Morroccan Lamb Braise

I don’t want you being put off by the long list of ingredients on this one…just suck it up, print off the list (note Printer friendly version button now on each post…thank you Luke!) and go for it…you won’t regret it, really. It makes a LOT, so feel free to cut meat, tomtoes, and garnishes as needed…but please don’t alter cooking times.

NEED:

Juice ½ orange
780-800g lamb fillet, cubed
Few sprigs coriander
Bunch mint leaves
1 onion peeled and halved
4 cloves garlic
1 small red chilli
110g red capsicum
20g olive oil
15g ground smoked paprika
1 tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp ground cinnamon
Generous pinch saffron threads
450g Roma tomatoes , quartered
3-4 anchovies, rinsed
6 fresh pitted dates
6 dried apricots , soaked in boiling water for 1 hour
400g tinned chickpeas (around 230 g after draining)
100g black or Kalamata olives
Crumbled fresh feta to garnish
Sliced red chilli to garnish
Sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste

DO:
Marinate lamb in orange juice in non reactive bowl for several hours.
Place coriander and mint into mixing bowl and chop 3 sec/speed 5. Remove from bowl and set aside.
Place onion, garlic, chilli, and capsicum into Thermomix bowl and chop 3 sec/speed 5. Add oil and sauté 5 min/Varoma/speed 1 with MC off.
Add spices, tomatoes, anchovies, dates and apricots and cook 10 min/100ºC/speed 2.
Blend 5 sec/speed 6.
Add lamb (with juice) and cook 10 min/100ºC/Reverse +  speed 1.
Add chickpeas and cook 3 min/100ºC/Reverse + speed 1.
Add chopped herbs and olives and stir through 3 sec/Reverse + speed 1.
Adjust seasoning to taste.
Garnish with crumbled feta, sliced red chilli and additional fresh herb leaves. Serve with steamed couscous or rice.

Christmas Stollen

I cannot believe it; I have blinked and Christmas 2011 is here! Phew, what a year…can I just recap?

• Turned 50, but don’t tell anyone! I went to Phuket with the whole family (and that in itself is a story!)
• Went to Dubai and worked with George Calombaris, as my alter ego Candy Liscious the failed beauty queen.
• Thermomix in Australia launched the Asian cookbook, which I had been working on for a long time.
• Went to Melbourne and spent a couple of days with the amazing Dani Valent on the In the Mix shoot.
• Then went to Germany and Switzerland as part of the International Jury for a beautiful new Vorwerk Cookbook, out soon.
• Completed the recipes and photo shoot for the Thermomix in Australia 2012 Calendar available now.
• My number four child went to the States to study.
• I LEFT THERMOMIX in Australia! (Phew, thats a biggie, so deserved capitals!) July 4th, need I remind you, Independance Day, was my last day at head office and if you thought I was busy thus far, can I just mention…things then went into overdrive.
• Had a 3 part skype interview with Super Helene from SuperKitchen Machine, arguably the most prolific and up to date blogger on all things Thermomix. (Which interview served to press the fast forward button on a number of things! Seriously, if you want the thermomix world to know about something, just mention it to Helene, she probably knows it already, but she can spread the word faster than anyone.)
• Created a Dinner Spinner, a small book consisting of 21 recipes that you can create yourself in a Thermomix, which in one week, sold 700 copies …and many more to go yet!
• I also got all jiggy and wrote, and styled a cookbook called For Food’s Sake which has 160 pages, full colour pictures for every recipe (80 of those) and is so gorgeous, that I can scarcely stand the excitement. It will be available on here really soon, as well as in good bookstores and also online at Hub and Spoke or at my cooking classes!
• Speaking of which; I started running my own advanced cooking classes using Thermomix. These have been held in Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle, Perth and Mandurah to sell out crowds of amazing lovely people. It has been my pleasure to meet some fantastic people who are truly as passionate about the Thermomix and making great food as I am.
• Started importing a chocolate product called Crio Bru to Australia which is the most amazing healthy yummy product around and if I can put it into food or recipes, I will…but perhaps you know that already? I totally love it, and so do thousands of other happy customers. We will be in retail outlets just as soon as I can take a minute to help my very valuable marketing guru business partner more than I am at the moment!
• I opened two online shopping carts…(HUGE! When I say ‘I’, I mean the royal ‘we’…) Thanks honey!
• Have plans in place for another exciting project to be launched hopefully before December 25th…but you never know! Stay tuned…
• Started working for Kleenmaid in Australia, and am truly impressed by their new range of products which are about to get installed into my kitchen Monday. We have already had some successful sales as a result of my running classes in their amazing Sydney showroom, so thank you for that, and for believing that I would not get involved with anything that was less than excellent!
• I have been approached on an almost weekly basis by other appliance companies and I am still considering some offers…when the travel options to Italy and Germany are secured, so will be the deals! (hahaha)
• I have happily welcomed Heilala vanilla, Margaret River Chocolate Factory, Fini Olive Oil, Lighthouse Flour, and fantastic branding from Braincells to the Cooking with Tenina team.
• The other team Tenina members that I have to mention are Hub and Spoke publishing and Scott Print. I just love getting the phone calls from Hub and Spoke and mentioning casually in conversation, ‘just talking to my publisher’ or ‘please hold for a second, my publisher is calling’…you get the idea…still makes me smile/downright grin!
• And last but not least, the guy that got all this web stuff started for me, made me join Twitter when it was still something that only birds did, and now screens my calls because there is always something new I need him to add, remove, fix from any and all of my sites, the very patient, Luke Holder, nephew, son, dad, inspirational Tech guru!

Sorry to put you through all that, but hey, what a year no?

I am looking forward to a great 2012 but before we can get there, we have the little matter of Christmas to attend to…so to the job at hand.

I would like to introduce you to some of the better Christmas recipes I have on here…there are now quite a lot, but here are my picks! (Well for this year anyhoo!)

ONE:

Pistachio Marzipan Christmas Trees

A little sneaky one from this year. Pistachio Marzipan, which I have to say has 100’s of applications and may just start showing up in all sorts of recipes from here on in…If you do not like marzipan, do yourself a favour and give this a go…it is not like any marzipan you have ever tasted.

TWO:

Toblerone Dip

Toblerone Dip…The fruit at Christmas in Australia is fantastic, so joosh it up a bit with this one. Simple enough to whip up in no time, and impressive enough to make your guests come back for more.

THREE:

How about a little tradition? I make this every year and this year I have made it and tweaked it, so essentially, this is a new recipe! Aren’t you lucky? Stollen is buttery, almond and fruit laden with just a hint of in this case, pistachio marzipan…there I go again with that marzipan…its the new Umami…for Christmas this year. All the good recipe blogs are wearing it!

FOUR:

Sugar Roasted Plum Salad

Well its all about sugar plums…so this had to make the cut. For me the lead up to Christmas is about eating yummy light meals that will get me through in between the myriad of parties and eating festivities that dominate the calendar at this time of year, so Sugar Roasted Plum Salad is delish, light and a great mid week lunch or an accompaniment to something more substantial on the weekend.

FIVE: Make a date with these rolls and you won’t be disappointed in love!! I enjoy a little sweetness with savoury from time to time and for some reason at Christmas time, we do that a little more often. (Think glazed ham, cranberry sauce etc) So these Date rolls go extremely well with Christmas Dinner, or lunch, or just after with left over sliced ham, turkey or both.

SIX:  I make these every year, without a doubt. They make the cutest presents ever and of course I can but for a fleeting moment, imagine that I am in Italy…that far away place that I still have never been to…is there anyone out there willing to send me? I pledge to bring back more than just a big smile, recipes and knowledge to share. Siena Cake originates from, well, Siena and  is sticky, fruity, and far nicer than anything you can buy.

SEVEN:

White Chocolate Christmas

When it comes to gifting food, I am not short on ideas and I did a post last year about just this, so not strictly a recipe on its own, but a great post that just may get you thinking about how clever you could be with a little prod, some cellophane, curling ribbon and a Thermomix…Gourmet Gifts couldn’t be easier…go on, go see.

EIGHT: Whilst we’re on the whole giving gifts from the kitchen routine (and white chocolate as well), these Minty White Choc Truffles were an instant hit at our house and I must say, I have had a lot of great feedback about them as well. Easier than running to the shop and fighting the crowds…prettier and more personal.

White Chocolate Minty Truffles

NINE: You can’t go past a great cookie recipe at Christmas and this is a bit of a grown up version of a Choc Chip cookie. Developed way back in my original Kleenmaid days, these are even easier in the Thermomix.

TEN:  Time for a quick salad? Red and Green Salad will always look festive and is so easy, I can barely call it a recipe…it is more of a suggestion. Enjoy on a hot day pre Christmas, throw a steak (or a prawn) on the barbie and you’re away!

ELEVEN and TWELVE: I don’t think Christmas can be complete without a little gingerbread…am I right? So even though these just went up on here, you must agree, they deserve a mention in the twelve recipes of 2011…I am hoping at some point to contruct a gingerbread house out of this cookie recipe, but with the big day fast approaching, I am not confident it will be this year it shows up! The flavored sugar recipe is delish as a Christmas tweak to anything requiring a little sugar, so think whipped cream, coffee, Crio Bru, your partner….you get the idea.

So from me, to you; and from Cookingwithtenina on Facebook, I wish you all a Merry Christmas. May you all have the time to Celebrate and Bake, and to feel the spirit of the season and may you all look forward to a wonderful 2012. (Cue the Christmas carols here….)

 

Sugar and Spice and all things nice….in a gingerbread cookie!

Sugar and Spice and all things nice….

Just a little quickie…a gift idea, or simply something to add to your pantry. Totally wonderful in Crio Bru as a sweetener. Actually part of the Gingerbread recipe coming your way soon. (SO go on, make it and get ready for that!) Bag it in small cellophane bags and tie the gingerbread recipe on…another Christmas dilemma sorted!

Then think laterally, add dried mango to coconut and glazed pineapple, and mill with palm sugar for a tropical twist…gotta do that one myself yet. But sounds amazing don’t you think? Or what about lime zest with pistachios and a little pandan for a bright green sugar for well…whatever you need a bright green sugar for! The possibilities are endlessssss

 NEED:

Zest 1 orange

Few coloured peppercorns

½ tonka bean (optional)

½ whole fresh nutmeg

½ vanilla bean

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp cardamom seeds

15g candied ginger

½ cinnamon stick

150g dark muscovado unrefined cane sugar

DO:

Place all ingredients except sugar into Thermomix bowl and mill 5 sec/speed 9.

Add sugar and blend 10 sec/speed 10.

Package in cellophane bags and tie with ribbon as a gift. Attach a copy of a recipe to use it in or use in recipe as needed.

Pecan Dacquoise with Orange Chocolate Cream

Developed for the Celebrate and Bake cooking class menu, this is so delicious, that you will be making it again and again….and again! It is not difficult, but does take some planning. You should look at making it a few hours prior to serving as it improves over time, even better if you can make it the day before you serve it. This is also featured in my soon to be released BIG book For Food’s Sake, which I have been working on for the past wee while! So here you have a little sneaky peeky of what is to come. Hopefully you will all find one of the books under your tree this year, and more importantly, this on your Festive table this year, to great acclaim from all those whom you love!

NEED:

300g pecans

1 vanilla bean

300g sugar

zest 1 orange

6 egg whites

2 tbsp corn flour

1 tsp Heilala Vanilla bean paste

110g bag Crio Beans

600g whipping cream

2 tbsp good quality cocoa

A drizzle of Cointreau if desired

50g Orange dark chocolate (I used the fantastic Margaret River Chocolate version which has little bits of candied orange throughout…oh my!)

DO:

Toast pecans and vanilla bean on flat oven tray for 10 minutes by placing into a cold oven set to 200ºC. Set aside to cool. Reduce oven temperature to 160ºC.

Draw two x 18cm circles onto sheets of baking paper and place onto flat trays. Set aside.

Place vanilla bean into Thermomix bowl and a little of the sugar and mill 10 sec/speed 10. Remove from bowl and set aside.

Place cooled toasted nuts into Thermomix bowl and mill 8 sec/speed 8. Remove from bowl and set aside. Wipe out Thermomix bowl.

Place sugar and zest into Thermomix bowl and mill 30 sec/speed 9. Reserve 2 tbsp sugar for cream filling.

Insert butterfly. Add egg whites, cornflour and vanilla sugar into Thermomix bowl and beat 6 min/60ºC/speed 3.

Remove butterfly. Add milled nuts to Thermomix bowl and incorporate 20 sec/Interval. Finish folding through if necessary with spatula by hand. Divide mixture between circles on trays. Allow to rest for 10-30 minutes if you have the time, otherwise, don’t worry about it!

Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven, cool slightly before lifting with a large flat spatula off the paper. Cool completely on wire rack.

In clean and dry Thermomix bowl place Crio Beans and chop 3 sec/speed 6. Add reserved orange sugar, cream, and cocoa. Insert butterfly and whip cream till soft peaks form between 20-30 sec/speed 4. Top both dacquoise layers with this cream, bringing it almost to the edges. Do not completely scrape out the Thermomix bowl – in fact leave quite a lot of the cream in the bowl. Scrape all of it down so that it is around the blades.

Place chocolate into the bowl and melt 5 min/50ºC/speed 2. Drizzle over both layers, place one layer on top of the other, garnish with additional Crio Beans or toasted pecans.

Refrigerate for up to 1 day before serving. The cake will slice a lot more easily if it has been in the fridge for 24 hours. However; do not worry about it if you don’t have the time…it is just as delicious when eaten immediately, just more difficult to cut!

Quinoa and Chicken Salad with Orange Balsamic Dressing

Its no secret if you follow me at all that I just love fruit in a salad. I have been a bit busy (and I hope you know why!!) and so haven’t written up a recipe in a week or so. Today was scorching hot in Perth and salad was the only option. Quick, painless, not a lot of heat involved and very filling. Gotta love that quinoa…My hungry son couldn’t finish a plate of this in its entirety…I have found the answer at long last, to hollow teenage legs. I was going to say this feeds around 4-5 adults…but I have revised it and think we could go 5-7…or 4-6 with lunch the next day. Enjoy!

NEED:

120g quinoa

1L water

2-3 chicken breast fillets

Fini EVOO as needed

Handful spring onions/shallots

Handful each basil, parsley and mint leaves

1tsp each ground paprika, cinnamon and all spice

2 stalks celery, cut on the angle

Handful dried cherries or craisins

Handful pine nuts, toasted

Sea salt to taste

Salad greens of choice

1 tin chick peas, drained

1 orange, peeled and segmented

Orange Balsamic Dressing

Finely grated zest 1 orange

Juice 1 orange

4og balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp ground cumin

80g Fini EVOO

DO:

Place quinoa into simmering basket and water into Thermomix bowl. Insert basket and steam for 15 min/100ºC/speed 3.

Set aside to cool.

Char grill chicken breast fillets on a grill pan, brushed with EVOO and on an extremely high heat. You could use a BBQ for this or induction max. Cover pan, turn heat down and allow chicken to finish cooking right through. Set aside to rest before slicing into pieces.

Place spring onions/shallots, herbs and spices into Thermomix bowl and chop 2 sec/speed 7.

Add celery and steamed quinoa and stir through 4 sec/Reverse + speed 2.

Place all ingredients except chicken into large salad bowl while you make the dressing.

To make dressing place all ingredients into Thermomix bowl and blend 10 sec/speed 10.

Toss through salad and serve immediately with chicken slices on top.

Orange Scented Shortbread Bites

Well kids, 2 recipes in this post really if you include the flavoured sugar. Like I have nothing much to be getting on with right? I have also discovered that retailing can be fun! (Crazy but fun!) So a quickie but a goodie…(aren’t they always the best anyway?)

I love shortbread, little crunchy bites of butter and sugar….what more could one ask for to go with a great cup of Crio Bru or coffee, or tea?

NEED:

Orange Sugar;

140g raw sugar (the rougher the better…I used some gorgeous French sugar cubes that are like rapadura lumps….amazing)

Zest 1 orange

Shortbread;

120g Orange sugar

200g unsalted butter, cubed

330g plain flour

1 tsp orange oil (optional)

Pinch coarse sea salt

DO:

Make the sugar by placing sugar and zest into Thermomix bowl and milling for 8 sec/speed 10. Use 120g in shortbread and reserve the rest.

Preheat oven to fan forced 180ºC and line a baking tray with paper.

Add butter to sugar in Thermomix bowl and chop for 4 sec/speed 6.

Add remaining shortbread ingredients and blend for 10 sec/speed 6. Tip dough out onto floured Silpat mat. Divide into two portions. Roll each into a long sausage shape with a 3-4 cm diameter.

Roll in remaining Orange sugar. Cut into small rounds, place onto tray and flatten with your thumb.

Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden and fragrant. Cool before keeping in an airtight container in fridge for optimum crunch factor!

These are a darling gift when wrapped in lots of cellophane and truckloads of curling ribbon…and as for the sugar, it also is a pretty nice gift…beings that we are in October and do I need to spell it out? Less than 12 weeks until YOU. KNOW. WHAT.

True Energy Bars

I know you have heard me raving (and raving) all about Crio Bru lately…(if not, you must not be following me too closely!) and now I am using it so much in my recipes that it has become a staple in my pantry! I am amazed at what happens to my appetite when I eat it…so of course, rather than miss out on all those yummies, I have got to use my recipe powers for good…and this is good, believe me! I am noticing when I drink CrioBru I have a ‘feel good euphoria’, which nothing can bring down…and there has been a lot going on in my glass half full world, that should possibly be seen as glass half empty, just not when I am on my Crio!  (and I am drinking chocolate antioxidants…does it get any better than this??)

SO…if you are the uninitiated…head on over to the website and have a read and make sure you go and say hi to them on Facebook as well.

In the meantime, try making these babies for a quick pick-me-up, on-the-go, running-out-the-door breakfast bar, that will keep you going way past lunchtime…(if you have the Crio). No Crio? Use coffee grinds…well, maybe instant coffee granules…

NEED:

300g blanched almonds, toasted

80g linseed

Zest 1 orange

½ cinnamon stick

35g coconut, shredded

Pinch sea salt

3tbsp honey

2tbsp Maca powder

3 tbsp coconut oil

50g Crio grounds

1 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste

Ganache topping if desired

Ganache;

150g brewed Crio liquid, hot

250g Belgian dark chocolate pieces

DO:

Place ½ the almonds, linseed, orange zest and cinnamon stick into TM bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 8.

Add remaining ingredients except reserved almonds and blend 20 sec/speed 8.

Add almonds and blend 4 sec/speed 5.

Press into lined rectangular baking tin and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the ganache by placing Crio & chocolate into clean TM bowl. Melt 1 min/speed 2. Pour on top of bars and set completely in fridge. Cut into bar shapes and store separately in bags in freezer or fridge until use.

Serve with Orange Creme Patisserie

Low Fat Upside Down Blueberry Orange Cakes

Now I know that Tenina.com and ‘Low Fat’ are mutually exclusive, but I am on a mission! I am sure if you have delved into the black depths of this site you will have found several recipes with no story and no picture. This is one such random recipe….Let me tell you the story behind those!

…Once Upon A Time….I was the ‘Celebrity’ chef who ran cooking classes for Kleenmaid Appliances and had a lot of clients who wanted my recipes. Not being a publisher and being entreprenerial, I started this site by simply placing my recipes into posts. The site has evolved and changed over the years to become this (dare I say it?) very ‘speccy’ site that you see before you today. In an effort to make it even more ‘speccy’ I am renovating the oldie but goldies and taking new pics, updating the blog, recipe by recipe. SO, low fat it is, not terrible, but…bring on the fat, and that other butt….next recipe.

NEED:

130g frozen  blueberries

1 tbsp cornflour

2 tbsp dark brown sugar

2 tbsp brandy

1 orange sliced

150g almonds

150g  plain cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

150g egg whites (approx 4)

3 egg yolks

100g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

DO:

Lightly spray nonstick 12 hole muffin tin with oil.

Place blueberries, cornflour, sugar and sherry in a bowl.

Toss to combine. Place 1/2 orange slice in base of each muffin hole.

Top with blueberry mixture. Set aside.

Place almonds and flour into Thermomix bowl and mill together for 10 sec/speed 9.

Add baking powder and sugar, blend quickly for 3 sec/speed 6. Remove from bowl and set aside.

Insert Butterfly and place egg whites into Thermomix bowl. Beat for 3 min/37ºC/speed 3.

Return flour mixture to the bowl, add egg yolks and with dial set to closed lid position, fold through for 15 sec/Interval or until just combined.

Don’t over mix. Spoon batter into muffin tins.

Process in Combi Steam oven for 15-20 minutes. Stand in tin for 5 minutes.

Turn out and serve with Orange custard if desired.

Should you not possess a steam oven, by all means, go and buy one! If that isn’t working for you, place a bain marie on the bottom shelf of your conventional oven, preheat the oven to fan forced 180ºC and cook the muffins for the same amount of time. They may be a little trickier to remove from the tins, but you can always resort to silicone.

Baked Donuts with Filling

Look I know it’s only June, but June is the month when all good recipe developers mind’s turn to Christmas…and yes, this is sort of a Christmas recipe and so leave it until then if you want to, but if not? Knock yourself out and call it Christmas in July, a bit early! If you wanted to deep fry these as per traditional donuts, I am pretty sure they would work really well. (Of course, they would be double the calories…but quite possibly double the flavour as well! I don’t want to know….)

Dough;

NEED:

Good pinch salt

1 tbsp caster sugar

30g butter

2tsp dried yeast

80-100g milk or buttermilk

1 egg

200g bakers flour

DO:

Place all ingredients except flour into Thermomix bowl and warm for 1 min/37ºC/speed 3.

Add flour and knead for 2 min/Interval. Tip out onto floured mat and bring together with hands. Wrap tightly and prove until doubled.

Filling;

NEED:

35g shelled pistachios

1 vanilla bean

20g sugar

A little almond essence (optional)

1/2 tsp each orange and lemon oil (or use zest and mill with nuts)

35g craisins (dried cranberries)

35g currants

10g rum or brandy or orange juice

DO:

Place nuts, vanilla bean and sugar into Thermomix bowl and mill for 10 sec/speed 8.

Add remaining ingredients and blend for 10 sec/speed 6 until you have formed a paste. It should be quite workable with wet hands, and not too sticky. Form into a long snake shape and cut into 12 equal pieces.

ASSEMBLE:

Line a tray with baking paper.

Roll dough into long sausage shape and cut into 12 equal portions. Roll each piece into a ball and then flatten in the palm of your hand, with an indent in the centre. Push a piece of the filling into the middle and pinch the dough to close. Roll the dough again to form a complete ball or filled donut shape. Repeat. Place at equal intervals on tray, cover with a tea towel and allow to rise.

Meanwhile, preheat oven on a bread baking setting to 180ºC.

When donuts have risen to double, bake for 10-12 minutes or until just golden. Whilst still warm, brush with a simple syrup and roll in caster sugar…or dust with icing sugar if you have a problem with the whole ‘sand’ texture of sugar…(the complaints I get at my house!)

To make a simple syrup, simply combine equal parts icing sugar with warm water and brush on warm donuts with a pastry brush.

Bet you can’t just eat one! Oh, and Merry Christmas in June/July/possibly December as well, depending on how long this takes you to get organised!

Pecan Walnut Honey Cake

Well I am off again in the bright wee hours, this time to Germany and Switzerland for some serious recipe development business. Its a tough job, but someone has to do it! I am gone for a couple of weeks, and so Tenina.com will go quiet, but you can always keep up with my shenanigans by following all the fun on Facebook! I promise to post lots of photos…of food of course!

This dessert is a bit of a variation on a theme…starting with this savoury version which then made its way over to my fave Aussie food blogger’s site where NotQuiteNigella did another filling, but with the serpent coil idea…which sounds so much better than a ‘snake coil pastry’ which is something I have seen it called elsewhere…officially the filo in this shape is called a M’hanncha. So given my last O/S trip being to Dubai, this seemed so fitting on the eve of my next trip. Add honey syrup as desired. Totally fattening, but just have a little slice…go on…M’hanncha!

NEED:

Filling;

400g pecans/walnuts/mixture

1/2 cinnamon stick

1 vanilla bean

1 tsp cardamom

150g sugar

1 tsp pure orange oil (or zest 1 orange in with sugar)

1tbsp orange flower water

1 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste (THE best vanilla bean paste on the planet!!)

2 egg yolks

150g unsalted butter

DO:

Dry roast nuts by placing onto lined baking sheet and placing into cold oven set to fan forced 200°C for 10 minutes. Remove and cool.

Place cinnamon, vanilla, cardamom and sugar into Thermomix bowl and mill for 10 sec/speed 8. Add remaining filling ingredients and blend for 8 sec/speed 6. Add cooled nuts and blend for a further 10-12 sec/speed 8.

Place into fridge until well set.

Reduce oven temperature to 180°C.

Assemble ‘snake’ by laying filo pastry on wet tea towels along a bench. Melt butter as needed (approximately 125g) and brush between layers of filo, building up around 4-5 layers. Arrange filling all the way along and roll up. Brush with more butter and patch pastry as necessary.

Roll coil, top with a few extra chopped pecans and bake on large paper lined tray for approximately 20 minutes until pastry is flaky and golden. Melt around 60g honey and brush over pastry while it is still hot after removing from oven.

Cool slightly before eating…or not!