I didn’t actually plan to do a Mother’s Day post but I made this delectable Raspberry Swirl Wreath and I knew it would be perfect to share with you in time for Mothers Day. I had planned to share this Noodle Box recipe but you will have to just be patient until next Tuesday when it comes out.
This is now my third official Mother’s Day that I can celebrate with my precious miracle children. I have mentioned previously about our long attempts at starting a family and us finally being blessed with these two precious munchkins.

Being a mum has probably been one of the toughest and most precious jobs I have ever undertaken. I remember years ago when I was yearning for a baby in my arms with huge doubt over whether that would ever happen. It finally did with some intervention but I don’t think anyone can prepare you fully for what it is like to be a Mum. There are days I just want to crawl back under the bedcovers and not come out until the day is over. But as a mum you have to get your big girl pants on and get on with the job. No rest for the wicked. Sitting here reflecting I have to say the good does outweigh the bad most of the time.

Like the other morning after being cooped up in the house for a few days by rain I found little J.D out on the back deck sitting in deep concentration with his little tongue sticking out a little. The day was full of promise with bright blue skies and the twinkling of morning dew on the green grass. He was intently focusing on trying to put his thongs on by himself. I asked him what he was up to. His reply was, “A bed hunt Mum”. I asked with a puzzled expression “A bed hunt?” “Yeah a bed hunt Mum, you come?” he asks looking up at me with a delighted smile on his face. It took me a second to register what he was trying to say. “Oh you mean a Bear Hunt?” This guy is crazy about sharks, bears and tigers at the moment. He stands up as he finally is finished putting on his thongs. They are on the wrong feet but I leave him revel in his independence on getting them on himself. He walks over to the steps of the deck and turns around and looks at me with a smile “You come me?” How could I refuse an offer delivered with such sweetness? My heart may of melted just a little more. So I popped my thongs on too and grasped his little hand and we made our way down the steps and into the back yard. We coated our thonged feet in the cool morning dew exploring the yard in utter delight with many exclamations of “Bed Hunt Mum!” and “Watch out bear coming” which I then replied in a fearful voice “Oh no is there a bear coming?”. J.D stopped and looks at me and in the most caring little voice he replied “Et awright Mum” and proceeds to venture forth with one hand on his hip, striding forward into the yard with purpose to catch this bear. It cracks me up now thinking about it again.

Let’s talk about this glaringly beautiful looking Raspberry Swirl Wreath. The new trend in dough at the moment is a yoghurt dough which is simply made up of yoghurt and self raising flour mixed together to make a sticky dough. I have seen it used a lot to make pizza bases and scrolls. I thought I would take it to the next level and make a sweet version of the dough using strawberry flavoured yoghurt and fill it with a punchy raspberry chia jam. I was a little worried it might not turn out that great but this experiment was a success thankfully. I had read a lot of people had difficulty trying to get the dough to come together as it was quite sticky. I just added a tad extra flour when kneading it and it came together as into a nice smooth dough. You could go a step further and had some raspberries, nuts or dried fruit to the dough as you mix it together. I kept it simple this time around but if I made it again I might play around with the add ins. For the icing I again did a little bit of an experiment and used a combination of desiccated coconut, honey, water and coconut oil and blitzed it all together in my food processor. I was trying to steer away from the icing sugar route and although it doesn’t have the same pouring consistency of a regularly glaze it does taste really good.
It will make the perfect centrepiece at a Mother’s Day morning tea. Serve it front and center on a large platter and bejewel it with gorgeous raspberries, nuts and sprinkle around some fresh blooms. It will look stunning. Happy Mother’s Day everyone.

Raspberry Swirl Wreath With Coconut Icing

Prep Time: 30 min + cooling

Cook Time: 30-40 minutes

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups wholemeal self raising flour
1 cup strawberry or raspberry flavoured yoghurt
1/3 cup honey, warmed until runny
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Raspberry Chia Jam

1 cup Raspberries

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon chia seeds

Coconut Icing

1 cup desiccated coconut

2 tablespoon honey

4 tablespoon boiling water

1 tablespoon coconut oil

To Garnish

1/4 cup fresh or frozen raspberries

2 tablespoons walnuts, roughly chopped

Instructions:

Preheat an oven to 175 degrees (Fan bake). Line a large cookie tray with baking paper.
In a small saucepan over a medium heat add the raspberries, water and honey. Bring to the boil and lower to a simmer. Place the lid on and cook for 5 minutes or until the raspberries have cooked and broken down.Mush the raspberries up a little to remove any large clumps.
Remove from the heat and add the chia seeds. Stir to combine and set aside to cool down and for the chia to thicken the jam up. It will take around 10-15 minutes for the jam to thicken up. This could be placed in the fridge to cool quicker.
In a large bowl place the flour, yoghurt, honey, cinnamon, coconut and vanilla extract. Using a spoon mix the ingredients together until a sticky dough is formed.
Lightly sprinkle some flour onto the bench top and tip out the dough on top of it. Lightly sprinkle the top of the dough with a little more flour.
Gently knead the dough until it comes together to form a smooth dough. If it is really sticky add a little more flour and knead it in. The dough will always have a bit of stickiness to it but just add enough to make it manageable.
Sprinkle a little bit more flour on the bench and roll out the dough into a rectangle shape. The dough needs to be around 1.5 cm thick.
Spread the cooled and thickened raspberry chia jam on top of the rolled out dough. Leave a 2 cm border free of jam on one of the long edges.
Starting on the long edge without the border, gently roll up the dough until it meets the other long edge. Make sure the seam is at the bottom of the dough. Gently lift the entire log of dough onto the cookie tray. Arrange the dough into a circle shape and gently squeeze the ends together to form a complete circle.
Place into the oven for 30 -40 minutes until it springs back when pressed. If the top is browning too quickly simply cover with alfoil and continue cooking.
Remove from the oven and cool on a cooling rack before icing.

Coconut Icing

For the icing place all the ingredients together into a food processor. Blend for 3-4 minutes until a smoothish looking paste forms. It still will have a little bit of graininess to it.
Let the mixture cool and then proceed to ice the wreath.
Garnish with fresh or frozen raspberries and roughly chopped walnuts.

Cooks Notes