PANFORTE!

This is a traditional Italian dessert resembling fruit cake, and for those that prefer something a bit more chocolaty at Christmas it is just the thing. It is an incredibly versatile recipe as you can play around with different combinations of fruit and nuts.

Ingredients
85g flour
2 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp dried ginger
200g dried fruit (I used 100g figs, and then a mixture of cranberries, apricots and pineapple)
250g nuts (I used 100g brazil nuts, and 150g roasted almonds, but you could use hazelnuts)
100g chocolate, coarsely chopped
zest of 1 orange
150g castor sugar
150g honey
icing sugar to dust

Method
1 Preheat the oven to 150oC bake. Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin.
2 Sift the flour and spices into a bowl and add the fruit, nuts, chocolate and orange zest and mix to combine.
3 Place the sugar, honey, and 2 Tbsp of water in a saucepan and slowly bring to the boil over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Continue to boil over medium heat until the mixture reaches soft ball stage (drip a small amount of the mixture into a glass of cold water. A soft ball should form.)
4 Using a wooden spoon and working quickly, pour the caramel over the dry ingredients and mix well to combine.
5 Spoon out into the greased tin and bake for 15 mins. Cool and sprinkle generously with icing sugar. Store in an airtight container. Serve in small bite-sized pieces with coffee, or dessert wine.

Florentine Slice

Ingredients
200g dark chocolate (or milk if you prefer)
3/4 cup sultanas
2 cups crushed corm flakes
1/2 cup roasted almonds roughly chopped
60g red glace cherries
2/3 cup condensed milk

Method
1 Put chopped chocolate in top of a double saucepan, stir over simmering water until melted.
2 Spread evenly over base of 28cm x 18cm tin lined with foil. Bring foil over edges for easy removal.
3 Refridgerate until set.
4 Combine sultanas, corflakes, almonds, chopped cherries and condensed milk in a bowl. Mix well and spread mixture evenly ovr chocolate base.
5 Bake in moderate oven for 15-20mins. Cool, refridgerate until set.

YUMMY!

Smoked Salmon Pate

Smoked Salmon Pate

Ingredients
100g smoked salmon
1 x 250g packet cream cheese (I choose to use light, but that's up to you)
half a lemon's zest
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup raw almonds, finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped herbs (I used whatever was in the garden - parsley, chives and dill)

12 slices cooked vogel toast bread cut into triangles - or whatever you prefer to serve it with

 Method
1 Place salmon, cream cheese, lemon zest and juice into a food processor. Process until smooth, pink mixture forms.
2 Spoon into two small dishes for serving. Smooth the tops, cover with gladwrap and refridgerate for at least a couple of hours.
3 Combine chopped nuts and herbs. Remove plastic from the top of the salmon pate. Sprinkle herb mixture over top evenly. Place on serving platter with vogel toasts/ fresh french stick,or whatever you want to serve it wth

Alternative:
If you make this recipe with full-fat cream cheese it will set better and therefore you can grease and line a dish with gladwrap and place the salmon in. Cover and leave in the fridge for four hours min before rolling in double the herb mixture.