Mini Blond Christmas Cakes

Recipe by: Western Star

westernstarbutter.com.au

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519 Collected

Difficulty

Moderate

Category

Baking

Main Ingredient

Fruit

Prep:

20 minutes

Cook:

1 hour

Serves:

This is a great alternative for those who might not enjoy traditional Christmas cake. Bursting with Australian flavours like macadamia, pineapple and ginger, these cakes are deliciously moist and moreish!

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Mini Blond Christmas Cakes

Ingredients:

Mini Blond Christmas Cakes

200g dried apricots, chopped
150g dried apples, chopped
100g dried pears, chopped
50g sultanas
1/4 cup chopped glace ginger
440g can crushed pineapple, undrained
3/4 cup sugar
125g Western Star Salt Reduced Butter
1 teaspoon mixed spice
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2/3 cup roughly chopped macadamia nuts
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup self raising flour
1 cup plain flour
2/3 cup macadamia nut halves, extra
2 tablespoons honey
20g Western Star Salt Reduced Butter, extra, melted

Method:

Mini Blond Christmas Cakes

Combine dried fruits, ginger, pineapple, sugar, butter and spices in a saucepan and bring to the boil stirring occasionally. Simmer for 5 minutes
Remove from heat and stir in macadamia nuts and bicarbonate of soda. Allow to cool
Line the sides and base of 8 x 1 cup capacity dariole moulds with baking paper. Stir eggs and flours into fruit mixture and spoon into the moulds
Bake at 160°C for 45-50 minutes or until golden and cooked when tested with a skewer
Combine remaining macadamia nuts, honey and butter and spoon over each cake. Return to the oven and bake for a further 8-10 minutes or until nuts are golden. Cool in moulds before turning out carefully

Tips & Hints:

Decorate with brown paper and twine and wrap in clear cellophane for a gorgeous gift idea. One (1) cup capacity dariole moulds are available at specialty cookware stores, however, these cakes may be baked in a variety of individual cake pans or moulds, simply adjust the cooking time and test regularly with skewer. Try baking these cakes in sturdy paper baking cases (used for panettone), they are often available in individual shapes from specialty stores.

Product

Western Star Salt Reduced Butter

Western Star Salt Reduced retains all the full creamy taste of classic Western Star butter but with just half the salt. Ideal for those who love the flavour of butter but prefer less salt in their diet. Also ideal for cooking and baking where just a little seasoning is required.

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Western Star: Salt Reduced Butter

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Western Star: Salt Reduced Butter

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Measures

Cup Sizes (Australian)

Cup	Metric
1/4 cup	60ml
1/3 cup	80ml
1/2 cup	125ml
1 cup	250ml

Spoon Sizes (Australian)

Spoon	Metric
1/4 teaspoon	1.25ml
1/2 teaspoon	2.5ml
1 teaspoon	5ml
2 teaspoons	10ml
1 tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons)	20ml

Oven temperatures

Celsius (electric)	Celsius (fan forced)	Fahrenheit	Gas
120º	100º	250º	1	Warm – Very Slow
150º	130º	300º	2	Warm - Slow
160º	140º	325º	3	Moderately Slow
180º	160º	350º	4	Moderate
190º	170º	375º	5	Moderately Hot
200º	180º	400º	6	Hot
240º	220º	475º	7	Very Hot

If you are using a fan-forced oven please note your cooking time may be a little quicker, so a good idea is to check your food a little earlier

Liquid Measures

metric	cup	imperial
30ml		1 fluid ounce
60ml	1/4 cup	2 fluid ounce
80ml	1/3 cup	2 3/4 fluid ounce
100ml		3 1/2 fluid ounce
125ml	1/2 cup	4 fluid ounce
150ml		5 fluid ounce
180ml	3/4 cup	6 fluid ounce
200ml		7 fluid ounce
250ml	1 cup	8 3/4 fluid ounce
310ml	1 1/4 cups	10 1/2 fluid ounce
375ml	1 1/2 cups	13 fluid ounce
430ml	1 3/4 cups	15 fluid ounce
475ml		16 fluid ounce
500ml	2 cups	17 fluid ounce
625ml	2 1/2 cups	21 1/2 fluid ounce
750ml	3 cups	26 fluid ounce
1L	4 cups	35 fluid ounce
1.25L	5 cups	44 fluid ounce
1.5L	6 cups	52 fluid ounce
2L	8 cups	70 fluid ounce
2.5L	10 cups	88 fluid ounce

Dry Weights

10g	1/4 ounce
15g	1/2 ounce
30g	1 ounce
60g	2 ounce
90g	3 ounce
125g	4 ounce (1/4 pound)
155g	5 ounce
185g	6 ounce
220g	7 ounce
250g	8 ounce (1/2 pound)
280g	9 ounce
315g	10 ounce
345g	11 ounce
375g	12 ounce (3/4 pound)
410g	13 ounce
440g	14 ounce
470g	15 ounce
500g (1/2 kg)	16 ounce (1 pound)
750g	24 ounce (1 1/2 pounds)
1kg	32 ounce (2 pounds)
1.5kg	48 ounce (3 pounds)
2kg	64 ounce (4 pounds)

Cup conversions for metric & imperial

Ingredient	1 cup		1/2 cup		1/3 cup		1/4 cup
Breadcrumbs, dry	90g	2 3/4oz	45g	1 1/2oz	30g	1oz	25g	3/4oz
Butter	250g	8oz	125g	4oz	80g	2 1/2oz	60g	2oz
Cheese, shredded/grated	80g	2 1/2oz	40g	1oz	35g	1oz	25g	3/4oz
Choc bits	190g	6oz	95g	3oz	70g	2 1/4oz	55g	1 3/4oz
Coconut, desiccated	85g	2 3/4oz	45g	1 1/2oz	35g	1oz	20g	1/2oz
Flour, plain/self-raising	150g	4 3/4oz	75g	2 1/2oz	50g	1 1/2oz	40g	1 1/2oz
Rice, uncooked (long-grain/basmati/jasmine)	200g	6 1/2oz	100g	3oz	70g	2 1/4oz	50g	1 1/2oz
Sour cream	235g	7 1/2oz	125g	4oz	85g	2 1/2oz	65g	2oz
Sugar, brown – lightly packed	160g	5oz	80g	2 1/2oz	60g	2oz	45g	1 1/2oz
Sugar, brown – firmly packed	200g	6 1/2oz	100g	3oz	70g	2 1/4oz	55g	1 3/4oz
Sugar, caster	220g	7oz	115g	3 3/4oz	80g	2 1/2oz	60g	2oz
sugar, icing	150g	4 3/4oz	80g	2 1/2oz	60g	2oz	45g	1 1/2oz
sugar, white	225g	7oz	110g	3 1/2oz	80g	2 1/2oz	60g	2oz
sultanas	170g	5 1/2oz	90g	3oz	65g	2oz	45g	1 1/2oz
yoghurt	260g	8 1/4oz	130g	4oz	90g	3oz	70g	2 1/4oz

Common Ingredients by Weight

Ingredient (cup)	Metric	Imperial
Plain flour	150g	5 1/2 oz
Self-raising flour	150g	5 1/2 oz
Cornflour	150g	5 1/2 oz
Caster sugar	220g	7 3/4 oz

Brown sugar firmly packed	"220g	7 3/4 oz
White sugar	220g	7 3/4 oz
Icing sugar	160g	5 1/2 oz

Sour cream	235g	8 1/4 oz
Grated cheddar cheese	125g	4 1/2 oz
Grated Parmesan cheese	88g	3 oz
Butter	240g	8 1/2 oz
Yoghurt	280g	10oz
Choc chips	190g	6oz

Rice (cooked)	165g	5 3/4 oz
Rice (uncooked)	200g	7 oz
Couscous (cooked)	200g	7 oz

Ingredient (cup)	Metric	Imperial
Polenta (uncooked)	170g	6 oz
Rolled oats (cooked)	90 g	3 1/4 oz
Fresh breadcrumbs	50 g	1 1/4 oz
Packet breadcrumbs	100g	3 1/2 oz
Cup lentils (uncooked)	200g	7 oz
Dried beans	160g	5 1/2 oz
Pearl barley	220g	7 3/4 oz

Desiccated coconut	90 g	3 1/4 oz
Almond or hazelnut	125g	"4 1/2 oz
Chopped almonds	150g	5 1/4 oz
Chopped walnuts	120g	4 1/4 oz
Sultanas	160g	5 1/2 oz
Fresh herbs	40 g	1 1/2 oz

*Cup weight can change depending on type of herb and whether leaves are whole or chopped.

Length

Millimetres	Inches	(Approx)
3 mm	1/8	inch
6 mm	1/4	inch
8 mm	5/16	inch
10 mm	3/8	inch
13 mm	1/2	inch
15 mm	5/8	inch
19 mm	3/4	inch
22 mm	7/8	inch
30 mm	1	inch
50 mm	2	inches
100 mm	4	inches
250 mm	10	inches
500 mm	19 1/2	inches