Carrot Pineapple Snowballs

Inspired by the recipe above, I created the scrumptious balls below.

Stated like this, it sounds really grand. However, in the reality of the kitchen, it often happens that you have a recipe, an aim, guests arriving and half the ingredients are missing.

I have built quite a reputation for using fish instead of chicken, an ingredient instead of another, "as long they have the same hue, that will do." Life is not perfect and if we can't have fun with what we have, I ask you: "where is the enjoyment going to come from?"

So "them snowballs" might be on the degenerated side of the good looking balls but they taste absolutely fantastic, they are great fun to make, take no more than 15 minutes to prepare and are easy enough to involve the kids in the cooking process.

 The sweetness of the carrots marries very well with the freshness of the pineapple.

Carrot Pineapple Snowballs

Ingredients
Makes 12 balls

425g can pineapple juice
175g grated carrots
200g self-raising flour
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
85g golden caster sugar
2 eggs
85g melted butter
150g single cream

To decorate

Juice of the pineapple

100g icing sugar

100g desiccated coconut 

A dozen of small cake decorations, I used edible flowers and chocolate hearts but the choice is yours

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6 and line a muffin tray with 12 paper cases or if you have a 6 muffin-holes tray bake two batches. The ball will freeze undecorated for a month.

Drain the pineapple and reserve the juice

Crush the pineapple with a fork or a hand blender for a smoother texture

Melt the butter and let it to cool

In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients that's the self-raising flour, the bicarbonate of soda and the sugar.

In another bowl beat the eggs and add all the other ingredients: the melted butter, cream, carrot and crushed pineapple stir well.

Add the "liquid ingredients" to the dry ingredients and stir quickly until smooth

Spoon in the cases

Bake for 18 minutes or until golden brown

To decorate

Mix 5 tbsp pineapple juice with the icing sugar

Put the desiccated coconut onto a plate or a tray

Peel the balls from their cases and spread icing all over each one. It will get very messy

Roll each  ball in the coconut shreds and decorate with the items of your choice.