Plum Pudding with Macadamias

Here is my home made plum pudding topped with fresh raspberries and macadamias. Macadamias are great to add to Christmas cakes, slices, chocolate treats and sprinkle over cheesecakes to add a little native Australian specialness to Christmas fare.

Nutella Cheesecake with Macadamias

A quick and easy to make no bake cheesecake. Nutella, cheesecake and macadamias.......... yum! 

Rich and delicious, but not dense and heavy, ideal for a special treat.

Base:

200g (7 oz) chocolate biscuits, crushed (about 20 biscuits, or 1½ cups crushed biscuits)

2 tablespoons butter, melted or a little more

Filling:

500g (1 lb 2 oz) cream cheese

½ cup sugar

150g (5 fl oz) thickened cream, lightly whipped

4 tablespoons Nutella

I cup macadamia nuts, finely chopped

1.       Grease and line a 20cm (8 inch) springform cake tin.

2.       Stir the butter into the crushed chocolate biscuits to combine. Press into the base of the tin, using the bottom of a flat bottomed glass to push the crumbs firmly in place. Refrigerate.

3.       Beat the cream cheese on low for a few minutes or until softened and smooth. Add the sugar and cream gradually until well combined and smooth. Add half of the nuts and stir through. Stir in the Nutella.

4.   Spoon into tin and smooth the top. Sprinkle over the remaining nuts and refrigerate, until serving.

Variation: Also sprinkle grated chocolate over the top of the cheesecake.

Choclate Macadamia Meringue

Chocolatey, gooey and delicious with dark chocolate and macadamias. This meringue is easy to make and lovely for Christmas celebrations or as a special treat anytime.

Serves 8

3 egg whites

½ cup castor sugar

1 cup macadamias, roughly chopped

120g (4 oz) dark chocolate, finely chopped

2 tablespoons Dutch cocoa powder

1. Preheat oven to 170°C (340°F). Grease and line an 8 inch (20cm) springform cake tin.
2. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.
3. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until mixture become glossy and stiff peaks form.
4. Reserve some of the nuts and chocolate for decorating the cake and gently fold in the remaining chocolate and nuts together with the cocoa powder. Spoon mixture into cake tin and smooth the top.
5. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until firm. Cool on a cake rack. Decorate with grated chocolate and reserved nuts.

Hummingbird Cake with Macadamias

This cake originates from the American South, and traditionally uses pineapple, bananas, walnuts and coconut. My Australian version uses macadamias instead of walnuts. Macadamias combine well with pineapple which is grown in Australia in the same climatic regions as the nuts.

3 cups plain (all purpose) flour

2 cups sugar

1 cup desiccated coconut

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup sunflower oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup macadamias, chopped

3 ripe bananas, mashed, about 1 cup

1 cup chopped fresh pineapple with a little juice (or canned crushed pineapple, drained)

Cream cheese icing (frosting)

125g (4oz) cream cheese

2 tablespoons butter

15ml (3 teaspoons) lemon juice

 1 ½ cups icing (confectioners’) sugar

To Decorate

1 cup whole Macadamia nuts

1.       Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease a 23cm (9 in) deep cake tin and line with baking paper.

2.       Sift the flour, sugar, coconut, cinnamon and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl. Add the eggs, oil, macadamias, bananas and pineapple and stir until well mixed.

3.       Pour mixture into tin and smooth the top. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean and the cake is golden brown. Cool in tin for 10- 15 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack.

4.       To make icing eat together the cream cheese, butter and lemon juice until smooth, then beat in the icing sugar until it is fluffy. Spread over cooled cake allowing to drape over the edges. Top with a pile of macadamia nuts.

 

 

The Australian Macadamia Cookbook by Deborah Nelson

Here is my book in print form at last. 60 full colour pages of Macadamia inspired recipes. There are recipes for breakfast, salads, meals, entertaining, cakes, biscuits, cookies, slices/bars, desserts, chocolate and Christmas. I am selling them for $20 each and $6 for postage and handling within Australia, directly via email. To order please email me at deborah.nelson2000@gmail.com. They will also be available at a few macadamia related shops or outlets.

My Australian Macadamia Cookbook is now available as an ebook

To take a look go to:

http://www.amazon.com/Australian-Macadamia-Cookbook-Deborah-Nelson-ebook/dp/B00U5E0P4C/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1426889273&sr=1-1&keywords=the+australian+macadamia+cookbook

Date Boats

To make these healthy and tasty little morsels you need some fresh dates, chopped macadamias and a few sesame seeds. Slice dates length ways and remove seeds. Fill with the nuts, place on a serving tray and sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Garnish with some fresh green herbs or cucumber slices and a freshly picked flower.