Chocolate and Quandong Cupcakes with Quandong Cream Cheese

Quandongs are one of my most loved native Australian flavours - this wild peach has a gorgeous deep pink colour, and a delicious tart yet sweet taste that I adore. My kids love Quandong Jam, that classic preserve, and recently I came up with the idea of making cupcakes with a nod to Black Forest Cake, but simpler and with a native Australian twist.

This chocolate cupcake recipe is tweaked from the classic Chocolate Simplicity Cake my mum made when we were kids. The 'icing' is a sweetened cream cheese, rather than the butter mix of a true icing recipe - I love the cream cheese taste. You can also use your own favourite cupcake recipe, or even try it with a vanilla cake for a totally different flavour!

INGREDIENTS

CUPCAKES
1 cup plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup cocoa
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup melted butter
1/4 cup Quandong Jam

ICING
250g block cream cheese
1 cup icing sugar
2 tbsp Outback Pride Quandong Jam


METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius. Line a cupcake tray with paper liners.
    
2. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar and cocoa. Add eggs, vanilla extract and gradually pour in milk while stirring.
    
3. Add the melted butter to the mix, and stir well to combine.
    
4. Spoon the cake mix into the cupcake liners, taking care not to over fill.
    
5. Place the cupcakes in to the preheated oven, and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until cooked through. Allow to cool slightly before turning out onto a wire rack.
    
6. Meanwhile, use an electric beater to whip the cream cheese until softened. Add the vanilla extract and icing sugar, then mix well. When the cream cheese is smooth and light, add the Quandong Jam and mix again to combine.
    
7. When the cupcakes are cool, use a teaspoon to remove a round cap from each top. Spoon 1 teaspoon of Quandong Jam into each cupcake, and then replace the cap.
    
8. Top each cupcake with the Quandong Cream Cheese, and enjoy!

Makes 12 cupcakes

Cinnamon and Wattleseed Porridge

This is totally one of my new favourite breakfasts! I make it without any sugar, you can always sprinkle some over the top if it feels like it's missing :) It could also be a yummy dessert. I go pretty heavy on the cinnamon, it's one of my favourite ingredients, so if you prefer a milder porridge I'd recommend increasing the oats to 1 cup and the milk to 2 cups for the same quantity of spices.

Makes one generous serving or 2 small serves.

Cinnamon and Wattleseed Porridge - with a nice pot of tea!

Ingredients

3/4 cup oats
1.5 cups milk
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground wattleseed
Optional: Fresh blueberries or Australian Wild Fruits

Method

Stir the dry oats with the cinnamon and wattleseed in a non-stick saucepan.

Pour in the milk and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally.

Reduce the heat to a simmer and, stiring occasionally, simmer for about 7 minutes.

Add blueberries if they are in season, I didn't have any when I first made this but they are a divine addition!

If you have Australian Wild Fruits, they really bring it to another level of scrumptiousness, the perfect addition to a luxurious and comforting brunch :)

Blueberry and Desert Passion Pavlova

I'm going to begin with a disclaimer - this is not an actual pavlova recipe. More of a serving suggestion really. I don't have a great pav (you know, the meringue bit) recipe and tend to buy a premade one when I'm in a hurry to get to a BBQ or something. I just know this would be amazing with a homemade meringue base a la Nigella Lawson!

In any case, this topping combo is delightful :)

Ingredients

1 large pavlova base
500ml cream, whipped
2 punnets blueberries
Outback Pride Desert Passion Syrup
Dark chocolate, to flake over top (optional)

Method

Dollop the whipped cream over the top of the pavlova base. Gently top with as many blueberries as fit across it!

Drizzle with Desert Passion syrup and garnish with chocolate flakes if you desire. I kind of like it without but it visually adds a nice touch, so maybe just a little is a good compromise.

Serves 10-12

Wattleseed Affogato

My favourite dessert-drink is the affogato. They can be done differently, garnished with biscotti, livened up with liqueur or kept simple. I'm loving this wattleseed version lately!

Ingredients

150ml Strong brewed coffee
1 teaspoon ground wattleseed, plus a pinch to sprinkle
1 pinch cinnamon
2 scoops vanilla icecream or vanilla bean gelato

Step One

Brew the coffee. Scoop the icecream or gelato into a glass.

Step Two

Combine the brewed hot coffee with 1 teaspoon wattleseed. Pour over the icecream in the glass.

Step Three

Sprinkle with cinnamon and extra wattleseed. Yum!

Mark Olive's Fruity Quandong and Rosella Flower Roll

A couple of weeks ago Mark Olive cooked on The Circle on channel Ten and made a Fruity Quandong and Rosella Flower Roll, which looked super yum :) You can play the video above. Mark has been on The Circle a couple of times and you can find the recipes and video on their website. I'll also share them here over time.

Chocolate and Wattleseed Cookies

Ingredients

100g chocolate chips
1/4 cup ground Wattleseed
1 egg
100g butter
1 cup plain flour
1 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence

Step One

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Cream butter and caster sugar. Add egg and stir to combine.

Step Two

Add all the reminaing ingredients and mix well.

Step Three

Line a baking tray with baking/non-stick paper. Place tablespoon sized balls of cookie dough, evenly spaced, on the baking tray. Flatten slightly.

Step Four

Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool on a tray. Enjoy!

Wild Fruits Ice Cream Cone

Take some creamy vanilla ice cream, gently combine with some Australian Wild Fruits and a bit of the syrup. Add to cone. If the ice cream melts while mixing, freeze again until firm. 

Pear Passion Tartlets

These individually served pear tarts are ideal for a dinner party and oh-so-easy to prepare. Each pear and sheet of puff pastry makes four tartlets.

Ingredients

1 sheet butter puff pastry, thawed
1 large, well-ripened pear
4 tablespoons Outback Pride Desert Passion syrup

Step One
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Cut the pear vertically into half-centimetre slices. Place the four largest slices in the four quarters of the sheet of puff pastry.

Step Two

Lay baking paper on a large baking tray. Cut the pastry into quarters and carefully place each quarter - with its pear slice - on the sheet of baking paper. Make sure they aren't touching. Drizzle each tartlet with 1 tablespoon Outback Pride Desert Passion syrup.

Step Three
Place in the moderate oven and bake for 15 minutes, or until the pastry around the pear slice is golden and puffy. You may sprinkle with caster or icing sugar if you like, and serve with ice cream or cream.

Apple and Desert Passion Crumble

This recipe is really an idea - the addition of Desert Passion Syrup to the stewed apple base is just divine! If you have your own preferred combo for crumble toppings, feel free to use that instead of the basic mix in this version. The addition of oats to the crumble is also a good idea.

Ingredients:

2 large apples, cut into eighths
1/4 cup water
2 tbsps Outback Pride Desert Passion Syrup
1/2 cup plain flour
1 tbsp butter
1/3 cup raw sugar
1 tsp Outback Pride Ground Wattleseed

Step One
Add apples and water to a saucepan and cook over low heat for 10 minutes, or until soft and stewed.

Step Two

Use your fingertips to mix the butter and flour together, until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the raw sugar and wattleseed, and stir to combine. Add extra sugar to taste.

Step Three

Spoon the stewed apples into two ramekins and top each with one tablespoon of Outback Pride Desert Passion Syrup. Sprinkle the crumble over the filling, and place the ramekins inside your preheated oven.

Step Four
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until topping has a crispness to it. Serve with ice-cream.

Makes 2 x 250ml ramekin crumbles, serves 2-4

Carrot and Wattleseed Cake

This is one of my mum's recipes, amended a little and with the addition of Outback Pride's ground wattleseed.

Ingredients

1 cup wholemeal self-raising flour
1 cup plain flour (white)
1 tsp bicarb of soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons Outback Pride Ground Wattleseed
1 cup raw sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
4 medium carrots

Step One

Sift flours, bicarb of soda, cinnamon and wattleseed into a large bowl. Add sugar and oil, and mix well.

Step Two

Grate the carrots and set aside. Put eggs and sour cream into a separate bowl and mix well.

Step Three

Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and combine until smooth. Add the grated carrot and mixed well.

Step Four

Grease and line two loaf tins, or just one round baking tin. Pour in the cake mixture. Bake at 180 degrees for about 45 minutes, pierce with a skewer in the middle to check if it is cooked through.

Step Five

Stand for a few minutes, and then turn onto a wire rack to cool. When cool, spread with the Cream Cheese Frosting and serve.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Combine 120g cream cheese, 1 teaspoon lemon rind (or try Ground Lemon Myrtle for a herby lemon tang!) and 30g butter. Gradually add 1 1/2 cups sifted icing sugar and stir until smooth.

Chocolate and Wattleseed Self-Saucing Pudding

First of all, sorry for the delay! I was in South Australia last weekend and the weekend before so recipes have been hit and miss for a few weeks. Second of all, Outback Pride products are now available in Oxfam stores - yay! This is very exciting for me as the nearest (large) shopping centre to me is Knox, 10 minutes away, and there is an Oxfam store there. Now I know where to send people who ask me where to buy these delicious products. Fantastic. The Oxfam fair trade coffee is pretty good too.

This chocolate pudding is an old family fave, I'm not even sure where the original recipe came from. It's just an Askham thing ;) Since I know the recipe by heart it was pretty easy to experiment, and the addition of wattleseed is a big success - adding an earthy nutty flavour in a perfect complement to the chocolate-y flavour. You can also replace the cocoa with instant coffee to make a Coffee and Wattleseed pud for a more mature flavour.

Ingredients

2 oz butter or dairy spread, softened
1/2 cup raw sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 cup self-raising flour
1/2 cup milk
1 heaped dessert-spoon cocoa
1 heaped dessert-spoon Outback Pride Ground Wattleseed

Sauce:
1/2 cup raw sugar
2 heaped dessert-spoons cocoa
1 3/4 cup hot water


Step One

Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl (suitable for baking or microwaving). Add egg and vanilla essence, mixing well.

Step Two

Sift the flour, cocoa and Ground Wattleseed into the bowl, adding the milk as you stir to combine. OK, to be honest, I never actually sift it :) I just throw it all in and stir vigorously!

Step Three

To make the sauce, combine cocoa and sugar before sprinkling it over the top of the pudding. Pour over the hot water. Cover the bowl with plastic cling wrap. Microwave for 7 and a half minutes on high. This might vary depending on your microwave, you can skewer the pudding to make sure it is cooked. Alternatively, leave off the plastic wrap and bake in a moderate oven (180 C) for about 45 minutes.

Step Four

Serve hot with icecream and/or cream. Enjoy!

Dairy-Free Wattleseed and Banana Bread

This recipe has been coverted from a Banana Bread recipe found on www.taste.com.au - the addition of wattleseed is an interesting and tasty variation. My version is also dairy-free, but I've listed the standard dairy ingredients as well - they taste just as good if you have no dietary reason to avoid milk products!

Ingredients

Melted dairy-free spread (such as Nuttelex), to grease - alternatively, use butter or a dairy spread
1 3/4 cup self-raising flour
1/4 cup plain flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2/3 cup (firmly packed) brown sugar
2 tbsp Outback Pride Ground Wattleseed
1/2 cup lite soy milk (or low fat cow's milk)
2 eggs, lightly whisked
50g dairy-free spread (or butter), melted, cooled
2 overripe medium bananas, mashed


Step One

Preheat oven to 180 degrees centigrade. Brush a loaf pan with dairy-free spread to grease. Line the base and long sides with baking paper, allowing sides to overhang.

Step Two
Sift the combined flours, Ground Wattleseed and cinnamon into a large bowl. Stir in the sugar. Make a well in the centre. Combine the soy milk, egg, dairy-free spread and banana in a bowl. Add the mix mixture to the flour mixture and stir until only just combined. Spoon into the prepared pan and smooth the surface.

Step Three
Bake in oven for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Set aside in pan for 5 minutes to cool before turning out to cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into slices and serve. Also delicious lightly toasted before serving with butter or dairy-free spread!

Wild Fruits Pavlova

This pavlova is super easy to prepare, and oh so yummy! Mmm I wouldn't mind a bit more myself, pity I fed it all to my guests the other night ;) If you prefer to make your own pavlova shell or meringues from scratch, there are a variety of recipes over at Taste.com.au

Ingredients

Pre-made pavlova shell, feeds 14
600ml thickened cream
1 jar Outback Pride Australian Wild Fruits in Syrup
1 Cadbury flake chocolate bar

Step One


Whip the cream with an electric beater or stick mixer. Carefully remove pavlova from box and place on a large plate.

Step Two


Spread all the whipped cream over the top of the pavlova.

Step Three


Spoon the jar of Australian Wild Fruits in Syrup over the top of the pavlova, including the syrup.

Step Four


Crumble the Flake chocolate bar and sprinkle over the top of the pavlova. Serve, and enjoy!


OTHER IDEAS

Make or buy small meringue shells and use the same method to make individual serves of this recipe.

Another yummy meringue topping is a small amount of passionfruit pulp (fresh or from a tin) with Desert Passion Syrup drizzled over the top.

Australian Wild Fruits in Syrup would also taste great simply over icecream, stirred through an apple pie or mixed with other fruit in a baked fruit crumble.