Recipes - Part 7

Sesame Seed Nibbles

125g butter
1/2 cup white or raw sugar
2 Tablespoons honey
125g sesame seeds
1/2 cup peanuts
1/2 cup coconut
3 cups rice bubbles

Combine butter, sugar and honey in a saucepan, stir over low heat until sugar dissolves, then bring to the boil, boil gently for 5 minutes.
Remove from heat, add all remaining ingrdients and mix well. Spread evenly over greased scone slide, bake in moderate oven for 3 minutes. Break into pieces when cold or cut into small slices.

Caramel Peanut Popcorn

1/2 cup popping corn
2 Tablespoons oil
125g butter
2 Tablespoons honey
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup peanuts

Heat oil in large saucepan or frypan. Add corn, place lid on pan, shake pan continually until popping ceases. Place popcorn into large bowl.
Combine honey, sugar and butter inseparate pan, stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. bring to the boil, boil uncovered for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, add peanuts to syrup, then pour over popped corn. Mix until corn is well coated. Pour quickly onto a greased oven tray. Cool.

Cherry Nut Squares

250g dark chocolate
90g copha
250g glace cherries
1 cup cocnut
250g unsalted cashew nuts

Place chopped chocolate and copha into top of a double saucepan. stir over simmering water until melted. Pour quarter of chocolate mixture into greased and greased paper-lined 18cm slab tin. Sprinkle cherries, coconut and cashew nuts evenly over chocolate. Pour remaining chocolate over top. Refrigerate until set. Cut into squares.

Honeycomb

1 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon white vinegar
1 cup golden syrup
1 Tablespoon bicarbonate of soda

Place sugar, golden syrup and vinegar in a large saucepan and stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Continue cooking, without stirring, until a little of the mixture dropped into cold water separates into hard brittle threads that snap easily. Remove from heat and stir in the bicarbonate of soda. The mixture will immediately bubble up. Pour into a shallow, greased tin about 23cm square and place tin on a wire rack to cool. When quite cold, break into pieces. Store in layers in a tin with a tight fitting lid, putting sheets of foil between each of the layers.

Soft Fudge

125g plain milk chocolate
1/4 cup evaporated milk
50g butter
3 cups icing sugar

Lightly grease a 20cm square tin. Break up the chocolate. Put in top of a double boiler. Add butter and melt over gently simmering water. Take it off the heat, stir in evaporated milk. Sift in icing sugar, mix it all well. Press it all evenly into the tin, put in the fridge until set, cut into small squares.

Peppermint Creams

1 egg white
3 Tablespoons thick cream
3 cups icing sugar
Few drops of peppermint essence
Green food colouring (if desired)

Separate the egg white into a bowl, add cream and beat together slightly with a fork or egg beater.
Stir in half the icing sugar, beating well with a spoon until smooth, add peppermint essence, then rest of icing sugar (you will probably need to finish the mixing with your hands). Sprinkle a board with icing sugar, turn out the mixture and roll it flat.
Cut circles with a medicine cup or liquer glass, or cut with a knife into nice shapes.
Lay them carefully onto some greasproof paper on a plate to harden for 4 hours.
Note: Before rolling out, all or half the mixture can be tinted pale green for cool looking mints.
For chocolate coated creams: With a skewer, dip hardened mints into 125g dark chocolate which has been melted in a double saucepan.

Turkish Delight

60g gelatine
1 cup cold water
1 1/2 cups boiling water
4 cups white sugar
1 Tablespoon rose water (from the chemist or continental delicatessen)
Red food colouring
1/2 cup icing sugar, sifted

Soak the gelatine in the cold water in a bowl for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, boil 1 1/2 cups water in a deep saucepan, then sift in the white sugar until it has dissolved.
Add the soaked gelatine and stir until it has melted.
Bring the mixture to boiling point and boil for 10 minutes.
Take saucepan off the stove, add rose water and colouring.
Pour mixture into a shallow wetted dish and leave overnight.
Cut turkish delight into long strips with a knife dipped in icing sugar, then snip into squares with scissors and roll in icing sugar.
Note: Don't put turkish delight in the fridge as it will turn sticky.

Christmas Damper from Australia

2 cups Self Raisin Flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 Tablespoon butter
1 cup milk or water (enoughto make a medium or soft dough)
1 teaspoon of bicarbonate soda

Rub the butter into the flour. Knead. Mould into a Christmassy shape - a wreath, or a star. Bake in hot oven. Cook for 20 minutes until brown. Serve with butter and jam, honey or golden syrup

Mini Christmas Pavlovas

4 egg whites
1 cup castor sugar
Fresh fruit: cherries, pineapple, grapes, strawberries, kiwi fruit and banana (chopped)
600ml fresh cream, whipped with icing sugar and vanilla essence
Icing sugar for dusting
Lime and strawberry topping (optional)
Mint leaves for garnish)

Grease a large flat oven tray and sprinkle with cornflour, shaking off excess.
Beat egg whites in a clean bowl with electric mixer until stiff. Gradually add castor sugar and beat well between each addition, beating until stiff and shiny.
Place large dollops of mixture onto prepared tray, making 6 - 8 individual pavs.
Bake in a slow oven 100 to 120C, for approximately 30 - 40 minutes or until pavs are firm and dry to the touch.
Turn oven off and leave door ajar, allowing pavs to cool in the oven.
(Pavs can be cooked the day before, or several days ahead and stored in an airtight container).
Just before serving, place on individual serving plates and decorate with whipped cream and fresh fruit.
With the topping in plastic squeeze bottles, drizzle the green and red topping down the sides of the pavs so it runs onto the plate.
Serving Suggestion: Place a mint leaf on top and dust with icing sugar.