Sweets
In my memories of childhood school fairs, two images loom large. The first is of trestle tables covered with white newsprint bearing long rows of floral sand-saucers, all labelled with the names and classrooms of their young creators, and with notices of the prizes awarded in each age group. I was always a keen entrant – but I don’t think I ever won anything. My second image is of the sweet stall with its little crepe paper-covered baskets and paper or cellophane bags filled with delicious assortments of delicacies like pink-and-white Coconut Ice and crunchy, chewy Hokey Pokey. Here was guaranteed consolation for sand-saucer disappointments.
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Salted Toffee Almonds
This is a very simple recipe for an extremely popular confection. Everyone loves toasted almonds and when they are coated in crunchy caramelised sugar and lightly sprinkled with salt, the flavours and textures combine in a highly satisfactory manner. They keep very well in an airtight jar and make a very pretty present.
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Pistachio and Hazelnut Halva
In India and the Middle East this sort of confection is usually served as a dessert in bowls, and has a light and fluffy texture, but I prefer it as a slightly fudge-like sweet. It is made from semolina which is cooked with butter, a milk syrup and various nuts and flavourings. I always use ground cardamom to give an Arabian Nights flavour and I cut it into diamond shapes ...
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Hokey Pokey
Although some British recipe books have recipes for Hokey Pokey, they seem usually to be made using caramelised sugar, without the essential golden syrup that gives Antipodean Hokey Pokey its delicious crunchy stickiness. This is our classic recipe; it needs no alteration.
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Coconut Ice
Having tried in vain to achieve a two-layer, pink-and-white coconut ice by colouring the second half of the mixture after pouring the first half into the tin, I decided to make it in two separate batches – and it worked. I also add a little coconut essence, which ups the coconut factor considerably and makes the whole confection a fractionally less sugary experience. The green and white version has a ...