The Cook Book » Sweets/Deserts

Pineapple and Passionfruit (Fridge Set) Tart Recipe

Clair — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 06:46:54 +0000

This pineapple and passionfruit tart recipe reminds me so much of my childhood. It is a little retro (think prawn cocktail era), and mum used to make it quite often when she had a dinner party, and was quite proud of it too! If we behaved ourselves whilst the guests were there, we were allowed to have a little piece, so it was a definite treat for us!

There is no baking involved, the only thing that you need to factor in is the time to let it set in the fridge (best left overnight before serving).

Pineapple and Passionfruit (Fridge Set) Tart Recipe Ingredients

2/3 packet (150g) plain sweet biscuits (Nice, Arrowroot, Marie or Wheatmeal Biscuits), crushed finely
90g butter, melted
1 tin sweetened condensed milk (I use Nestle brand, tin size 395g)
1 tin crushed pineapple (I use Golden Circle brand, tin size 450g)
4 passionfruit pulp
3/4 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
2 tbsp warm/hot water
1 tsp powdered gelatine

Pineapple and Passionfruit (Fridge Set) Tart Recipe Method

Mix together the biscuit crumbs and melted butter and press into the base and sides of a 25cm diametre (3cm high rim) round pie plate or loose bottomed flan tin.

Add the gelatine to the hot water and stir briskly to dissolve. In a bowl mix remaining ingredients, then pour in dissolved gelatine and liquid and stir.

Pour mixture into prepared base and allow to set in the fridge overnight. Serve with fresh berries and cream (although it is perfectly good on its own!).

Easy Traditional Christmas Pudding Recipe

Clair — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 22:43:16 +0000

This is a great traditional Christmas pudding recipe, and is quite quick and easy to make (although steaming the Christmas pudding will take some time), with no fiddly steps involved.

It has been adapted from Stephanie Alexander’s grandmother’s (Emily Bell) recipe, and is absolutely delicious. I find that the fruit content is just right, and the grated apple and almonds balance the richness in the finished Christmas pudding.

Makes enough mixture to fill a 2 litre pudding basin (I use 1 x 1 litre, 1 x 500ml and 2 x 250ml pudding basins, as I give some for gifts), which should serve around 8-12 people.

Easy Traditional Christmas Pudding Recipe Ingredients

135g plain flour
135g brown sugar
135g fresh breadcrumbs
270g raisins
270g currants
135g sultanas
100g candied peel (also marketed as mixed peel)
250g butter, grated
Grated zest 1 lemon
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Large pinch salt
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup brandy
450ml milk
1 granny smith apple, peeled and grated
1/3 cup slivered almonds (or roughly chopped macadamias)

Easy Traditional Christmas Pudding Recipe Method

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and brown sugar together. Add breadcrumbs, raisins, currants, sultanas and candied peel. Stir thoroughly to coat fruit in flour mixture (this will help stop it sinking to the bottom of the pudding).

Add all remaining ingredients and stir thoroughly to distribute evenly. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and stand overnight in the fridge to allow the fruit to absorb the liquid and plump up.

Taste the pudding mixture and adjust the flavourings if necessary; if you prefer a ‘spicier’ pudding, add more cinnamon/nutmeg etc.

Trace the top rim of each pudding basin onto baking/greaseproof paper, and cut out the circles (slightly smaller than your tracing). Grease the pudding basins well with butter, then pack the Christmas pudding mixture into the pudding basins and fill almost to the top. Top the puddings with the circles of baking/greaseproof paper, ensuring the paper fits quite snuggly on top of the pudding mixture.

Cover the tops of the pudding basins with foil, then trim the excess foil using scissors (don’t use your best kitchen scissors for this, as cutting foil will blunt the scissor edge). Tie the foil securely around the rim of the pudding basins with kitchen twine/string/wool.

Place the pudding basins in a large saucepan/stockpot (with a lid) and fill with enough water to come 2/3 of the way up the sides of the pudding basins. Place on the heat and bring to the boil with the lid on. Allow to simmer for 4-6 hours, topping up the water level every hour or so. You might like to place an old small tea towel or something similar under the pudding basins while they are cooking in the saucepan/stockpot, as they can make a rattling sound.

Once cooked, remove from the saucepan/stockpot and allow to cool. Refrigerate until Christmas. These puddings keep very well, I usually make the 4-8 weeks in advance, but I have even had one after about 8 months in the fridge and it was fine!

One Christmas day (or whenever you serve it), boil again, following the steps above, for about 1 hour or so until hot. Turn out onto a serving plate and flame with brandy. To ensure that the brandy flames, warm it gently first, pour quickly onto the pudding, then light.

Serve with brandy butter, icecream or (my personal favourite) white sauce spiked with brandy.

Easy Pecan Pie Recipe – A Perfect Way to Finish Thanksgiving Dinner

Clair — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 04:09:13 +0000

Thanksgiving is not traditionally celebrated in Australia, however we certainly enjoy this simple desert. A crisp pie base with a delicious sweet and nutty pecan filling… just makes you want to celebrate! This recipe doesn’t contain any corn or glucose syrups, as I find these make the finished pie too sweet and overpowering.

Pecan Pie Pastry Recipe Ingredients

240g plain flour
Pinch salt
180g butter, grated
3 tbsp water

Pecan Pie Filling Recipe Ingredients

1 cup pecans, roughly chopped
2 tbsp cornflour
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
60g butter, melted
2 tbsp cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup pecans, extra
2 tbsp apricot or raspberry jam, warmed and sieved

Pecan Pie Recipe Method

Sift the flour and salt together onto a clean bench. Add the grated butter and lightly rub the flour and butter together between your finger tips and thumb tips (you don’t want it to be completely combined at this stage, it should be quite messy).

Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and add water. Using a butter knife cut the water into the flour so that it is partially combined. If it looks too crumbly, add another tablespoon of water and cut the water into the mixture again.

Quickly knead the mixture a couple of times to bring all ingredients together (just a few times – don’t over work the pastry). Wrap pastry in cling wrap and then refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour. You could also put the pastry in the freezer if you want to make it in advance; it will last a couple of weeks (just make sure it is well wrapped in cling wrap).

Preheat oven to 200°C. Thoroughly grease a 28cm diametre pie dish with butter.

Pull your pastry out of the fridge and roll out onto a well floured surface (to stop it sticking) to 1/2 cm thick. Roll the pastry around your rolling pin, then gently unroll over the greased pie dish. Smooth down the pastry in the dish, removing any air bubbles trapped under the surface.

Place a piece of non stick baking paper over the top of the pastry and fill with pie weights, rice or beans (you can keep approx 1kg rice or beans for this purpose in your cupboard and reuse every time a recipe calls for ‘blind baking’ pastry; just make sure you label the rice/beans clearly as you can’t cook them after they have been blind baked).

Blind bake pastry in oven for approx 10-15 minutes until top edge of pastry starts to colour. Once top edge of pastry has started to colour, remove rice/beans and baking paper and bake pastry for a further 5-10 minutes until golden all over. Turn down the oven to 160°C.

Combine chopped nuts and cornflour in a mixing bowl. Add sugar, butter, cream, extract and eggs; stir until combined. Pour the mixture into pastry shell, sprinkle with extra nuts.

Bake in the oven for approximately 45 minutes. Allow the pie to cool, then brush the top with the warmed jam.

Thanksgiving is celebrated on the 2nd Monday of October in Canada and the 4th Thursday of November in the USA.

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Quick & Easy Orange Cupcake Recipe

Clair — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 06:43:34 +0000

This has got to be the quickest, easiest cupcake recipe ever! Use a food processor or large blender and you can literally have these cupcakes in the oven in 5 minutes, perfect if you want to play the domestic god/goddess, without the hassle.

I have made these cupcakes for birthdays, baby showers and Easter celebrations (with different cupcake decorations), and they always go down a treat. See below for cupcake decorating ideas. The below recipe will make approximately 12-15 standard size cupcakes, however the recipe doubles/triples quite well.

Quick & Easy Orange Cupcake Recipe Ingredients

1 large orange, zested and juiced
125g butter, softened
120g caster sugar
225g self raising flour
2 large eggs

Quick & Easy Orange Cupcake Recipe Method

Preheat oven to 180°C and line a 12 hole muffin tin with cupcake cases/liners (you can order some lovely cupcake cases for many different types of occasions from cake decorating suppliers).

Place butter, eggs, sugar, flour, orange juice and zest into a food processor. Process together for 2-3 minutes until smooth. Spoon mixture into cupcake cases/liners, they should be two thirds full. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes until golden, rotating the tin once during cooking. When tested with a skewer, the skewer should come out clean.

Remove from the oven, allow to cool for 5 minutes in the tin, then remove from the tin and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Quick & Easy Orange Icing Recipe Ingredients

1 1/2 cups pure icing sugar, sifted
1 tsp butter
1 small orange, zested and juiced

Quick & Easy Orange Icing Recipe Method

Sift the icing sugar into a medium bowl. Add the butter and the orange zest, and ‘smoosh’ the butter and zest into the icing sugar with the back of a spoon (doesn’t need to be perfect). Add the orange juice, a little at a time, stirring well after each addition, until the icing is a spreadable consistency (you may not need all of the orange juice). Spread icing onto cooled cupcakes and allow a few minutes to dry.

Cupcake Decoration Ideas

Easter Cupcakes

Ice the cupcakes as per instructions above and then place a small fluffy chicken (available from most craft suppliers and newsagencies) on top. Alternatively decorate the cupcakes with small pastel coloured chocolate easter eggs.

Baby Shower Cupcakes

Make the icing as per above, leaving out the orange zest. Tint the icing with a few drops of food colouring; baby blue, soft pink, mint green and baby yellow all look lovely. Top each cupcake with a small edible silver ball (called dragees in America and cachous in Australia) and place on an attractive platter.

Wedding Party Cupcakes

Make the icing as per above, leaving out the orange zest. Tint the icing with a few drops of food colouring in the theme colours of the wedding (very pale pink/yellow looks great). Arrange the cupcakes on a two or three tiered cake board (you can hire or purchase these from cake decorating suppliers), then decorate with a few fresh flower buds in between each cupcake and a larger posy in the centre of the top tier.

Top 5 Smoothies: Number 1 Banana, Honey and Wheatgerm Smoothie Recipe

Clair — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 23:30:28 +0000

With the wheatgerm for carbohydrate, the milk and yoghurt for calcium and protein, and the banana a serve of fruit, this smoothie makes a great way to start the day. If you don’t have any wheatgerm, just leave it out.

Banana, Honey and Wheatgerm Smoothie Recipe Ingredients

1 ripe banana, chopped roughly
1 tsp honey
1 tbsp wheatgerm
1 tbsp yoghurt
200ml milk (you could use full cream, skim or soy milk)

Banana, Honey and Wheatgerm Smoothie Recipe Method

Place ingredients into a blender or into the stick blender cup and whizz until smooth (doesn’t get much easier than that for instant breakfast!).

Top 5 Smoothies: Number 2 Strawberry and Yoghurt Smoothie Recipe

Clair — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 23:30:22 +0000

Strawberries and yoghurt go almost as well together as strawberries and cream (and yoghurt is certainly a bit better for you!), and this smoothie makes a delicious treat. If strawberries aren’t in season, then you could substitute frozen strawberries.

Strawberry and Yoghurt Smoothie Recipe Ingredients

1/2 cup strawberries
1 tbsp strawberry yoghurt
1 tsp honey
200ml milk (you could use full cream, skim or soy milk)

Strawberry and Yoghurt Smoothie Recipe Method

Place ingredients into a blender or into the stick blender cup and whizz until smooth.

Top 5 Smoothies: Number 3 Mixed Berry Smoothie Recipe

Clair — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 23:30:02 +0000

Even when not in season, you can purchase frozen berries relatively cheaply to make this delicious smoothie. Frozen berries cool down the smoothie, making it the perfect summer breakfast on a hot day.

Mixed Berry Smoothie Recipe Ingredients

1/2 cup mixed frozen berries (such as strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries etc)
1 tbsp yoghurt
200ml milk (you could use full cream, skim or soy milk)
1 tsp honey

Mixed Berry Smoothie Recipe Method

Place ingredients into a blender or into the stick blender cup and whizz until juicy and combined. If you have any mixture left, or if you want you can make extra, then freeze left over smoothie mixture in ice block moulds.

Top 5 Smoothies: Number 4 Mango and Coconut Smoothie Recipe

Clair — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 23:30:21 +0000

I remember drinking a smoothie similar to this in a cafe at breakfast on the beach at Palm Cove (in tropical North Queensland near Cairns; think hot sunny days, blue water etc). I have tried to recreate it, but somehow it is never the same… possibly something to do with the location?

Anyway, this smoothie has a great tropical flavour, and is perfect in hot weather. It is also dairy free, so it is a great option for those who are lactose intolerant.

Mango and Coconut Smoothie Recipe Ingredients

1 mango, skin and seed removed, flesh roughly chopped
1/2 banana, roughly chopped
1 tsp honey
200ml coconut cream or milk (cold from fridge)

Mango and Coconut Smoothie Recipe Method

Top 5 Smoothies: Number 5 Watermelon and Pineapple Smoothie Recipe

Clair — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 23:30:36 +0000

Smoothies are the ultimate fast food fix; roughly chop the ingredients, add to a blender or cup, whizz and it is done. In an instant you have breakfast, morning tea or an after school/work snack made, which makes it perfect for the “I’m hungry mum” chorus.

I use a stick blender to whizz up smoothies (Braun Multiquick, the stainless steel version), I have had it forever, and it does the job just perfectly.

This watermelon and pineapple smoothie is non dairy, so perfect for those with a lactose intolerance, and is a great way to get an extra serve of fruit each day (with the fibre).

Watermelon and Pineapple Smoothie Recipe Ingredients

1/3 cup fresh pineapple (fibrous core removed), roughly chopped
2/3 cup fresh seedless watermelon, roughly chopped

Watermelon and Pineapple Smoothie Recipe Method

Place ingredients into a blender or into the stick blender cup and whizz until juicy and combined. You can freeze left over smoothie mixture in ice block moulds.

Easy Date, Nut and Lemon Slice Recipe

Clair — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 04:39:04 +0000

This is a quick and easy recipe, perfect for when friends drop in for afternoon tea or when you are asked to “bring a plate”.

Date, Nut & Lemon Slice Recipe Ingredients

2 eggs
1/2 cup caster sugar
3 tsp butter, melted
1 tbsp water
1 & 1/4 cups self raising flour
185g pitted dates, roughly chopped
3/4 cup walnuts or pecans, roughly chopped
3 cups icing sugar
3 tsp butter
4 tbsp lemon juice
Finely grated rind of 1/2 lemon

Date, Nut & Lemon Slice Recipe Method

Preheat your oven to 180ºC. Grease a lamington tin (I use one approx 20cm x 10cm x 3cm) well with butter and line with baking paper.

Beat the eggs and sugar using an electric mixer until thick and mousse like. Combine melted butter and water, add to egg mixture and beat for a further minute. Stir in flour, dates and nuts and mix to combine. Spoon mixture into lamington tin. Bake for 20-30 minutes until cooked (slice should be slightly springy to touch). Remove from the oven and allow to cool in tin.

Meanwhile, mix together icing sugar, butter, lemon juice and rind until smooth. The icing should be the consistency of slightly thickened pouring cream (you may need less/more of the lemon juice). Once the slice has cooled completely, ice with the icing and allow to set.

Cut the slice into long fingers and serve. The slice will keep for up to 2 days in an airtight container.