Last time I made a fruit cake, it seemed a little dry. I have adjusted the ingredients a bit and this is what I have come up with. 3 cups mixed fruit 1 cup caster sugar 1 cup water 2 teas mixed spice 160gm butter 2 eggs 1 cup SR flour 1 cup PL flour…
Category: Christmas Cookery
Caramel Balls
1/2 cup pine nuts (90gms) 10 dates pitted (Medjool) (50gms) 1/2 teas vanilla or vanilla extract 1/4 teas dessicated coconut (22gms) Place pinenuts into food processor and process until fine. Add dates and vanilla. Process until well combined. Place the coconut on a flat rounded plate. Roll the teaspoon into balls and roll into coconut….
Nuts and Bolts
805 gm packet Nutra-grain 750 gm Nobby’s Salted peanuts 2 cups Peanut Oil 3 packets French Onion Soup 6 teaspoons curry powder Place Nutra-grain and nuts in a large bowl and mix well. Set aside. Place soup mix, curry powder and oil in smaller bowl. Whisk until mixed well. Mix the soup mix into the…
Rum Balls
2 cups Sultanas 20 Weetbix 1 cup Coconut 6 tabs Cocoa 2 tins Condensed Milk 1 cup Bundy Rum extra Coconut for rolling Place Sultanas and Rum in container and leave overnight. Mix all ingredients together (not the extra coconut) Cover in fridge for 1/2 hour Shape and Roll in Coconut
Apricot and Almond Balls
At last we are settling into our own home. And now it is also time to start prep for Christmas . I love Christmas ! Today I made these Apricot Balls and added some almonds for something a little different. They are wonderful. 500gm dried Apricots 1 can of Condensed Milk 2 1/2 cups of…
Christmas Vanilla Sugar Cookies
225gm/1cup unsalted butter softened (or use salted and skip the salt addition) 220gm/1cup caster sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 1 large egg 450gm (3 cups) plain flour 3/4 teaspoons baking powder 3/4 tablespoons salt ICING Icing Sugar Butter Hot water Food Colouring Preheat oven to 180C / 350F / 160Fan and line two baking trays…
Custard Apple Egg Nog
2 medium Custard Apples 2 cups Milk 3 Egg Yolks 2 tablespoons Honey Blend or process Custard Apples until smooth, strain Heat Milk in a saucepan, bring to boil, remove from heat Whisk in the Egg Yolk and Honey, stir constantly over low heat WITHOUT boiling until mixture is slightly thickened Stir in the Custard…
Christmas Chocolate Ripple Wreath – NO BAKE
Add this Chocolate Ripple Wreath to your Christmas table. Assemble the day before with biscuits and cream, then just decorate on the day. I have made this one a couple of times, and it definitely provides the wow factor ! Ingredients 4 cups thickened cream 2 tablespoons icing sugar 1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange rind…
Kid Friendly Egg Nog
Kids like to enjoy an egg nog as well. Here is a basic recipe, it is ready for any adaptation that the kids might like. This recipe is enough for 6 servings. 4 egg yolks 2 1/2 cups ice cold milk 1/3 cups Caster Sugar 1 cup Whipping Cream 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla extract Place…
Eggnog so many choices
Eggnog, is a rich, chilled, sweetened, dairy-based beverage. It is traditionally made with milk, cream, sugar, whipped egg whites, and egg yolks (which gives it a frothy texture, and its name). In some contexts, distilled spirits such as brandy, rum, whisky or bourbon are added to the drink. Throughout Canada and the United States, eggnog is traditionally consumed over the Christmas season, from late October until the end of the holiday season….
Rum and Coke Christmas Ham thanks to #4 for the recipe.
1/4 cup Bundy Rum 500gm jar black cherry preserve 700ml Coke 400gm brown sugar 100gm fresh cherries pitted and halved extra whole cherries to serve Peel and Juice of 1 orange 2 teaspoons ground mixed spice 7kg whole leg ham on the bone Glaze Place all ingredients, except the ham in a saucepan over medium…
Classic Roast Turkey with Forcemeat Stuffing
More ‘retro’ recipes. So many turkey recipes result in a very disappointing dry piece of meat. Not this one, so moist and full of flavour that comes through from the stuffing. Serve with roast vegetables and a full flavour gravy made from the juices. Mouth-watering !! 4.5kg of whole turkey 250ml water 80gm butter melted…
Christmas Cake
Everything is going retro these days, here is a Retro Christmas Cake recipe with an old fashioned Icing recipe to boot. I usually make a boiled fruit cake around Christmas time and bake with almonds on the top. Thinking about it, I make the same boiled cake all year round. This retro recipe is full…
Creamy Christmas Caramel Fudge
This is an adaptation of the old fashioned Caramel Fudge. Making the fudge in the microwave reduces the time taken and also there is not the usual big mess when cooking fudge. The end result, however, is very much the same. Enjoy ! 2 x 395g cans NESTLÉ Sweetened condensed milk 2 cups firmly packed…
Another Christmas Centrepiece
Puff pastry is great for parties. There are so many things that you can do with it. It is reasonably priced and ready to go. 1kg small cheerios (little red sausages) 1 packet of puff pastry. Sauce, cheese, jam or your choice of flavour if using. Break off individual sausages. Thaw some puff pastry and…
Christmas Trifle – NO BAKE
Christmas is a time for a trifle, no matter where you are celebrating. We celebrate in the middle of summer and it usually very hot and spent inside in the airconditioned rooms. A white Christmas is something that everyone needs to experience once. It is just magical. To make you trifle, you will need to…
An excellent Christmas Table Centrepiece
Puff Pastry / Croissant Christmas Tree You can make these sweet or savoury. Personally, the savoury one is the one for me, but here are a few different recipes for the filling. You can use however many sheets of puff pastry as you want, depending on the height of the tree that you are after….
Easy Mini Quiches-Perfect for Christmas
Bacon and Egg quiches, muffins, pies and pies are always a big hit. These mini quiches are an excellent finger food or addition to the dinner plate. These are another one that you can add different flavours and spices to alter the taste and give an assortment of quiches. 3 eggs 4 rashers of bacon,…
Cheese Logs for Christmas
Yet another recipe that can be changed to suit your taste buds with different cheeses, vegetables, pickles and spices. It would be easy to make a sweet one with chopped dried fruit and nuts as well. Let me see what I can come up with. Savoury Cheese Log 250g cream cheese 250g cheddar cheese, grated…
Time to start Christmas Cooking
Not long now ’til Christmas, finally, the borders will be open (maybe) and we will all be able to catch up with family and friends. 2020 has been such a trying year, but we have got through it and let’s hope that 2011 will be better for us all. Here is something that you can…
Rumballs Specialty
Rumballs – My famous Rumballs certainly have a kick ! 2 cups of Sultanas Bottle of Bundaberg Rum (‘cos we are Queenslander’s and it does taste the best) 12 Weetbix crumbled 1 cup Coconut dessicated 3 tabs cocoa 1 tin Sweetened Condensed Milk Extra Coconut for rolling Place sultanas in dish, pour in enough rum…
Christmas Cherry Pom Poms
I have made these for a couple of years now. I usually put some cherry brandy in mine. 150gms red cherries 1 cup condensed milk 6 cups dessicated coconut 6 tabs cherry brandy (or as much as you want to suit your taste) 600gm dark chocolate Place red cherries, condensed milk, coconut, and brandy in…
Old English Christmas Tarts
Old English Christmas Tarts 1/3 cup Butter 1/2 cup Brown Sugar 1 Egg 1/2 cup Chopped Walnuts 1 cup Raisins Pinch Salt Vanilla Essence Sheets of short crust pastry cut into pie shapes. For Icing 1 1/2 cups soft icing mixture 25gm butter 1 tab Milk 1pkt red/green glace cherries Melt butter and sugar over…
White Christmas
White Christmas 3 cups Rice Bubbles 1 cup sultanas/mixed fruit 1 cup dessicated coconut 1 cup dry powdered milk 3/4 cup sifted icing sugar 225gm copha drop of vanilla essence Place Rice Bubbles, Mixed Fruit, Coconut, Powdered Milk, Icing Sugar, and essence in bowl. Melt copha in saucepan on low heat, add to dry mixture….
Chocolate, Fruit and Nut Logs
Chocolate, Fruit and Nut Logs 250g shortbread biscuits 1/2 cup Milk CHOC BITS 1/2 cup White CHOC BITS 1 cup fruit medley 3/4 cup shelled pistachio kernels, roughly chopped 3/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped 395g can Sweetened Condensed Milk 185g White Melts, roughly chopped 60g butter Crush biscuits to fine crumbs in a food processor….
White Chocolate Truffles
White Chocolate Truffles 2 x 180g pkts white chocolate, chopped 1/2 cup (125ml) thickened cream 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier liqueur 2 x 180g pkts white chocolate, extra Vegetable oil, to brush Silver leaf, to decorate (see note) Place chocolate, cream and Grand Marnier in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan half-filled with simmering water (ensure…
Christmas will soon be here, this year has gone past so quickly.
It will be Christmas before we know it! Now is the time to get in and start making those little extras, You know those ones that you can pull out of the freezer when someone arrives unexpectedly full of Christmas cheer. I always like to have these little Christmas Bikkies ready to go. Have fun…
5 minute Christmas Fudge
Creamy 5 minute Fudge 1/4 cup Butter cut into small pieces 1 14-oz can Condensed milk 1/4 teaspoon salt 3 cups chocolate chips at room temperature 1 teaspoon Vanilla How to Make Fudge in Microwave Place the chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk and butter in a glass bowl. Microwave for thirty seconds and stir. (If…
Uncle Victor’s Christmas Cake.
This is one of the best cakes ever, super healthy and tasty. As you will see, it is mainly fruit and nuts and a small amount of mixture to hold it together, probably should be called the Fruit and Nut Cake 3 x 75 gm packets brazil nuts 2 x 125 gm packets blanched almonds…
Christmas Dinner with Special Friends
Last night we had a lovely dinner, great wine and champagne, and the best of company. Thanks to Bjarne and Paul who joined Jim and Myself for a Christmas Dinner at our house. The recipes I used are below and so good, they will be great for many Christmas Dinner’s to come. In the Baked…