Flans and Fruit Balls

These recipes are in my mother's handwriting and are housed in a battered, blue plastic folder. They are transcribed here as part of the A-Z Challenge 2019. Each day in April a new letter of the alphabet and accompanying recipes are posted.

Flans for every occasion

The various groups that my mother was affiliated with throughout the years, often provided the catering for weddings, funerals, balls and any other district events. Sweet flans or tarts came with a wide variety of fillings. At the C.W.A (Country Women's Association), women learned to weave baskets and on any occasion in the local Institute Hall, a variety of these baskets could be seen. They were used to transport food such as these flans.

Sweet flan pastry and fillings

Sweet Flans

4 ozs margarine
4 ozs sugar
4 ozs cornflour
6 ozs S.R. flour
1 egg

Rub shortening into flours
Add sugar and beaten egg
Mod. oven till light brown

[ This was the sweet pastry case, rolled out thinly then laid in tart plate, metal pans, and rested before cooking. After cooking the flan cases were filled when cold]

Fruit filling
Bring to boil juice of 1 orange & 1 lemon. Thicken with custard powder made with 1 cup water. Add sugar.
When cool, add mashed bananas.
fill flan, top with whipped cream & passionfruit if available

Red Currant filling
Soak 2 cups of currants in ½ cup of water.
Add 1 cup sugar and simmer for 20 mins.
Tthen add 1 or 2 tablespoons raspberry essence and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Thicken with cornflour made with ½ cup water.
Decorate filled flan with whipped cream.

As you may have determined, my mother liked things very sweet. Any of these recipes work well with the sugar content halved.

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Fruit Balls

Fruit Balls

9 weetbix crushed
1 cup cocoanut
1 cup sultanas
1 tablespoon cocoa

Mix all together with a tin of condensed milk
Leave in fridge for 1 hour then roll in balls and drop into cocoanut

Weetbix had a lot of uses in our house not just breakfast food. After a busy day at school when the cakes or biscuits were all gone, a weetbix split in half and buttered with vegemite made a tasty afternoon tea. Weetbix now grace my pantry for grandchildren's visits and are also used as the basis for yummy rum balls at Christmas time.