Festive Muffins

Yes the C word is around the corner. Coca Cola have aired their annual "Holidays are Coming", Hellman's Mayonnaise have shown their credit crunching been-showing-the-same-unremastered-ad-since-1980's, households are beginning to compete as to who can rack up the biggest electricity bill with gaudy decorations and various z-list "celebrities" are battling out in the OZ jungle by eating various parts of a kangaroo's anatomy.

A great respite from all this was a trip to the Fabulous Places Christmas Market at Blackbrook House near Belper to discover some great Derbyshire independent businesses and people. I Spoke to Julie at Vintage & Cake about 50's Swing Dresses, discussed gluten-free cooking with Charlotte from Cupcake Corner, debated the virtues of edible glitter with Wendy at Quirky Cookies, picked up some stunning parrot tulips and anemones from Kerry at The Blossom Tree and finally Claire from Things We Make. I've been chatting to these businesses via twitter so it was lovely to be able to put a face to a name. Another great business there was Jack Rabbits. They have a fab new little business opposite the Cathedral in Derby, sell gorgeous food and cook on an Aga...need I say more!

I've been playing around with festive recipes for a while. Primarily for my Cookery Club Kids. Mince pies went out of the window as a straw poll of my Cookery Kids told me that kids don't like mince pies, Christmas truffles not idea, (you wouldn't believe how long it takes to melt 16 sets of chocolate of chocolate in the microwave!) even these festive muffins couldn't tempt them away from Stained Glass Biscuits. Some of the children have made these biscuits before, but they still insisted in making them again. Kids are always amazed by the way the boiled sweet melts to make sugar glass. So given most of the Cookery Kids claim to not want to make these muffins due to the dried fruit in them these are for the adults to enjoy.



To make these muffins extra Christmassy I cooked them in my star moulds. I have to admit funky shaped silicone moulds don't cook as evenly as traditional round moulds, but they still taste great. One thing I would say is don't over mix as this mixture has a tendency to make dense heavy muffins if mixed too much.

Festive Muffins
Makes 16 regular or 8 large

300g plain flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
150g caster sugar
225ml milk
50g butter, melted
1 egg
handful of typical festive dried fruit (eg glace cherries, sultanas, citrus peel, cranberries)
1 tbsp mixed spice
flaked almonds, for decorating

1) Preheat oven to 200oc. In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder and sugar.

2) In another bowl whisk together egg, milk and butter. Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients, stir until well combined.

3) Carefully stir in the dried fruit and spoon into cake cases into 2/3 full. Sprinkle with flaked almonds. Bake for 25-30 min until risen and golden.

Christmas Marzipan Cake

Ok, ok I know it's September and usually I wouldn't be thinking of Christmas let alone beginning to bake for it for a while but I have some excuses. 1) October, when I usually bake Christmas Cake is booking up fast, 2) I want to feed and feed the cake, 3) the generous Wm Morrisons contacted me and ask if I would like to submit a Christmas Cake recipe for their customers to try and as a thank you they would send me a big box of ingredients.

I played around with a few ideas including Guinness and fruit beer (for any regular readers of my blog this won't surprise them one bit!) and settled on the idea of a marzipan laden cake...minus icing. This is based on the fact I'm not a big icing fan as I find the majority far too sweet. At Christmas time will gladly pick off all the icing on a Christmas Cake to be just left with the delicious marzipan and fruit cake. Now I understand that marzipan is a bit of a marmite ingredient; People either love it or hate it. I love it. The reason for soaking the fruit in orange juice rather than the traditional alcohol is that this really does enhance the taste of the fruit of the cake. The alcohol will come later!



I decided to essentially combine the succulent fruits of my Simnel Cake with the marzipan filling of a stollen and together they made a delicious cake that looks a bit like a Dundee Cake, but smells of sweet, sweet marzipan. The aroma in the kitchen as I was baking this cake was amazing. Due to the amount of ingredients crammed into such a small cake along with the juicy fruit it did take longer than a usual fruit cake to bake. For a change we are planning to start eating this in early December and not leave it until Christmas Day when by then you begin to become thoroughly sick of anything too heavy & fruit laden.

Ideally a Christmas cake should be made no later than 1 week before it is needed. The longer the cake is left the more it matures and the flavours develop. If stored correctly Rich fruit cakes can last for up to a year.

Maybe I should start a trend - Christmas Cakes aren't just for Christmas...

Christmas Marzipan Cake
Makes a 18cm round / 15cm square cake

100ml orange juice
150g sultanas
100g raisins
100g currants
50g dried cranberries
50g dried apricots, quartered
50g dates, stoned & quartered
50g glace cherries, halved
50g mixed peel
110g butter, softened
90g muscovado sugar (or soft dark brown sugar)
2 eggs
250g plain flour
pinch of ground cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
1/2 tsp mixed spice
50g flaked almonds
1 tsp almond extract
1 tbsp marmalade
1 tbsp black treacle (this gives the cake both taste & colour)
200g marzipan cubed & frozen (you can find my recipe for it here)
whole almonds for decoration
Rum, brandy or whisky for glazing

1) Before making a start on the cake soak all of the fruit in the orange juice overnight and make sure the cubed marzipan is in the freezer.

2) Line grease and line your tin with both baking parchment and greaseproof paper. For good instructions on how to do this pop over to dear Delia. Preheat oven to 150oc.

3) Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time to stop the mixture curdling. If it does begin to curdle stir in a handful of the flour. Once eggs have been added stir in the almond extract, marmalade & treacle.

4) Next, stir in the remaining ingredients alternating between the marzipan, fruit and flour. Mix until well combined. If the mixture becomes too stiff to mix add a splash of milk to loosen the mixture.

5) Pour into the lined tin, level the top of the cake then decorate with the almonds. Bake for 3 - 3 1/2 hours or until a skewer comes out clean of cake mix.

6) Remove from the oven brush the cake with your chosen article then allow to cool completely in the tin. Remove from the tin and wrap in fresh greaseproof paper. Store in a preferably airtight tin or container until ready to eat.

7) Every 3-4 week make holes in the top of the cake using a skewer and feed with your chosen alcohol. I use around 50ml of alcohol per feed. Try not to over feed the cake as this can make the cake soggy, dense and a texture more akin to a Christmas Pudding.

Well that was Christmas...

After what seems like a month or so planning and baking it's all over in a flash. I found the above photo on our camera. Hubby took it on the 23rd, you can see me rushing around and the chaos of the cottage in the run up to Christmas. It also makes it look like our cottage is huge, trust us it isn't.

This year Hubby & I spent Christmas with my parents Oop North. As a pressie for my parents I offered to buy the turkey. 3 days after Christmas and 3kg of turkey later, plus a multitude of variations on a turkey theme it is eventually finished. The same can't be said for the Christmas ham which is going to be reincarnated into a ham & leek pie later this evening.

Christmas started when we arrived on the afternoon of Christmas eve and the men cracked open the smoked porter from Burton Bridge Brewery this was soon followed by a trip to the local to hear my brother busk. Incidentally anyone one in and around Southport during the week run-up to Christmas would have heard my brother and his brass-instrumentalled-mates belting out Christmas tunes. Us women stuck to the good old Baileys. Once the obligatory cuppa was out of the way Christmas day started with a peach schnapps and champagne cocktail made by little sister who in plaster due to a disagreement with the piste while snowboarding a few days before Christmas. Late afternoon we sat down to a traditional turkey roast dinner with all the trimmings plus the Guinness Christmas Pudding I made back in November. It had a stronger taste of cloves this time, but I imagine this is due to me maturing the pudding for a bit longer this time around. The last of the alcohol to be tried was the Haw Brandy and Apple & Blackberry Gin we made after one of Hubby's foraging adventures back in October. It was filtered on Christmas eve and both produced such beautiful, pure drinks. The gin went down particularly well and we'll certainly be making a batch of it again for next Christmas.

Santa certainly came up trumps this year. Along with the Made in England rolling pin I also was lucky enough to receive lots of wine, a Hotel Chocolat discovery box, a set of Homepride flour tins and from Hubby not one but 2 trips to River Cottage. The first being the famous Valentines Feast, the second - a place on their bread making course. I was truly shocked when he announced where he was taking me. We must think very similar as his early Christmas present was Pig in a Day with Hugh and it just so happened we booked each others pressies within a few minutes of each other and spoke to the same events coordinator. I can't wait to visit.

I hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas.

Chocolate Stollen

As I've mentioned before, some of my childhood was spent living in Germany and I have very fond memories of celebrating Christmas there. During the last few years German Christmas Markets have been springing up in cities over here in the UK. Nothing like the Christkindlmarkets in Berlin, but it's a good start. The biggest Christmas markets here take place in Leeds and Birmingham. We visited the Birmingham market Saturday evening and it was heaving. Unfortunately I was so enthralled with the whole experience I forgot to take photos.

While there we there we ate kartoffelpuffen with apple sauce, kirschkuchen and pretzels. I was boring Hubby with all my explanations for the different foods and getting overexcited every time I saw something I hadn't seen in years. I would have had Glühwein but Hubby was driving and I felt a bit guilty drinking again when he was driving. To make up for it the following night we drank mulled cider while putting up the Christmas tree.

One of the popular German Christmas bakes is Stollen, a yeasty fruit and marzipan bread and I've been told it represents a swaddled baby Jesus. I would go as far to say I prefer it to Christmas Cake. When I came across this recipe for Chocolate Stollen, although not traditional, I knew I had to make it. A few years back I made a traditional stollen using a slightly different method which worked well, but not as good as this chocolate version. Technically this was one of the most demanding cakes I've made. It also turned out to be one of the most impressive and tasty cakes I have ever made. Nigella would be proud. I'll be submitting it to Yeastspotting. Now take a deep breath and prepare for possibly one of the longest recipes I have ever posted.

Chocolate Stollen
Green & Blacks Chocolate Recipes

FOR THE DOUGH
100g mixed fruit
60ml dark rum
zest and juice of 1 orange
50g glace cherries, quartered
100g (1 bar) G&B Maya Gold chocolate (or decent dark chocolate), finely chopped
375g strong white bread flour
25g cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg, grated
1 tsp mixed spice
2 tsp dried active yeast (not the fast action kind)
150ml milk
125g butter
50g golden caster sugar
2 eggs

MARZIPAN
100g ground almonds
75g icing sugar
25g cocoa powder
a few drops of almond essence (optional)

FOR DUSTING
40g icing sugar
25g cocoa powder

1) Overnight soak the mixed fruit in orange juice, zest and 30ml of the rum. When you are ready to make the stollen stir in the glace cherries and chocolate.

2) Melt together the milk, sugar and 75g of the butter butter. Leave to cool then beat one egg plus one egg yolk into the milky mix. Keep the spare egg white until later.

3) In a large bowl add the flour, cocoa, salt, nutmeg, mixed spice and the yeast then gently pour in the milk and mix until you have a smooth dough. Knead lightly then place in bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to rise for 30 min. While waiting for the dough to rise make the marzipan, line the 30x20cm baking tray with greaseproof paper and preheat the oven to 190oc.

4) To make the marzipan mix together the icing sugar, cocoa, ground almonds and the egg you saved from earlier (I love very almondy marzipan so also add a few drops of almond essence). Knead until you get a soft, pliable ball.

5) Melt together the remaining 50g butter and 30ml of rum. On a lightly floured board knead the dough then roll out into an oblong shape about 5mm thick (something I'm not very good at!). Brush with the melted butter and rum.

6) Turn the dough so you have a long oblong (rather than a wide oblong) in front of you. On the top cover 2/3 of the dough with half of the mixed fruit mix. Fold the bottom 1/3 two thirds the way up the oblong, then fold down the top third over it. Much like when you fold a letter for an envelope. Press down the open edges to help seal it.

7) Turn the dough 90 degrees clockwise (a quarter turn). Roll out to an oblong shape again. Brush with the butter and rum then repeat step 6 with the remaining fruit.


8 ) Mould the marzipan into an oblong shape just slightly smaller in length than the dough and half the width. Place the marzipan down the centre of the dough, fold the two sides of dough in to meet one another and place join side down in the lined tin. Brush the top with the butter and rum and bake for 35 minutes.

9) As soon as the stollen is baked, brush with the butter and rum (you may need to reheat the butter & rum it to regain the liquid consistency)and dust with loads of icing sugar and cocoa.

Vegan & Gluten-Free Mince Pies

We are entering one of the dreaded weeks for people who work in education. As one colleague calls is "Nativity & Glitter Week". The kids are on a high, nothing gets done, Joseph gets stage fright, a shepherd will pick his nose then eat it, the recorders are as squeaky as ever and Mary suddenly discovers a penchant for sucking her toes...mid nativity.

Rather than giving presents out to fellow workmates I usually make a batch of festive goodies. As it was Xmas and not all my workmates can eat my eccles mince pies, I decided to have a go at making vegan, wheat-free mince pies. Not only the pastry had to be vegan, but also the mincemeat. It just so happened that the brand of cider & rum I used in the suet-free mincemeat I made a few weeks back was also vegan. This was a new departure in baking for me. Before now the only vegan baking I have ever had the courage to attempt is flapjacks.

The first task was to find a gluten free flour alternative. Sainsburys came to the rescue when I noticed they sold Dove's Farm Gluten Free Flour Blend. I was anticipating me having to make my own flour blend. It has a slightly different texture to conventional plain flour, in a kind of way squeakier. The butter replacement was easy, Pure Sunflower Spread. I've used it in cooking before with no problems and it is readily available.

One tip I picked up while reading around about using gluten free flour is that at first it looks gloopy, resist the urge to add more flour because once it has rested for a bit the flour absorbs the liquid and it magically turns into the right consistency.

I have to admit these mince pies were a triumph. I don't know why I had been so scared about them. The pastry was perfect and my non-vegan friends also really enjoyed them. I'll certainly be making this pastry again.

Vegan & Gluten-Free mince pies
Makes 12

200g Gluten-free plain flour
125g Vegan spread/butter substitute
1 tbsp icing sugar
4 tbsp orange juice
200g mincemeat Suet-free mincemeat (just make sure you use vegan cider. All rums are considered vegan)

1) Rub the spread into the flour until you have the consistency of fine breadcrumbs. Stir in icing sugar, then orange juice and combine until you have a soft dough. Don't worry if it looks too wet at this stage.

2) Press the dough into a thickened disk shape, cover in clingfilm and chill for at least 30 min.

3) Preheat oven to 180oc. Roll out pastry until it is about 4mm thick. Using a 9cm biscuit cutter, cut out rounds and press gently into a regular cupcake tray. Fill each pie with around 1 dsp of mincemeat.

4) Using the remaining pastry cut out shapes and place on top of the mincemeat. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 min, until pastry is golden. Allow the pies to cool in the tin for a short while before placing on a wire rack.

Gearing up for Christmas

I can't believe we're only just into November and I'm beginning to seriously think about Christmas. I blame the food mags as they are full of Christmas recipes. The morning started out on a trip to the Westfield Derby. I admit I'm sucker for cookshops and the new Lakeland has opened there so before you knew it I was in there, some how I managed to leave without buying anything. However I can see myself back there before the end of the year.

The Food Hall in the centre has an interesting mix of food outlets. Last time I was there I ate at Pieminister and wasn't particularly impressed so this time decided to try somewhere different. Hana Puri caught my eye, specialising in south-Asian cuisine with the food being cooked fresh on a charcoal grill. I had a a chicken tikka wrap (not feeling adventurous!) that was delicious with the perfect amount of chicken, salad, raita and chilli sauce. Their curries also looked delicious and I will certainly be returning. Just a shame most people were queuing at the KFC a few doors down and missing out on this great food.

Next I was off to Chantry for their Christmas Open Day to quaff mulled wine, taste some great Bitter Sweet chocolates and order the Christmas turkey for my parents and a few other festive treats. I had a time scale to keep as I was also planning on making our Christmas pudding and HAD to be home by 3pm if I wanted to get to bed at some decent hour. I was cutting it fine especially when I realised we had run out of string and had to make a mad dash to the only shop around, a garden centre, to pick up twine. It was that or I would have had to use a shoe lace.



Traditionally I make the Christmas pudding on Stir-up Sunday but socially we are booking up fast and this weekend was really the last weekend I knew I would certainly have a 6 hour slot to steam the Christmas pudding. Plus everyone knows a great Christmas pudding is a pudding that has been matured for a while in a great deal of alcohol.

Last year I made a Guinness Christmas Pudding and as it went down so well I thought why mess with something that is so good and made the same for this year, learning from the mistakes I made last year. This time I made it in the right size bowl, though this did mean I had to make a slight adaptation to the saucepan to get it to steam properly. I did think of putting a silver coin in the middle, but as the pudding is probably going to be microwaved when reheated on Christmas Day I didn't think this would be such a good idea!

It smelt so good as it steamed and turned a delicious dark brown. It's now all wrapped up ready for Christmas Day. I just hope it tastes as good as last years pudding.

Merry Christmas

Although hubby & I have been together for over 6 years, this was the first Christmas Day as a married couple and that we had spent together. Breakfast was some croissants and Schloer Bucks Fizz. I was warned not to eat much for breakfast as I would be eating lots in the next 48 hours!

We spent Christmas Day at Hubbie's Aunts house who put on possibly the biggest Christmas spread I have ever seen. Essentially the whole day was taken up with eating something delicious!

Champagne
*
Prawn parcels wrapped in smoked salmon
*
Stilton & Broccoli Soup
*
Lamb, pork and cockerel with roasties, mash, red cabbage, sprouts, pigs in blankets, stuffing and carrots.
*
Christmas Pudding with brandy cream. Served with a glass of beautiful dessert wine (but I've forgotten the name of it)

Later on we delved into:
*mini fish & chips
*mini cheeseburgers
*mini steak sandwiches (as seen on the M&S adverts)
* and lots of other mini things!,

On Boxing Day we spent it at my parents where we ate another delicious, but different Christmas Dinner. Also at my parents we eventually got to taste my Guinness Christmas Pudding. It was absolutely delicious and everyone commented on how light and tasty it was. You could certainly taste the Guinness when you bit into the fruit. I'll most likely be making it again next year.

Santa brought me some great things for the kitchen including salt & pepper piglets and a silicone baking set. I can't wait to use them.

I hope everyone has had a great Christmas break.

Chestnuts exploding on an open fire.

The last few days in the run up to Christmas can only be described as chaotic. A last minute change of plans (well my sister managed to get Take That tickets!) meant I was rushing up to Manchester, then back on the Sunday morning leaving 5 hours to sort the house out, cook for the Christmas party later on and construct a Hexenhaus (Gingerbread house).

This years pre-Christmas nibbles we're a bit of an eclectic mix of foods, it was all very much dependant on what I could get my hands on. The evening went down well and everyone commented on the food. Mother-in-Law was convinced I had brought the mini toad in the hole from M&S as she was so impressed! The evening was rounded off with chestnuts and brandy. I'm not a fan of chestnuts, but Hubby likes nothing more than roasting chestnuts over our open fire. We've also recently discovered an old ikea sieve works as the perfect roasting tin, just watch out for the exploding chestnuts! Hubby could have stopped this happening, by piercing the skin of the chestnuts. We also tried a trick we saw on Jamie at Home - Christmas episode by dropping hot, shelled chestnuts into brandy. According to hubby and father-in-law they tasted delicious.

I have a slight confession over the Hexenhaus. The kit was from Lidl - think IKEA self-assembly house. Hubby was Chief Structural Engineer where I was Chief Icing Bag Lady and Decorator. It was a bit fiddly to begin with and it has been years since I've had an icing bag in my hands, but it was good fun. I just haven't a clue how we're going to eat it!

The nibbles menu included:
Cherrapeno's Tomato & Parmesan Whirls
Tinned Tomatoes Red Pepper Hummus
Bacon & Mushroom Quiche (request from Father-in-Law!)
Roast New Potatoes with honey & mustard dressing
DIY Bruschetta
Mini Toad in the Hole with soured cream, garlic & black pepper dip
crudette and dips
plus a few other things.

DIY Bruschetta
Serves 4

Disclaimer: this is by no means authentic bruschetta. It's my express/lazy way of making it as guests put the toppings on themselves.

1 long ciabatta loaf
2 salad tomatoes, diced
2 tbsp garlic infused olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
ramekin of Parmesan
ramekin of decent olive oil mixed with 1 tbsp mixed herbs or Italian seasoning.

1) Slice the loaf at a slight angle so you get longer lengths of bread. Mix tomatoes, garlic oil, balsamic and a tsp of mixed herbs in a bowl. Serve alongside Parmesan and oil/herb mix.

2) I make my bruschetta by first drizzling some of the herby olive oil on the bread, adding a spoonful of tomato salsa on top, then sprinkling with Parmesan.

Mini Toad in the Hole
Makes 12

12 chipolatas
50g plain flour
1 egg
140ml milk
rapeseed or sunflower oil

1) In a bowl add the egg to the flour, then gradually pour in the milk. Whisk to stop lumps forming. Season with a bit of black pepper and refrigerate batter for about an hour.

2) Preheat oven to 200oc. In a cupcake tray pour in a small amount of oil (enough oil to just over the bottom of each "cupcake"). Put tray in oven for 5 min to heat up oil.

3) Carefully drop a chipolata into each baking tray cup. Pour in batter until each cup is about 2/3 full. Bake for 15-20 until sausage is cooked and Yorkshire pud is golden.

As I made our toad in the holes with beef sausages I made a garlic & black pepper dip, but they are just as good with ketchup.

Stained Glass Biscuits

Christmas is nearly upon us and my Christmas baking is still continuing at full speed. Yesterday was the last day of term so I'm now on 2 week holiday, yay! Today I made one of my final batches of decoration biscuits, and some stained glass biscuits for our tree. The way they glisten on the tree is beautiful and I will certainly be making them again in the future. I've submitted them to Susan's Christmas Cookie Foodblog Event at Food Blogga

Stained glass biscuits
Makes about 20

175g plain flour
75g unsalted butter
3 tbsp vanilla caster sugar
1 egg white
2 tbsp orange juice
bag of boiled sweets (one per biscuit)

1) Preheat oven to 180oc. Rub butter into flour until you have a fine breadcrumb texture. Stir in sugar, egg. Then mix in orange juice in gradually, until you have a smooth dough.

2) Roll out dough until about 2mm-5mm thick. Using a biscuit cutter, cut out a round, then use a different shape to cut out the middle. Make a small hole at the top using a skewer, to allow you to thread ribbon/thread through later on. Place on baking tray lined with baking parchment.

3) Place a boiled sweet in the middle of each biscuit. bake for 15-20 min. Allow to cool on baking sheet.

Mini Eccles mince pies

I first saw these mini Eccles mince pies in GFM a few months back. I love Eccles cakes and knew this version would be perfect to take into work for the last few days of term. Like most of my Christmas baking the gold lustre made an appearance.

For pudding later on Hubby and I are going to "taste test" a few of the pies with some Brandy Butter ice cream from a local producer, Needwood Ice Creams. We've had ice cream from Needwood before and it is delicious, even better than Ben & Jerrys!

Mini Eccles mince pies
Makes 30

2 packs of ready rolled puff pastry
500g suet-free mincemeat
1 egg white, lightly beaten
golden caster sugar
gold lustre

1) Preheat oven to 200oc. Lay out pastry on a lightly floured surface. Using a 9cm round biscuit cutter cut rounds out of the pastry.

2) Place a tsp of mincemeat in the middle of the circle. Brush around the edges with egg white, then gather the edges until the mincemeat is completely encased (I became a pro at this by the end!).

3) Place on the lined baking tray, so the sealed edges are underneath. Squish slightly.

4) Brush pies with egg white. Mix sugar with some gold lustre then sprinkle over the pies. With a knife cut 2 small slits. Bake for 15 min, until golden.

Suet-free mincemeat

It's official, I now feel Christmassy. First thing this morning we were in Derby for Hubby to do an exam so I took the opportunity to visit the huge new shopping center there and found a fab cook shop, so naturally had to buy a new sieve and silicon pastry brush. I could have spent a great deal more if Christmas wasn't just around the corner. The Salvation Army band were playing Christmas songs which gave a great festive air.

On the way home we picked up our Christmas tree...which strangely smells of Gin & Tonic (not that I'm complaining!) and decorated it while drinking mulled wine.

Then this evening, at our local National Trust park, they had an illuminated Christmas tree trail. During the day families had decorated various trees with decorations made from recycled products (e.g. CD's, plastic bottles) then as night fell candles were lit everywhere. It looked beautiful. I didn't take my camera as usually photography isn't allowed, but I noticed loads of people were taking pics so I might go back with my camera Sunday night.

Today I eventually got around to make my mincemeat ready for the marathon Christmas baking fest on Sunday. I don't know why, but I'm funny about suet in mincemeat so I was really happy when I came across this recipe in Nigella's How to be a Domestic Goddess a few years back. The only alteration I made was to add cranberries.

Hettie Potter’s suet-free mincemeat
Makes about 2kg

250g soft dark sugar
250ml medium dry cider
1 kg cooking apples, peeled, halved and quartered
1/2 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
250g currants
250g raisins
250g cranberries
75g glace cherries, roughly chopped
75g blanched almonds,
finely chopped rind and juice of 1/2 lemon
6 tbsp brandy or rum

In large saucepan, dissolve the sugar in the cider over a gentle heat. Add the roughly chopped apples to the saucepan. Add all the ingredients, apart from brandy/rum and simmer for around 30 min until everything has a pulpy consistency. Take off the heat and when it has cooled slightly stir in brandy/rum.

Christmas decoration biscuits

One of my Christmas cooking traditions is to bake Christmas biscuits for friends and family that are hung on the Christmas tree and can be eaten afterwards. They remind me of Christmases in Germany.

The original recipe is from Nigella. They are drier and pepperier than normal biscuits (to make sure they don't go soggy on the tree!) and loosely resemble lebkuchen. I've put the biscuits towards Peabody's Housewarming.

Once the icing has totally dried on the dipped biscuits I'll use a skewer to make a hole and thread ribbon through so they can be hung. I went a bit mad with the gold lustre, but if you can't go mad with gold at Christmas when can you!

Christmas Decoration Biscuits
Makes about 30

For the biscuits
100g/3½oz unsalted butter, softened
100g/3½oz soft dark sugar
300g/10½oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting
pinch of salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp mixed spice
1-2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 large free-range eggs, beaten with 4 tbsp clear honey

For the icing
300g/10½oz icing sugar
3 tbsp boiling water
sprinkles, lustre etc.... to decorate

1. Preheat oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3. Cream together butter and sugar in a large bowl add the flour, salt, baking powder, mixed spice and freshly ground black pepper. Gradually pour the eggs and honey into the bowl until a dough has formed (you may not require all of the liquid if the dough has come together before it is used up).

2. Halve the dough. Wrap one half of the dough in cling film, place it into a freezer bag, and place it into the fridge. Place the other half of the dough onto a floured work surface. Roll the dough, into a disc to about 0.5cm/¼in thick. Cut shapes out of dough and place on baking sheet. User a small funnel to make a hole in the middle of each biscuit. Bake for 20 min. Allow to cool on rack.

3. Prepare the icing. I added some lustre to the icing mix to give it a bit of shine. The icing texture should be liquid enough to be easy to apply but thick enough not to run off the decorations. For the dipped biscuits lightly place the biscuit face side down onto the icing surface then slowly pull out. The biscuit floats in the icing and will coat the biscuit nicely. Decorate which ever way you wish.

Stir-up Sunday - Guinness Christmas Pudding

Today is traditionally Stir-up Sunday and I decided to make my first ever Christmas pudding using the Guinness Pudding recipe that appeared in last month GFM. The fruit had been soaking in the Guinness since Saturday lunchtime and was beautifully plump by the time it came to make the pudding this afternoon. I didn't realise until I came to make the pudding that I didn't have any muscovado sugar and had to replace it with a mix of soft dark brown sugar and demerera sugar.

I also misinterpreted the recipe, it states "spoon in mixture into bowl and level the top". I read this to mean fill the bowl right to the top and level it off. This misinterpretation produced startling results when the pudding began to rise and lifted the saucepan lid that it was steaming in. Serves me right for squeezing a 1.2 litre (2lb) pudding into a 1 litre pudding basin! However, now the pudding has cooled it has sunk back down to normal proportions.

I did come across this crazy looking pudding basin and I'm very tempted to buy it for next year! It looks and smells like a Christmas pudding so I couldn't have gone too wrong! We'll have to wait until Boxing Day to taste it.

Guinness Christmas Pudding
Based on GFM recipe.
makes 1x 2lb pudding

500g luxury mixed fruit
100g dates, chopped
250ml guinness (or another stout)
zest of 1 lemon
zest of 1 orange
1 medium brambley apple, peeled and grated
100g cold butter, grated, plus extra for the basin
100g dark muscovado sugar, plus 2 tbsp
100g fresh white breadcrumbs
50g self-raising flour
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs , beaten

1) In a large bowl soak the mixed fruit, dates, orange & lemon zest and apple in the guinness for 24-48 hours.

2) Butter a 2lb pudding tin then lightly coat the butter in 2tbsp of muscovado sugar by slowly tipping and turning the bowl.

3) Add the remaining ingredients to the fruit that has been soaking. Stir until well combined. Spoon into the basin and level.

4) Take a sheet or foil and greaseproof and make a pleat in the middle (this allows for the expanding pudding). Place over the top of the pudding bowl and fix in place with string.

5) Sit the pudding bowl on top of an upturned heatproof saucer inside a saucepan. Pour boiling water half the way up the pudding. Cover and steam for 6 hours. Top water up as required.

6. Once the pudding is cooked cover with fresh greasproof paper and foil. Store in a cool dry place. To reheat either cook in the microwave (minus the foil), on medium, for 10 or steam for a further hour.

Any chance of healthy eating before Christmas has been blown. I've just seen Lidl's TV advert promoting their Christmas range. I spent 3 years of my childhood growing up in Berlin and have fond memories of the Christmases there. A great deal of my memories relate to the food that is traditionally eaten in Germany over the festive period. The Glühwein, stollen, pfeffernüsse, lebkuchen herzen and chocolate coated marzipan. I can vividly remember staring through a bakery window watching them construct a huge gingerbread house.

I could happily swap traditional British Christmas fayre with the German traditions. I have made my own stollen and pfeffernüsse before, but they still are not quite as good as the originals. Lidl's mini stollen and dark lebkuchen herzen are addictive.

...oooohhh I'm hungry now and craving lebkuchen!

Lebkuchen

Hmmm .... I really should post more. I bake so many things, take so many picture but never get around to posting them. Easter Resolution: to blog more.

Possibly some of my most impressive baking since I last posted was my Lebkuchen and Christmas biscuits (these doubled up as Christmas tree decorations)

Lebkuchen Makes around 30
INGREDIENTS:
250g plain flour
85g ground almonds
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
½tsp bicarbonate of soda pinch each ground cloves, grated nutmeg and black pepper (I like them quite peppery)
200ml clear honey
85g butter
1 lemon, finely grated zest
FOR THE ICING:
100g icing sugar
1 egg white, beaten

1 Tip the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Heat the honey and butter in a pan over a low heat until the butter melts, then pour into the flour mixture along with the lemon zest. Mix well until the dough is combined and fairly solid. Cover and leave to cool (this will make it a great deal easier to roll).
2 Heat oven to 180C/fan160C/gas 4. Using your hands, roll dough into about 30 balls, each 3cm wide, then flatten each one slightly into a disk. Divide the biscuits between two baking trays lined with baking parchment, leaving room for them to expand. Bake for 15 mins, then cool on a wire rack.
3 To ice the biscuits, mix together the icing sugar, egg white and 1-2 tbsp water to form a smooth, runny icing. Dip the top of each biscuit in the icing and spread with the back of a knife. Leave to dry.


Thursdays more seasonal challenge is to make Hot Cross Buns from Nigella's recipe in last months GFM. Wish me luck!