BetterHomesAndGardensAustraliaDecember2015_

festivefeast

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1 tsp vanilla bean paste

¼ cup caster sugar

2 egg yolks

1 Tbsp golden syrup

1¼ cups plain flour

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

200g ready-to-roll white icing

¼ cup white chocolate melts,

melted

Silver cachous, to decorate

Edible silver star sprinkles,

to decorate (optional )

1 Put butter, vanilla and sugar

in a large bowl and beat with

electric hand beaters on

medium until light and fluffy.

Add egg yolks and syrup,

beating to combine. Sift in flour

and bicarb, folding until a

smooth dough forms. Turn out

onto a lightly floured surface

and shape into a 2cm thick disc.

Cover with plastic wrap and

refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2 Preheat oven to 180ºC.

Line 2 oven trays with baking

paper. Roll out ½ of dough

between 2 sheets of baking

paper until 5mm thick. Using an

8cm star-shaped cookie cutter,

cut out 12 stars. Using a 5cm

star-shaped cookie cutter, cut

out centres of each. Put hollow

stars on one prepared tray 2cm

apart, and small centre stars on

second prepared tray 2cm apart.

3 Bake for 10 minutesor until

golden and firm to touch. Cool

on trays. Repeat with remaining

dough to make 24 cookies.

Cool completely on trays.

4 Meanwhile,roll out white

icing between 2 sheets of

baking paper to 3mm thick. Cut

out star shapes to fit biscuits.

5 Using a clean artist’s

paintbrush, brush a little

chocolate onto backs of each

icing star and stick to biscuits.

Decorate with cachous and

sprinkles, if desired. Set aside

for 30 minutes to let chocolate

and icing to set. Serve.

Surprise chocolate rum

and raisin truffles

Preparation time: 20 mins

plus 45 mins cooling

Cooking time: 5 mins

Makes 16

¼ cup raisins, finely

chopped

2 Tbsp dark rum

100ml thickened cream

400g dark chocolate,

roughly chopped

200g box Ferrero Rocher

spherical chocolates,

unwrapped

Cocoa powder, to dust

1 Line a baking traywith

baking paper. Put raisins and

rum in a small saucepan over

a low heat and cook, being

careful not to let rum boil, for

30 seconds or until rum is

warm. Set aside for 5 minutes

to infuse raisins.

2 Put creamin another small

saucepan and bring to a simmer

over a low heat. Add chopped

chocolate, then remove from

heat and stir for 2 minutes or

until chocolate has melted and

mixture is smooth. Stir in raisins

and any remaining rum in bowl,

then transfer mixture to a

medium bowl and refrigerate

for15minutes.

3 Using damp hands,shape

1 Tbsp of mixture around one

Ferrero Rocher, rolling until a

ball forms. Set aside on

prepared tray. Repeat with

remaining mixture and Ferrero

Rochers to make 16 truffles.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes or

until chilled. Dust liberally with

cocoa and serve.

Individual ginger and

almond puddings with

chocolate sauce

Preparation time: 15 mins

Cooking time: 1 hour 30 mins

Makes 6

Melted butter, for greasing

80g unsalted butter, chilled,

coarsely grated

¼ cup dark brown sugar,

firmly packed

¼ cup plain flour

¾ cup fresh breadcrumbs

½ cup almond meal

2 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp mixed spice

2 eggs, lightly beaten

50g flaked almonds

100g glacé ginger,

finely chopped

300g raisins

1 green apple, peeled,

coarsely grated

CHOCOLATE SAUCE

150ml thickened cream

100g dark chocolate,

roughly chopped

Vanilla star cookies

(see recipe previous page)

1 Preheat oven to 130ºC.

Grease a 6-hole ¾-cup capacity

Texas muffin tin with melted

butter. Line bases with a disc of

baking paper.

2 To make puddings,put all

pudding ingredients in a large

bowl, stirring to combine.

Spoon mixture into prepared

tin, then top with a single layer

of baking paper. Cover tin

tightly with foil and bake for

1 hour 30 minutes or until

cooked when tested with a

skewer inserted in centres.

Cool in tin for 5 minutes, then

turn out onto a wire rack.

3 Meanwhile,to make

chocolate sauce, put cream in

a small saucepan over a low

heat and bring to a simmer.

Stir in chocolate and remove

from heat. Continue stirring

until chocolate has melted

and mixture is smooth.

4 Put puddingson a serving

plate and drizzle over warm

sauce. Serve garnished with

vanilla star cookies.

Surprise choc rum truffles

Individual ginger puddings

Cook’s tips

Vanilla star cookies

■ Get a head start with

your preparations by

making these in advance.

They will keep, stored in

an airtight container, for

up to two weeks.

■ If you want to turn

these cookies into pops,

just insert confectionary

skewers into each biscuit

prior to baking them.

Photography Andre Martin, styling Jane Collins, Stephanie Souvlis