Kaye and Geoff's Recipes - Miscellaneous


Christmas crackers

For fruit mince:
150 gm shredded suet			100 gm currants
50 gm mixed peel			200 gm raisins	
200 gm apples (diced)			100 gm bananas	
200 gm sultanas				3 tablespoon brandy	
juice of 1 lemon			1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves			1 teaspoon nutmeg
200 gm brown sugar

To prepare crackers:
8 sheets filo pastry			100 gm melted butter

For garnish:
2 tablespoons candied orange peel	150 ml whipped cream
4 glace cherries			4 mint leaves

Thoroughly mix all the fruit mince ingredients together. Store in an airtight container for three months, stirring once every month.

Butter two sheets of filo pastry and place one on top of the other. Place a large spoonful of mince along the longest edge of the pastry and roll up to envelop the mince. Twist the ends to make a shape like a Christmas cracker. Place on a greased tray. Repeat until you have four crackers then glaze them all with the rest of the butter. Bake at 200°C, until golden.

Position the cracker on the serving plate. Place a dollop of cream next to the cracker topped with a cherry and stuck with a mint leaf. Sprinkle with some candied orange peel.