Shirley's Christmas Fruit Mince Tea Cake

  

Bottled Fruit Mince is available for purchase at the supermarkets here in the lead up to Christmas, so if you are running out of time, why not take a shortcut, and instead of making your own batch of fruit mince, buy it and bake this warm and delicious Fruit Mince Tea Cake. However, if you have already made your Christmas fruit mince, your homemade batch will no doubt take this festive cake to the next level. As this cake is baking,  your home will be filled with the spicy, rich and nostalgic aromas of festive holiday baking. 

In My Tropical Kitchen, December 2025

It's  the "Silly Season" for many of us here in Tropical North Queensland, during the lead up to Christmas in the heat of Summer, meaning more fun, more parties, more socialising, more shopping, more air-conditioning, and more cooking including Christmas indulgences, and just the predictable hype involved in the lead up to Christmas. We are very low key about all of this now in our home, with just a couple of Christmas parties and a few lovely catchups with friends. For those working and living in the fast lane, it is probably a very different story though. 

My Christmas Shortbread

 

You can call this Christmas shortbread, Scottish shortbread, plain shortbread, magical shortbread, delicious shortbread, Granny's shortbread, or Vintage shortbread. What's in a name anyway, because the main thing is that this is a delicious biscuit recipe and a cinch to make in time for Christmas. Only 3 simple main ingredients are needed. Just what you need at Christmas time.

My 5 Forever Festive Prawn Recipes and a fabulous Marie Rose Seafood Sauce

We have 4 kg of green King Prawns sitting in our freezer, waiting to be cooked up for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Our prawns are from the famous Karumba, in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, Australia, which by the way we happened to visit a few years ago on a camping trip. Karumba is a beautiful spot to visit in Winter, too hot in Summer for us to enjoy, and well known for it's prawn industry. 

Christmas Brandy Plum Pudding

It's the countdown to Christmas, and I really hope that Christmas still brings lots of excitement and love to most families on Christmas Day. We generally try to keep it simple with the catering, leaving the traditional Christmas favourites to make yet another appearance, such as my Mum's Brandy Plum Pudding with homemade Vanilla Custard or ice-cream for dessert, and the traditional Christmas Cake. 

Creamy White Wine Garlic Prawns in the Tropics

 

Eating fresh prawns and seafood are synonymous with Christmas and living in Tropical North Queensland. The further North you travel the more seafood becomes the preferred option for a delicious Christmas meal. When it comes to eating seafood, often freshly cooked, chilled, and unadorned is what I prefer, however a plate of home cooked garlic prawns is always a delicious way to enjoy them.