Carrot & Sultana Cake
Preparation 10 Minutes
Cook 40 Minutes
Serves 8
Method
Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line two 20cm cake tins.
In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, bicarb, spices and salt. Stir to combine.
In a stand mixer, beat the eggs, sugars, oil and vanilla until smooth. Add half of the flour mix and mix on low speed until combined. Add remaining flour mix and mix on low speed again until all of the flour is incorporated. Add the pineapple and sultanas. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine.
Divide evenly between the prepared tins and bake for 40 mins or until cooked. Rotate the cakes after 20 mins. (You can test with a skewer, and the cake is ready when the skewer comes out clean.)
Cool the cakes in the pans for 10 mins, then transfer to cooling racks and leave until cooled.
Meanwhile, prepare the icing.
In a stand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until very pale and creamy, about 4 mins. Add half of the sifted icing sugar and beat on low speed for about 1 min. Increase speed to medium to combine. Add remaining icing sugar and reduce speed to low for a further minute, then increase to medium speed for another few minutes until all of the icing sugar is combined. Add the vanilla and 1 tablespoon of the milk. Beat for 1 minute or until combined. Add extra tablespoon of milk of you would like a thinner frosting.
Divide the frosting between the centre of the cakes, reserving the remainder for the top and the sides.
Decorate with topping of choice.
Ingredients
2 ½ cups plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarb soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp salt
4 large eggs
1 ¼ cup brown sugar
¾ cup caster sugar
1 ¼ cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups shredded carrot
¾ cup tinned pineapple chunks, drained
1 cup Sunbeam sultanas
Icing
250g unsalted butter, softened
5 cups icing sugar, sifted
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
Recipe Collection
Christmas Cookies
Preheat oven to 170°C
Beat butter, essence and sugars in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy, beat in egg. Stir in flours, chocolate bits, nuts, dried fruits & milk.
Drop heaped tablespoons of mixture onto lightly greased oven trays, about 3cm apart.
Bake in moderate oven about 12 minutes or until firm and lightly browned. Stand on trays 5 minutes before lifting onto wire racks to cool.
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.
Sunbeam Raisin Toast
Gather the ingredients.
Yeast needs warm water to activate, not hot. Just warm. Sprinkle your packet of yeast over the top of the warm water. You don’t even need to stir it in.
Once you get the yeast on the water, add about a teaspoon of granulated sugar.
After a couple of minutes it will start to look cloudy and have a little bit of foam on top.
Once you see the foam, & bubbling you’re ready to use your yeast in this recipe.
In a large bowl, combine the Sunbeam raisins, warm milk, butter, sugar, and salt; stir to dissolve the sugar. Let the mixture cool to lukewarm.
Stir 1 1/2 cups of the flour into the milk mixture and beat until smooth.
Add the yeast mixture and the beaten eggs to the milk mixture and mix to blend well.
Add enough of the remaining flour to make a soft but stiff dough.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Butter or oil a large bowl. Place the dough in the greased bowl. Turn it over to grease the entire surface of the dough.
Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let it stand in a warm, draft-free place until it has doubled in bulk, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Punch the dough down and divide it into two equal portions. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let it rest for 10 minutes.
Shape the dough into two loaves and place them in two greased 8-by-4-inch loaf pans.
Cover the pans with a kitchen towel and let the loaves rise for about 45 to 60 minutes, or until the dough has almost doubled in bulk. Then preheat oven to 180c.
Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Place foil over the loaves for the last 10 minutes if they look overly brown.
Remove the loaves from the pans and let them cool on racks.
Toast & enjoy!
Christmas Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced).
Line a 12-hole muffin pan with paper patty cases. In a bowl, using an electric mixer, cream butter, mixed spice and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Fold in flour alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour. Fold in Sunbeam sultanas.
Spoon mixture into paper cases until two-thirds full.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer.
Cool in pan for 5 minutes, before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the icing: beat cream cheese with icing mixture. Slowly fold melted and cooled chocolate.
Ice the cupcakes and decorate with mini gingerbread houses.
Christmas Cake Gift Jar
As a gift idea
- Place flour in bottom of jar and add spices and bicarbonate of soda
- Pour in fruit and push down lightly
- Next place brown sugar and finish with slivered almonds.
- Attach a gift card with the following instructions:
YOU WILL NEED
250g butter, melted
3 eggs, lightly beaten
¼ cup brandy
METHOD
- Preheat oven 150°C. Double line a 20cm round tin with baking paper
- Combine gift jar contents, butter, eggs and brandy and stir until combined
- Spoon into prepared tin and bake for 1 hour or until skewer inserted comes out clean.
Cauliflower & Currants Salad
1. Preheat oven to 220ºC (200ºC fan forced). Line a baking tray with non stick baking paper.
2. Place cauliflower onto prepared tray; drizzle over olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Roast for 20-25 minutes or until just tender and golden.
3. Spread hummus onto a serving plate; top with cauliflower; drizzle with glaze. To finish, sprinkle with currants and parsley. Serve.
