We have a fantastic special Hass Avocados this week, so it’s a great time to experiment with avocado recipes.

Our farmers supply us with the creamiest, nutrient-dense avocados in Australia, making them perfect for this super simple dessert.

When all of the ingredients come together, the result it a velvety smooth, dreamy, decadent and delicious chocolate mousse!

And, with fresh raspberries to top things off, you have the perfect pairing.

The sweet-tart flavour of the raspberries cuts through the bitterness of dark chocolate making every bite heavenly!

Ingredients

2 ripe Hass Avocados
200g dates, pips removed
3 tbsp cacao powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup coconut cream
120g dark chocolate (70%)
Pinch of sea salt
1 punnet raspberries

Method

Mash avocados in a bowl with a fork and set aside.

In a saucepan, melt the dark chocolate on a low heat.

Add all of the ingredients into a food processor and blitz until smooth.

Divide between 6 ramekins, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Serve with raspberries and shaved chocolate.

This old-school chunky cake tastes delicious and is a beautiful winter warmer.

It’s lovely to eat hot straight out of the oven!

Ingredients

4 apples, peeled, cored and finely diced
2 ¼ c self-raising flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
160g butter, melted
¾ cup milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp pistachio extract
¼ cup pistachios, chopped

Method

Preheat oven to 180 °C.

Grease and flour a Bundt cake tin.

Place apples, sugar, cinnamon and pistachio extract in a large bowl and mix well.

Combine flour, sugar, butter, milk and eggs, then add to the apples and mix to combine.

Scatter pistachios on the base of the pan, spoon over the cake mix, and gently press the mixture down.

Bake for 45 mins or until longer doughy in the centre.

We used Adelia’s Cranberry & Macadamia Granola for this recipe.

We also topped it with Orchard Valley Pistachios because I love pistachios!

Ingredients

4 cups of your favourite granola
¾ cups honey
¼ cup coconut oil
A handful pistachios, roughly chopped

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Preheat oven to 180° and line a 22cm x 22cm cake tin with baking paper.

Place the granola in a largish bowl.

Melt honey and coconut oil in a small saucepan over low heat, add to the granola and mix well.

Pour granola mix into lined cake tin and push the mix into the corners, pushing the mix compact it well.

Scatter over pistachios and push them down a bit so they don’t fall off.

Bake for 15 mins, cool in the tin, then refrigerate for 2 hours before slicing.

Once you’ve tasted this apple pie, you will return for more!

The pastry is crisp and flaky, and the filling has a beautiful fragrance and flavour.

We’ve used Table Sultanas because they are plump and have a nice chew.

Serves 8

Ingredients

1 cup caster sugar
2 cinnamon quills
1 vanilla bean, slit lengthwise and seed scraped out
1 cup table sultanas, cut in half
1 ½ cups water 4 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced
4 tbsp date syrup 1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
2 tbsp ground cinnamon
½ cup brown sugar
15 sheets filo pastry
125g butter, melted
4 tbsp pistachios, chopped
Icing sugar

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Grease a 28cm round pan with olive oil spray or butter.

Place sugar, vanilla, sultanas, cinnamon quill and water in a saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat.

Once the sugar dissolves, cook for 8 mins or until thickened and reduced by half.

Add apple and cook for 7 mins or until tender.

Add date syrup, mix well and set aside to cool.

Combine brown sugar, walnuts and ground cinnamon in a bowl.

Lay the pastry out on the bench and cover it with a damp tea towel so it doesn’t dry out.

Working one sheet at a time, lay the pastry out, brush with melted butter, sprinkle over 1/5th of the sugar mix, cover with another sheet of pastry, brush with melted butter, and scatter over 1/5th of the apple mix.

Roll it lengthways to form a snake, lay out one more pastry sheet, brush it with butter, and then roll it again. Repeat with the remaining layers.

Coil the rolls in a greased 28cm round pan, brush with butter and bake for 25 to 30 mins, or until golden and crisp.

Dust with icing sugar, scatter over pistachios and enjoy warm or cold.

These little balls of dough are light and fluffy, but there is a problem with them that is hard to overcome. You Cannot Stop Eating Them!!!

This recipe is from an old friends Nona and is one of my favourites.

Heat the oil 180 degree. Any hotter and it’s hard to cook the donuts all the way through before they colour too much.

A candy thermometer is really handy here. And you can get some cool multi function ones now that do everything from oil to meat.

Ingredients

Donuts
2 ½ cups plain flour
1 tsp salt
1 packet dried yeast
1/3 cup warm water
More warm water
1 ½ cups sugar
3 tsp ground cinnamon
Vegetable oil

Raspberry Coulis
2 punnets fresh raspberries
3 tbsp sugar
A splash Verjuice

1 tub or bottle of Alice Langton’s Chocolate sauce, to serve

Method

Donuts

Combine flour and salt in a large bowl.

Add yeast to warm water in small bowl and mix together.

Add yeast mixture to the flour with more warm water and mix until it’s reaches a thick pancake mixture consistency.

Cover with glad wrap and cover with a couple of tea towels for 1 hr.

Combine sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.

Add oil in a saucepan at least 5cm deep on high heat.

Stir mixture. Then, using 2 spoons, grab mixture with 1 and scrap into hot oil with the other. They should rise in a rough ball shape. Repeat until the saucepan is full.

Turn occasionally until light golden, remove from oil, and place in the sugar. Toss to coat.

Raspberry Coulis

Place raspberries, sugar and verjuice in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer.

Cook for 10 mins, stirring every minute, then turn off the heat and set aside.

Serve warm donuts with chocolate sauce and raspberry coulis.

This pie might be a fair bit of work, but it is well worth it!

You could also use our premade lemon curd from Mrs Darlington to save yourself some time.

Ingredients

Pie Crust
1 Carême 445g box of Sour Cream Shortcrust Pastry, available from the freezer section
1 x 23cm pie dish

Lemon Curd Layer
70g unsalted butter
120ml fresh lemon juice
85g True Free Range Caravan eggs, yolks only
66g granulated sugar
grated zest of one lemon
1/8 teaspoon salt

Custard Layer
6g lemon zest
100g granulated sugar
14g corn flour
340g Schulz Organic Full Cream Milk
57ml St David Dairy Pouring Cream
57ml buttermilk
64g True Free Range Caravan eggs, yolks only
113g True Free Range Caravan eggs
60ml fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

Raspberry Coulis
250g fresh raspberries
15ml fresh lemon juice
25g granulated sugar
7g cornflour whisked together with 25g granulated sugar
1 teaspoon Backyard Honey

Finishing Touches
fresh raspberries
edible flowers

Method

Par-Baked Pie Crust

Allow your pastry to defrost in the fridge. Once pliable, cut out a round which is at least 26cm in diameter.

Place the round inside your 23cm pie dish, gently pushing the dough into the bottom and sides of the dish. Now cut three strips of pastry, and line the sides of the dish, using egg wash to make it stick, trimming where necessary.

Leave in the fridge for 20 minutes to allow the pastry to become firm. Meanwhile, pre-heat your oven to 190°C, fan-forced, with the oven rack positioned in the lower third of the oven.

Once pastry is firm, dock the base and sides with a fork, then place baking paper and pie weights on top.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 16-18 minutes, until slightly golden. Take out of the oven, remove the pie weights and baking paper and bake for an additional 3 minutes. Allow to cool completely.

Lemon Curd Filling

Melt 56g butter in a medium saucepan, over medium heat. Add the sugar, lemon juice, zest, salt and yolks and use a whisk to combine.

Switch over to a silicone spatula and reduce the heat to medium-low. Continually stir for 6 minutes, ensuring you scrape the sides and bottom of the saucepan.

Once you are able to run your finger along the spatula and a clean line holds, stir in the remaining butter. Once melted, remove from the heat and strain the curd into a bowl, then into a heat proof container. Cover with cling wrap, placing it directly on to the curd surface and put in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Custard Filling

Once your pie crust is cool, pre-heat oven to 155°C, fan-forced with the oven rack positioned in the lower third of the oven.

In a large bowl, rub the lemon zest into the sugar. Now add the cornflour, whisking to combine.

Add the cream, buttermilk, eggs and egg yolks. Whisk until well combined. Finally add the lemon juice, vanilla extract and salt, whisking until combined. Pour into a jug.

Place the par-baked pie crust on a baking tray, then carefully pour the custard filling into it. Ensure not to over-fill – if you have left over don’t pour this in (You can heat this up on the stove, stirring with a whisk and eat it while you wait for your pie to finish).

Bake for 50 minutes, or until the edges appear to be set but the centre is still slightly jiggly. Allow to cool completely, then rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Raspberry Coulis

Meanwhile, add the berries, sugar and lemon juice in a small pot of medium-low heat. Stir occasionally, breaking down the fruit as your stir, until they become very soft and broken down, about 10 minutes.

Strain the fruit through a fine sieve, discarding the solids. Place the mixture back into the saucepan and stir in the cornflour/sugar. Stir over low heat until it thickens, about 2 minutes. Now add the honey and stir in to combine.

Transfer to a heat proof container and allow to cool until ready to serve.

Assembly

Once all the elements are complete, it is time to put together your pie. Using an offset spatula, gently spread the lemon curd over the surface of the custard.

If you have time, ideally allow for it to set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Now arrange the edible flowers and berries on top of the lemon curd.

Serve with cream and raspberry coulis.