Christmas & Festive
Cherry Icecream Roll
Ingredients 600g vanilla icecream, softened 4 eggs 100g sugar 75g cornflour 40g plain flour 1 tsp mixed spice 1 tsp cinnamon 2 tsp baking powder 20g cocoa powder 40g toasted shredded coconut 1 tin cherries, drained Method Preheat oven to 180°C. Lightly grease and line a Swiss roll baking sheet. Beat egg whites until stiff. Slowly add the sugar until the mixture is thick and glossy. Beat in the egg yolks. Sift cornflour, cocoa, flour, cinnamon, mixed spice and baking powder. Lightly fold in the egg mixture. Pour onto the lined baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes, until risen and firm when lightly pressed with a fingertip. Turn out onto a tea towel lightly dusted with extra caster sugar. Quickly peel off the baking paper and roll up immediately in a tea towel. Leave to cool completely.Unroll cake and sprinkle over the toasted coconut. Spread over the icecream and then a line of cherries in the centre. Roll up carefully so the cake joins and the cherries are surrounded by the icecream. Wrap in cling film and place in the freezer to firm. Remove from the freezer and decorate with fresh cream and fresh cherries and cut into slices to serve.
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Honey & Orange Glazed Ham
Ingredients 1 leg of ham (7-9kg) 2 oranges, zest and juice 200g brown sugar 100ml honey 2 tbsp dijon mustard Cloves MethodPreheat oven to 180°C. Gently run your fingers along the outer edge of the skin on the top of the leg of ham. You will find that you can gently peel away the skin leaving a lovely layer of fat. Cut around the hock and leave the skin intact the last 4-5 inches. Wrap the skin and store in the fridge and use this to cover any left over ham. Gently score the top of the leg in a diamond pattern about 1 inch apart. Try not to cut through the layer of fat. If you cut too deep the fat will melt during baking. Place a clove in each diamond and place on a large roasting tray that has been lined with foil & baking paper. Zest the oranges in long stripes. Mix together the zest, juice, honey, brown sugar and mustard, Brush the ham with the glaze & place in the oven. Pour 1 cup of water in the base of the roasting pan. After 15-20 minutes, brush with more glaze. Continue to baste the ham every 10-15 minutes for about 1 hour until golden brown. Carefully remove the ham from the oven and decorate with fresh herbs & ribbon. Bring the remaining glaze to the boil & serve in a jug. Serve with roasted vegetables, or lightly roasted baby tomatoes & caramelised shallots.
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Festive Roast Turkey with Apricots & Cranberries
IngredientsFor the Turkey 1 large turkey breast 1 litre water 1¼ cups dark brown sugar ¼ cup soy sauce 20g salt 2 cloves garlic 2 bay leaves ¼ tsp black peppercorns 4 cloves 4 all spice 100ml maple syrup For the Stuffing 300g fresh sourdough breadcrumbs 100g blanched whole almonds 100g dried cranberries 150g butter 2 onions finely chopped 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp mixed spice Salt and pepper to taste For the Apricots 250g dried apricots soaked in enough water to cover, for several hours until swollen 150-200g frozen cranberries 100ml maple syrup 20ml orange blossom water MethodFor the TurkeyBring all ingredients (except the turkey) to the boil, remove from the heat & allow to cool. Add the turkey & brine for at least 1 hour or overnight in the fridge. Drain & pat dry. Open the turkey out and stuff with stuffing and roll. Truss with string to form a neat log. Sprinkle with pepper. Heat a pan with a small amount of oil and gently sear the turkey until golden on all sides. Place in the oven at 150°C for about 1 hour until cooked, allow to rest before serving.For the StuffingMelt butter in a pan & then over low heat cook the onions until soft, add the remaining ingredients & season to taste. Set aside to cool.For the ApricotsStrain the apricots, reserving the liquid and add the liquid and maple syrup to a pan & cook until it starts to become a little syrupy. Add the orange blossom water, apricots, cranberries & any juices from the resting turkey. Cook until glazed. Serve the turkey on a platter, serve with roasted baby carrots & scatter over the apricot mix & a few roasted pistachios.
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Crayella
Ingredients (serves 10-12) 3 crayfish tails cut in half 3 large pieces white fish cut in half 4 ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped 2 red capsicums sliced 2 onions sliced 1 tbsp sweet paprika 650g calasparra rice 100ml dry white wine 3 cloves garlic chopped 2-2.5L chicken, fish, or vegetable stock 2 lemons sliced in wedges ¼ bunch parsley, chopped 1g saffron threads steeped in 50ml warm water MethodPlace paella pan on a low flame, add a little olive oil, then add onions, garlic, red capsicum and sauté until soft. Add rice, paprika, and stir. Add the wine and allow to evaporate. Add the chopped tomatoes, saffron and season with salt and pepper. Begin adding the stock, allowing to simmer until the stock is absorbed, and continue adding stock until the rice is ¾ cooked. Season the crayfish and fish with salt and pepper and arrange on top of the rice. Cover with foil. Cook for about 10 minutes until fish is cooked. Turn off the heat and allow to rest for about 10 minutes. Garnish with lemon wedges & sprinkle over chopped parsley.
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Christmas Ham
Ingredients 1 leg ham (8-10kg) cloves, to stud rosemary, thyme and bay leaves to garnish Glaze Ingredients 400ml apple cider 140g Dijon mustard 120ml maple syrup 300g brown sugar 3 cinnamon sticks 1 inch piece of ginger, roughly sliced 80ml apple cider vinegar 1 orange zest MethodCarefully remove the skin from the ham and score the fat into diamonds/squares. Stud each square with a whole clove. Combine glaze ingredients in a saucepan & reduce until a syrup consistency. Baste ham with glaze and place in a hot oven 170°C with a tray of water at the base of the oven. Cook for 1.5-2 hours basting regularly until golden and delicious. Garnish with fresh herbs and enjoy hot or cold.
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Christmas Meringue with Berries
Ingredients 200g room temperature egg white 440g caster sugar, powdered in a blender 2 x 70g Wheel&Barrow silver cachous to finish 500g room temperature strawberries, hulled and cut in half 200g fresh or frozen raspberries 50g dark palm sugar, finely grated 1 tsp balsamic vinegar 250g thick pure cream Method Pre-heat oven to 125°C, and cover three baking sheets with baking paper. Fill the mixing bowl with hot water and let it stand for 2-3 minutes, tip out the water and dry the bowl. Whisk the egg whites at high speed until they are very stiff and coming away from the edge of the bowl in clumps, and only then, start adding the sugar a tablespoon at a time until fully incorporated. Continue whipping until the meringue is very stiff and has the appearance of satin fabric. Fill the piping bag and pipe onto the baking tray a 7cm ring, and a 5cm cone, then pipe 8 x 18cm, 6 x 16cm, 5 x 12cm and 5 x 8cm sticks and divide any remaining meringue into more sticks. Gently shake the cachous onto the sticks, rolling the trays from side to side to catch any run-away cachous. Cook for 10 minutes at 125°C, then, without opening the oven door, turn the oven down to 100°C and set a timer for 3 hours. Again without opening the oven door turn the heat off and allow to cool in the oven. The sticks can be made several days in advance and stored in an airtight container in a cool dry place.To FinishPut everything except the cream into a bowl and gently mix together. Put a bit of cream onto the plate to secure the first meringue to the cake stand and continue to assemble the tree shape alternating between fruit and meringue sticks that have been spread with a little cream to secure them. Finish the top with the ring and cone. Any left over sticks can be served as petit fours with coffee.Extra TipsThe two reasons that cooks have trouble with meringue is they take the egg white straight from the fridge and secondly they don’t beat their egg whites long enough before they start adding the sugar. Cooking is chemistry and if you try and dissolve sugar in a glass of ice water it is easy to understand why the egg white needs to be warm and the sugar works better if its powdered. Stale egg white, egg white that has been left at room temperature for three to four days also whips better – scientific fact! Why grams and not a number of eggs? With the eggs available on the market pace egg white size varies as much as 15g from small to jumbo eggs. Also the weight of egg white taken from eggs straight from the fridge is less than from room temperature eggs, so a weight makes very good sense.
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Summer Berry Trifle
Ingredients For the Trifle 2 pkts mini jam rolls 2 punnets fresh strawberries 2 punnets fresh raspberries 1 punnet blueberries 1 pkt frozen mixed berries 1 jar good quality red currant jam 6 sheets leaf gelatine (12g) 600ml cosmopolitan cocktail mix White chocolate cream 500ml milk 45g cornflour 50g sugar 4 egg yolks 1 vanilla bean (optional) 100g good quality white chocolate, chopped 600ml cream, whipped to soft peak MethodFor the jelly, soak gelatine sheets in cold or iced water. Once soft squeeze out excess water. Heat 200ml cosmopolitan cocktail mix and add the gelatine to dissolve. Add the remaining 400ml of cocktail mix with 150ml water. Allow to cool. Line the inside edge of the base of the trifle dish with sliced strawberries. Gently pour in the jelly mix and add chopped strawberries to the jelly mix. Allow to firm in the fridge. Combine 1 punnet raspberries, a handful of blueberries and a packet of frozen mixed berries and add ¾ of the jar of the red currant jam. Mix together and set aside. For the white chocolate cream bring the milk to the boil with the vanilla bean. In a bowl combine the egg yolks, sugar, and cornflour. Gently pour over the hot milk and whisk. Remove the vanilla bean. Pour back into the saucepan and cook over low heat until the mixture thickens. Add the white chocolate and whisk until it has melted. Pour into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap or freezer film directly onto the surface so that a skin does not form. Allow to cool. When cool whisk lightly & gently fold in 1/3 of the softly whipped cream to combine then add the remaining cream. Cover and set aside in the fridge. Cut the jam rolls into 8mm-1cm rounds and place a layer laying flat on the jelly. Gently spoon over about an inch of cream mix. Place a layer of jam roll slices standing up along the inside edge of the bowl resting on the pastry cream. Line the centre with jam rolls laying flat. You will have created a shallow hole. Spoon in the mixed berries, to the top of the layer of jam rolls. Place a fresh raspberry on the jam rolls on the inside of the trifle bowl and then fill with white chocolate cream. Chill and allow to firm up in the fridge before decorating with fresh berries and white chocolate curls.
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Cherry Bombe Alaska
Ingredients 1 jar cherries drained 1 pckt sour cherry pistachio nougat, chopped 1L good quality vanilla icecream 500g cherry sorbet 500g coconut icecream 180g egg whites Pinch of cream of tartar 200g caster sugar 1 round chocolate cake to fit base of pudding mould ~1.5cm thick (use your favourite recipe) Cherry Sorbet 1.5kg fresh cherries 600g sugar 250ml water 1 lemon juice 1 vanilla bean 1 cinnamon stick Coconut Icecream 600ml cream 500ml milk 100g toasted shredded coconut 200g coconut palm sugar (or caster sugar) 12 egg yolks MethodCherry SorbetPit the cherries, purée and set aside. Boil the water and sugar, vanilla bean and cinnamon stick together for 5 mins. Allow to cool. Add the cherries and lemon juice. Strain and churn in an icecream machine or use a KitchenAid Mixer with icecream attachment.Coconut IcecreamBring the milk and cream to the boil with the toasted coconut and sugar. Steep to allow the flavours to develop for about ½ an hour. In a bowl whisk the egg yolks until light and fluffy. Slowly pour in the hot milk and cream and whisk together. Over a double boiler cook the icecream base until it coats the back of the spoon. Strain and cool over a tub of ice. Once cool churn in an icecream machine or use a KitchenAid Mixer with icecream attachment.To AssembleLine the inside of a 2L pudding mould with cling film. Add the churned cherry sorbet mix to cover the bottom third of the mould. Layer with a row of cherries. Allow to firm in the freezer. Once firm add the coconut layer. Freeze. Combine softened vanilla icecream & chopped nougat together then place on top of the coconut icecream layer. Place a disc of chocolate cake to fit the top of the last layer. Freeze. When you are ready to serve, turn out onto a lined oven tray. Whisk the egg whites and the cream of tartar in a bowl until stiff peaks form. Gradually add the sugar and whisk together. Coat the icecream with meringue and place in a hot oven for a few minutes until browned. Serve immediately.
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Xmas Whoopie Cakes
Ingredients 125g butter softened 170g brown sugar 50g honey 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla essence 300g self raising flour ½ tsp bicarbonate soda 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp ground ginger 1 tsp ground mixed spice 160ml milk For The Cream Cheese 125g cream cheese 70g butter softened 170g icing sugar sifted For The Fruit Filling 30g currants 30g raisins chopped 40g toasted slivered almonds 30g prunes chopped 30g dates chopped 30g sultanas chopped 30g cranberries chopped 50g brown sugar Splash or rum, brandy or port 1 lemon zest 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1 orange zest & juice ½ orange strained MethodWhisk together the butter, sugar, honey and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add egg & whisk until combined. Sift together the dry ingredients & fold into the egg mixture alternatively with the milk. Spoon heaped teaspoons into a greased whoopie pan or onto a lined baking tray & bake at 180 °C for 7-10 minutes until golden brown & firm to the touch. Allow to cool completely. For the Cream CheeseWhisk the cream cheese and butter until light & fluffy. Add the icing sugar & whisk until combined.For the Fruit FillingCombine all ingredients together & allow the flavours to develop for as long as possible.To AssembleFold the fruit mix into the cream cheese mix & combine. Spoon into the centre of a whoopie & top with another whoopie. Dust with icing sugar.
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Xmas Cake Pops
IngredientsYour favourite xmas cake or xmas pudding recipe MethodBake in the cake pop mould. Spoon into the silicon cake pop mould and bake for about 8-10 mins, until cooked. Once cool, coat in white chocolate or candy melts and decorate with cake toppers or sprinkles.
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Traditional Christmas Shortbread
Ingredients 125g Rice flour 250g Plain flour 250g Butter 125g caster sugar MethodHeat oven to 150°C. Cream the butter and sugar together. Sift together the flours and fold into the butter. Press into the shortbread mould and smooth the top. Bake in the oven until lightly golden (about 40-45mins). When cool remove from the mould and slice into wedges. Alternatively for the decorated cookies, roll the shortbread dough into a ball and wrap and place in the fridge for ½ hour. Roll out to about 2-3mm thick and using your favourite xmas cutters, cut out shapes. Bake until lightly golden. Cool on a wire rack. Roll out fondant and cut to shape. Stick onto the baked shortbread using sugar syrup or edible glue and decorate with various sprinkles.
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Christmas Mince Pies
IngredientsFor The Fruit Filling (best made 2 weeks before) 40g currants 40g raisins chopped 50g toasted slivered almonds 40g prunes chopped 40g dates chopped 40g sultanas chopped 40g dried apricots diced 50g brown sugar 1 green apple grated Splash or rum, brandy or port Zest of 1 lemon 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1 orange zest & juice ½ orange strained For The Pastry 1 egg 50g Cornflour 140g plain flour Caster sugar 120g unsalted Butter Drop vanilla essence Pinch of salt Method For the Fruit FillingCombine all ingredients together in a bowl and mix well. Transfer to a container and store in the fridge until ready to use, turning each day.For the PastryCream the butter and the sugar until light and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla. Fold in the sifted flours gently until it forms a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill until firm. Heat oven to 160°C, or pre heat your pie maker. Lightly dust your work surface with flour and roll the pastry out to about 2mm thick. Cut into rounds to fit the pie maker/baking tin and then fill the centre with fruit mince. Top with a pastry star and bake in the oven until lightly golden, or in the pie maker until golden. Remove and while hot, brush with eggwhite or milk and sprinkle with a little extra caster sugar.
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