Prepare for a merry little Christmas with Splenda Sugar Alternative
With the countdown to the holiday season already well underway, why not get into the festive spirit with these delicious recipes from Splenda Sugar Alternative.
Christmas is a time when we all like to eat, drink and be merry and with these sweet seasonal recipes you can rustle up some lighter treats for family and friends to enjoy as they exchange presents and carol around the tree.
Our fruity Christmas Cake and melt-in-the-mouth Mince Pies are guaranteed to become a yearly family tradition and are perfectly complimented by our aromatic Christmas Punch, packed full of nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. Together they make the ultimate Christmas Day combination!
A small step that you can make towards making Christmas a little bit lighter this year is to make the switch from sugar to Splenda, the Sugar Alternative with a great sugar like taste but a fraction of the calories. For more information on Splenda, and for an array of cooking and baking tips please visit, splenda.co.uk or facebook.com/SplendaUK.
The Recipes:
Christmas Cake
Serves 20
1kg mixed dried fruit
100g glacé cherries, halved
150ml brandy or dark rum, plus 3 tablespoons
175g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
10 tablespoons Splenda Granulated
4 eggs
2 tablespoons black treacle
finely grated zest and juice of 1 small orange
100g ground almonds
300g plain flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon mixed spice
For the icing:
4 tablespoons apricot baking glaze or sieved apricot jam
icing sugar, for dusting
500g marzipan
750g ready-rolled icing
Make this cake a couple of days before Christmas and use within ten days – it will not keep quite as long as a traditional cake.
The day before baking the cake, put the dried fruit, cherries and rum or brandy into a large bowl. Stir well and cover. Soak for 24 hours, stirring occasionally.
The next day, grease a 20cm round cake tin and line with a double layer of greaseproof paper. Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/gas mark 2. In a very large bowl, beat the butter and Splenda Granulated together until light and creamy. Beat in the eggs one by one, then stir in the treacle. Add the orange zest, juice and ground almonds. Sift in the flour, salt and mixed spice, then fold in using a large metal spoon. Stir in the soaked dried fruit, mixing thoroughly.
Tip into the cake tin and level with the back of a spoon. Bake for about 2¼ hours. After 2 hours, cover with a double layer of greaseproof paper to prevent it from getting too dark. To check whether the cake is done, insert a skewer into the middle of the cake – it should come out clean. If not, cook for a little longer.
Leave the tin on a wire rack to cool completely, and then remove the tin. Spoon over the extra 3 tablespoons brandy or rum, letting it soak in. Warm the apricot glaze or jam, and then brush it all over the cake. Dust your work surface with icing sugar and roll out half the marzipan into a long strip. Trim it to fit around the sides of the cake and place in position. Roll out the remaining marzipan into a circle and fit it on top of the cake. Cover with cling film and allow to harden for 24 hours.
The following day, dust your work surface and a rolling pin with icing sugar. Roll out the ready-rolled icing and continue to roll until it’s large enough to cover the top and sides of the cake. Smooth the icing over the cake with your hands. Trim off any excess and decorate to your liking.
Per serving: 587kcal; 6g protein; 16g fat; 5.4g saturated fat; 105g carbohydrates; 93g sugar; 2.8g fibre; 0.15g sodium
Red Tea & Cinnamon Fruit Punch
Ingredients:
2 - Redbush tea bags
3tsp Splenda Granulated
6 Cloves
1 Cinnamon stick
600ml/1pt Boiling water
300ml/½pt Pomegranate juice
To decorate
1 Plum, stoned and sliced
Lemon wedge
Method
Put the teabags, Splenda Granulated, cloves and cinnamon stick into a large heat proof jug and pour over the boiling water
Strain the tea into a serving jug and pour in the pomegranate juice
Decorate with sliced plum and lemon wedge
Per serving: 50kcal; 0.0g fat; 0.0g saturated fat; 12.4g carbohydrates; 9.3g sugar; 0.0g fibre
Mince Pies with Sweet Pastry
Makes 12 Mince Pies
For the mincemeat;
225g/8oz raisins
225g/8oz sultanas
225g/8oz currants
150g/5oz candied peel, chopped
25g/1oz chopped almonds
25g/1oz stem ginger, diced
200g/7oz cooking apple, peeled, cored and diced
8 tbsp Splenda Granulated
2 tsp mixed spice
½ tsp grated nutmeg
1 orange, finely grated zest and juice
1 lemon, finely grated zest and juice
150g/5oz reduced fat shredded vegetable suet
4-7 tbsp water
For the mince pies;
300g/10oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting
150g/5oz polyunsaturated fat spread, chilled and diced
2 tbsp Splenda Granulated
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
300g/10oz mincemeat
2-3 tbsp cold water
For the mincemeat
Mix all the ingredients together, cover and leave to marinate in a cool place for 12 hours to allow the flavours time to develop. Preheat the oven to its lowest setting.
Transfer to an ovenproof dish, mix in 4 tbsp water, cover with foil and cook for 3 hours. Check the consistency, adding 2-3 tbsp more water if you feel it is too dry.
Cool and then pack into sterilised jars, cover with a waxed disc and seal. Store in the fridge. This method renders (melts) the suet and coats all the ingredients in fat to help prevent fermentation.
For the mince pies
Preheat the oven to 200ºC/190ºC Fan/Gas Mark 6.
Sift the flour into a bowl, add the spread and rub in using fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in Splenda Granulated. Add the egg yolk with 2-3 tbsp cold water and bring the mixture together to form a dough.
Lightly flour the work surface, roll out the pastry to ½cm/¼in thickness. Cut out fluted circles 7cm/2¾in diameter for pie bases and 6cm/2 ?in for tops (or for a more festive touch use a star cutter)rerolling the pastry when necessary.
Carefully place the pastry bases in a patty tin and spoon in a dessertspoon of mincemeat. Brush the edges of the tops with water or a little beaten egg, place on top of the mincemeat and seal with the pastry bases. Make a small slit in the top of the pastry to allow the steam out and bake for 12-15 minutes until golden.
Cool in the tin for 5 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack.
Serve warm or cold. Can be stored in an airtight container for 2-3 days in the fridge.
