We have been on a bit of a pizza kick at work. I am happy to say I have never been off my pizza kick. Always loved it, always will. I have a fantastic pizza stone that is unrivalled. It is ceramic with tunnels running from front to back and seems to produce a superior product. (Or maybe I’m just a damn fine pizza cook!) Anyhoo, I don’t have any recipes for pizza up here…a grave error, (Recipe? Bread dough, slap on a sauce, topping and cheese and we’re done, right?) and of course, when it comes to this site, the first pizza I come up with is for dessert. Not traditional, but certainly worth the effort. Enjoy!

NEED:

Starter;

1tsp sugar

1tsp granulated yeast

160g bakers flour

220g cold water

pinch sea salt

Base;

1 egg

250g buttermilk or milk

30g butter

400g bakers flour

olive oil

DO:

Place all starter ingredients into Thermomix bowl and mix for 10 seconds on speed 7. Scrape into non plastic bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Leave overnight at room temperature. (Cool is fine!)

The next day, place all of starter and remaining ingredients (except oil) into Thermomix bowl and mix together for 6 seconds on speed 6. The dough will appear sticky. With dial set to closed lid position, knead for 2 minutes at Interval speed.

Turn out onto oiled Silpat mat and knead into tight ball by hand. Place into oiled glass bowl and cover bowl with plastic wrap so it is airtight. Allow to double, again, a slow rise in a cooler temperature will give you a nicer crumb in the finished base.

Gently tip dough out onto baking paper or Silpat mat and divide into 3 equal pieces. Push each piece into desired shape with finger tips so as to dimple the top of the dough. Do not roll out or stretch out…allow the elasticity in the dough to work for you.

Top with variety of toppings. Bake by sliding pizza straight onto preheated pizza stone and cook until golden and bubbly. (Raspberry, lime option will have a lot of caramelised sauce) Serve immediately with lashings of mascarpone cream cheese or double cream or possibly ice cream.

I did two on this occasion (see below) photographed both and in a flu induced haze, deleted them both off my SD card before saving them, thus the singular pic. Did a cheesecake cherry topping at work…and luckily took that pic at work, so all safe and sound on my desktop, so have included that in the trio. All three were delicious and did not last long.

Topping One;

Press a few raspberries into the base, add thinly sliced lime. Drizzle with grapeseed oil and sprinkle the whole thing generously with organic raw sugar. When eating the lime slices can be removed, tho I quite enjoyed the crunchy caramelised skins.

Topping Two;

Sprinkle base with cranberries and dark mini chocolate nibs. Be quite liberal. Drizzle entire pizza with organic maple syrup.

Topping Three;

Cherry Sauce NEED:
60g sugar
670g jar morello pitted cherries
30g cornflour

DO:

Place sugar into Thermomix bowl and mill for 10 seconds on speed 10.
Insert basket into Thermomix bowl and pour whole jar of cherries in. Remove basket (with cherries) and set aside.
Add cornflour to Thermomix bowl and cook for 4-5 minutes at 100ºC on speed 4. Set aside.

Lemon Cheesecake NEED:
80g sugar
Zest and juice 1 lemon
2 eggs
500g cream cheese

DO:
Place sugar and zest into Thermomix bowl and mill together for 10 seconds on speed 10.
Add remaining ingredients and blend together for 10 seconds on speed 7. Scrape down sides of bowl and repeat.

ASSEMBLE:

Divide dough into two portions and roll out each separately on a piece of baking paper.

Place first pizza onto pizza stone and bake for approximately 7-8 minutes or until starting to brown slightly. The pizza may puff up as there are no toppings, but this is not a problem.

Remove from oven and generously spread half of the cheesecake mixture onto the pizza.

Drizzle with half of the cherry sauce, top with a few of the reserved cherries and return to the oven for 3-4 minutes or until lemon cheesecake topping has set. Serve immediately and make a second one….cos you’re going to need it!

Chocolate Butter Tart with Walnuts

What else is there…really? If you want a decadent dessert, they usually include those three, and of course, add a few toasted nuts and chocolate and you really have the whole dessert ‘thang’ going on! I know this is a bit of recurring theme on this site, but just as there are no new stories, there are no new recipes…its just the method and ratio’s that differ. So go for a run, and if you still feel like eating this, go ahead and make it, but only eat a small, small sliver…and at your own risk!

Caramel Nutty Tart

NEED:

Pastry;

60g sugar

pinch salt

35g walnut halves

85g blanched almonds

230g plain flour

100g unsalted butter

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 egg

DO:

Place sugar and salt into Thermomix bowl and mill for 10 seconds on speed 10.

Toast nuts in 200C oven for 10 minutes or until fragrant and cool.

Add nuts to Thermomix bowl and mill for a further 3 seconds on speed 8.

Add remaining ingredients except the egg and mix for 5 seconds on speed 7.

Add egg and mix for a few seconds on speed 7 or until a pastry forms.

Tip out onto floured Silpat mat and push together into a tight disc. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling out and lining a 23cm flan tin with removable base with pastry. Prick bottom with fork and place into freezer for at least 30 minutes. Bake in preheated 170C oven for 25-30 minutes until golden. Cool.

NEED:

Filling;

1 cup mixed walnuts and pecans, toasted (as above) and roughly chopped

2 cups sugar

1/4 cup syrup (golden, maple or corn)

1/4 cup water

130g unsalted butter

50g cream

50g mascarpone cream cheese or creme fraiche

DO:

Place sugar, water and syrup into saucepan and on a low heat dissolve sugar, stirring occasionally. Brush down sides of saucepan with wet pastry brush to remove crystals as they form.

Once the mixture is a clear syrup, increase heat to induction 6-7 (steady simmer) and cook without stirring until the syrup becomes a deep yet clear amber colour. (approximately 8-10 minutes) Continue to brush sides of pan with wet pastry brush as needed. Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients except nuts. Stir vigorously to incorporate. Cool.

Stir through nuts and pour mixture into pastry shell. Refrigerate until set and completely cold.

NEED:

Chocolate Glaze;

100g dark chocolate (70% or higher)

120g cream

DO:

Place chocolate into Thermomix bowl and mill for 8 seconds on speed 10.

Add cream and melt together for 2-3 minutes at 60C on speed 3.

Pour over the top of the cold tart, spreading to just the edges of the filling, leaving the top of the pastry rim bare.

Set completely in fridge before cutting to serve, in, as I said, THIN slivers!

Salted Caramel Brownies

Well after a flying visit to the South West, I came home to a day off…heaven wouldn’t you think? Except I spent half of it waiting in a doctors surgery for kid #5 to see doctor, and the other half waiting at dental surgeon for kid #3 to see dentist! Them’s the breaks with a bunch ‘o’ kids! So having made this earlier, and half written this blog post, it seemed the easiest thing to put up…but not without trying it again…which I happily did…all for the sake of the blog! The things I sacrifice for you guys…really…

Salted Caramel Brownies

NEED:

300g rapadura sugar

70g unsalted butter

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

2 tsp sea salt plus extra for topping

4 large eggs

1 large yolk

60g cacao powder

150g SR flour

100g each macadamia and pecan or pistachio kernels

Extra nuts for topping

DO:

Preheat oven to 180C and line a 23cm square pan with baking paper that comes up over the edges for easy removal.

Place sugar, butter and vanilla into Thermomix bowl and chop together for 5 seconds on speed 6. Cook for 15 minutes at Varoma temperature on speed 2.

Add salt and incorporate for 30 seconds on speed 4.

Add eggs, yolk and cacao to Thermomix bowl and mix for 15 seconds on speed 5.

Scrape down sides of bowl and add flour and nuts and mix for 3 seconds on speed 5.

Spread into prepared pan, stud with additional nuts, sprinkle generously with additional sea salt and bake for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and bang on bench quite firmly to prevent rise from continuing. Return to oven for a further 10 minutes or until just wobbly in centre.

Allow to cool slightly in tin before cutting into enormous pieces and wolfing down immediately!

Dark Chocolate Cardamom Kiss

You know me, LOVE ice cream, particularly home made…and when there are about 4 ingredients…even better! (Well that’s if you don’t include the dipping ingredients.)

A little fiddly. I’ll be honest…but soooo cute! Impressive, if that’s what you’re after, and really, with a little patience, NOT that hard…just like I said, fiddly!

So a few tips;

• Make the ice cream well in advance of dipping and make sure you have made the small balls and frozen them separately for at least 24 hours.
• Use food handling gloves for easy rolling of the ice cream into balls.
• Place each ball into a mini muffin tin…its amazing how much easier that makes it!
• Do each colour separately and replace the un-dipped balls into the freezer between preparations!

The recipe…

NEED:

400g coconut milk

500g whipping cream

75-80g honey

4-5 cardamom pods

DO:

Place all ingredients into Thermomix bowl and scald for 15 minutes at 80oC on speed 3. Allow mix to cool completely before removing cardamom pods and placing into ice cream churner. Follow manufacturer’s instructions. Serve immediately or freeze until solid and form balls as required. Dip as desired and serve as finger food dessert.

Of course if you have no ice cream churner…not a problem. Freeze mix in ice cube trays and then simply place cubes into your Thermomix and whiz up for around 30 seconds or so until thick and rich and creamy! Return to freezer and then continue with rolling and dipping if desired as directed.

To dip, use around 50g chocolate, or white chocolate and melt with 1 tsp of coconut oil until liquid…add flavours/colours as desired, toss ice cream balls through each batch individually (work fast) and return to freezer immediately. If you are rolling kisses into anything after coating, be doubly quick. (coconut, coloured sprinkles, crushed pistachios, etc etc)

Each 50g chocolate will coat approximately 4 walnut sized ice cream balls. The total recipe will yield around 30-40 balls…I confess I only did half the mix, we ate the rest drizzled with passionfruit pulp…it is everything ice cream should be; the whitest, creamiest, fluffiest mouth taste ever.

Pictured are dark chocolate rolled in coconut, lime zest in white chocolate, frozen raspberry in white chocolate, plain dark chocolate. As you can see, to roll on top of dipping adds dimension. I would recommend only 1-2 per serving, but of course…everyone WILL want to try them all! Sorry, that’s just how it is!

Well this post had to happen sooner or later…and I guess it’s officially sooner! I have managed to go through all my posts and look what I found! I could start a tart and pie shop, clearly! Any potential partners out there, send me a message and I’m ready to go!

First up in my self imposed round up, and most recently added, the free form tart with fresh apricots and cherries can be found here. Tart (in the true sense of the word) sweet, a little nutty, and so EASY!

Then there was the fresh fig and honey tart, with a touch of marzipan…and just to add a dimension, toffee topping!

Of course, no Australian food blogger could have a complete site with out the good ole Meat Pie post…enjoy!

Simple, fruity, great pastry…what more could you want in a fruit pie? Well vanilla bean of course. One of my faves…(aren’t they all?)

If you come here often, you will know that Lemon is almost as good as chocolate to me…thus the Lemon Olive Oil Tart…which if you never cook anything else from this site, you must do this one…promise me now!

Got no time? Need dessert quickly? This is the one for you…no pastry, but a flan none the less…and a little international as well!

Oh that’s right…you know how I said the Lemon Olive oil tart was my fave?? Maybe not, maybe it’s this one…Buerre Noisette….Burnt Butter is my new fascination at the minute, seriously good stuff…calories worth eating!

Kind of a cross between a cheesecake and a sweet pie, this will become a family favorite…it would be in our house, if I allowed myself to make it again! Some pies should only be eaten once…for the sake of the arteries that is!

Never shie away from a fruit you don’t know…put it in a pastry shell and voila, easy dessert…(and completely delish!)

Another Lemon slash cheesecake slash pie cross worth eating…(again…aren’t they all??)

OK OK, Chocolate meets almonds head on…and they both WIN! Chocolate pastry, chocolate filling (with almond frangipane) topped with chocolate ganache…can’t really go wrong if you are a chocolate lover!

Now for a rare look at a savoury option…hang on to it whilst you can, there may never be another!

Strawberries, Luscious Lime, crispy pastry, a true summer tart…try it today!

Sorry, but there’s more and of course chocolate is involved…easy peasy, chocolate squeezy!

And here comes another traditional tart…or pie…The quintessential Lemon Meringue Pie.

I could of course keep going, and was in fact surprised (though why I don’t know!) by the sheer number of pastry delights on here…I stopped here as there are many others, but they are less recent and perhaps not as well done as I would like them to be. (Time for an upgrade or two I suppose!) Cut to the chase I hear you cry…recipe recipe recipe….OK!

So to today’s offering…you wouldn’t believe it…chocolate again, pecans are the nuts of choice and not my recipe, but stunning in every way…lactose free, unless butter bothers you. All the components of decadence required by chocolate and nuts and the best darn pastry a Thermomix can mix!

Adapted from Willies famous recipe, it is a chocolate pecan tart. Now before you shriek at the sheer number of sugar grams, remember I was using pure cacao and I have to say, it was a chocolate hit like no other. (Being Easter weekend, I know what I’m on about here folks!)

NEED:

Pastry:

100g raw sugar

200g plain flour

100g unsalted butter frozen and cubed

2 egg yolks

1tsp vanilla essence

Filling:

180g pure cacao (Or reduce sugar and use 70% dark chocolate)

50g unsalted butter

75g caster sugar

160g pure maple syrup

3 eggs

100-120g pecan halves

DO:

Pastry:

Preheat oven to 190oC and butter a 23cm loose bottomed flan tin. Set aside.

Place sugar into Thermomix bowl and mill for 10 seconds on speed 10.

Add flour and butter and mix together for 6-7 seconds on speed 8.

Add vanilla essence and yolks and mix for a further 6-7 seconds on speed 6 or until pastry forms soft balls.

Tip out onto floured Silpat mat and bring together with hands into large disc shape. Roll out using floured rolling pin and line prepared flan tin. Place in freezer for at least 15 minutes. Remove, line with baking paper and weights (rice, beans or proper pie weights) and bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove weights and bake a further 5 minutes until pastry is no longer shiny. Remove and cool slightly before filling with prepared filling.

Filling:

Place cacao into Thermomix bowl and mill for approximately 10 seconds until powdered.

Add butter, sugar, and maple syrup to Thermomix bowl and melt for 6 minutes at 50oC on speed 1.

Add eggs through hole in lid and beat in for 30 seconds on speed 8. Scrape down sides of bowl if necessary and repeat. You will have a thick mousse like consistency.

Place pecans into prepared pastry case, scrape filling on top and spread with spatula. Bake a further 10-15 minutes until set in centre. Chill completely before serving with lashings of cream…kind of necessary due to the dense nature of pure cacao.

Well it IS Easter after all. Slightly healthier than some of the other chocolate options around at the moment, and based on the use of very good ingredients, this should not scare you too much! Risotto is one of the most amazing canvases to which you can add flavour after flavour…and chocolate of course is just a flavour…I have added orange as well as the combination is always fantastic!

If you want to use Cointreau or another dessert wine, simply substitute for other liquid…a spoonful of powdered espresso adds depth of flavour as well. So Hoppy Easter to all, and please, make sure you all eat too much chocolate…cos the next excuse to do so is a looong way away.

NEED:

180g dark chocolate in pieces

zest 1 orange

40g butter

350g Arborio rice

100g Amaretto

1 tsp vanilla essence

1L  milk

1 chopped segmented orange

150g sugar

cream to taste

DO:

Place chocolate and orange zest into Thermomix bowl and mill together for 10 seconds on speed 10. Set aside.

Place butter, rice and Amaretto into Thermomix bowl and saute for 3 minutes at 100oC on Reverse + speed 1.5. (Don’t ask, just find a spot between speed 1 and 2 and relax!)

Add remaining ingredients except chocolate and orange zest, and cream to Thermomix bowl and cook for between 17-19 minutes at 100oC on Reverse + speed 1.5.

Pour in insulated bowl removing any fibrous pieces from the orange, and stir chocolate and cream through. Garnish with white chocolate curls and serve whilst still hot.

OK OK, a little late for that famously Chocolated out day for lovers, but this is just a rework of an oldie on here, and it was for the Steam Oven a long time ago and in another galaxy! Named lust for obvious reasons, (which will become apparent once you have made and eaten this sinful confection!) you will NOT, I repeat NOT ever think of chocolate in quite the same light ever again. Try some of the variations, but (sigh) I just keep going back to the Jaffa Pots.

I need to revisit a lot of content on here, and in light of the fact I am off to Sydney on Sunday (stay tuned in on Twitter) to work with chef Mark Best, as well as tripping off to Singapore the week after that, I felt that a redo was a great option to keep you all coming back!! So here you have it. You can double the mixture quite easily and make sure you tweak a change or two each time you do it!

NEED:

140g dark chocolate in chunks

300g cream

20g caster sugar

1tsp vanilla extract (or other flavorings of choice, see Options)

2 whole eggs

1 egg yolk

10-12 small dishes or ramekins

DO:

Place chocolate, cream, sugar and vanilla into Thermomix bowl and heat together for 3 minutes at 50ºC on speed 1.

Insert Butterfly and with lid closed, drop eggs and yolk into hole in lid as you mix for 1 minute on speed 2. Place MC on top and increase to speed 4 after you have added the eggs and yolk.

Divide between small dishes (Dariole moulds work well) and place them into the Varoma dish and tray.

Lightly rinse Thermomix bowl and fill with 1 litre of water. Set Varoma into position and cook for 20 minutes at Varoma temperature on speed 2.

Place choc pots into fridge until cooled before serving warm or cold dusted with cocoa and with berry/mint leaf garnish and additional whipped cream if desired.

OPTIONS:

Jaffa Choc Pots: Add zest 1 orange and a dash of optional Cointreau

Coconut Crème Pots: Replace dark chocolate with white chocolate and cream with coconut cream. Add a dash of almond essence.

Baileys Crème Pots: Replace dark chocolate with milk chocolate, omit sugar and add a dash of Bailey’s liqueur.

Espresso Pots: Add a shot of espresso to chocolate whilst melting. Or add 1tsp espresso powder at the same time as vanilla extract.

Yes, The Full Willy! As in Willy’s Wonky Chocolate…its a long story, but after watching the amazing Willy on SBS and being totally charmed by the romance of it all, I happened to visit my sister and found that her husband had gone ahead and ordered some of Willy’s amazing chocolate and whats more, he GAVE me some, bless his cotton socks! They cost a little more than the average chocolate bar (well a lot more actually) and in an effort to honour such a gift (and chocolate perfection) I pondered again and again what I should do with such a precious commodity! I felt like the proverbial kid in a candy factory and couldn’t quite decide between good and gooder…but here we go. A combo of several faves of mine, brioche, almonds and of course, good old Willies Wonky chocolate.

NEED:
1 batch Brioche dough

1 beaten egg for glaze

100g Willys 100% cacao bar (or unsweetened dark chocolate in the absence of excellence!)

150g caster sugar

150g almonds

150g clotted cream

2tsp vanilla essence

1tsp almond essence (optional)

DO:
Line 2 trays with baking paper and set aside. Make brioche as directed and rise overnight. Bring dough to room temperature before using as follows;

Roll dough out to large rectangular shape.

Spread filling on as evenly as possible. Fold half dough lengthways into centre of rectangle. Bring other half in to meet it in center. Fold those ‘pockets’ in on top of one another to make a long layered length of dough.

Cut across into equal widths (see pic) and place onto prepared trays. Brush with egg wash. Place into cold oven (to facilitate another rise) and bake for approximately 20 minutes until golden brown at 200-220C. Cool slightly before eating…though to burn ones tongue on molten chocolate inside fragrant brioche is akin to sadistic pleasure…not that I know about all that stuff!

To make filling;

To make filling place chocolate (in chunks) into Thermomix bowl and mill for 10 seconds on speed 9. Add sugar and almonds and mill a further 20 seconds until the fat is actually starting to be released from the cacao and almonds and the mixture starts to form a rough dough.

Add cream and essences and mix a further 10 seconds on speed 7. Spread this on dough and proceed as directed above.

So Willy, here’s hoping this meets your high standards! Amazing story, amazing chocolate,and now amazing Chocolate Brioche (at least I like to think so…thanks Stu!)

Well I have a work related injury, and it is impeding my typing, but never my cooking! I sliced my fore finger open like I was filleting a fish! OUCH…a roll of paper towel, nausea attack, visit to the Doc for super glue and butterfly tapes later, I am typing with great difficulty. With an enforced day off (strictly Doc’s orders)I had been thinking about going to the movies today, but the treat that I would have taken had I actually got there, took priority and here it is! A bit of a combo with a couple of processes, I was inspired by one of my fave Australian food bloggers, Not Quite Nigella’s post before Christmas for Salted Pretzel Chocolate Toffees, (which incidentally is probably the first recipe from another blogger I have actually  cooked in quite a while to rave reviews)!! I always have good intentions and an ever growing cooking list, but something else always comes up!

Nutty Caramel Popcorn with Pretzels and Chocolate

NEED:
125g raw macadamias

125g raw almonds

Couple of handfuls of salted pretzels

1pkg microwave popcorn

400g brown sugar

170g cream

100g unsalted butter

pinch sea salt

Dash of rum or other alcohol of choice

2tsp vanilla essence

125g whie chocolate buttons

125g dark chocolate buttons

2tbsp extra virgin coconut oil

DO:
Place nuts onto baking tray and place into cold oven set to 200C for 10 minutes. Remove and chop roughly (without slicing fingers if at all possible!) Set aside.

Spread pretzels on two large silicone mats (Silpat), divide nuts equally between them. Cook popcorn as directed on packaging, remove ‘old maids’ and divide between mats.

In heavy based saucepan, place sugar cream, butter, salt and rum if using. Cook on a low heat stirring occasionally (Induction level 6) until sugar has melted without any grainy residue. Increase heat to around 8 and bring to approximately 260F (Please use a Candy thermometer if you have one for an accurate result.) If you don’t have one, use the hard ball test.

Add vanilla and quickly stir into caramel, pour over popcorn and nut mix, spreading quickly to cover as much of the popcorn etc as possible. Allow to cool.

Place white chocolate buttons into clean pan with 1tbsp of coconut oil. Melt on Induction 2 until it melts completely. Drizzle over 1 tray of mixture.

Repeat with dark chocolate buttons and remaining coconut oil. Drizzle over the other tray and if you have enough, drizzle or flick on top of the white chocolate tray to add a little extra pizazz! Allow to set completely before breaking into pieces and storing in the fridge.

These are beautiful as gifts, wrap in clear cellophane bags and won’t you be the favourite friend, aunty, neighbour, blogger…? Go to, blogees and then come back on here and tell me about it!

White Christmas with Candied Clementines

Fresh Pesto

With about 3 weeks to go till ‘you know what’, now would be a good time to start planning a few gifts for special people that come from your very own kitchen. I personally love to both give and receive homemade treats particularly if they resemble something straight out of the David Jones food hall! I have a few ideas already posted on here, so bookmark this page as it will guide you to a few of those.

Have you checked out the price of Pesto’s lately? When freshly made from a delicatessen or specialty store, they not only come in ugly plastic containers, you might as well open your wallet and allow them to help themselves! SO try this recipe for Pesto and purchase some pretty jars from your favorite home-wares store, tie with ribbon, and perhaps include a pkg of gourmet dried pasta. Voila, beautiful homemade gift!

Another idea is a fragrant box of crackers…try these on for size. Wrap in a tube, add a wedge of favorite cheese and a jar chutney (no recipe on here yet!)…gift two sorted!

I think my almost absolute fave at Christmas is Panforte and if I say so myself, this is an excellent recipe! Slice into thin wedges, dredge generously with icing sugar, wrap in cellophane, lots of ribbon…several gifts, if you manage to resist eating them yourself!

Most people anticipate some cookies/biscuits at some point throughout the season, and these are extraordinarily good and kind of more adult than not! You can find gusseted cellophane bags quite easily at this time of year, which are perfect for gift wrapping them. A little ribbon, a tag, perhaps even a copy of the recipe attached and again, easy gifting!

Today’s new offerings are so cute! Very DJ and oh so easy!

NEED:

zest 1 lime

370g pkt white chocolate melts

45g organic extra virgin coconut oil

6-7 whole glace clementines OR 170g glace orange slices

30g coconut chips (available at Asian stores)

50g puffed rice

50g craisins

DO:

Place zest and choc melts into Thermomix bowl and mill for 10 seconds on speed 9.

Add coconut oil and melt together for 6 minutes at 37oC on speed 1-2.

Meanwhile, dice the glace clementines/oranges.

Add all remaining ingredients and mix for 20-30 seconds on Reverse + speed soft.

Spread into lined 15cm baking tin and refrigerate. When completely set, turn out onto chopping board and slice into thin slices. OR to gift wrap as in picture, slice to fit acetate box of choice and tie with ribbon.

Recipe Two; (‘two in one post’ I hear you cry! It is Christmas after all, and I do love all my commenters…take note those of you who silently lurk!) is for Passionfruit Curd, an excellent gift for all occasions, so pretty when in a clear jar, decorated with ribbon and perhaps given with a fresh loaf of Brioche! Oh Heaven!

NEED:

Zest 1 lemon

Juice 2 lemons

200g unsalted butter

220g caster sugar

1whole egg and 3 egg yolks

pinch salt

1 tin passionfruit pulp or fresh pulp from 2 passionfruit

DO:
Place all ingredients except passionfruit pulp into Thermomix bowl and cook for 10 minutes at 80oC on speed 4.

Check consistency to see if you are happy with its spreadability! Add a few minutes at the same temperature if necessary.

Add passionfruit pulp and stir through for 5-7 seconds on reverse + speed 3 until combined. Decant into pretty glass jars or use drinking glasses then cover with cellophane or fabric. Keep refrigerated until gifted. These should keep for around 2 weeks in the fridge. It makes a stunning filling for mini tarts. Use a sweet shortcrust pastry recipe and line mini tartlet pans with pastry. Dollop some passionfruit curd into each case and bake for approximately 10-15 minutes until golden and fragrant.

So Merry Christmas all…I am off to Bali soon and with Christmas a few days after I get back, I am not sure I will make it back on here before. Be safe, cook up a storm and for Pete’s sake (whoever Pete is?) leave a comment to make my blogging day! (‘blogging’ in that sentence can be substituted with any word of your choice!)