This year, we’re embracing the warmth of a more thoughtful Christmas, and what better way to show you care than with a homemade gift? From traditional gingerbread to fruit mince frangipane pinwheels and Alex Kaew’s fun twist on the humble apple pie, we’ve got everything covered. Put on some good ol’ rock and roll and get the kids involved! It’s time to create some core Christmas memories.

Fruit Mince Frangipane Pinwheels

This is my festive twist on the traditional fruit mince pie. These pinwheels have me completely obsessed and are perfect for adding a bit of Chrissie cheer to your dessert table. Be sure to go back for more!

Makes: 16 individual pinwheels
4 sheets of Borg’s Original Puff Pastry

Fruit Mince

• 200g pitted prunes, chopped
• 180g cranberries, chopped
• 100g dried apricots, chopped
• 100g sultanas
• 2 tbsp Trentham Tucker
• Blood Orange Marmalade
• 250mL strong brewed black tea
• 1 tsp Christmas spice (or a mix of allspice, ginger, nutmeg)
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Frangipane

• 1/4 cup Sunny Queen Farms The Odd Eggs
• Ready-to-Pour Egg Mix
• 1/4 cups ground almonds
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 tbsp The Healthy Baker Plain Flour

Glaze

• 1 tbsp Sunny Queen Farms The Odd Eggs
• Ready-to-Pour Egg Mix
• 1 tbsp milk
• Cinnamon for dusting (optional)
• Lindt EXCELLENCE Extra Creamy Milk
• Chocolate Block 100g

Method:

1. To make the fruit mince, combine everything together and let it sit for at least 24 hours in the fridge to allow the fruit to absorb the liquids.
2. To make the frangipane, combine all of the ingredients together.
3. Preheat the oven to 180°C (or 160°C fan-forced).
4. Divide each pastry sheet into 4 squares. Lay each square onto a baking paperlined baking tray ready for assembly.
5. Dollop a tsp of frangipane onto the centre of each square and smooth to make a circle.
6. Cut from the corners of the pastry squares to almost the circle of frangipane.
7. Top with a dollop of fruit mince and spread over the frangipane.
8. Take every second triangle and bring up and squeeze them together to create a pinwheel shape.
9. To make the glaze, mix together the additional Sunny Queen Farms The Odd Eggs Ready-to-Pour Egg Mix and milk and brush over the pinwheels. Dust with cinnamon if you like.
10. Bake at 180°C for 15–17 mins until golden.
11. Melt Lindt EXCELLENCE Extra Creamy Milk Chocolate in a bowl and using a paper pipette/piping bag, drizzle chocolate on top.

Tip: These are best eaten on the day they are made but are still delicious the next day.

Notes: You can freeze these on a tray before you put on the egg wash. Once frozen, they can be stored in a container. To bake, just pop them in the oven for 20 mins. This recipe makes enough fruit mince for 32 pinwheels (double the amount for this recipe). The fruit mince keeps well in the fridge for 3–4 weeks. I like to make a batch in the lead up to Christmas and then I have fruit mince on hand for whipping up a batch of pinwheels whenever I fancy.

Gingerbread with Choccy Decorations

Celebrate the festive season with these delightful gingerbread cookies topped with fun decorations. These charming, decorated gingerbread cookies are great for sharing or adding a touch of magic to your Christmas dessert table — be sure to make a second batch as they won’t last long!

Makes: 20 gingerbread (depending on the size of your cutter)

• 3 1/4 cups The Healthy Baker Plain Flour (405g)
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tbsp ground ginger
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves

Wet Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (100g) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup (150g) dark-brown sugar
• 2/3 cup (about 200g) molasses or treacle
• 1 Sunny Queen Farms Egg
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Note: It’s best to have all of the wet ingredients at room temperature — this will ensure the mixture will cream together (rather than split).

To Decorate
Lindt EXCELLENCE 70% Cocoa Dark
Chocolate Block 100g

Method:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
2. In another large bowl, or a stand mixer, beat the butter until light and creamy (about one minute should do). Add the sugar and molasses or treacle and beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy.
3. Beat in the Sunny Queen Farm egg and vanilla extract and beat again until smooth and creamy. Throughout the beating process, remember to scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl with a silicone spatula as needed.
4. The mixture may separate here but that’s ok — the dry ingredients will bring it all back together.
5. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and beat on low speed until combined. The dough will be thick and sticky.
6. Divide the dough in half and place each into a large reusable wrap (I reuse zip-lock bags and these work well).
7. Chill discs for at least 3 hours and up to 3 days.
8. This chilling stage is essential for these gingerbread — I cannot emphasise this enough.
9. Preheat your oven to 180°C.
10. Remove one chilled disc of gingerbread dough from the fridge. Lightly flour your benchtop with The Healthy Baker Plain Flour.
11. Roll the gingerbread disc out to about half a centimetre. Cut into shapes — I like to use the people shape and the star shape.
12. Re-roll dough scraps until it’s used up. If the dough becomes soft, put the rolled slabs back into the fridge to harden again before cutting into shapes.
13. Repeat with the second disc of gingerbread.
14. Place the shape on the GreenLife Baking Tray, keeping the shapes about 2cm apart from each other (the gingerbread will rise out and up a little bit).
15. Bake for about 9–10 mins. If your biscuit cutters are less than 10cm wide, bake for 8 mins. If they are larger than 10cm, bake for 11 mins.
16. If you want a harder biscuit, bake for another minute or so. And remember, ovens vary! If you are unsure, start with baking just one tray at a time.
17. Allow to cool for 5 mins on the baking tray and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
18. Once cool, decorate with tempered Lindt EXCELLENCE 70% Cocoa Dark Chocolate. Block in a baking paper pipette.

Fun Thai Twist on an Apple Pie

Recipe / Alex Kaew, Charlong
St Kilda’s Charlong is a cosy, home-style Thai restaurant where co-owner and chef Alex Kaew (formerly of LongSong, Rice Paper Scissors and Hochi Mama) offers a dining experience reminiscent of her grandmother’s kitchen. Growing up in Chanthaburi, eastern Thailand, Kaew spent her childhood helping at her grandmother’s food stall. These cherished recipes, centred around charcoal grilling and wok cooking, inspired Charlong’s menu — a blend of tradition and innovation, with the restaurant’s name itself being a fusion of “charcoal” and “prolong”. Cooking with Emma this Christmas, Alex shares a fun twist on an apple pie.

Serves: 4

Miso Coconut Butterscotch (makes 1900mL)

• 600g brown sugar
• 600g coconut cream
• 500g unsalted butter
• 200g miso paste

Caramelised Apple Filling

• 1kg green apples
• 30mL lime juice
• 100g unsalted butter
• 100g brown sugar
• 20g cinnamon powder
• 4 Roti pastry casings

• 4 Roti pastry casings

1. First, make the butterscotch by caramelising butter and sugar slightly for colour.
2. Add coconut cream and bring to the boil.
3. Turn off heat and add miso paste.
4. Whisk until smooth.
5. Next, prepare the Caramelised Apple Filling by peeling and dicing the apples into lime water to avoid discolouration of the apple.
6. Use a heavy wide pot and begin to caramelise butter and brown sugar until mixed.
7. Add diced apples and cook well.
8. Strain apples from the sauce.
9. Leave apples to cool down.
10. Add Caramelised Apple Filling to roti pastry casings and place on coals until brown. You can also oven bake for 20 mins and grill until brown.
11. Serve warm with Miso Coconut Butterscotch.