Sweet Liberty Fruit Wreath Recipes

Steps:

• Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 225 degrees F. Line the back of a baking sheet with parchment. Use a 12-inch bowl as a stencil: Flip it upside down and trace a 12-inch circle onto the parchment. Use a 9-inch bowl to trace a circle inside the 12- inch one. This is the outline of your wreath.
• For the wreath: Combine the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt in the very clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on medium speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until thick and opaque, about 1 minute more. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, and beat until stiff, shiny peaks form, 13 to 15 minutes.
• Build the wreath: Using the template on the parchment as your guide, drop dollops of meringue in a line along the inside of the 12-inch circle. Use a rubber spatula to help clean off your spoon between dollops. Following the 9-inch circle and slightly overlapping the outer ring of meringue, make an inner ring of meringue dollops to fill in the rest of the template. Flatten the meringue slightly with the back of the spoon, making sure to keep a lot of peaks. Bake the meringue until it is dry, crisp, and pearly white on the outside, about 2 hours. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the cranberry sauce: Bring the cranberries, sugar and lemon juice to a simmer in medium saucepan and cook until the cranberries are soft and just begin to burst and the sugar is completely dissolved, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool completely. Gently fold in the raspberries and pomegranate seeds. Whip the heavy cream in a medium bowl until soft peaks form.
• Before serving, spread the whipped cream on the meringue. Spoon over the cranberry sauce and sprinkle with mint leaves.

Steps:

• For the chocolate salami, put the biscuits and pretzels in a food processor and blitz to coarse crumbs or put in a bag, seal, then crush using a rolling pin.
• Put the chocolate, butter, syrup and a small pinch of salt in a heatproof bowl, and melt in the microwave in 20-second bursts until smooth, or in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, ensuring the bowl doesn't touch the water. Stir in the biscuit and pretzel crumbs.
• Spread the mixture onto a sheet of baking parchment, then roll into a log around 6cm in diameter, using the parchment to help, then twist the ends of the parchment around the log to hold the shape. Tuck the ends underneath. Chill for at least 3 hrs or overnight until set.
• Remove the log from the parchment and dust with icing sugar, removing any excess with a pastry brush. Dip a sharp knife into a mug of boiling water and wipe dry. Slice the salami into 2cm-thick pieces.
• For the jazzies, melt the white chocolate as described in step 2, then line a large baking sheet with baking parchment and spoon on small, round blobs of it - around 40. Sprinkle with the hundreds and thousands and chill for at least 30 mins.
• Unwrap the chocolate coins. Use a small paint brush to coat them with lustre, if you like, or leave them as they are.
• To assemble, arrange the chocolate salami, jazzies, coins and the rest of the ingredients into a circular wreath shape on a round serving platter.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the butter, milk powder, sugar, egg, salt and 3 cups flour. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky). , Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. , Punch dough down. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into an 18x12-in. rectangle. Brush with melted butter. Sprinkle with chopped almonds and cinnamon to within 1/2 in. of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seam to seal., Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet; pinch ends together to form a ring. With scissors, cut from outside edge to two-thirds of the way toward center of ring at 1-in. intervals. Separate strips slightly; twist to allow filling to show. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes., Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Combine confectioners' sugar, water and extract; drizzle over warm bread.