Rum & Raisin, Black Forest Trifle

I simply don't do pretty food photos very often, so you'll have to use your imagination when I describe my rum & raisin, black forest trifle. It was made using my cocoa brownies as a base layer instead of sponge cake, and is extremely decadent so not recommended for the faint hearted.

1 recipe cocoa brownies (add 100g crumbled rum & raisin chocolate to the mix)
approx 600g pitted cherries (1 l...arge jar will work)
1/2c good quality rum (no Bundaberg!)
500g custard
200g rum & raisin chocolate (a bar of Cadbury will suffice!)
approx 400g thick cream
2 tsp icing sugar

Drain juice from jar of cherries and replace with 1/2 c rum - soak overnight.

Break up remaining 100g rum & raisin chocolate up and place in saucepan with custard. Warm until chocolate has melted and mix into custard. Leave to cool, stirring occasionally so film does not coat top of custard.

Place cooled brownies on bottom of trifle dish. Place rum soaked cherries on top of brownies. Next, pour the chocolate custard mix over cherries, then leave the whole lot to 'soak' in the fridge overnight.

Day 2 - Whip cream with icing sugar, top the trifle, then indulge!

*Tip: If you want the brownies to be lighter, replace 1/2c standard flour with self-raising. The brownies will crumble, but the dish will be lighter.

Coffee, Rum & Raisin Meringue 'Roll'

Obviously, I didn't get the roll part right. I'm a meringue novice, so it ended up at the bottom of the plate, which was still good.

Meringue

3 egg whites

2/3 cup caster sugar (I totally screwed up because I often forget to read instructions fully, and used icing sugar, which made a nice glossy meringue but it tasted a bit eggy)

Filling

2 tbspn rum

1/2 c raisins

2 tsp powdered instant coffee, plus extra to dust

300ml thickened cream

2 tbspn icing sugar, plus extra to dust

**I also had some powdered chocolate that I used as a topping and to dust the plate

For filling, combine rum & raisins in bowl. Cover and stand for 1 hour. Dissolve coffee in 1-2 tsp water. Add to raisin mix. With electric beater, mix together cream and icing sugar until firm peaks form. Stir in raisin mixture. Chill until required.

Preheat oven to 180C or 160C fan. Line a baking pan with baking paper and using electric mixer, beat egg whites with pinch of salt until soft peaks form. Add sugar, 1 tbspn at a time, beating constantly, until sugar dissolves and meringue is thick and glossy. Spread over pan and bake for 10 minutes, until just firm and browning slightly.

Invert meringue onto large dish (dust first with icing sugar) and top with rum and raisin mix. Dust with chocolate and coffee.

Coconut Rice Pudding

As if the Chicken in Heart Attack Sauce wasn't enough, I had a craving for rice pudding, which I haven't had in ages. It was my favourite dessert as a child.

1 1/2 c rice, cooked
1 c coconut milk
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 c sugar

Place rice, coconut milk, milk, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a medium saucepan and cook over low heat for 10-15 minutes or until mixture thickens.

*Optional toppings: shredded coconut and cream

Sticky Rice with Mango

This is a simplified recipe. I haven't had sticky rice in ages, but it's lovely and easy.

1 cup rice (Thai sweet rice if you can find it)
400 ml water
1/2 c white sugar
1 1/2 c coconut cream
mango, peeled and sliced

Steam rice. Mix coconut cream and sugar in pot and heat through but do not overcook or you will lose the flavour of the coconut cream. Take off heat and mix in rice.

Note: can be served hot or cold and there are versions with coconut milk if you would like a lighter version