Red Velvet Cupcakes

Preparation 20 Minutes

Cook 25 Minutes

Serves 24

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Method

Preheat oven to 170°C.

  1. Line 24 cupcake pans with paper cases.
  2. Sift flour, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl. Stir through the sugar and currants.
  3. Whisk the buttermilk, butter, eggs, vinegar and vanilla in a large jug until combined.
  4. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture. Add the buttermilk mixture. Stir until just combined. Stir in the food colouring.
  5. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Ingredients

2 cups plain flour

¼ cup cocoa powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1½ cups caster sugar

⅔ cup Sunbeam Currants

1 cup buttermilk

200g unsalted butter, melted

2 eggs, lightly whisked

1 tbsp white vinegar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1tsp red food colouring

Cream Cheese Frosting (optional)

1 x 250g pkt cream cheese, at room temperature

2 cups pure icing sugar

120g butter, at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla essence

Recipe Collection

Christmas Chocolate Fruit Truffles

  1. Heat cream in small saucepan until just below boiling. Remove from heat and add chocolate. Set aside for 1 minute, then stir until melted.

  2. Combine 1/2 cup of the currants and half of the hazelnuts in a bowl and set aside for decorating. Place remaining currants and salt in a bowl, pour over the chocolate mixture and stir to combine. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until firm enough to roll.

  3. Scoop tablespoons of the chocolate mixture and use clean hands to roll into balls. To decorate, roll balls in the reserved currant and hazelnut mixture, remaining hazelnuts or coconut. Store in the refrigerator and allow to soften slightly before serving.

Salted Caramel Easter Scrolls

  1. Whisk together milk, 1 tsp caster sugar and 2 tsp yeast and set aside for 10 mins until frothy. Whisk in 2 of the eggs.
  2. Combine remaining sugar and flour in a large bowl, using a whisk to beat. Add yeast/eggs mixture and use a wooden spoon to stir until the mixture just comes together, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface and slowly incorporate the butter while kneading the dough. Once all the butter has been incorporated, add the sultanas and currants and continue to knead for a further 3-4 mins or until the dough is smooth and elastic.
  3. Grease a large bowl with extra butter, then place dough inside, brush with a little extra melted butter then cover with a clean tea towel and place somewhere warm to prove for 1 hour (or until doubled in size).
  4. Meanwhile, to make salted caramel, add sugar to a medium, heavy-based saucepan. Stir constantly until sugar has completely dissolved then remove from heat, whisk in butter (be careful as it will spit) then pour in thickened cream in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly. Whisk in salt then set aside and allow to cool.
  5. Preheat oven to 180ºC (160ºC fan).
  6. Once dough has risen, lightly dust a work surface with flour and roll dough out to a 30x40cm rectangle shape with the long side facing you. Spread half the salted caramel over the top (leave a 2cm border around each edge), then roll the long side up into a tight scroll.
  7. Cut the scroll into 12 even, smaller rolls then arrange closely in a greased 18x22cm rectangular tin. Whisk remaining egg with a splash of water and brush over the rolls, then bake for 20-25 mins (you may need to cover with foil after 10 mins if your rolls are browning too quickly) until golden and the rolls sound hollow when tapped. Serve warm from the oven with extra salted caramel.

Fruit Nut Fudge Brownie

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line base and sides of a 27cm x17cm slice pan with baking paper, extending paper over sides.
  2. Combine fruit and rum or juice in saucepan and bring just to the boil. Set aside to cool, stirring occasionally. Set aside 1/4 cup of the fruit mixture for decorating the top.
  3. Heat butter and chocolate in saucepan over low heat and stir until melted and combined. Set aside to cool 10 minutes.
  4. Whisk sugar and eggs together in large bowl, then whisk in cooled chocolate mixture and remaining soaked fruit. Sift flour, cocoa and baking powder into the bowl and add half of the hazelnuts (saving some for the top). Stir until combined. Pour into prepared pan and scatter with reserved fruit and nuts.
  5. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until tested with a skewer. Some crumbs will cling to the skewer. Allow to cool in the pan for 30 minutes before removing. Cut into 18 pieces and serve warm and gooey or cool and fudgy.

Christmas Lava Puddings

Preheat oven to 150ºC (140ºC fan). Lightly grease 8 holes of two Texas (jumbo) muffin tins.

  1. Combine all ingredients (except white chocolate) in a bowl. Mix well.
  2. Spoon half the mixture into the tins. Push two pieces of white chocolate into the centre of the mixture then divide the remaining mixture between each tin.
  3. Bake for 20-22 mins until cooked on the outside but soft and gooey on the inside.
  4. Serve immediately with vanilla ice cream and fresh raspberries, if using.If not serving immediately, refrigerate and microwave for 60 seconds immediately before serving.

Choc Sultana Hot Cross Bun

Preheat oven to 200°C

  1. Sieve plain flour and mixed spice. Rub butter into the flour until well incorporated and add dry yeast, castor sugar, sultanas, currants and chocolate dots. Add the milk and eggs and mix well. Place on a floured surface and gently knead dough for ten minutes until smooth and velvety. Cover and leave to rise for one hour or until mixture has doubled in size.
  2. Gently knead for 2 minutes then divide into 12. Gently knead into balls and shape into buns. Arrange in a greased baking tin and leave to rise again for 15 minutes.
  3. Combine ingredients for flour paste crosses and place in a piping bag. Pipe crosses onto buns.
  4. Bake for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 170°C and bake for a further 20 minutes.
  5. Turn onto a wire rack, serve hot with butter, if desired

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!
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