Australia-Day.com

January 26th

Traditional Tucker - Australian Recipes

Pumpkin Scones

Made famous by the wife of a former Queensland Premier, pumpkin scones provide a delightfully savoury accompaniment to a warm Australia Day dinner.

This recipe yields 4-6 servings.

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 cups self-raising flour
  • 1 cup cold, mashed, cooked pumpkin
  • a pinch of salt for flavour

Instructions:

  1. Grease a scone tray or baking tray.
  2. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well.
  3. Add pumpkin, flour and salt and fold in by hand. Knead lightly and cut
    into one-inch squares.
  4. Place close together on the scone tray and bake at 200-220 degrees Celcius until well risen and golden on top (about 15 minutes).
  5. Serve hot, with butter.
Classic Pavlova

A truly Australian dessert, the meringue-based Pavlova was was reportedly developed by a Perth chef circa 1930-1935 as a tribute to the great ballerina, Anna Pavlova. The soft, fruity dish is a favourite dessert dish makes for a great way to top off any Australia Day feast.

This recipe serves 6-8.

Ingredients:

  • 4 egg whites
  • a pinch of salt
  • 1 cup castor sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cornflour
  • 1 teaspoon vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • whipped cream
  • fresh fruit - including passionfruit, kiwi fruit, strawberries

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees Celcius.
  2. Whisk or beat the egg whites and salt together until they are stiff enough to form peaks.
  3. Sift the sugar and add it slowly to the mixture, beating it at high speed until dissolved.
  4. Then, gently fold the cornflour, vinegar and vanilla essence into the mix.
  5. Place greaseproof paper on a baking tray and pile the mixture atop this. Shape the pile into a circle and mould the sides with a spatula until they are a little higher than the rest of the flat top of the cake so as to allow for the centre to be garnished later.
  6. Bake on a lower shelf of the oven for about 90 minutes. When firm to the touch, turn off the oven and leave the pavlova in the oven to cool slowly.
  7. Remove the pavlova and fill the centre depression with cream. Optionally also pipe whipped cream around outer rim for decoration. Garnish the centre and edges with fruit.
  8. Serve in thick slices, accompanied by more fruit and whipped cream.
Damper

A traditional, outback-inspired bread, damper is a heavy but fulfilling side dish that exudes Australiana.

This recipe serves 6-10.

Ingredients:

  • 1 teaspoon butter
  • 2 1/2 cups self-raising flour
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup milk

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celcius.
  2. Mix together the butter, flour, sugar and salt until evenly blended. Add the milk and knead for about 5 minutes to eliminate all dry pockets.
  3. Shape into a ball and flatten. Place on a greased or floured baking sheet or cake tin.
  4. Bake for 30 minutes. Then tear or serve in thick slices with jam, golden syrup, honey or vegemite.