Golden Fruit Cake
Preparation 30MINS + 5-7 DAYS SOAKING TIME
Cook 3 – 3 1/2 HRS
Serves 20
Method
Combine fruit and 1/2 cup of brandy in a large bowl. Cover and store in a cool, dark place for 5-7 days, stirring each day.
Preheat oven to 150°C and grease a 22cm round deep cake tin. Line with three layers of brown paper, extending papers 5cm above rim
- Stir slivered almonds, pineapple and grated apple into fruit mixture. Set aside
- Beat butter, caster sugar and brown sugar together until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined. Add to fruit mixture and mix well.
- Stir sifted dry ingredients through the wet mix. Spread evenly into pan. Tap pan several times on bench to settle the mixture.
- Decorate with blanched almonds. Bake for 3-3 1/2 hours or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.
- Leave hot cake in the tin and wrap in foil, then a thick tea towel to cool overnight.
HINT: FOR AN EXTRA MOIST CAKE, PIERCE THE TOP OF THE CAKE ALL OVER WITH A FINE SKEWER AND SPOON A LITTLE EXTRA BRANDY OVER, BEFORE COOLING.
Ingredients
1kg Sunbeam Mixed Fruit
125g Sunbeam Raisins
125g Sunbeam Currants
1 cup Sunbeam Slivered Almonds
1 cup brandy
1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained
1 small Granny Smith Apple, grated
250g butter, softened
1/2 cup caster sugar
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
4 eggs
2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup self raising flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp mixed spice
120g Sunbeam Blanched Almonds (to decorate)
Recipe Collection
Fruit & Nut Biscotti
Heat oven to 180 degrees C. Generously butter or spray bottom and sides of loaf pan with cooking spray.
In large bowl, stir flour, nuts, sultanas, flax seeds, brown sugar, salt and baking soda. Stir in milk. Pour batter evenly into prepared pan.
Bake 50 minutes until golden brown. Cool completely in pan on cooling rack. Transfer to freezer and freeze at least 1 hour, but no more than 3 hours.
Heat oven to 200 degrees c. Remove loaf from pan. Use sharp serrated knife to cut loaf into 1/8-inch thick slices. Arrange slices in single layer on rimmed baking sheets. Bake 15 minutes until golden brown, flipping halfway through baking. Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.
Store at room temperature in airtight container up to 1 week.
Christmas Cheesecake
Preheat oven to 180oC (160oC fan). Generously grease a 20cm round, loose-bottom (or springform) tin. Line the base with baking paper.
In the bowl of a food processor, add biscuits. Blitz to a fine crumb. Add 250g of the melted butter and blitz until just combined. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and use a spatula to gentle push half of the mixture up the sides of the tin. Spread remaining mixture evenly over the base (using a drinking glass can help to compact the mixture around the sides and base). Refrigerate.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, combine remaining butter with sugar and whisk until combined. With the motor running, add eggs one at a time until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add cream cheese, quark, sour cream and vanilla, whisk until smooth. Add cornflour and mix until incorporated.
Add peel and sultanas and gently fold through the cream mixture, then spoon into the prepared base and smooth the surface.
Bake cheesecake for 10mins then reduce oven temperature to 170°C (150°C fan) and bake for a further 50 mins. Turn off the oven, leaving the door slightly open, allow cheesecake to sit in the oven for a further hour until the edges of the cheesecake feel firm when gently pressed.
Allow the cheesecake to cool completely at room temperature then remove sides of tin and transfer cheesecake to refrigerator to cool overnight.
To make the meringue decoration, place the egg whites and caster sugar in a large bowl and whip into soft peaks. Spoon the meringue on top of the cheese cake and shape with a spatula. Use kitchen blow torch to lightly crisp the outside of the meringue. Serve and enjoy!
Mini Fruit Mince Tarts
To make the fruit mince filling, add all ingredients to a large bowl, mix well, cover and allow to soak for at least 1 hour.
To make the pastry, add the flour, ginger, cinnamon, butter and sugar into a food processor and blitz until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Whisk the egg and chilled water together in a small bowl, then slowly add to the food processor while it’s running until the mixture comes together into a dough. Remove from the food processor and shape into a disc. Wrap in cling wrap and place into the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
Preheat oven to 160℃.
Remove from the pastry from the fridge and roll out to a thin 0.3mm dough. Cut into 7cm circles using a cookie cutter or other round object, then place into lightly greased mini muffin tins (30ml capacity). Scoop the fruit mince between the pastry cases. Cut stars from the remaining pastry and place on top of each fruit pie. Brush with milk.
Place into the oven and bake for 25 minutes until golden brown. Remove and place onto wire racks to cool.
Broccolini and Beans
- Place broccolini and beans in a medium saucepan of boiling water and cook for 3 – 5 minutes. Remove and drain well.
- In a small saucepan cook butter, lemon, garlic and chilli for 1 minute. Add parsley and almonds. Pour over broccolini and beans and toss to combine. Serve.
Roasted Beetroot Salad
- Pre-heat oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced). Wrap each beetroot in foil, place on a tray and bake for approx. 45min-1hour until tender. When cool enough to handle, remove skin from each. Slice into ½ cm thick rounds.
- Meanwhile, place hazelnuts onto an oven tray and bake for 4 minutes, add pepitas and thyme and cook a further 4-5 minutes until golden and toasted. Allow to cool.
- Whisk together the oil, vinegar and sugar, season well.
- Arrange salad greens, sliced beetroot and cheese onto serving platter. Sprinkle with toasted hazelnuts and pepita mixture and drizzle with dressing. Season well.
Sunshine Pudding
Prepare a 2 litre pudding basin – grease well and double line base with baking paper circles.
- Combine raisins, sultanas, cherries and Cointreau in a bowl and leave to soak for 30 minutes.
- Place apricots, apricot nectar, orange juice and rind in a small saucepan and simmer covered for ten minutes, stirring occasionally. Allow to cool and puree.
- Cream butter and brown sugar in a small bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition.
- Sift flours into a large bowl, add butter cake crumbs, macadamias, soaked fruit, pureed apricots and butter mixture and mix well to combine. Spoon mixture into the basin and smooth the top. Top with baking paper round.
- Take a 60cm long piece of baking paper and foil, layer and make a 3cm pleat in the middle of the sheets. Place onto pudding basin and secure with kitchen string.
- Place a wire rack onto the base of a large saucepan, a third filled with water and bring to the boil. Carefully place pudding onto rack, making sure the water comes about halfway up basin. Cover and simmer for 6 hours, topping up water when needed. Remove from saucepan and stand for 10 minutes before turning out.
- Serve with cream, custard or ice-cream if desired.
Candied nuts decoration:
- Place sugar and water in a medium, heavy-based saucepan and stir over low heat until sugar has completely dissolved. Stop stirring, increase heat and bring to boil. Reduce to medium heat and gently boil until the toffee begins to change colour. Do not stir toffee once it has boiled.
- Working quickly, drop macadamias one at a time into the toffee and toss with a fork to coat, remove and place on a tray lined with baking paper. Repeat with remaining macadamias.
- Decorate the top of the pudding and serve.
