No Bake Christmas Cake- Vegan!

This frozen fruit cake is the perfect treat for Christmas celebrations! Here, when it's hitting 30, a refreshing dessert is always welcomed. This light, coconut infused, cake is ideal to wow your party guests and get away from the traditional heavy and rich Christmas cake.

Ingredients:

400g dried fruit (mixture- think apricots, sultanas, cranberries, pineapple)
Water or Fruit Juice or Port Wine

100g mixed nuts
170g dry chocolate chip biscuits

2 tins coconut cream NOT LIGHT AND NOT MILK!
Ground ginger

Method:

Put tins of coconut cream in the freezer.

Line a springform pan with plastic wrap leaving enough on the outer edge to cover up when freezing later.

Add fruit to TM bowl. Chop 3x TURBO. Set in a bowl and soak in enough liquid to cover the fruit.

Add nuts, biscuits to TM bowl. Chop 2x TURBO. Add enough to the springform pan just to cover the bottom. Set the rest aside for later!

Wait 30 minutes for fruit to finish soaking. Then strain fruit. Put into a mixing bowl.

When ready to assemble...

Insert butterfly*. Take coconut cream out of freezer and do not shake. Open and scoop out the cream (the water has now separated to the bottom of the tin) and place in TM bowl. Whip until fluffy on speed 3.5 (about 30 seconds).

Add a few dashes of ginger to the fruit and begin to fold in the coconut cream using the spatula.


Scoop 1/2 of the mixture on to the crumb base and spread carefully to the edges. Add crumble (leaving a few tablespoons for the top) and repeat with the remaining coconut cream. 

Then top with the last of the crumble.

Cover with the overhanging plastic wrap. Place in freezer for at least 3 hours. 

Let sit for 15 minutes before serving. Remove spring form outer ring and slice with a sharp knife!

 *To properly insert the Butterfly in the TM bowl you must locate to highest blade with the bump. Then insert the Butterfly so that it pushed CLOCKWISE on the BLUNT edge of that blade. You must always slowly turn the speed up when using butterfly and never go past 4. This allows it to 'catch'. If you stop in between whipping you must also carefully hold the top of the butterfly when increasing to speed to ensure that it catches.

Strawberry-Orange Juice in the Thermomix

On hot summer days nothing beats a cold refreshing and healthy juice!

Why is juicing healthier and better in the Thermomix?

- incorporates the fibre into the juice

- no waste

- retains nutrients and enzymes

- diluted fructose

- antioxidants incorporated (from seeds)

Ingredients & Method:

200g fresh whole strawberries

2 oranges, peeled and halved

100g water

1 tray ice cubes

Put all ingredients in the TM bowl. Chop 20 seconds, speed 5. Blend 2 minutes, speed 8. Serve immediately or pop in the fridge. It will be a bit slushy at first with the ice, but I take mine to work for morning tea and it's a great smooth juice consistency. 

Happy Thermomixing!

Juicing in the Thermomix! Easy!!!

I woke up this morning, everyday this week mind you, with terrible hayfever. It is quite bad; I can't breathe trough my nose, have itchy watery puffy eyes, scratchy throat and somehow my nose runs and is completely blocked at the same time with generous helpings of sneezes!!!  I know I'm not alone but this is all a part of my Oral Allergy Syndrome. My seasonal allergies have been getting progressively worse since moving here so I am just hoping that all of this desensitization from Canadian pollen isn't going to be replaced by Aussie pollens. I desperately want to continue eating these new families of fruit/veg/nuts.

So this morning I figured my body deserves some vitamin c to help ward off any germs I may bring in through all the nose blowing and touching and clear this sinus infection. I can't taste food in this state so no point in whipping up something decadent. I stuck with a simple juice and it was so good! I could taste the fresh grapefruit and enjoyed basically pulp free juice in 2 minutes...go Thermo!

Ingredients:

2 oranges, peeled and halved 

1 grapefruit, peeled and cut in thirds

1 tray of ice

Add all ingredients to TM bowl. 

Chop at speed 5, 20-30 seconds (until the MC settles down), then blend for 2 minutes, speed 9. You can insert the basket if you'd like to strain the pulp- just make sure you've lined up the lip of the basket with the pouring lip of the TM bowl. I don't find there to be much left after the 2 minutes so I don't bother!!!

Other favourite combos:

2 oranges, peeled and halved
1 lemon, peeled and halved
1 tray of ice

OR

1 apple, quartered
1 orange, peeled and halved
1 lemon, peeled and halved
1 tray of ice

Happy Thermomixing :)

Raspberry Fruity Dream Thermomix

I've perfected the single serve of Fruity Dream which is both a positive AND negative! I am loving the guilt free pleasure for dessert most nights (!), but I have so many other things I could try! Here it is...try and resist...

Ingredients: 

50g raw sugar

200g frozen raspberries

Cold water

Method: 

Mill sugar 10 seconds, speed 9.

Add berries and chop 10 seconds, speed 8. 

Insert butterfly. Add water (a few splashes, you have to listen out to see if more is needed depending on the berries- if the blade/butterfly isn't turning add more through top hole. Mix 30 seconds, speed 3. 

Eat! Happy Thermomixing!