Delicious Delights: 3 Super Simple Sweet Treats To Try This Winter

As we quickly approach winter in Australia, there is no better time to start preparing delicious comfort foods to keep us warm from within. If you are someone with a sweet tooth, winter can be the perfect time to whip up amazing baked crumbles, molten lava cakes, warm puddings and so much more. Afterall, there is nothing more comforting than curling up on the couch with a good book and a generous portion of feel-good desserts when it is cold and miserable outside.  

If you’re an avid home baker in search of new recipes to whip up this Winter, you’ve come to the right place. Today, we share our 3 favourite simple sweet treats to try this Winter, so keep on reading to find out more! 

1. Warm Flourless Orange Cake (Gluten Free)

Ingredients:

• 2 large Valencia or Navel Oranges (weighing around 300g with the skin on)
• Large pot of water, for boiling

• 6 Eggs 
• 250g Caster Sugar
• Generous pinch of Salt
• 1 ¼ teaspoon Gluten Free Baking Powder
• 250g Almond Meal (Natural or Blanched) 

Tools: Food Processor, 9 inch round Baking Tin

Method:

1. Place oranges in a large pot (skin and all) and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil over medium high heat and then reduce to a simmer. 
2. Cover the pot with a lid and allow the oranges to simmer for 90 minutes. 
3. Once oranges have simmered, remove from the pan and set aside.
4. Preheat the oven to 160°C/320°F (140°C fan). Grease and line a 9 inch cake tin with baking/parchment paper.
5. Place oranges, which should still be warm at this point, into a food processor and process on high for 30 seconds. 
6. Add almond meal, eggs, gluten free baking powder and sugar to the food processor. Blend for 5 – 10 seconds on high until combined.
7. Pour batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake for 60 minutes or until the surface of your cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
8. Allow the cake to cool for 30 minutes in the cake pan before unmolding and enjoying the cake warm. 
9. Decorate with a dusting of icing sugar, cut, then serve!

    2. Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes

Ingredients:

• 125g Highest Quality Unsalted Butter
• 180g Bittersweet Chocolate (we used Callebaut Recipe N° 811)
• 2 Eggs
• 2 Egg Yolks
• Generous Pinch of Sea Salt 
• 2 tablespoons Plain Flour

• Cocoa Powder, for dusting ramekins
• Extra Butter, for greasing ramekins

Tools: 4 x 6 ounce Baking Ramekins 

1. Preheat the oven to 225°C. To coat a ramekin with cocoa powder, butter it lightly and fill it with sifted cocoa powder. Rotate so that the ramekin’s sides are coated, and then set the ramekins on a baking sheet.
2. In a double boiler, over simmering water, melt the butter with the bittersweet chocolate. 
3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the egg yolks, sugar and salt at high speed with an electric mixer until thickened and pale.
4. Whisk the chocolate/butter mixture until smooth. Quickly fold it into the egg mixture along with the flour. 
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared ramekins and bake for 12 minutes, or until the sides of the cakes are firm but the centres are soft. 
6. Let the cakes cool in the ramekins for 1 minute, then cover each with an inverted dessert plate. 
7. Carefully turn each one over, let stand for 10 seconds and then unmold. Serve immediately.

   3. Ultimate Sticky Toffee Pudding

Ingredients:

• 200g pitted Medjool Dates
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 250 ml Boiling Water
• 40g Brown Sugar
• 90g Unsalted Butter, softened
• 2 large Eggs, at room temperature
• 185 g Plain Flour
• 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

For Toffee Sauce:

• 200g Brown Sugar
• 350g Heavy or Thickened Cream
• 1/2 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract or Vanilla Bean Paste 
• 70g Salted Butter 
• Sprinkle of Sea Salt 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C or 160°C convection. Grease and line a 20 cm / 8 inch square cake pan with overhang. Set aside.
2. Place dates in a bowl and sprinkle with baking soda. Immediately pour over boiling water and allow to stand for 10 minutes.
3. After 10 minutes, use an immersion blender to mash the date mixture well until it resembles sloppy porridge. Set aside.
4. Prepare cake batter. 
5. Place softened butter and sugar in a bowl. Either using a wooden spoon or an electric mixer, beat until combined and smooth.
6. Add eggs one at a time and beat until incorporated.
7. Dumpl in flour then sprinkle baking powder across the surface. Mix until flour is incorporated.
8. Finally, add date mixture and quickly mix into the batter. 
9. Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake for 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
10. Whie the cake is baking, prepare the toffee sauce by placing ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Once butter is melted, stir and bring to a simmer.
11. Simmer for 2 minutes, stirring once, then remove from heat. Set aside. 
12. While your cake is still hot, poke about 30 holes all over the surface using a skewer. 
13. Pour over 1/2 cup toffee sauce and leave to soak for 10 minutes.
14. Use overhang to lift the cake out. Cut, serve warm with remaining warm sauce.

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And there you have it – 3 incredible dessert recipes that are an absolute godsend on a cold, winter night. Will you be trying any of these recipes in the coming months? If you do, don’t forget to leave a comment to let us know how it went. Bon Appetit!