Fruit And Nut Confection Food

FRUIT AND NUT CONFECTION

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl combine brazil nuts, almonds, walnuts, dates, mixed peel cherries, pineapple and raisins.
• In a separate bowl Sift flour, baking powder and salt.
• Stir in the sugar.
• Add to fruit and nut mixture.
• In a separate bowl combine vanilla essence, brandy and eggs, mixing until smooth.
• Add the fruit and nut mixture, stirring to combined.
• Spoon mixture onto a well greased 18cm ring tin.
• Smooth the top surface.
• Bake at 150 degrees celcius for 1 hour. If the cake browns too quickly, cover top with foil after the first half hour.
• Leave to stand in the tin until cool before turning out onto a cooling rack.
• When cold, wrap in tin foil and store in the refrigerator.
• When ready to serve, dust with icing sugar, cut into small fingers or thin slices for serving.

100% FRUIT AND NUT CAKE

Steps:

• Soak the dried fruit in 2 cups boiling water for as long as possible (or overnight).
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cover the dates with water in a saucepan and simmer for about 5 minutes until soft and toffeeish (adding more water is needed).
• Drain the fruit and mix with the dates (if you're not making it for children, you can add a splash of Cointreau or brandy if you want).
• Mix in the almonds and baking powder, adding a bit more water if the mixture seems too dry. Mix well then put in round cake tin.
• Bake about 1 1/2 hours or until a skewer comes out clean (check after an hour, will depend on size of tin, covering with foil after about 30 minutes.

TORRONE (ITALIAN NUT AND NOUGAT CONFECTION)

Steps:

• Line an 8x11-inch baking dish with plastic wrap, allowing ends to hang over the sides. Place 1 sheet of 8x10 wafer paper in the bottom of the pan. Keep the roasted almonds and pistachios in a warm place until ready to add at the end. This makes it easier to mix them in.
• Pour honey into a heavy-bottomed pot. Add sugar. Mix and stir over low heat with a spatula, stirring constantly until mixture turns from grainy to silky and smooth, about 30 minutes. Remove pot from heat.
• Place the egg whites in a mixing bowl; add a pinch of salt. Whisk until whites form soft peaks, 3 to 4 minutes. Place pot back on low heat. Gradually whisk about a quarter of the whipped egg whites into the honey/sugar mixture; whisk in the remaining egg whites in 3 more batches.
• Continue cooking over low heat, stirring constantly with a spatula until mixture turns a brighter white and a ribbon of the mixture does not immediately incorporate back into the rest of the mixture and stays intact on the surface for a while. This will take about 40 minutes. You can add a few drops of the mixture into a small bowl of ice cold water to test the consistency; ideally it should feel like soft clay.
• Whisk in vanilla and lemon zest. Add warm almonds and pistachios and stir to incorporate evenly.
• Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish. Even out as best you can with a clean oiled spatula. Top with 2nd sheet of wafer paper, shiny side up. Cover with plastic wrap and press down evenly, tamping mixture down gently but firmly. Remove top layer of plastic.
• Allow torrone to sit at room temperature until cool, firm, and ready to cut, 1 or 2 hours. Lift torrone from baking dish with the edges of the bottom layer of plastic wrap. Invert and remove plastic from the bottom. If the plastic wrap is difficult to remove from the edges of the torrone, you can trim off the edges.
• Cut torrone into 1-inch squares using a sharp serrated knife.