Chocolate Fruit Truffles
Preparation 10 Minutes
Cook Chill: 3h Minutes
Serves 23
Method
- Add chocolate to a food processor and blitz until very finely chopped.
- Transfer chocolate to a bowl, pour over the hot thickened cream, add butter, currants 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 1 heaped tbsp of the mixture and use clean hands to roll into a rough ball. Repeat with remaining mixture (you should make about 24)
- Arrange crushed nuts, desiccated coconut and cacao powder in separate bowls. Roll each of the truffles into different coatings to decorate.*to make coloured coconut we combined desiccated coconut with a few drops of food colouring
Ingredients
200g Sunbeam Currants
400g dark chocolate
120mL thickened cream
70g butter, softened
pinch of sea salt
crushed nuts (to decorate)
desiccated coconut* (to decorate)
cacao powder (to decorate)
Recipe Collection
Sunbeam Fruit Loaf
This recipe is super easy & uses a bread maker! Just add all of the ingredients in and the bread maker does the rest!
Rum & Raisin Profiterole Wreath
To make the custard, combine raisins and rum in a small bowl and allow to soak for 10 mins. Drain and roughly chop the raisins.
Combine milk, cream and vanilla in a medium sized, heavy based saucepan over medium heat. Not letting the milk come to a boil, stir until warmed.
In a separate bowl combine egg yolks and sugar, whisk until mixed then add flour and whisk to incorporate.
Gradually add the egg mixture to the milk, whisking over a medium heat, until it is all added and incorporated. The custard will thicken, continue to whisk until smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly before stirring through the soaked raisins.
To make the choux pastry, preheat oven to 190ºC (170ºC fan). Line 2 large baking trays with baking paper.
In a medium saucepan, combine butter and sugar with 250ml water. Stir over a medium-high heat until the water begins to boil and the butter has melted. Remove pan from the heat, add the flour and use a wooden spoon to vigorously mix to combine. The mixture will begin to resemble a dough – return pan to medium heat and cook for a further 1-3 mins, stirring, until you notice the dough pulling away from the sides of the pan. Spoon the dough into a bowl of a stand mixer and allow to cool slightly (10 mins).
Fit the stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Add vanilla bean paste and 1 egg and whisk until just combined. Repeat with remaining eggs until your dough is glossy.
Transfer the mixture to a large piping bag fitted with large, round, open tip. Spray the surface of the baking paper with a fine mist of water.
Pipe 12 rounds, evenly spaced, onto each prepared tray. Bake for 30-40 mins, ensuring the oven door stays closed for the first 25 mins, until the pastries are puffed and golden. In the final 5 mins, prick the base of the pastries with a toothpick and return to the oven to dry out.
Turn off the oven and open the door, allow pastries to cool completely in the oven.
Once the pastries are cool dip in melted chocolate (white and dark) and rest on a baking rack until chocolate sets.
Pipe each profiterole with the rum and raisin custard. Arrange in a wreath shape on a large, round serving platter. Decorate with cherries, raspberries and mint leaves. Generously drizzle with chocolate sauce to serve.
Walnut Cheese Log
Cheese to room temp.
In a bowl, mix cheese & alcohol in a processor with salt and pepper until smooth.
Mix chilli with herbs and nuts, then sprinkle on a 30cm piece of plastic wrap, leaving a 2cm border.
Spoon cheese along one end of herbs. Lift wrap and roll cheese away from you into a log, pressing gently to coat well in herbs, shape the mixture into a log, then wrap and refrigerate for about an hour, until the mixture is firm.
Serve with crackers
Christmas Cake Friands (GF)
- Pre-heat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Lightly grease 12 x ⅓ cup capacity muffin pans.
- Place fruit and brandy in a microwave proof dish and cook on medium heat for 30 seconds. Set aside to cool.
- Sift icing sugar into a large mixing bowl and stir in the almond meal and flour.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until frothy. Mix in the butter and add to the icing sugar mixture. Stirring until well combined.
- Pour mixture between prepared moulds and bake for 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans and cool completely on a cooling rack.
- For icing, combine icing sugar and water mixing until smooth. Allow to sit until desired consistency is achieved. Spoon over each cake and finish with lemon rind and raspberries.
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.

Cherry Dark Choc Biscotti
Preheat oven to 180ºC (160ºC fan). Line a large oven tray with baking paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, combine sugar and eggs. Whisk until pale and fluffy. Add both flours, nuts, sultanas and cherries and stir to combine.
Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour. Turn the dough out onto the surface, divide into two even portions then roll each into a 30cm long log. Transfer to prepared tray, flatten the tops slightly then bake for 30 mins. Remove tray from oven and allow logs to cool for 20 mins. Reduce oven temperature to 140ºC.
Use a serrated knife to diagonally cut slices, about 5mm thick. Arrange slices back onto the lined oven tray and bake for a further 15 mins, turning the biscuits half way, until they are crisp and dry. Transfer biscuits to a wire baking rack to cool completely.
Place chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and melt according to packet instructions. Pour melted chocolate into a small cup and dip the ends of the biscotti into the melted chocolate, tapping off any excess. Sprinkle extra almonds over the chocolate to decorate.
Place dipped biscotti onto baking paper and stand at room temperature until the chocolate sets.