South African Christmas nibble recipes
South African Christmas nibble recipes
Rum and Raisin Chocolate Truffles
A quick, homely chocolate truffle recipe that’s so easy to make even your children can do it.
Makes about 35 truffles
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) raisins or currants
- 4 Tbsp (60 ml) dark rum
- 350 g dark chocolate (70 per cent cocoa solids)
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) cream
- 3/4 cup (180 ml) icing sugar
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) cocoa powder, sifted, for coating
Put the raisins in a bowl, pour over the rum and set aside to soak for at least an hour, preferably two. Place the chocolate, broken into pieces, in a glass bowl and melt in a microwave oven or over a pan of simmering water. Stir until smooth, then beat in the cream, the soaked raisins and any rum left in the bowl. Sift the icing sugar into the chocolate and mix until smooth. Press a piece of clingfilm onto the surface of the mixture and place it in the fridge for about an hour, or until firm enough to handle.
Tip the cocoa powder onto a plate. Dig out spoonsful (each about the sized of a large marble) of chocolate paste and roll quickly between your palms to form rough balls resembling real truffles. Place the balls on the plate of cocoa powder and roll them about so that they are well coated. When you’ve made all the balls, place them in a sieve or colander and shake gently to remove any excess cocoa powder. Cover and place in the fridge for two hours, or until firm. These freeze very well.
Christmas santa-berries
These are adorable, delicious and super-easy to make. What’s better than decorations you can eat?
What’s that? Kitsch? Sorry, I can’t hear you over the noise of these fantastic Christmas santa strawberries. The best festive decorations are the ones you can eat!
Ingredients
200 ml whipped cream
Punnet of strawberries
Chocolate vermicelli
Method
1. It’s not much of a method, really: just hull the strawberries and cut their tails off horizontally, about a third of the way up.
2. You’re going to need an icing bag and nozzle for this one: a simple Google image search can show you what happens when you lack precision. (Also, if you’re making them for an event that isn’t happening immediately, you might want to secure them with toothpicks. Just warn people about this.)
3.Carefully pipe cream onto the bottom half. Don’t overdo it or the hat will fall off.
4. Carefully put the other bit of strawberry on top, and bobble some cream onto the tip. Give him cream buttons using a toothpick, and (with tweezers, if necessary) poke some vermicelli eyes into the cream. Done!
Festive sweet and savoury nuts
Savoury recipe
For savoury festive nuts to serve with drinks at Christmas lunch or dinner, melt two tablespoons of butter and pour over 200 g of mixed nuts. Sprinkle over paprika and toss. Roast in a 180C oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until golden.
Sweet recipe
Chocolate-covered nuts are great for an edible gift, and they also make festive decorations for the table. Dip blanched almonds into melted dark, milk or white chocolate and cover with desiccated coconut or silver sprinkles. Store them in the fridge until you’re ready to eat them (all in one go, of course).
Try these other easy Christmas recipe ideas
