Easter Fruit Loaf

Preparation 30 Minutes

Cook 45 Minutes

Serves 8-10

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Method

Preheat oven to 180°C

Dough:

  1. Sift self raising flour, bi-carb soda, mixed spice and castor sugar into a large bowl. Pour in buttermilk and mix with a butter knife to combine. Tip onto a floured surface and knead for 1 minute. Roll out to a 40cm x 30cm rectangle.
  2. Cream butter, sugar and vanilla essence until light and fluffy. Thinly spread creamed butter mix over dough and sprinkle evenly with almond meal. Combine all the fruit in a small bowl and spread on top of the almond meal.
  3. Roll into a loaf, place on a greased paper lined oven tray and set aside for 15 minutes to allow dough to rise.
  4. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. When cool, ice and sprinkle with toasted flaked almonds.

Icing:

  1. Combine sifted icing sugar with boiling water.

Ingredients

Fruit and Nut Filling:

90g butter, softened

1/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1 tsp vanilla essence

110g Sunbeam Ground Almonds

100g Sunbeam Sultanas

50g Sunbeam Currants

70g Sunbeam Glace Cherries, chopped

50g Sunbeam Apricots, diced

40g Angus Park Cranberries

Grated rind of 1 lemon

Buttermilk Dough:

2 ½ cups self raising flour

1 tsp bi-carb soda

1 tsp mixed spice

¼ cup castor sugar

350ml buttermilk

Topping

1 cup pure icing sugar

3 tbs boiling water

40g Sunbeam Flaked Almonds, toasted

Recipe Collection

Festive Fruit Cake

Preheat the oven to 150°C. Line the base and sides of a 20cm springform cake pan.

Mix nuts, dried fruits, glace cherries, peel in a bowl. Sift in flour, baking powder then stir in sugar. Lightly whisk eggs with vanilla, then stir into the cake mixture until well combined. Pour into pan. Bake for 1 hour 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Cool cake in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a rack over a plate and remove baking paper. Pierce all over with a skewer. Drizzle with brandy, then wrap tightly in foil and leave in a cool, dry place for 2-3 days to mature.

For the topping: Soak fruit in Maple syrup, add boiling water to cover and let soften. Closer to serving, warm jam in a pan over low heat or in the microwave until runny. Arrange the maple-soaked fruits over the top of the cake in a decorative pattern, then brush with warm jam to set in place.

Carrot & Sultana Tray Bake

1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Line an 17 x 26cm baking tray.

2. Combine flours, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs and oil. Add to the dry ingredients with the carrot and sultanas. Mix well. Pour into prepared pan and cook for 30 minutes. Allow to cool.

4. For the icing, whisk together the cream cheese and honey. Spread over cooled cake and sprinkle with walnuts.

Spinach & Ricotta Tart

  1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Line an oven tray with baking paper.
  2. Steam or microwave spinach leaves until just wilted. Squeeze any excess liquid when cool enough to handle and then finely chop.
  3. Heat oil in a large frying pan over low heat, add spring onions and garlic, cooking for several minutes until just tender. Add spinach and cook a further minute. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Meanwhile, lightly whisk the egg white with a splash of water, set aside.
  4. Combine spinach mixture in a large mixing bowl with the ricotta, egg yolk, parmesan, pinenuts, mint and lemon rind. Mix until well combined and season well.
  5. Lay one pastry sheet onto oven tray and spoon spinach mixture over the top, leaving a 2cm border around each edge. Lightly brush the edges with some of the egg white mixture.
  6. Using the tip of a knife, lightly score the other sheet of pastry without cutting all the way through. Place on top of spinach mixture and seal the edges with a fork. Brush top sheet with some more of the egg white mixture and sprinkle with the seeds. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden.

Macadamia Biscuits

Preheat oven to 170⁰C. Line baking tray with grease proof paper.

  1. Cream butter and sugar. Add vanilla essence and egg, beating until well combined.
  2. Stir in flour, macadamia nuts and choc chips.
  3. Roll tablespoons of mixture into balls and place on tray 5cm apart. Bake for 12mins or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack.

Orange & Olive Oil Almond Cakes (Gluten Free)

  1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Line 12 x ⅓ cup capacity muffin moulds with paper cases.
  2. Combine flour, almond meal, sugar and baking powder in a large mixing bowl.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, milk, eggs and orange rind until well combined. Add to flour mixture and mix until smooth. Pour between paper cases and sprinkle with flaked almonds. Bake for 20 minutes.Tip:
    For those avoiding dairy, simply substitute the cows milk with your milk of choice.

Lemon Friands

  1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Grease with some butter and dust with additional almond meal 12 x ⅓ cup capacity friand moulds.
  2. Combine icing sugar, almond meal and flour in a large mixing bowl.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until frothy. Stir in the butter and juice. Add to the icing sugar mixture and mix until well combined.
  4. Pour between prepared moulds and bake for 20 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan and cool completely on a cooling rack. Serve dusted with additional icing sugar.
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