Mince pies

I can't believe it's nearly Christmas already! Time has gone so quick. I've been busy baking every weekend nearly but I have found time to watch all the Christmas cooking programmes on TV! I loved 'Nigella's Christmas' especially! Today I have been busy finishing my third Christmas cake, baking ginger cookies and decorating them and making mini rum chocolate puddings!

The other day I had some time to make my first ever Mince Pies, they were delicious! I cheated a little and did it the 'express' way by using shop bought mincemeat but I did make my own pastry! They are so great to get out when people come and visit. Merry Christmas everyone, I hope you all have a fun and festive time!

Christmas Cake - number two

Here is the second Christmas cake I have been working on for my two friends. It is another fruit cake covered in marizpan and then covered in black sugarcraft. Black is an unusual colour to choose for a Christmas cake but I thought it would look really effective with the white stars!
I cut out lots of little white sugarpaste stars and used a stamper to mark snowflakes. I dusted the snowflakes with shimmer dust and the effective was all shimmery and sparkly!
I also cut out larger stars and stuck them to the side of the cake.
I also added little silver balls to finish off! I love the stars and snowflakes and the contrast between the black and white. I hope my friends like it too!

Santa came early this year as for my birthday I was given the Nigella Chritmas book that I have been dying to get my hands on! I am so pleased - thanks Saff - I love it! :)

Christmas Cake (Number one)

This is the first of the four Christmas cakes I am making this year. This was also my final piece for my baking class (I came third which I was pleased with!). It is a 6inch fruit cake, covered in marizpan and then covered in sugarpaste. I then decorated it with some of the techniques I have learnt over the past few weeks. Below is an example of crimping using a special crimping tool.
I cut this circle out (below) using a scone cutter and then used a patchwork snowflake cutter to create the snowflake pattern and brushed over it with shimmer dust. I then cut out lots of stars, brushed them with shimmer dust and stuck them on using royal icing.
I coloured some marizpan red and green and rolled it together. I then gently placed it around the bottom of the cake and then piped royal icing around the edges of the cake board.
So far I have made 3 out of the 4 cakes - 2 of them are waiting to be marizpaned and iced so watch this space for more christmas cake ideas. Anyone for a slice?

Chocolate Christmas Wreaths

I took this idea from the Nigella Christmas book (which I'm hoping get for Christmas from Santa!). In her book she uses cornflakes and a sugar coating I think but I used rice krispies and a chocolate coating! It was so easy to do, I just poured some rice krispies into a bowl, covered them with melted chocolate, placed large spoonfuls onto a piece of tin foil and then made a hole in the middle. To add some extra Christmas charm I sprinkled them with Christmas sprinkles!

I also filled mini cupcake papers with the chocolate rice krispie mixture and added some more sprinkles!

The sprinkles are snowflakes and candy canes - so sweet!

Christmas Cake - part two

Okay, so the next you need to do is make sure your cake tin is covered properly. Using greaseproof paper draw a circle around the bottom of your tin and cut it out. Make sure it fits into the bottom of the tin easily. Cut a strip of paper the length of your tin and cut along the bottom little slits so that you can fold them to fit the inside of the tin perfectly. Place the circle in the bottom. I recommend that you also cover the outside of your tin with brown parcel paper and string but I didn't have any string at the time and had to make do without. I did however place 4 squares of the paper under the cake tin when I put it in the oven (as shown above). This is to make sure that the cake doesn't get overcooked underneath or on the sides as it is going to be in the oven for a long time!
Using another large bowl, place the remaining ingredients into it - sugar, flour, ground almonds, mixed spice, treacle, butter and eggs. Stir everything together until it is well mixed. You should use a wooden spoon to do this.
Beat everything together unitl it is well mixed, smooth and glossy. Next, add the mixed fruit and stir it into the mixture. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the top with the back of a wet metal spoon. Give the tin a few sharp bangs to make sure the mixture has spread evenly in the bottom. Place it in the centre of the oven (pre-heated, of course to 140c/275f/gas mark 1) and cook for 2 - 2h 15mins. Use a prong to test to see if it is cooked. Allow it to cool in the tin and then turn it out but do not remove the brown paper as it will help to keep the cake moist. Wrap in it foil twice and store it in a cool dry place. Over the next few weeks you can sprinkle more brandy over it if required!
Next, I will upload ideas for icing and decoration. Watch this space!

Christmas Cake Part one

I love fruit cake. It has to be one of my favourite things, i like it even more when it's covered with a lovely soft layer of marizpan and then smeared in royal icing! Heaven. My mum makes the best fruit cakes - I love them - she even made all of my wedding cakes for me! (This was before the days of my obsession with baking began!)

So, no Christmas is complete without a centre-piece for the table, something to offer the guests when they come round to visit - a lovely slice of Christmas fruit cake that has been soaked in alcohol and then a little more drizzled over in the weeks before it gets iced and decorated! It is best to start early with fruit cake. Tonight, I thought I would start with the ingredients, tomorrow I will write up the method and then I will show some decorating ideas!

I only have a 6inch cake tin at the moment and so, this recipe is for a 6inch tin only. It is taken from 'The International school of sugarcraft' and it tastes divine!

You will need:
125g/4oz raisins
125g/4oz sultanas
125g/4oz currants
60g/2oz of dried chopped apricots
90g/3oz glace cherries
30g/1oz cut mixed peel
30g/1oz chopped nuts
5ml/1 teaspoon lemon juice
15ml/1 tablespoon of brandy,whisky,sherry
185g/6oz plain (all purpose) flour
5ml/1 teaspoon ground mixed spice
30g/1oz ground almonds
125g/4oz soft dark brown sugar
125g/4oz butter or margarine
7.5ml black treacle
2 medium eggs

The best thing to do is take a large bowl and add in all the weighed out dried fruits. Add the lemon rind juice and the alcohol (I used brandy and whiskey but you can add all three if you prefer), give everything a good stir and then cover and leave to sit overnight while the fruit soaks up all the juices! Yum!

Christmas Gingerbread Biscuits

Only 8 more days to go! 'Holidays are coming...'


My sister-in-laws came to stay over the weekend and wanted to make gingerbread biscuits to hand out as favours at her christmas party so I used a slightly different recipe from last time. We had great fun making them and a great weekend catching up together.

I found this recipe easier to follow than the first one I tried. I found the recipe in the bbcgoodfood magazine that Saff gave me (thanks!). It really is quite simple to follow and doesn't take up to much christmas shopping time!

All you need is:

125g/4.5oz unsalted butter

100g/4oz dark muscovado sugar

3.5tbsp golden syrup

300g plain flour

2 tsp ground ginger

1tsp bicarbonate of soda

icing sugar, silver balls and sprinkles to decorate

Preheat the oven to 180c/350f/gas mark 4. Take a small pan and slowly melt the butter, sugar and syrup in a pan over a low heat. Take a medium bowl and sieve the flour, bicarbonate of soda and ground ginger, mix all together and then pour the melted butter mixture in with it and stir until all the flour is covered. It should form a stiff dough but if it doesn't quite come together add a small splash of water.


Roll out the mixture on a clean surface using a rolling pin and use christmas shapes to cut out shapes. I used a star, a snowman and a tree. Place them onto a large tray covered in baking paper and place them into the oven for 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave them to cool before decorating!
I used plain icing sugar mixed with water to make thick white icing and used a knife to smarten up the edges. My sisters then decorated them with sprinkles, silver balls and coloured icing!

Christmas Countdown

I can't believe how close it is to christmas, i've still got so many presents to buy, cards to write, things left to bake! I love this time of year when it's bitter cold outside and everyone hurries around the shops all wrapped up warm in coats, hats and scarfs. I love the feel of christmas and the excitment and I'm so excited to home and visit all my friends and family! Ooooh the countdowns on....

Christmas Cupcakes

You all know how much I love baking cupcakes, well i couldn't resist the urge to make christmas cupcakes. My sister in law bought me these amazing christmas red, white and green sprinkles. Some are shaped like mini candy canes and the other ones are snowflakes! I love the red and green colour against the clean crisp white of the icing, the contrast is great! I used a normal victoria sponge recipe for the sponge (see previous post) and vanilla icing. While the icing was still wet I dipped them into the sprinkles that I had poured onto different plates. I'm thinking of trying to make mini fruit cake cupcakes next week but with all these christmas partys and nights out will have the time?! I'm of to make mince pies now, yum!

Florentines

I'm so excited about christmas. I love the run up to christmas, all the decorations in the shops and the lights that brighten up dark streets and I just lurve christmas food! Mince pies, Christmas cake, stollen, frosted ginger cake.... the list goes on! I decided to start of the christmas baking with florentines.

You will need:

75g (2.75oz) butter

75g (2.75oz) caster sugar

25g (1oz) sultanas

25g (1oz) raisins

25g (1oz) chopped nuts

25g (1oz) glace cherries

25g (1oz) sunflower and pumpkin seeds

100g (3.5oz) flaked almonds

2 tbsp of double cream

175g (6oz) dark chocolate

Preheat the oven to 180c/350f/gas mark 4 and line two baking trays with grease proof paper. Heat the butter over a low heat until melted and then add the sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil, take of the heat and stir in the sultanas, raisins, nuts, cherries, seeds, almonds and mix well. Finally beat in the cream.

Using a teaspoon place small amounts onto one of the baking trays, allowing space for the mixture to spread and place in the oven for 10-12 minutes. Make sure you keep an eye on them as you do not want them to burn-they should look golden!

While they are cooling use a circle cookie cutter to make them into perfect circles and leave to cool. Meanwhile heat the dark chocolate and spread in over the other baking tray. When the chocolate is about to set place the cooled biscuits onto the chocolate, press them down and leave them to harden.

Cut around the florentines and remove the grease proof baking paper. Use a little more melted chocolate to create swirls on the back of them by dipping a fork into the chocolate and swirling it around!

They would make lovely christmas presents or look lovely on a festive spread and they taste divine!