BetterHomesAndGardensAustraliaDecember2015_

Photography © Immediate Media Ltd, StockFood

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

grandfinale

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7 Meanwhile, to make ganache, put

dark chocolate in a large bowl. Put

cream in a small saucepan and heat

over a medium heat until just

simmering. Pour cream onto chocolate

and set aside for 10 minutes or until

chocolate melts. Stir until glossy, then

set aside to firm up a little. Ganache

should be pourable but not too runny.

8 Spoon ganache over cake,

covering top and encouraging it to

drizzle down sides.

9 Break honeycomb into tall shards

and stack on top of cake. Decorate

top with whole and halved Maltesers,

adding a few around the base with

honeycomb crumbs. Serve.

Tip You can bake the sponges two

days in advance. Once cool, wrap

tightly in plastic wrap and store or

freeze for up to a month. The icing

and honeycomb can also be made in

advance. Store icing in fridge and

take out an hour before using,

beating to bring back to life. Make the

honeycomb up to a week in advance

and store in an airtight container.

Christmas cake

Preparation time: 20 mins

Cooking time: 3 hours, plus

overnight setting

Serves 10

280g butter, chopped, softened,

plus extra to grease

½ cup mixed candied peel, diced

½ cup chopped glacé cherries

2 cups currants

1 cup sultanas

1 cup raisins

3 cups plain flour

2 Tbsp rum or brandy

1 Tbsp treacle

5 eggs

1¼ cups brown sugar

1 tsp ground mixed spice

½ tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 pinch ground cloves

½ tsp fine salt

¾ cup roughly chopped

blanched almonds

Finely grated zest of 1 orange

1 Tbsp orange marmalade

ICING

3 egg whites

4 cups icing sugar mixture

Edible gold and silver flakes,

to decorate

1 Preheat oven to 150°C. Grease

a 20cm round deep cake tin and line

base and sides with baking paper

with paper extending 5cm above rim

of tin. Wrap brown paper around

outside of tin to come 5cm above the

rim and secure with string.

2 Put candied peel, cherries,

currants, sultanas and raisins in a

large bowl. Stir in 1 Tbsp of the

flour to lightly coat fruit.

3 Whisk eggs in a large bowl. Put

alcohol and treacle in a small jug,

mixing to combine. Stir into eggs.

4 Put butter and sugar in the bowl

of an electric mixer and beat on high

until soft and creamy. Gradually add

egg mixture, adding a spoonful of

flour after each addition. Sift in

remaining flour, spices and salt,

mixing well to combine.

5 Add coated fruit, almonds, zest

and marmalade, stirring to combine.

6 Spoon mixture into prepared tin

and bake for 1½ hours. Reduce oven

temperature to 140°C and cook for

a further 1½ hours or until top is

firm and cake is cooked through.

If top is browning too quickly, cover

with double thickness of non-stick

baking paper. Cool cake in tin for

15 minutes, then place on a wire

rack to cool completely.

7 To make icing, put egg whites in

the bowl of an electric mixer and

beat until soft peaks form. Gradually

sift in icing sugar, beating until thick

and glossy. Spread icing all over

cake, swirling into peaks to create a

snowy effect. Sprinkle gold and

silver flakes over the top to decorate,

then leave cake to set overnight

before serving.

Espresso tart with hazelnut

pastry and Kahlúa cream

Preparation time: 30 mins plus

30 mins chilling and 1 hour setting

Cooking time: 25 mins

Serves 8

1 cup plain flour, plus extra

for dusting

½ cup hazelnut meal

2 Tbsp caster sugar

100g chopped butter, chilled

1 egg, separated

1 Tbsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp instant coffee grounds

425ml double cream

200g dark chocolate, chopped

50g butter, softened

2½ Tbsp Kahlúa liqueur

1 Tbsp icing sugar mixture

Cocoa, to dust

1 Put flour, hazelnut and caster

sugar in bowl of a food processor,

pulsing to combine. Add cold butter,

processing until mixture resembles

breadcrumbs. Add egg yolk, pulsing

until rough dough forms (add 1 Tbsp

of very cold water, if needed).

2 Bring dough together with your

hands and knead briefly on a lightly

floured surface. Roll out, then line a

3.5 x 12cm tart tin, leaving some

pastry sticking up over sides of tin.

Put in fridge for 30 minutes.

3 Preheat oven to 190°C. Line

pastry case with baking paper and

uncooked beans or rice and bake for

20 minutes or until just golden.

Remove paper and beans, brush with

egg white and bake for another

5 minutes. Trim off excess pastry

and set aside to cool completely.

4 Meanwhile, put brown sugar,

coffee grounds and 300ml of the

cream in a medium saucepan over

a medium heat and cook until sugar

has dissolved and mixture is hot.

Put chocolate and butter in a large

bowl, then pour espresso mixture over,

stirring until chocolate and butter has

melted. Whisk in 2 Tbsp Kahlúa, then

Christmas cake Espresso tart with Kahlúa