Pumpkin & Cheese Muffins
50g butter
1 onion, finely diced
1 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
1 pkt Maggi Creme of Pumpkin Soup mix
11/2 cups plain flour
1 tbls baking powder
3/4 cup grated cheese
Heat butter, add onion and cook till soft. Cool. Stir in milk and egg. Sift soup mix, flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add residue from sifter. Stir in the cheese. Make a well in the centre, pour in the liquid. Mix gently until just combined. Cook for 15-20 mninutes at 220C, until golden brown.
Chicken & Corn Soup
440g can whole kernel corn
water
2 tbls butter
1 small onion, finely diced
2 tbls flour
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1 cup evaporated mild
2 tsp chicken stock powder
11/2 cups diced cooked chicken
chopped chives to serve
Drain the corn, reserving the liquid. Measure and make up to 11/2 cups with water. Set the liquid and corn aside. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, add the onion and cook until softened. Stir in the flour and mustard and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Combine the reserved liquid, evaporated milk and stock powder. Stir into the onion mixture. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly, then simmer for 2-3 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add the corn and chicken. Cook, stirring for a further 3-4 minutes or until the soup is thoroughly reheated. Serve sprinkled with chopped chives. Serves 4-6.
Shortbread (the creamy type, not the gritty stuff)
250g butter, softened
2 cups plain flour
125g icing sugar
1 cup cornflour
Cream butter and sugar well. Add dry ingredients. Mix and knead well. Form into a log and slice. Bake 150C for 30 minutes (or until showing the very faintest, faintest hint of colour).
Pavlova Roll
4 egg whites
1 cup castor sugar
1 cup cream
1/4 cup passionfruit pulp
Beat egg whites until stiff. Gradually add caster sugar and beat until stiff and glossy. Spread meringue onto a baking paper-lined 20 x 30 sponge roll tin. Bake at 180C for 15 minutes or until golden and set. turn meringue onto a piece of baking paper. Remove paper base. Leave to cool for 5-10 minutes. Beat cream till thick. Mix in passionfruit pulp. Spread over meringue. Roll meringue up from the long side using the paper to help. Chill before serving. Serves 6.
Layered Potato Savoury
3 potatoes, thinly sliced
1 small tin of whole kernel corn, drained
2 rashers of bacon, finely chopped
2 spring onions, finely chopped
1 pkt of Creme of Chicken soup mix
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup grated cheese
1/2 cup cream
Place 1/2 the potato over the base of a shallow, oven-proof dish. Spread the corn over the potatoes. Place 1/2 the bacon and onions over the corn mixture. Sprinkle 1/2 the soup mix over the corn. Arrange potato on top. Combine the rest of the soup mix with the milk and cream. Pour over the potatoes. Cover the dish and bake at 180C for 30 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese and remaining bacon. Bake for a further 30 minutes until golden and potato is cooked. Serves 4.
Seafood Sauce (for shrimp cocktails and the like)
150mls cream
1 tblspn worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup tomato sauce (use your all time favourite as a
good sauce makes it)
Whip the cream and add all other ingredients. Mix until combined.
Strawberry Fruit Trifle
1 med sponge
1/4 cup strawberry jam
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup sweet sherry (or less if you're like me and don't like it soggy)
250g (approx 1 punnet) strawberries
3/4 cup cream
custard
1/4 cup custard powder
2 1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup caster sugar
jelly
85g pkt strawberry jelly
1 1/2 cups boiling water
Spread one side of the sponge with jam. Cut into cubes. Arrange jam-side-up over base of a serving bowl. Sprinkle almonds and sherry over cake. Reserve 4 strawberries for garnish. Cut remaining into quarters and arrange over cake. Custard; Combine custard powder and alittle of the milk in a saucepan. Blend until smooth. Stir in remaining milk, cream and sugar. Cook over heat, stirring until it boils and thickens. Cool to room temperature. Pour custard over strawberries. Refrigerate until set. Jelly; Combine jelly crystals with boiling water in a bowl. Stir until crystals are dissolved. Refrigerate until set. Chop jelly, place over custard. Whip cream. Decorate the trifle with cream and reserved strawberries.
Festive Orange Bombe
1 cup white melts (or your favourite white chocolate, chopped)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
600mls cream, whipped
1 cup milk chocolate chips
2 tsp brandy
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
2 tbls finely grated orange rind
1 tbls cointreau or orange juice
Combine white chocolate and ilk in a saucepan. Cook over very low heat, stirring until chocolate just melts. Cool to room temperature; fold in whipped cream. Place a third of the mixture into a small bowl. Stir in chips, brandy and essence; set aside in fridge. Stir cointreau and rind into remaining mix. Turn into a 5 cup square tin or loaf tin. Freeze for 2-3 hours. When firm, spread an even layer over the inside of the tin. Leave a hollow in the center. Fill with chocolate mix. Cover and freeze a further 4 hours or till very firm. Turn out for serving.
Steak Dianne (simple but flippen gorgeous!)
2 pieces fillet steak
1 tbls cream
1 tbls chopped parsley
freshly ground pepper
30g butter
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tbls worcestershire sauce
Pound steaks to a 5mm thickness. Season each side with pepper. Melt butter in the frying pan, add steaks; cook 1 minute, moving steaks around in pan to prevent sticking. While the steaks are cooking on one side, rub crushed garlic into top of each steak. Turn steak over. Add worcestershire sauce to pan, swirl steaks around in pan juices when cooked as desired. Quickly stir in cream and parsley. Serve.
Spicy Peanut Sauce
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tbls finely chopped root ginger
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
2 tbls soy sauce
1 tbls sugar
1 tsp curry powder
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup natural sweetened yoghurt
Place all ingredients except the yoghurt into a saucepan. Mix together and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Stir in yoghurt and serve.
Lamb & Bacon Casserole
2-3 neck chops per person (no more than
750g in total)
30g butter
2 tbls oil
125g bacon pieces
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 tbls flour, extra
salt and pepper
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 tbls tomatoe sauce
1 1/2 cups water or 3/4 white wine and
3/4 water
1 rounded tsp chicken stock powder
Dust chops lightly with flour which has been seasoned with the salt and pepper. Heat butter and oil in a large frying pan; add chops and brown well. Transfer chops to a casserole dish. Add onion and bacon to pan. Saute until onion is transparent. Put onion and bacon over the chops. Add extra flour to the pan; cook until brown. Add water, w. sauce, t. sauce, stock, salt and pepper. Stir until the suace thickens; reduce the heat. Simmer for 1 minute. Pour sauce over chops. Cover and bake 160°c to 170°c until tender (aprox 2 to 3 hours).
Tarragon & Parsley Dressing
300mls olive oil
120mls balsamic vinegar
1 tbls wholegrain mustard
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tsp frsh tarragon and parsley (combined)
brown sugar to taste (aprox 1 tbls)
Add all ingredients to a water tight jar, and shake until well combined. Refrigerate. Note: If you want it a little more tangy, use more balsamic vinegar and less oil.
Tarragon Chicken
1 whole chicken (previously roasted)
30g butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 tbls flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup white wine
1 tsp chicken stock powder
2 tbls french mustard (I use wholegrain)
salt & pepper
1 tsp dried tarragon, or 1 tbls fresh
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tbls parsley
1/2 cup cream
Shred chicken. Melt butter and saute onions. Add flour and mustard. Take pan from heat and add milk, slowly, stirring well. Place back on heat stirring continuously and add all other ingredients except wine. Once the mixture has thickened, add the wine slowly, stirring well. Serve.
Mushroom Gravy
45g butter
8-10 mushrooms, sliced thinly
2 tbls flour
2 tsp paprika
1 cup chicken stock (1 rounded tsp
powder, to 1 cup water)
1/2 cup light sour cream
Melt butter in a saucepan and gently fry the mushrooms for 2 minutes. Blend in flour and paprika then stir in stock. Cook gently until boiling, stirring. Remove from heat, stir in sour cream and serve immediately.
Indonesian Sausages
1 tsp butter
500g sausages
1 onion, sliced
1 tsp curry powder
1 large apple, sliced
1 packet creme of chicken soup mix (powder)
1 1/4 cups water
chopped parsley
Heat butter in a fry pan. Brown sausages. Remove and set aside. Drain off the fat. Add onion to the pan. Cook until soft. Add curry and apples, and cook 1 to 2 minutes. Combine soup mix and water. Stir into the pan and bring to the boil, stirring. Add sausages. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve with rice.
Rosemary Snails
125g sausage mince
1 small carrot, grated
1 spring onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tsp tomato paste (or sauce is fine)
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1 sheet puff pastry
Preheat oven to 210°c. Line baking tray with paper. Mix mince, carrot, onion, paste, curry and rosemary in a medium bowl. Spread evenly over the pastry sheet and roll up to form a log, using a little milk brushed on the pastry end to seal the log. Cut log into 1cm clices. Lay about 4cm apart on the tray. Bake for 20 minuts, until golden brown (but NOT overdone). Can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Macaroni & Cheese, with Pineapple
350g macaroni
450g can crushed pineapple
1 tbls chicken stock powder
2 cups boiling water
75g butter
6 tbls flour
1 tsp salt
pepper to taste
2 cups grated tasty cheese
3 rashers bacon
Drain pineapple, reserving juice. Dissolve stock in boiling water. Melt butter in saucepan and stir in flour, salt and pepper. Add pineapple juice and stock one cup at a time. Heat and stir after each addition. Cook macaroni in a large saucepan of boiling water until just ender. Drain macaroni and rinse with cold water. Spread 1/2 the macaroni over base of a buttered dish at least 23cm in diameter. Sprinkle 1/2 the cheese and spoon 1/2 the sauce over the macaroni. Repeat, using remaining macaroni and cheese, then top with pineapple. Cover with remaining sauce. Cut bacon into small squares and spread evenly over top of dish. Bake uncovered at 180C for 30 minutes or until heated thoroughly and bacon is crisp.
Lime Cheesecake
200g malt biscuits
75g butter
750g cream cheese
200g castor sugar
4 whole eggs
2 yolks
juice of 4 or 5 limes
20-21cm springform cake tin
kitchen foil
Place a large overlapping piece of foil over the bottom of the springform tin, and then insert the pan ring over it. Fold the foil up around the sides of the outside of the tin and place the whole thing on a second piece of foil, also folding it and pressing it securely up around the tin so that you have a water-tight covering.
Process the biscuits until they are like crumbs, then add the butter and pulse again. Line the bottom of the springform tin, pressing the biscuits in with your hands or the back of a spoon. Put the tin in the fridge to set, and preheat the oven to 180°C.
Beat the crem cheese gently until it's smooth, and then add the sugar. Beat in the eggs and egg yolks, then finally the lime juice. Put a full kettle on.
Pour the cream cheese filling onto the chilled biscuit base, place the tin in a roasting tray and pour hot water from the recently boiled kettle around the foil-wrapped cheesecake to come about halfway up the sides of the springform; don't overfill as you'll only spill it on the way to the oven. Transfer it as steadily as you can to the oven and cook for 1 hour or so, checking after 50 minutes. It should feel set, but not rigidly so. You want to be able to detect, below the skin, the slightest hint of quiver within.
Take the roasting tin out of the oven, then gingerly remove the springform from its water-filled tin, stand it on a rack, peel off the outer layer of foil, tear away the side bits of the first layer of foil and leave to cool. When the cheesecake's cooled down completely, place it in the fridge and leave it there till 20 minutes or so before you want to eat it.
Transfer to the plate you're going to serve it on and unclip. The underneath bit of the first layer of fooil, along with the base of the tin are going to have to stay in place, unless you like living really dangerously.
This is a gorgeous pudding! Don't be put of because it seems fiddley, it really isn't.
Christmas Cake
2.25kg mixed fruit (sultanas, currants, raisins, peel, cherries)
2 tsp each of lemon, rum, brandy and almond essences
1/2 tsp each of mixed spice, cinnamon and ground nutmeg
2 tsp marmalade
2 tsp treacle
3/4 cup sherry
300g butter
300g brown sugar
8 eggs
525g (4 cups) plain flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp water
Place fruit, essences, spices, marmalade, treacle and sherry in a large covered basin. Leave to stand, covered, at room temperature for 5 - 7 days, stirring occasionally. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well in between each and adding a little of the flour to prevent curdling. Sift flour into soaked fruit and stir. Add creamed butter mixture and mix well. Dissolve baking soda in the water and add to the mixture. Fill lined tin. Wipe over the top of the cake with a wet spatula and drop the tin from a small height to release air. Place in oven on middle shelf and bake 4 hours at 130-140 Celsius.
50g butter
1 onion, finely diced
1 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
1 pkt Maggi Creme of Pumpkin Soup mix
11/2 cups plain flour
1 tbls baking powder
3/4 cup grated cheese
Heat butter, add onion and cook till soft. Cool. Stir in milk and egg. Sift soup mix, flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add residue from sifter. Stir in the cheese. Make a well in the centre, pour in the liquid. Mix gently until just combined. Cook for 15-20 mninutes at 220C, until golden brown.
Chicken & Corn Soup
440g can whole kernel corn
water
2 tbls butter
1 small onion, finely diced
2 tbls flour
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1 cup evaporated mild
2 tsp chicken stock powder
11/2 cups diced cooked chicken
chopped chives to serve
Drain the corn, reserving the liquid. Measure and make up to 11/2 cups with water. Set the liquid and corn aside. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, add the onion and cook until softened. Stir in the flour and mustard and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Combine the reserved liquid, evaporated milk and stock powder. Stir into the onion mixture. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly, then simmer for 2-3 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add the corn and chicken. Cook, stirring for a further 3-4 minutes or until the soup is thoroughly reheated. Serve sprinkled with chopped chives. Serves 4-6.
Shortbread (the creamy type, not the gritty stuff)
250g butter, softened
2 cups plain flour
125g icing sugar
1 cup cornflour
Cream butter and sugar well. Add dry ingredients. Mix and knead well. Form into a log and slice. Bake 150C for 30 minutes (or until showing the very faintest, faintest hint of colour).
Pavlova Roll
4 egg whites
1 cup castor sugar
1 cup cream
1/4 cup passionfruit pulp
Beat egg whites until stiff. Gradually add caster sugar and beat until stiff and glossy. Spread meringue onto a baking paper-lined 20 x 30 sponge roll tin. Bake at 180C for 15 minutes or until golden and set. turn meringue onto a piece of baking paper. Remove paper base. Leave to cool for 5-10 minutes. Beat cream till thick. Mix in passionfruit pulp. Spread over meringue. Roll meringue up from the long side using the paper to help. Chill before serving. Serves 6.
Layered Potato Savoury
3 potatoes, thinly sliced
1 small tin of whole kernel corn, drained
2 rashers of bacon, finely chopped
2 spring onions, finely chopped
1 pkt of Creme of Chicken soup mix
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup grated cheese
1/2 cup cream
Place 1/2 the potato over the base of a shallow, oven-proof dish. Spread the corn over the potatoes. Place 1/2 the bacon and onions over the corn mixture. Sprinkle 1/2 the soup mix over the corn. Arrange potato on top. Combine the rest of the soup mix with the milk and cream. Pour over the potatoes. Cover the dish and bake at 180C for 30 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese and remaining bacon. Bake for a further 30 minutes until golden and potato is cooked. Serves 4.
Seafood Sauce (for shrimp cocktails and the like)
150mls cream
1 tblspn worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup tomato sauce (use your all time favourite as a
good sauce makes it)
Whip the cream and add all other ingredients. Mix until combined.
Strawberry Fruit Trifle
1 med sponge
1/4 cup strawberry jam
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup sweet sherry (or less if you're like me and don't like it soggy)
250g (approx 1 punnet) strawberries
3/4 cup cream
custard
1/4 cup custard powder
2 1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup caster sugar
jelly
85g pkt strawberry jelly
1 1/2 cups boiling water
Spread one side of the sponge with jam. Cut into cubes. Arrange jam-side-up over base of a serving bowl. Sprinkle almonds and sherry over cake. Reserve 4 strawberries for garnish. Cut remaining into quarters and arrange over cake. Custard; Combine custard powder and alittle of the milk in a saucepan. Blend until smooth. Stir in remaining milk, cream and sugar. Cook over heat, stirring until it boils and thickens. Cool to room temperature. Pour custard over strawberries. Refrigerate until set. Jelly; Combine jelly crystals with boiling water in a bowl. Stir until crystals are dissolved. Refrigerate until set. Chop jelly, place over custard. Whip cream. Decorate the trifle with cream and reserved strawberries.
Festive Orange Bombe
1 cup white melts (or your favourite white chocolate, chopped)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
600mls cream, whipped
1 cup milk chocolate chips
2 tsp brandy
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
2 tbls finely grated orange rind
1 tbls cointreau or orange juice
Combine white chocolate and ilk in a saucepan. Cook over very low heat, stirring until chocolate just melts. Cool to room temperature; fold in whipped cream. Place a third of the mixture into a small bowl. Stir in chips, brandy and essence; set aside in fridge. Stir cointreau and rind into remaining mix. Turn into a 5 cup square tin or loaf tin. Freeze for 2-3 hours. When firm, spread an even layer over the inside of the tin. Leave a hollow in the center. Fill with chocolate mix. Cover and freeze a further 4 hours or till very firm. Turn out for serving.
Steak Dianne (simple but flippen gorgeous!)
2 pieces fillet steak
1 tbls cream
1 tbls chopped parsley
freshly ground pepper
30g butter
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tbls worcestershire sauce
Pound steaks to a 5mm thickness. Season each side with pepper. Melt butter in the frying pan, add steaks; cook 1 minute, moving steaks around in pan to prevent sticking. While the steaks are cooking on one side, rub crushed garlic into top of each steak. Turn steak over. Add worcestershire sauce to pan, swirl steaks around in pan juices when cooked as desired. Quickly stir in cream and parsley. Serve.
Spicy Peanut Sauce
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tbls finely chopped root ginger
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
2 tbls soy sauce
1 tbls sugar
1 tsp curry powder
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup natural sweetened yoghurt
Place all ingredients except the yoghurt into a saucepan. Mix together and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Stir in yoghurt and serve.
Lamb & Bacon Casserole
2-3 neck chops per person (no more than
750g in total)
30g butter
2 tbls oil
125g bacon pieces
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 tbls flour, extra
salt and pepper
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 tbls tomatoe sauce
1 1/2 cups water or 3/4 white wine and
3/4 water
1 rounded tsp chicken stock powder
Dust chops lightly with flour which has been seasoned with the salt and pepper. Heat butter and oil in a large frying pan; add chops and brown well. Transfer chops to a casserole dish. Add onion and bacon to pan. Saute until onion is transparent. Put onion and bacon over the chops. Add extra flour to the pan; cook until brown. Add water, w. sauce, t. sauce, stock, salt and pepper. Stir until the suace thickens; reduce the heat. Simmer for 1 minute. Pour sauce over chops. Cover and bake 160°c to 170°c until tender (aprox 2 to 3 hours).
Tarragon & Parsley Dressing
300mls olive oil
120mls balsamic vinegar
1 tbls wholegrain mustard
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tsp frsh tarragon and parsley (combined)
brown sugar to taste (aprox 1 tbls)
Add all ingredients to a water tight jar, and shake until well combined. Refrigerate. Note: If you want it a little more tangy, use more balsamic vinegar and less oil.
Tarragon Chicken
1 whole chicken (previously roasted)
30g butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 tbls flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup white wine
1 tsp chicken stock powder
2 tbls french mustard (I use wholegrain)
salt & pepper
1 tsp dried tarragon, or 1 tbls fresh
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tbls parsley
1/2 cup cream
Shred chicken. Melt butter and saute onions. Add flour and mustard. Take pan from heat and add milk, slowly, stirring well. Place back on heat stirring continuously and add all other ingredients except wine. Once the mixture has thickened, add the wine slowly, stirring well. Serve.
Mushroom Gravy
45g butter
8-10 mushrooms, sliced thinly
2 tbls flour
2 tsp paprika
1 cup chicken stock (1 rounded tsp
powder, to 1 cup water)
1/2 cup light sour cream
Melt butter in a saucepan and gently fry the mushrooms for 2 minutes. Blend in flour and paprika then stir in stock. Cook gently until boiling, stirring. Remove from heat, stir in sour cream and serve immediately.
Indonesian Sausages
1 tsp butter
500g sausages
1 onion, sliced
1 tsp curry powder
1 large apple, sliced
1 packet creme of chicken soup mix (powder)
1 1/4 cups water
chopped parsley
Heat butter in a fry pan. Brown sausages. Remove and set aside. Drain off the fat. Add onion to the pan. Cook until soft. Add curry and apples, and cook 1 to 2 minutes. Combine soup mix and water. Stir into the pan and bring to the boil, stirring. Add sausages. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve with rice.
Rosemary Snails
125g sausage mince
1 small carrot, grated
1 spring onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tsp tomato paste (or sauce is fine)
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1 sheet puff pastry
Preheat oven to 210°c. Line baking tray with paper. Mix mince, carrot, onion, paste, curry and rosemary in a medium bowl. Spread evenly over the pastry sheet and roll up to form a log, using a little milk brushed on the pastry end to seal the log. Cut log into 1cm clices. Lay about 4cm apart on the tray. Bake for 20 minuts, until golden brown (but NOT overdone). Can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Macaroni & Cheese, with Pineapple
350g macaroni
450g can crushed pineapple
1 tbls chicken stock powder
2 cups boiling water
75g butter
6 tbls flour
1 tsp salt
pepper to taste
2 cups grated tasty cheese
3 rashers bacon
Drain pineapple, reserving juice. Dissolve stock in boiling water. Melt butter in saucepan and stir in flour, salt and pepper. Add pineapple juice and stock one cup at a time. Heat and stir after each addition. Cook macaroni in a large saucepan of boiling water until just ender. Drain macaroni and rinse with cold water. Spread 1/2 the macaroni over base of a buttered dish at least 23cm in diameter. Sprinkle 1/2 the cheese and spoon 1/2 the sauce over the macaroni. Repeat, using remaining macaroni and cheese, then top with pineapple. Cover with remaining sauce. Cut bacon into small squares and spread evenly over top of dish. Bake uncovered at 180C for 30 minutes or until heated thoroughly and bacon is crisp.
Lime Cheesecake
200g malt biscuits
75g butter
750g cream cheese
200g castor sugar
4 whole eggs
2 yolks
juice of 4 or 5 limes
20-21cm springform cake tin
kitchen foil
Place a large overlapping piece of foil over the bottom of the springform tin, and then insert the pan ring over it. Fold the foil up around the sides of the outside of the tin and place the whole thing on a second piece of foil, also folding it and pressing it securely up around the tin so that you have a water-tight covering.
Process the biscuits until they are like crumbs, then add the butter and pulse again. Line the bottom of the springform tin, pressing the biscuits in with your hands or the back of a spoon. Put the tin in the fridge to set, and preheat the oven to 180°C.
Beat the crem cheese gently until it's smooth, and then add the sugar. Beat in the eggs and egg yolks, then finally the lime juice. Put a full kettle on.
Pour the cream cheese filling onto the chilled biscuit base, place the tin in a roasting tray and pour hot water from the recently boiled kettle around the foil-wrapped cheesecake to come about halfway up the sides of the springform; don't overfill as you'll only spill it on the way to the oven. Transfer it as steadily as you can to the oven and cook for 1 hour or so, checking after 50 minutes. It should feel set, but not rigidly so. You want to be able to detect, below the skin, the slightest hint of quiver within.
Take the roasting tin out of the oven, then gingerly remove the springform from its water-filled tin, stand it on a rack, peel off the outer layer of foil, tear away the side bits of the first layer of foil and leave to cool. When the cheesecake's cooled down completely, place it in the fridge and leave it there till 20 minutes or so before you want to eat it.
Transfer to the plate you're going to serve it on and unclip. The underneath bit of the first layer of fooil, along with the base of the tin are going to have to stay in place, unless you like living really dangerously.
This is a gorgeous pudding! Don't be put of because it seems fiddley, it really isn't.
Christmas Cake
2.25kg mixed fruit (sultanas, currants, raisins, peel, cherries)
2 tsp each of lemon, rum, brandy and almond essences
1/2 tsp each of mixed spice, cinnamon and ground nutmeg
2 tsp marmalade
2 tsp treacle
3/4 cup sherry
300g butter
300g brown sugar
8 eggs
525g (4 cups) plain flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp water
Place fruit, essences, spices, marmalade, treacle and sherry in a large covered basin. Leave to stand, covered, at room temperature for 5 - 7 days, stirring occasionally. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well in between each and adding a little of the flour to prevent curdling. Sift flour into soaked fruit and stir. Add creamed butter mixture and mix well. Dissolve baking soda in the water and add to the mixture. Fill lined tin. Wipe over the top of the cake with a wet spatula and drop the tin from a small height to release air. Place in oven on middle shelf and bake 4 hours at 130-140 Celsius.
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