BetterHomesAndGardensAustraliaDecember2015_

52 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS, DECEMBER 2015 bhg.com.au

grandfinale

Boozy fruit mince pie

Preparation time: 30 mins plus

20 mins chilling

Cooking time: 40 mins

Serves 10–12

2 cups plain flour, plus extra to dust

¼ cup icing sugar mixture

150g butter, chopped, chilled

¹⁄³ cup water, chilled

1 egg, beaten

2 Tbsp almond meal

400g fruit mince

1 apple, peeled, coarsely grated

¾ cup flaked almonds

2 Tbsp brandy

Icing sugar, to dust

1 Put flour, icing sugar and butter

in the bowl of a food processor,

processing to combine. Pulse in short

bursts, adding water a little at a time,

until mixture comes together and

resembles breadcrumbs. Shape into

a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and

refrigerate for 20 minutes.

2 Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease

a 22cm loose-bottom fluted pie tart tin.

Cut off ¹⁄³ of the pastry, and set aside.

Roll out larger portion on a lightly

floured surface to 5mm thick, then use

to line tin, trimming 1cm above rim and

folding inwards all the way around.

Brush pastry with a little beaten egg.

3 Roll out reserved pastry and cut

into a 22cm circle to create pie lid.

Using a small snow flake-shaped cutter,

cut out and remove some shapes,

reserving for another use.

4 Sprinkle pastry base with almond

meal. Put fruit mince, apple, almonds,

brandy and most of the remaining egg

in a bowl, stirring with a wooden spoon

to combine. Spoon mixture into pastry

base and smooth down surface. Place

lid on top of filling, firmly pressing

down onto folded edges, trimming to fit.

Brush with remaining egg.

5 Bake for 40 minutes or until pastry

is golden and cooked through. Remove

pie from tin, allow to cool slightly, then

serve dusted with icing sugar.

Malted chocolate sponge

and honeycomb cake

Preparation time: 2 hrs

Cooking time: 1 hr

Serves 20 –25

375g unsalted butter, chopped

softened, plus extra for greasing

2 cups caster sugar

6 large eggs

3 cups plain flour

¼ cup malted milk powder

4 tsp baking powder

Sea-salt flakes, to season

¾ cup natural yoghurt

2 tsp vanilla extract

¼ cup cocoa powder

100g dark chocolate, melted

100ml boiling water

Maltesers, to decorate

HONEYCOMB

Butter, for greasing

1 cup caster sugar

¹⁄³ cup golden syrup

2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

ICING

250g salted butter, softened

5 cups icing sugar

¼ cup malted milk powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

250g cream cheese, softened

GANACHE

100g dark chocolate,

finely chopped

¹⁄³ cup double cream

1 Preheat oven to 180°C. To make

malt sponges, grease 2 x 20cm cake

tins with butter and line bases with

baking paper. Put 200g butter and ½ of

the sugar in the bowl of an electric

mixer and beat until pale and fluffy. Add

3 eggs, one at a time, beating well

between each addition. Sift in ½ of the

flour, malted milk powder, ½ of the

baking powder and pinch of salt, folding

mixture together. Add ½ cup of yoghurt

and vanilla extract, stirring to combine.

Divide mixture among prepared tins,

levelling tops. Bake on middle shelf for

30 minutes or until cooked when tested

with a skewer. Cool for 10 minutes in

tins, then peel off baking paper and

transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Wash tins, ready to use for next step.

2 To make chocolate sponges, grease

and line base of tins as before. Put

remaining butter and sugar in same

bowl of electric mixer (no need to

wash) and beat until pale and fluffy. Add

remaining eggs, one at a time, mixing to

combine. Sift in remaining flour, baking

powder, cocoa and pinch of salt, folding

to combine. Add remaining yoghurt,

melted chocolate and water, stirring to

combine. Divide mixture among

prepared tins and bake for 30 minutes

or until cooked when tested with a

skewer. Cool in tins for 10 minutes, then

peel off baking paper and transfer to

wire rack to cool completely.

3 To make honeycomb, grease an

oven tray with a little butter. Put sugar

and golden syrup in a large saucepan

over a medium heat and allow to

dissolve without stirring. When golden

brown, add bicarb, quickly stirring into

syrup. Pour foaming mixture onto

prepared tray, then set aside for

30 minutes to cool and firm up.

4 To make icing, put butter, ½ of the

icing sugar, malt and vanilla in the bowl

of an electric mixer and beat until

smooth. Add remaining icing sugar and

cream cheese, beating to combine. Don’t

overmix or icing may become runny.

5 Put one of the sponges on a cake

stand or cake board, sticking it down

with a little icing. Alternating between

malt and chocolate sponges and using

¼ of the icing, stack remaining sponges,

putting final sponge on top flat-side up.

Using a palette knife, cover entire cake

with a thin layer of icing, filling any gaps

between sponges. (This is the ‘crumb

coat’ and ensures the final layer is

crumb-free). Put cake in fridge for

30 minutes to firm up icing.

6 Pile remaining icing on top of cake.

Using a palette knife, ease over edge

and down sides to completely cover.

Make icing as smooth or rough as you

like. Chill for another 30 minutes.

Boozy fruit mince pie Malted choc sponge cake

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