Meals created with love are at the heart of every Christmas celebration. If you’re looking for some special holiday dishes to cook for your friends and family this year, you’ve come to the right place. Here, cook and MasterChef Australia alum Minoli De Silva shares her favourite festive recipes using Sunbeam Foods’ dried fruits and nuts.
From soft, juicy currants grown and dried on the vine in the Murray Basin region of Victoria to slivered almonds that bring a decorative touch to baking, the Sunbeam Foods range adds bursts of flavour and texture to make every meal one to celebrate.
Below, get inspired by Minoli’s delicious treats for every moment of the jolly holiday.
01
Breakfast: Almond star bread
Minoli’s take on almond star bread is pull-apart soft and crammed with spiced almond cream. Dusted with icing sugar and topped with nutty flaked almonds for a light crunch, the star-shaped pastry is the perfect meal to kickstart your Christmas celebrations.
There’s nothing better than watching your guests’ eyes light up as you present the main dish on Christmas day. This stunning pork belly is stuffed with a tasty mixture of pistachios, currants and cranberries seasoned with ginger and lemongrass. And of course, everyone loves crispy crackling!
03
Dessert: Fruit cake scrolls
Whip up the MasterChef Australia star’s chocolate-drizzled scrolls in under an hour. The fluffy dough is spread with a delicious butter fruit mixture — which includes cinnamon, zesty mixed fruit and melted dark chocolate — to create a dessert your guests will dream about. Be sure to make extra so there’s plenty to go around!
04
Dessert: Frozen cheesecake Christmas pudding
This towering cheesecake pudding is a real showstopper and makes for a conversation-starting centrepiece. Serving up to eight guests, the brandy-infused dessert is full of dried fruit and nuts, and decorated with a festive bouquet of raspberries, strawberries, and mint. Tip: Use fruit juice as a family-friendly substitute for the liquor.
05
Gifting: Macadamia nut cookies
Leave your guests with a heartfelt gift, such as Minoli’s crowd-pleasing cookies. Packed with juicy raspberries and crunchy macadamias, these quick and easy cookies — which can be made in under 30 minutes — are the perfect baking activity to get Santa’s little helpers involved in the kitchen
Sunbeam Foods has been growing premium quality dried fruits and nuts since 1926 to add bursts of colour, flavour, and texture to every meal.
