Christmas coconut bark.
Ingredients:
1 cup coconut butter.
2/3 cup extra virgin coconut oil, melted.
1 tbsp. pure maple syrup or honey.
1/3 cup preservative-free shredded coconut.
1/3 cup pistachios, shelled and roughly chopped.
1/3 cup preservative-free cranberries,
Roughly chopped.
- In a blender or food processor combine coconut butter, coconut oil and maple syrup or honey until well combined.
- Spread thinly approx. ½ cm onto a lined slice tin. Sprinkle with shredded coconut, pistachios and cranberries and gently push these toppings into the unset coconut base. Transfer to refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until set. Once set, break into pieces and store in an air-tight container in refrigerator until ready to eat.
- Variations: add orange zest tot opting. Add additional maple, syrup or honey if you like things extra sweet. And vanilla powder to coconut mixture.
- TIPS – you can purchase coconut butter from health food stores.
- Makes 20 pieces: preparation: 10 min, + 1 hour setting.
BBQ Salmon and summer salsa.
INGREDIENTS:
4 salmon fillets.
1 lge ripe mango, peeled and diced.
1 lge ripe avocado, seed removed and diced.
¼ small red onion, finely diced.
¼ cup fresh coriander, shopped.
Juice of 1 lime.
- Prepare salsa by getting mixing together all ingredients in a bowl. Set aside and keep cool.
- Heat bbq or grill and cook salmon fillets for 3-4 minutes each side or until cooked to liking. Serve salmon with side of salsa.
- Tip- apricots, peaches or nectarines can be substituted for plums. For a great addition, grill halved limes, flesh side down on bbq for 1 minute. Serve on side for a juicy squeeze over your dish.
- Serves 4. Preparation: 10 min. cooking time: 10 min.
Brandy Fruitcake.
Ingredients:
Brandy soaked fruit.
150 g sultanas.
150 g dates.
150 g glace cherries.
120 g currants.
120 g raisins.
60 g prunes.
90 g brandy.
Substitute dried fruit depending on your preference.
CAKE: 300 g the real bread mix produced by Springhill farm.
300 g butter.
300 g brown sugar
1 ½ tsp cinnamon.
6 eggs.
Optional: 110 g almonds.
SOAKING THE FRUIT: roughly chop the larger pieces of fruit. Mix together the dried fruit and brandy. Transfer mix to a container with a well-fitting lid. Invert the container every now and then to ensure an even distribution of brandy. Let the fruit soak up the brandy for at least 1 day. The fruit mix can be kept like this for a couple of weeks.
MAKING THE CAKE: Turn oven on to 35 degree C. line the base and sides of a 20 cm round tin with 2 layers of baking paper. Put the fruit into a large mixing bowl and sprinkle it with cinnamon. Stir to combine. Sprinkle the bread mix over the fruit and gently stir the mix to ensure an even coating of flour on the fruit. Melt the butter. Add the sugar to the butter and stir to combine. Add eggs to the butter/sugar mix and use fork to whisk the mixture until it is uniform. Pour the eggs/butter mix over the fruit/flour mix and gently stir to combine. Pour the mix into baking tin and smooth the top of the cake. Put the cake tin in the oven and bake for approximately 3-3.5 hours. Bring the cake out of the oven and put it on a cooling rack. Drape a clean tea towel over the top and let the cake cool. When cool wrap the cake on plastic cling wrap and store somewhere cool and dark until it is needed.
Preparation: 20 min. cooking time – 3 – 3/5 hrs.
Brandy balls.
Ingredients:
600 g gluten-free fruit cake.
90 g brandy (or other liquor) the amount of brandy is 15 % of the weight of the cake.
150 g white chocolate. (The amount of chocolate needed is approximately 25% of the weight of the cake).
Red and green glace cherries (or a red and green lolly snake) thinly sliced for decoration.
- Line a tray with baking paper. Cut the cake into small pieces and transfer to a mixing bowl. Pour the brandy over the cake and stir until well combined. Take an approximately 25g of the mix, roll it into a ball and transfer to the baking tray. Repeat with the remaining brandy/cake mix.
- Melt the white chocolate in a suitable container. Transfer chocolate to a piping bag fitted with a size 1 nozzle or to a re-sealable plastic sandwich bag. If using the plastic cut a little bit of a corner away so that you can pipe the chocolate. Working quickly pipe the chocolate over the brandy balls so that it is on top but also falls down the sides. When all balls have chocolate on them lift the tray off the bench (2cm) and drop it back to the bench.
- By dropping the tray the chocolate will smooth out if it is still molten and appears to be dripping. Top each ball with pieces of red and green cherries.
- Refrigerate until firm. Transfer to a sealed container and store in the fridges. Bring them out of the fridge 30 minutes before serving.
BY SANGITA MAITY
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