These quick and easy fruity truffles are delightful to share with loved ones over a cup of tea or coffee. Serve with aged Grand Tawny Port or Classic Muscat for the complete indulgent experience. Perfect to make as gifts for a special occasion like Easter, birthdays, Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.
We have a preference for dark chocolate, but feel free to substitute with milk chocolate or use dairy-free chocolate and cake to make them suitable for vegan diets.
Prep 20 mins Standing Time 1 hour Makes 24 Difficulty Easy
Ingredients
1 cup dried fruit, chopped
2 tbsp. orange zest, finely grated
1/4 cup fortified wine
125g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
250g (2 cups) cake crumbs
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
Method
Put dried fruit in a bowl with some boiled water for 10-15 minutes then strain.
Mix fruit, orange zest and fortified wine of your choice.
Melt chocolate pieces using a double boiler or microwave in a glass bowl.
Add melted chocolate and cake crumbs to the fruit mixture and mix well.
Place coconut into a shallow bowl ready for coating truffles.
Roll mixture into small even balls with your hands, then roll each ball in coconut.
Traditional German Streuselkuchen is a family favourite! This cake has a sweet yeast dough base and is topped with fresh or preserved fruit and a crunchy sweet crumble. It brings back so many good memories of Barossa afternoon teas and family gatherings. In summer we use mulberries, plums or apricots while in autumn we use pears, apples or grapes.
Prep 2 hours Bake 20 mins Makes one large cake 45 x 30cm
Yeast:
2 teaspoons yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup milk warmed
1 teaspoon plain flour
Cake:
700g (1 lb) plain flour
Pinch salt
70g (2 oz) butter
85g (3 oz) sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 cup sultanas or currants
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
Milk for glazing
3 cups of thinly sliced fresh fruit or whole berries (optional)
Streusel Topping:
2 cups plain flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
Sprinkle ground cinnamon
Directions
Place yeast in a small bowl, add sugar and warm milk, plain flour, mix cover and stand in a warm place until the mixture turns frothy (takes around 15 minutes).
Start making cake dough by sifting flour into a bowl, add pinch of salt. Rub butter and sugar into flour (flavourings may be added here).
Add beaten egg to yeast mixture. Mix in the flour a cup at a time. Once the dough is too thick to mix, use hands to mix it and knead gently for a minute to a soft dough.
Spread dough approx. 2cm thick onto a large oven tray. Brush cake top with milk to help streusel stick.
Place seasonal sliced fruit or whole berries on top.
To make streusel, rub sugar and softened butter into flour and cinnamon. Press with your fingers to make crumb consistency.
Sprinkle streusel over the whole cake. Cover and keep in a warm place. Let the cake rise for an hour or until double in thickness.
Bake at 200C for 15-20 minutes or until edges of cake are golden brown.
We are proud to present our new release Apera in the style of Sweet Sherry as we continue to hone in on our reputation for fantastic fortifieds.
Ron has been making wine for 46 years in the Barossa region. He makes no secret of the fact that fortifieds, particularly so-called ?white ports? are what got him hooked on winemaking in the first place.
The favourable weather conditions during the 2015 harvest allowed the fruit to naturally become raisins on the vine, perfect for making this style of wine. Semillon grapes almost left forgotten in the vineyard were combined with 1/3 ripe Riesling grapes producing juice that had a rich raisin-like flavour which was lightly fortified with 100% grape spirit to retain 9.2?Baume sweetness.
Raisin Apera is reminiscent of a sticky Botrytis style with warm honey toffee characters. The burnished gold colour belies the youthfulness of the wine. An irresistible perfumed scent of candied citrus mixed with raisins and a luscious sweet finish. The Riesling component lifts the nose and lightens the palate.
This sweet sherry style wine compliments lighter wine drinking moments either before or after meals. Serve chilled on hot days or over crushed ice. Also a versatile ingredient in the kitchen in sauces, sorbets and cocktails.?Try preparing a sorbet or poach your favourite seasonal fruit in a little of the diluted wine.
Raisin Apera is a new addition to Liebich?s extensive range of fortified wines at Liebichwein cellar door in Rowland Flat. It comes packaged in 375mL bottles, a handy size for travelling.
Exclusive to Cellar Door and Mailing List customers.
It was exciting to host another sell-out event as part of Barossa Gourmet Weekend. There really are a lot of sweet tooths around!
Over 40 Guests enjoyed an afternoon master class hosted by Ron Liebich and his daughter Briony who took them?behind the scenes of the world of fortified wine. Ron shared his tips for barrel ageing and how different grape varieties develop while Briony led the sensory experience of matching wines to indulgent desserts.
Matching Fortified with Desserts
Briony works as a Sensory Analyst and provided insights into basic taste interactions and why we love sweet flavours. The desserts were prepared by local chef Kate Harbison using as many local ingredients as possible. The most popular pairing was the Semillon and Cr?me Br?l?e.
Here are the wines and desserts served as complementary pairings:
Classic Semillon
Wine:?????????????????????????? Gorgeous burnt toffee, candied nuts and sticky date pudding flavours
Dessert:????????????????????? Honeycomb Cr?me Br?l?e with Blood Orange Marmalade
Classic Frontignac
Wine:?????????????????????????? Irresistible musk perfume and tropical fruits with caramelised flavours
Dessert:????????????????????? Sticky Walnut Tart with Peach Glaze
Classic Muscat
Wine:?????????????????????????? Alluring dried apricots, candied citrus and luscious honey flavours
Dessert:????????????????????? Dark Chocolate & Apricot Roulade
Grand Tawny
Wine:?????????????????????????? Extremely complex spicy fruitcake with a lingering dry, nutty finish.
Dessert:????????????????????? Chocolate Cream Layered Biscotti with Spiced Quince Jelly and Chocolate Glazed Fig
Thanks to everyone who attended and assisted with this true sweet indulgence!
Liebichwein are excited to be hosting this intimate indulgent treat as part of the 2015 Barossa Gourmet Weekend. Our event will be similar to last year?s sell out?master class.
Just Desserts
Be taken on a journey of flavour with four indulgent pairings of desert and classic fortified wines. Ron Liebich will take you behind the scenes of fortified wine – grape varieties, barrel ageing, food matching and most importantly the sensory experience.
Taste exclusive barrel samples and rare wines aged over 25 year.
Event cost is $30 per person, so why not get a group together and book now.
