Reindeer Raisin Bites
Preparation 30 MINS (Plus refrigeration)
Cook
Serves 24
Method
- Add dark and milk chocolate, raisins, and almonds (excluding reserved almonds) to a food processor and blitz until very finely chopped.
- Transfer chocolate to a bowl, pour over the hot thickened cream, add butter 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 2 heaped tbsp of the mixture and use clean hands to roll into a ball. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
- Roll balls in the chocolate sprinkles to coat.
- Cut pretzels in half and insert 2 into each ball for antlers.
- Just below the antlers, insert slivered almond to form reindeer’s ears.
- Use white icing to stick an Ovalteenie to each ball to form a snout.
- Use white icing to create two eyeballs just above the mouth. And a dot to each eye with the black gel.
- Use the white icing to attach a red mini M&M to the top of each Ovalteenie to give your reindeers noses.
- Refrigerate for a further hour to set the icing. Serve cold.
Ingredients
200g dark chocolate
200g milk chocolate
120ml thickened cream, heated
70g butter – softened
200g SUNBEAM Australian Raisins
100g SUNBEAM Slivered Almonds, 48 pieces reserved to decorate
24 mini pretzels, to decorate
Chocolate sprinkles, to decorate
24 Ovalteenies, to decorate
24 red colour mini M&M’s
Designer Icing White 140g
Food Colour Gel Black 15g
Recipe Collection
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.
Hot Cross Bun Loaf
Place flour, yeast, sugar, allspice, cinnamon and salt in mixing bowl and briefly mix until combined.
Add in melted butter, warm milk, egg, sultanas and currants.
Mix with dough hook on medium speed for 5-7 minutes until a dough ball is formed and is coming away from the sides of the bowl.
Leave the dough covered with clingfilm in a warm place for approximately 1 hour or until doubles in size.
Knock the air out of the dough and then shape it into a loaf.
Place dough into a greased dough tin approximately 24cm x 13cm x 6.5 cm in size.
Cover dough with cling film again and let rise for approximately 40 minutes or until it has risen to about 70% of its original size.
Pre heat oven to 180 degrees.
Cross Method
Mix flour and water together until a thickish paste forms. Using a ziplock bag with the corner cut off or a piping bag, pipe crosses down the center of the loaf, and then across the other way three or four times.
Bake in the oven for 35 minutes, or until it sounds hollow when you tap it.
Let cool on a baking rack for 15-20 minutes.
Drizzle Method
Mix icing sugar and lemon juice together and drizzle over loaf whilst still slightly warm.
Easy Florentines
Preheat oven to 180ºC (160ºC fan).Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
In a large bowl, combine Corn Flakes, almonds, sultanas and cherries, mix well.Pour over the sweetened condensed milk and stir to coat.
Place an egg ring onto prepared pan.Spoon the mixture into the egg ring, filling to the top and gently pressing down to compact.Remove egg ring and repeat, with remaining mixture, 6 biscuits on each tray.
Bake biscuits for 15 mins, swapping the trays around half way.Remove from oven and allow biscuits to cool completely on trays.
Melt the chocolate and brush onto the bases of each biscuit.Rest cookies on a baking rack, chocolate side up, to allow chocolate to set.
You will need a 7.5cm egg ring for this recipe
Chocolate Caramel Tart
Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan-forced. In a large bowl add Sunbeam Almond Meal, sugar the butter and egg and combine until a breadcrumb texture. Spoon into a greased 23cm (base measurement) fluted loose base tart tin. Press mixture to line the base and sides of the tin. Making sure you have made even base and sides, the palm of your hand for the base. Freeze for 15 minutes. Place the tart shell on a baking tray and bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until golden. Set aside to cool.
Combine the Nestle Sweetened Condensed Milk, golden syrup and half the extra butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for 5-7 minutes or until golden in colour and caramel thickens. Remove from heat and immediately pour into the pastry case. Use a small palette knife to smooth the surface.
Place the chocolate, cream and remaining extra butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan half-filled with simmering water and stir with a metal spoon for 5 minutes or until chocolate melts and mixture is glossy. Pour over the caramel and use the back of a spoon to smooth the surface. Set aside for 30 minutes to set.
Toast almond in moderate oven for 10mins then roughly blitz to make nut sprinkles to decorate, add gold leaf & fresh berries. Cut into wedges to serve.
Note: Packets of edible gold leaf are available from the baking aisle. Use tweezers to arrange pieces of
Granola Bar
Preheat oven to 160°C.
- Grease and line an 18cm x 28cm slice pan with baking paper.
- Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl.
- Mix melted butter and honey together and stir into dry ingredients
- Press mixture firmly into tin using the back of a spoon. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool in the tin before slicing into bars.
Roast Pork with Pistachio Stuffing
Pat the pork belly dry with a paper towel, then score the rind at 1cm intervals.
To make the Pistachio Stuffing, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low-medium heat. Add the shallot, lemongrass, garlic, ginger and chilli flakes. Cook, stirring for 3-4 minutes until softened. Then add the remaining ingredients. And cook, stirring, until pistachios are lightly golden. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Then stir in the lemon zest and parsley leaves.
Butterfly the pork belly, leaving one edge intact. Spoon the Pistachio Cranberry Stuffing inside the pork and then roll up. Secure the pork with kitchen twine. Place pork into the fridge overnight (or for 12 hours) to allow the skin to dry up and the pork meat to take on the stuffing flavour.
Preheat the oven to 180℃ fan force.
Place pork onto a wire rack and into a roasting tin. Rub the oil over the pork belly skin and sprinkle over salt. Place into the middle of the oven and roast for 30 minutes. Turn heat down to 160℃ and continue to cook for 2 hours to slowly cook the pork meat. Then, to finish, turn the oven up to the highest grill setting and continue cooking for 2-4 minutes until skin has turned to crackling – you may need to use tongs to rotate the pork a few times to brown all sides evenly.
Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes, before carving.
