My christmas fruit salad is just a typical fruit salad using fruit that we have in season during summer here in Australia. The red from the cherries and watermelon and the green from the kiwi gave it that seasonal cheer. For christmas 2015 my job was to make a fruit salad and this one went down a treat!

Ingredients:

600g pineapple, peeled, chopped
800g rockmelon, chopped
800g seedless watermelon, chopped
300g seedless Cherries
300g seedless red grapes
6 Kiwi Fruits, peeled and sliced
2 Green Apples, Sliced 
1 Packet Blueberries
1 Tablespoon Lime Juice

Method:

Toss all the ingredients together to combine. Serve in a nice big dish. 

Note: Use whatever fruit is in season in your country, it's cheaper and the flavor will be much more fruiter.

A soft, fluffy, creamy filling with little chewy bits of gooey caramel chocolate and a super delicious, crunchy biscuit base. A real winner!

Ingredients:

Biscuit Base
150g Digestives
150g Nice Biscuits
125g Butter, melted
Cheesecake
3 teaspoons Powdered Gelatine
1 1/2 tablespoons Boiling Water
250g Philly Cream Cheese, softened
250g Mascarpone Cheese
 2/3 cup Caster Sugar
 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
 300ml Thickened Cream, whipped
2 Packets Caramello Chocolate Bars
Decoration
Caramel Sauce (i use the squeezy bottle one)

Method:

Line the bottom of a springform pan. Blitz the biscuits in a food processor and mix the biscuits with the melted butter. Spread on the bottom of the cake tin and press down firmly. Leave to set in the fridge whilst you make the rest. 
Sprinkle gelatine over boiling water in a heatproof jug. Whisk with a fork until gelatine has dissolved. Set aside to cool slightly.
Using an electric mixer (I used my kitchenaid with the whisk attachment), beat cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Gradually add in gelatine mixture until mixture is fully combined. Fold in whipped cream and caramello's. Pour mixture into prepared tin, level the top with a spatula. Cover. Refrigerate until set (mine took about 3-4hrs). Once set remove from tin and decorate with caramel sauce (as much or as little as you dare!)

A simple yet tasty omelette is sometimes just what you need after a busy day or before you start a chaotic day. I got inspired after watching the movie 'The Hundred foot journey'. If you haven't seen the movie, please do, its amazing! The oil in this recipe creates a fluffy outer shell that i adore, and gives it great texture.

 Ingredients:

2 Eggs
Dash of milk (maybe a tablespoon)
1/4 Cup Cheese, Grated
1/4 Spring Onion, Diced Finely
1 teaspoon oil

Method:

Beaten all the ingredients together. Heat oil in a non stick frying pan. Pour into the pan and cook slowly until the top is just starting to cook. Slowly start folding over the omelette until it's wrapped up. Serve with a sprinkling of cheese and spring onions.

Using pancake batter in your waffle machine is one of the best things i think i've ever thought of. Its simple an quick and looks amazing too! If you're short on time, a store bought pancake mixture works just as well.

Ingredients:

1 batch of pancake mixture (here is my pancake recipe)
non stick cooking spray or butter

Method:

Heat your waffle iron and spray generously with non stick cooking spray. Add your pancake batter and let cook until the green light appears. Remove and serve.
​
Note: Serve with warmed berries, maple syrup and a dusting of icing sugar for a flavor explosion.

These perfect little Victoria sponge cakes are perfect for afternoon tea. My daughter who's 3 and i always make my husband a treat of some sort before he flies home from work. I love that i'm able to share my passion with my mini me and that she absolutely loves it! These perfect layers of fluffy sponge sandwiched between sharp strawberry jam and fluffy marshmallow like chantilly cream, delicious!

Ingredients:

70g Butter, softened
70g Castor Sugar
70g Self Raising Flour
1 Egg
1 Egg Yolk
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
Decoration
150ml Whipping cream
1 teaspoon Icing Sugar
6 teaspoons Strawberry Jam
icing sugar to dust

Method:

Heat oven to 180'c. Grease and line the bottom of a 12 section mini muffin tin. Put the butter, sugar, egg, egg yolk and vanilla in a mixing bowl ( i use my kitchenaid) beat with a whisk until smooth and creamy.
Using a teaspoon, spoon the mixture evenly into the baking tin sections and level with the back of the spoon. Bake in the oven for 15 mins or until cakes are risen and firm to touch. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tray for 5 mins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To decorate the cakes whip the cream until soft peaks, add icing sugar and whip until thoroughly mixed through. Add a teaspoon jam on the flat side of one of the cakes, top with cream and add another piece of cake to sandwich it together. Sieve icing sugar over the top.

Nanny sue makes the most amazing biscuit torte. We had this at christmas last year and i just had to share it with you. The biscuits in the middle can be anything you like, i go for nice myself, but milk coffees work just as well.

Ingredients:

Filling
2 eggs, separated
125g Butter, softened and chopped roughly
110g Caster sugar
2/3 Drops Almond essence
120g ground almonds
1/2 cup milk
Torte
2 Packets Nice Biscuits
1/2 cup Whole cream milk
1 1/2 tablespoons rum
1 1/4 cups thickened cream
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Essence
1 Tablespoon Sugar
toasted almonds to decorate

Method:

To make almond filling, beat egg whites in small bowl in a kitchenaid with a whisk attachment until soft peaks form ( you can use a hand mixer also) . Beat butter, sugar, almond essence and egg yolks in a separate bowl in a kitchenaid with a paddle attachment until just combined (do not overbeat the mixture). Stir in ground almonds and gradually beat in milk. Fold egg white into almond mixture.
Arrange six biscuits lengthways in two, rows of three each, on a large sheet of alfoil. Brush biscuits with combined milk and rum. Spread biscuits with one-third of the almond filling. Repeat layering with remaining biscuits, milk and rum mixture, and almond filling, ending with a layer of biscuits. Wrap torte in foil and put in the fridge for 6 to 8 hours or even better overnight to harden slightly.
Beat cream, sugar and vanilla together until soft peaks form. Cover torte with the chantilly cream mixture.  Cover torte with toasted almonds and serve.

Note: You can leave the toasted almonds off at the end and grate chocolate over it,  but i love the crunch of toasted almonds.

Nanny Sue is the queen of desserts, and this trifle is the best one i've had! ever christmas nanny Sue makes us all this special treat. With the flavors of berry and coconut it's delicious! This trifle uses a vanilla sponge cake but you can just buy the store bought one if you're short on time. This recipe take a day or so to make so its best made in advance.

Ingredients:

​4 x 400ml cans Coconut Cream, put in the fridge overnight
3 x 85g Raspberry jelly crystals
1 punnet Strawberries, hulled and halved
125g Raspberries
12 Egg Yolks
1/2 cup Cornflour
1 cup Caster Sugar
3 teaspoons Vanilla Essence
1/2 cup Strawberry Jam
1/2 cup Cranberry Juice
1 store bought Sponge cake or Vanilla cake recipe
Strawberries, raspberries and toasted coconut to serve

​Method:

Prepare the jelly to the packet directions, pour into a trifle bowl. Cover with cling film and place into the fridge for 2hrs or until the jelly is just beginning to set (It will look like a thick syrup) Stir in strawberries and raspberries, cover and put back into the fridge until set.
Meanwhile scoop the thick top layer of coconut cream from each tin and place in a bowl, cover, and put in fridge. Place the remaining cream in a large saucepan over a low heat. Bring to a simmer and remove from heat. 
Using a kitchenaid with a whisk attachment or an electric mixer beat together egg yolks, cornflour, 2/3 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons of vanilla essence until thick and creamy. Gradually add in hot coconut cream until it's all incorporated (this is so you don't curdle the eggs), then transfer mixture back into saucepan, cook, stirring constantly, over a low heat for 4-5mins or until custard mixture has thickened. Transfer mixture to a bowl cover with clingfilm and put in the fridge to cool completely ( this will take about 4hrs).
This is where you would now make your sponge cake if you were going to make it fresh. Click here for recipe.
Spoon 1/2 the custard over the jelly, spread to level. Level the top of the cake  and trim to fit cake snug into trifle bowl. Slice the cake horizontally and sandwich together with jam. Place the cake on top of the custard, drizzle with cranberry juice, whisk remaining custard until smooth, spoon over cake. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge  for 8hrs or even better overnight.
Using your kitchenaid with the whisk attachment beat the reserved coconut cream with remaining sugar and vanilla for 2-3mins or until soft peaks are formed. Spoon cream over custard, top with toasted coconut and fresh fruit.

These pulled pork stuffed spuds are filled with tangy, saucy and decadent pulled pork and topped with crunchy coleslaw and cheese. One word YUM!

Ingredients:

8 Large Potatoes
Pulled Pork Mixture
1/2 small pork shoulder roast
1 Small pork shoulder, cut into chunks
1 Large Onion, chopped 
Small handful Peppercorns
1 teaspoon Paprika
1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1 teaspoon Onion Powder
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
2-4 Litres Chicken Stock
1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
2 cups BBQ Sauce
3 Tablespoons Texas BBQ seasoning (optional - any bbq seasoning will substitute if wanted)
To Serve
1 Knob butter
1 Cup Cheese
Coleslaw to serve (click here for my recipe)

Method:

To make pulled pork place all the pulled pork mixture ingredients except for the bbq sauce and bbq seasoning into a pressure cooker for 2hrs (slow cookers for 6hrs on high) or until meat can be pulled apart with a fork. Drain all but 1 cup of liquid. Place meat with bbq sauce, seasoning and remaining cup of liquid back into pressure cooker with the lid off (or transfer mixture to a large pot) and cook on a low heat for 20mins. Keep warm until serving.
Preheat oven to 200'c. Using a metal skewer pierce through the middle of each potato until all potatoes are secure. With a fork prick each spud all over (this prevents the potato from bursting). Place into the oven for an hour or until potatoes are golden and soft. 
Once potatoes are cooked, slide off of the skewer and slice a small cross at the top of each spud. Squish the bottom of the spud to ooze all the potato goodness out the top. Top with butter and let melt before adding a generous serving of pulled pork, coleslaw and cheese.