milk and beat for a further 6 mins or until light and fluffy.

Beef & Apricot Tagine

1. Heat half of the oil in a large frying pan, add onion and garlic and cook for 3-4 minutes until tender. Add spices and cook a further minute until fragrant. Add to the pot of a slow cooker.

2. Using the remaining oil, sear beef in batches until well browned. Add to the slow cooker with the stock, tomatoes, cinnamon and orange peel. Cook on low heat for 8 hours.

3. Add the apricots and chickpeas in the last 30 minutes of cooking time. Season well. Serve beef with almonds and coriander and accompany with rice and yoghurt.

*For a faster cooking time, cook on High heat for 4 hours.

Gingerbread Decorations

1. Place butter, sugar and golden syrup in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat until creamy. Add egg and mix until well combined.

2. Gently fold in the flour, almond meal and spices until a dough has formed. Shape into a flattened ball and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

3. Pre-heat oven to 180C (160C fan-forced). Roll the dough out onto a floured surface to 5mm thickness. Using star and round shaped cutters, cut shapes and transfer to lined oven trays. Using a small piping nozzle, cut a hole in the top of each shape prior to baking. Re-roll the dough offcuts until all has been used.

4. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until golden. Allow to cool on trays for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely.

5. Once cool, decorate the biscuits with icing and currants. Thread lengths of ribbon through the holes and tie. Decorate your Christmas tree or give as gifts.

Alternative option: Prior to baking, press flaked almonds or slivered almonds into the dough and bake. Once cooked and cool, dust with icing sugar.

Fruit and Nut Easter Eggs

Combine mixed fruit, dates, 90g seed mix, 80g hazelnuts, 20g coconut, coconut oil, vanilla essence, coffee and salt in a food processor and blend until a smooth, thick paste is formed. 

Divide into 25 equal portions and roll each into a ball, then shape into an egg shape.

Place remaining seed mix into a food processor and process to a coarse crumb.  Transfer to a small bowl.  Repeat with remaining hazelnuts.  Pour remaining coconut into a small bowl. 

To decorate, roll 6 eggs in coconut, 6 in seed mix crumb, 6 in hazelnut crumb and leave 7 plain.  Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving cold.

Last Minute Christmas Cake

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the sugar and stir over the heat for 3-4 mins until combined.

Add dried fruit, bicarbonate of soda, rum, cognac and 125ml water and stir well to combine.  Increase heat to high and continue to stir until the sugar dissolves.  Reduce heat to medium then cook for a further 4 mins without stirring.  Remove from heat, cover and allow mixture to cool overnight.

Preheat oven to 150ºC (130ºC fan).  Grease and line a 23cm square baking tin. 

Add eggs to the cooled mixture and stir.  Add flour and spices and stir well to combine.  Allow the mixture to sit for 10 mins before spooning into the prepared tin and smoothing the surface.

Decorate the top of the cake with blanched almonds then bake for 2 to 2 ½ hours or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.  Check your cake every hour to ensure it is not browning too quickly on top.  If it is, cover with foil for the remainder of the cooking time.

Allow the cake to cool completely in the tin before inverting to remove.  To serve, brush with a little apricot jam that has been warmed in the microwave.

This cake can be stored for up to 3 months in the fridge – cover the cooled cake in 2 layers of plastic wrap and foil.