Harris Farms Markets share their secrets as they officially return to Brisbane with Clayfield opening tomorrow!
Keen to celebrate Christmas using local produce and flavours with flair? Well now you can! Harris Farm Markets officially opens in Clayfield tomorrow, heralding a new home for local produce in Brisbane. Given Christmas is just 10 days away, Harris Farms Markets flavour makers have released a Sweet As Queensland Christmas Recipe List, featuring Layered Berry Pavlova, Meringue Kisses, Gingerbread Ice Cream Sandwiches, Peach & Raspberry Cake and a Raw Chocolate Tart (vegan) for Christmas 2020. Desserts just got a whole lot easier, and local!
All the local fresh produce and fillings can be purchased at Harris Farm Markets in Clayfield from tomorrow , December 16.
The family-owned Harris Farm Markets will open not one, but two stores in Brisbane, beginning with Clayfield before opening a flagship store at West Village in West End mid-next year. The two Brisbane stores will offer produce from more than 300 Queensland growers, creators and producers, including organic milk from Barambah, My Berries from Caboolture, Brisbane's Roza's Gourmet sauces, and organic chicken from Hobbs Family Farms Organic in Pittsworth. In addition, combined the two stores will employ over 200 staff, a welcome injection to the local economy.
Queensland is the first state for the NSW-based business to expand into, and there's a reason: Queensland has a history with Harris Farm Markets. From tomorrow, Harris Farm Markets will be at home at the site of the current Clayfield Markets on Sandgate Road, home to an outstanding fruit and vegetable offering for 25 years, and run by much-loved locals, Carlo and Susan Lorenti. It's this site that holds the history. "We are incredibly excited to be opening at this site because Harris Farm used to own it 30 years ago before selling it to Carlo and Susan. It's a full-circle story and we are thrilled that Carlo and Susan are staying on as our managers, along with as many staff as possible," said Harris Farm Markets co-CEO Tristan Harris. "The Clayfield store will be home to the best in fruit and vegetables, including organic produce section and a leaderboard of Queensland strawberries and mangoes, as well as a gourmet grocery section of boutique local products, an extensive deli and offering of more than 200 cheeses, a bakery section with the best breads from sourdough to brioche, and a premium meat selection."
Champions of truly seasonal product, Harris Farm Markets have operated for over 40 years, delivering goodness with the firm belief that Australian families should have access to the freshest and best available fruit and veg.
Spread the Christmas cheer this year by supporting local producers at Harris Farms Market in Clayfield.
Harris Farms Markets – Clayfield
823 Sandgate Rd, Clayfield
Open from December 16, 2020
Opening Hours: 7am to 10am every day
HOW TO: Meringue Kisses
With three simple ingredients, you can kiss your loved ones from afar this Christmas. What you'll need:
- 2 large Jacobs Well Free-Range Egg whites
- 100g caster sugar
- 4 sheets gold leaf or My Berries frozen raspberries
The Process:
- Preheat your oven to 100°C and line a baking tray with baking paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. With the motor running, gradually add the sugar, one spoonful at a time. Continue to beat for 5 or so minutes until you have a shiny and stiff meringue.
- Place the meringue in a pastry bag and pipe out your kisses onto your prepared baking tray. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Turn off the oven and allow your kisses to cool completely inside.
- Once cooled, decorate with gold leaf or alternatively top with gold lustre dust or My Berries freeze-dried raspberries.
HOW TO: Gingerbread Ice Cream Sandwiches
Nothing quite says Christmas like munching on some gingerbread. What if we told you gingerbread could get a touch better by being transformed into a classic aussie refresher, an ice-cream sandwich! What you'll need:
- 125g Barambah Organics unsalted butter, softened
- 100g light brown sugar
- ½ cup golden syrup
- 375g plain flour, sifted + extra for dusting
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon bicarb soda
- Tub of good-quality vanilla bean ice cream
The Process:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream the butter and the sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the flour, golden syrup, ginger and bicarb soda and beat together until the mixture forms a dough.
- Divide the dough in half and gently press each half into a disc. Wrap the discs in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 190°C. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
- Remove the dough from the fridge. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of 6mm. If your dough sticks, dust with more flour and roll until it is no longer sticking to your hands. If it softens too much, put it back in the fridge for a little while to firm up.
- Using a 7cm circular cutter, cut out as many cookies as you can from your dough. Keep re-rolling the dough until you run out. Use a palette knife to assist you in picking up the rounds and transfer them to your prepared baking trays.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool on the trays.
- Remove the ice cream from the freezer and allow to thaw for 5 minutes so that it is easier to scoop. Arrange the biscuits on a wire rack, pairing the cookies according to their size. To serve, place scoops of ice cream between the biscuits and sandwich together. Eat immediately or wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze for later.
HOW TO: Peach and Raspberry Cake
This one is for the grandma's and grandmas at heart! It's berry delicious. What you'll need:
- 185 g self-raising flour
- 170 g caster sugar
- 125 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 80 ml full-cream milk
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 yellow peaches, sliced into 2 cm wedges with skins on
- 125 g fresh raspberries
- Double cream, to serve
The Process:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a 22 cm round springform tin or 33 cm x 23 cm x 6 cm rectangular tray tin with baking paper and non-stick cooking spray.
- Place the flour, sugar, butter, eggs, milk and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on low speed until combined (this takes about 30 seconds). Increase the speed to high and beat for 2–3 minutes, or until thick and pale.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared tin and smooth the surface with the back of a spoon. The batter won't look like much at this stage, but don't worry as it rises beautifully in the oven.
- Arrange the peaches and raspberries on top of the batter, pressing down gently.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- I love to serve this warm, straight from the oven, with a generous dollop of double cream. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 2–3 days.
HOW TO: Shortbread Jam Stars
These delicious shortbreads are bound to become the star of the show! What you'll need:
- 225g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 170g caster sugar
- 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 100g almond meal
- 250g plain flour
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- 30g icing sugar, sifted
- 160g raspberry jam
The Process:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream the butter and caster sugar together until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Add the egg yolks and beat for 1 minute, then add the vanilla.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the almond meal, flour, salt, cinnamon and lemon zest.
- Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and beat lightly to combine.
- Divide the dough in half and gently press each half into a disc. Wrap the discs in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 170°C. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
- Remove the dough from the fridge. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of 6 mm. If your dough sticks, keep dusting it with more flour and rolling until it is no longer sticking to your hands. If it softens too much, put it back in the fridge for a little while to firm up.
- Using a 7 cm circular cutter, cut out as many cookies as you can manage from the disc of dough. Keep re-rolling the dough until you run out. Repeat with the second disc of dough, but this time after you have cut out your circles, use a 5 cm star-shaped cutter to cut stars from the centre of each. Use a palette knife to assist you with picking up the cut-outs, being gentle to stop them from breaking. You can use the leftover dough from cutting out the stars to make additional cookies
- Bake the cookies for 12 minutes, or until lightly golden brown on the edges – you may need to swap the trays halfway through to ensure the cookies bake evenly.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and, using a spatula, carefully transfer them to a cooling rack.
- When ready to assemble, dust icing sugar over the tops of the cut-out circles only.
- Using a small teaspoon, spread jam over each of the solid circles.
HOW TO: Layered Berry Pavlova
It'd be a crime not to whip up a pav for Christmas (and just quietly, this one beats the rest!). What you'll need:
For the pav base:
- 12 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 800 g caster sugar
- 1 ¼ tablespoons corn flour
- Finely grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
For the pav topping:
- 2 litres thickened cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
- 500 g fresh strawberries, halved and tops removed
- 125 g fresh blueberries
- edible gold or purple dust, optional, for decorating
- 250 g fresh raspberries
- 30 g freeze-dried raspberries, optional, for decorating
- Edible flowers, optional, for decorating
- Edible gold leaf, optional, for decorating
The Process:
- Preheat the oven to 150°C. Line two baking trays with baking paper. Trace a circle on the underside of the baking paper so that your pavlova shells are of equal size. (I trace around the inside of one of my 22 cm springform cake tins, ensuring consistency every time!)
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. With the motor running, gradually add the sugar, one spoonful at a time, until you have a shiny and stiff meringue.
- Add the cornflour, lemon zest and juice and fold the ingredients together using the folding tool.
- Divide the meringue mixture evenly between the two baking trays, spreading it gently to fill the circles. Place in the oven and cook for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
- For the topping, whip the cream and vanilla in the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
- Place one of the pavlova shells on a platter (I usually pick whichever is the flatter of the two) and top with half the cream and a layer of strawberries. Place the second pavlova shell on top and repeat with the remaining cream and strawberries.
- In a small bowl, cover your blueberries in gold or purple dust (if using).
- Add the blueberries and raspberries to the top of the pavlova so it appears full and abundant, and sprinkle with crumbled freeze-dried raspberries, if desired. If you are using them, add edible flowers and gold leaf to the top of your pavlova, too. The pavlova is best eaten immediately.
HOW TO: Trifle with Meringue, Lemon Curd and Mascarpone
What you'll need:
For the Jelly
- 2 x 85 g port wine jelly
- 250 g fresh raspberries
For the meringue rounds
- 4 large egg whites
- 200g caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon cornflour
For the lemon Curd
4 eggs
3 egg yolks
220g caster sugar
zest and juice of 3 lemons
175g unsalted butter, cubed
For the mascarpone whipped cream
250g mascarpone, at room temperature
50g caster sugar
250 ml thickened cream, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
To serve:
400g savoiardi biscuits
250g fresh raspberries
Edible gold dust, optional
The Process:
- The night before, rinse and dry your trifle serving bowl. To make the jelly, empty the contents of two packs of jelly into a bowl. Add 500ml boiling water. Stir and dissolve well. Add 400ml of cold water and stir. Pour the mixture into your trifle bowl, top with the raspberries and refrigerate until firm.
- While your jelly sets, make your meringue rounds. Preheat your oven to 150°C and line a baking tray with baking paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. With the motor running, gradually add the sugar, one spoonful at a time. Continue to beat for 5 or so minutes until you have a shiny and stiff meringue.
- Place the meringue in a pastry bag and pipe out your meringue rounds onto your prepared baking tray. This amount of mixture should make 5 rounds in total.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 120°C and bake your rounds for one hour. Turn off the oven and allow your rounds to cool completely inside.
- While your meringue rounds bake, make your lemon curd. Place the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest and juice in a double boiler over simmering water and whisk to combine. Stir over a medium heat for two minutes, or until the sugar has dissolved. Leave to cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has a consistency of thickened cream.
- Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Add the butter, cube by cube, stirring continuously until melted. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate until cooled.
- On the day, make the mascarpone whipped cream by beating the mascarpone and sugar in the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until combined. Add the cream and vanilla and beat until stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes.
- To assemble the trifle, remove the jelly from the fridge. Layer with lemon curd, savoiardi biscuits, cream, lemon curd, savoiardi biscuits and cream. Top with the berries, meringue rounds and a sprinkling of gold dust, if using, and serve immediately. Store leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.
A MERRY VEGAN CHRISTMAS
HOW TO: Raw Chocolate Tart (VEGAN)
Christmas is all about treating yourself and your loved ones. There is nothing that screams treat quite like this delectable vegan Raw Chocolate Tart. What you'll need:
For the Christmas pudding base
- 1/2 cup (55g) dried dates
- 2 cups warm water
- 3/4 cup (124g) almonds
- 1/2 cup (45g) coconut flakes
- 1/4 cup (67g) dried apricots
- 1/4 cup (33g) raisins
- 3 tablespoon (60g) coconut oil
- 2 teaspoon mixed spice
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon water (from soaking your dates)
- Pinch of salt
- Optional: ⅛ cup rum or brandy
For the chocolate filling
- 1 cup cashew
- 1 tin coco cream
- 3/4 cup (99g) cocoa / cacao powder
- 3/4 cup (140g) dried dates
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
The Process:
- Line a 24cm tart tin with baking paper, or grease well.
- For the base - Place dates in a bowl of warm water to cover and leave for 10 minutes to soak and soften.
- Place almonds and coconut flakes into a food processor and blitz until broken up into small chunks.
- Scoop out soaked dates - keep the soaking water - and add to food processor with remaining ingredients. Process to a crumbly mixture.
- At this point, add your rum and brandy to make the recipe a little boozy, if you wish. Process until combined.
- Test the mixture - squeeze mixture in your hand into a sausage shape. Release your grip, the mixture should hold together. If it's crumbly and falling apart, add 1 tbsp of the date soaking water at a time until mixture holds together.
- Spoon base mixture into tart tin and use wet hands to spread mixture evenly over the bottom tin. Gently push the mixture up the sides of the tin and use the back of a wet tablespoon to create a side.
- Place tart base into the freezer for 15 minutes while you make your filling.
- For the chocolate filling - In a blender, combine filling ingredients. Blend on high until smooth. Taste test, this is a rich recipe and works well with some fresh fruit to add some sweet and balance the rich. If you want to add some more sweetness you can in the form of some extra dates, maple syrup or similar.
- Store in fridge until you're ready to eat.
About Harris Farm Markets:
Harris Farm Markets is a family owned and operated business. For more than 40 years Harris Farm Markets has been delivering goodness to Australian families with the core value and belief that Australian families should have the freshest and best available to them. That is why Harris Farm Markets is home to over 3,000 employees across 23 stores who work to deliver goodness to the hundreds of thousands of retail, wholesale and online customers who walk through its doors every week.
