White Christmas is a traditional Australian treat enjoyed throughout the festive season.

The recipe usually includes powdered milk, and often includes white chocolate, and I was originally going to make the family recipe that we were treated to each year as children, but that recipe seems to have been lost. So, as I try to include at least one vegan recipe in my holiday baking routine, I decided to have a go at veganising various recipes that I found online – I have to say, this works just as well and tastes just as good!

Makes: about 60 small pieces
Preparation: 20 minutes
Chilling: about 2 hours
Note on sugar: The advantage of living in Europe is that our locally produced sugar comes from beets, and, unlike cane sugar, is not bone char filtered. If you’re not vegan or vegetarian it’s not an issue, but if you are, you need to be careful about brands. Alternatively, you can substitute coconut sugar.

Ingredients

125g (1 cup unsifted) powdered sugar
100g (about 2 1/2 cups) puffed rice cereal
75g (1 cup) desiccated coconut
100g (1/2 cup) glacé cherries, halved
100g (3/4 cup) candied fruit
75g (1 cup) sliced almonds
1 x 13g envelope (1 heaping Tbsp) vanilla sugar
200g (7 oz) cacao butter
200g (7 oz) coconut oil

Directions

Line a brownie pan (about 20 x 26cm / 8 x 10″) with plastic wrap and set aside.

Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

Using a double boiler or a bowl set over a pan of simmering water, gently melt the cacao butter. It’s slower to melt than chocolate, so just be patient.

Add the coconut oil and stir until melted.

Pour the melted ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix to combine well.

Press the mixture into the prepared pan and chill for about 2 hours, until firm.

Turn out of the pan, peel off the plastic wrap and cut into squares.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a month.