A Kransekake with Bells on

Kransekake for Christmas - with a glitterball and bells on.........

I used the marvellous Goons with Spoons recipe for this

Thinking it came out quite well, although my piping leaves a lot to be desired

I also went with the chocolate cement instead of caramel

Gingerbread Houses

Gifts for the girls! THE cutest little gingerbread houses with snow and fairy lights, of course.

Gingerbread

150g butter
60g caster sugar
60g soft dark brown sugar
60g golden syrup
360g plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1.5 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Fruit Polos for the windows (crush these with a rolling pin - they don't need to be dust!)

Preheat oven to 180c
Line a baking tray with baking parchment paper.

Melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup. Sieve the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ground ginger and cinnamon into a large bowl. Add the melted butter and syrup and mix.

Knead the mixture until it comes together (add a little water if it is too dry) so that the dough is soft and pliable, but not sticky. Wrap with cling film and chill for 30 minutes (the dough, not you).

Roll out on a floured surface until 1/2cm thick. Cut out the pattern for your house - I used this one Gingerbread House Heaven

To make the stained glass windows, put your house pieces on to the baking tray and cut out little windows, hearts, circles or whatever and put a few pieces of crushed Polo into the hole.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the baking tray (this is important, leave to cool ON THE TRAY, otherwise the windows will come out).

Cover a small cake board with Royal Icing and while it is still wet assemble the house using Royal Icing to glue the walls together -You want the front and back walls outermost.  (I used Silver Spoon Royal Icing sugar, just add water). Leave to set, then add the roof pieces.  

I added roof tiles using chocolate fondant icing and a square frilled cutter, cutting the squares in half for the tiles. Glue to the roof using royal icing.

I used a chocolate mini marshmallow for the chimney

Using a leaf nozzle, pipe snow/icicles to the front of the roof and add little coloured sweets or sprinkles for the lights. 

When you have finished decorating sprinkle the whole thing with icing sugar  for snow (I used a tea strainer)

I made four houses out of this mixture, but you could do one and use the rest for cookies for the tree. I had a bit left over and made these 

Happy Christmas!

Sweet almond pastry mince pies

Gorgeous moist mince pies with delicious almond pastry

You will need

For the pastry

In a Food Processor

175g plain flour

100g cold unsalted butter, cubed

25g ground almonds

25g icing sugar

1 egg beaten (you will only use half of this)

Whiz all the dry ingredients and the butter together in a food processor then add half the egg and whiz a little more.

Turn out the pastry onto a work surface and gently combine into a smooth dough - takes a couple of minutes.

Wrap in clingfilm and chill the dough for 30 minutes in the fridge before use

By hand

Sieve the flour and icing sugar

Rub the butter into the flour and sugar until you have a fine breadcrumb consistency

Stir in the ground almonds

Add half the beaten egg and combine to a smooth dough

Wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes

Preheat the oven to 180c

Roll out the pastry on a floured work surface to about 1/8 inch

Using  a 2 1/2 inch cutter, cut out the same amount of circles and slightly smaller circles for the lids

Line a 12 hole bun tin with the larger circles and fill each with mincemeat (1 teaspoon for minis or 1 1/2 teaspoons for larger ones)

Using a little water round the edges of the lids, place the lids on the pies

Prick a hole in the top of each pie with a skewer or cocktail stick

Alternatively cut out the larger circles and use shape cutters for the tops

Bake for 15 minutes, or until pale gold

Leave to cool and sprinkle with sieved icing sugar

German Spekulatius

Gorgeous little spice biscuits. I used a pretty wooden spekulatius mould purchased at a German Christmas market in Mannheim.

The hearts are from the mould and the trees are made using a cookie cutter and embossing mat.

A final flourish of shimmer und dort haben Sie es. Schöne kleine Spekulatius!!


Here is the recipe:

Makes approximately 50 (depending on thickness)

300g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
125g butter
Pinch salt
1 large egg
150g brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Knead all the ingredients together to form a firm pliable dough. Chill for about 1/2 hour

Either thoroughly flour a spekulatius mould, fill with dough and press in firmly. Slice off the excess with a sharp knife.

Or

Roll out to 1/8th inch on a floured surface and cut out cookies to your desired shape.

If you want to make holes for hanging use a drinking straw to cut them out before baking

Line a baking sheet with baking parchment and bake the cookies for 15 minutes in a preheated oven at 175c
Leave to cool on a rack

Decorate with icing, silver balls..... anything you like

Mince Pie Cupcakes

Lovely little mince pie cupcakes with brandy buttercream - perfect for the festive season

Makes 12 cupcakes

You will need:

For the Cupcakes
115g unsalted butter
112g caster sugar
2 eggs lightly beaten
150g mincemeat - preferably without suet added (I used home-made mincemeat which had quite a high alcohol content!!)
105g self raising flour
1 tablespoon corn flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon mixed spice

pinch of salt

For the frosting

75g unsalted butter at room temperature
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
245g sieved icing sugar
1 tablespoon brandy

To make the cupcakes
Preheat oven to 180c (170c for fan assisted)

Sieve together the flour, baking powder, cornflour, spice and salt
Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy

Beat in the vanilla essence
Gradually beat in the eggs a bit at a time
Fold in the mincemeat
Gently fold in the seived flours and spice with a metal spoon, careful not to over mix

Divide mixture between 12 cupcake cases and bake for 15-20 minutes (check after 15) until golden and a skewer inserted should come out clean

To make the frosting
Beat the butter until creamy, then beat in the milk and vanilla essence.
Gradually beat in the icing sugar until smooth and creamy, then beat in the brandy.
Either pipe or spread the frosting and decorate with Christmassy sprinkles or a little sieved icing sugar

Spread the love

Praise indeed......

Wedding Cupcake Tower

Phew!  The day arrived. A bright and chilly autumnal day in a little village in West Sussex. A beautiful bride, a handsome groom and a GREAT BIG CAKE! 

Black & White Giant Cupcake

Choc & vanilla layer cake in a white candy case

Quite a big Donut

Made with a silicone donut pan I purchased today just for a bit of fun

The naked cake  

The Donut with it's lush chocolate ganache and sugar sprinkles

BIG cake

Light chocolate sponge giant cupcake made for Amber's 16th birthday

Lots of shimmer spray and a bubblegum cherry

and the obligatory small cakes :-)

Wondrous Wilton

My new Wilton giant cupcake tin bakes a whole lot better than the silicone version I have - the bake looks much more even. I researched a bit and decided to bake both halves separately as some reviews say the top would be done before the bottom. Anyway, success! 

Choccy Pressies! Christmas Discount

For the chocaholic in your life a lovely 8% discount on divine choccy pressies from the Chocolate Trading Company!  Just use the following code XMASCHOC8

Sugar Crafty - Part 4

Only three weeks to go now and I've been adding the finishing touches to the sugar roses. I've completed about half of them. A time-consuming but extremely satisfying labour of love for a gorgeous bride

Have cupcakes, will travel

Took delivery of 3 wonderful Cupcake Couriers - rest assured, if my cupcakes have to travel, they travel in style!

BwaahhhaaahhaaaaHalloween Cupcakes

For our little trick or treaters! 

Not red, RED!

...and here they are, scrummy rich chocolate with RED and white creamy frosting cupcakes for Duane (to match his race car!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DUANE!

.

I soo need one of these

Humongous Cupcake Case

.......but I might need a bigger oven!

Ella's Giant Cupcake

A pretty big cupcake for a little girl's first birthday. Happy Birthday Ella!

and some little ones to go with..................

Happy days :-)

Birthday Boy

Magictiny's birthday cupcakes (Choc orange & choc vanilla) were on order today, ready for him to take to work tomorrow for elevenses - 50 or so should keep them going til lunch

Sugar Crafty - Part 3

Been away for a break, but now back to the sugary things.   The sugarpaste roses are coming on a treat, almost too big for my hands now; I may need help!

Next stage is the petal dust and lustre, which is my favourite bit.

Sugar Crafty - Part 2

A couple of evenings well spent I think!  Now on the third round of petals on the small roses - they are about 2.5 inches across - and one round to go.

I started a couple of the large roses, which will be around 4 inches across when complete. These are at the second round of petals 

Once they are done they will be dusted with pastel blossom tints in shades of pink and peach.

Sugar Crafty

Today I began the mammoth task of making over 100 sugar roses for a very special wedding. Special because it's my first big commission (I normally bake for friends and family). Also more than special because I am putting my heart and soul into this project. Meetings, tasting sessions and constant correspondence and updates with planning, design and preps with the lovely bride-to-be have helped me enormously in this venture. Here is a tiny taster of my cake of the year -  a rose by any other name...... couldn't possibly smell as sweet, these are the sweetest of all roses, made of sugar.

This is just the centre of the rose, around 1 inch at the moment. I need to let it dry and put the next layer on tomorrow.

We're Jammin' again!

Blackcurrants this time!  and some yummy Blackcurrant & Rosewater Jam

These were actually from my freezer (and I hate to admit, last year's stock) so I was a bit dubious as to the quality of the jam these lovely little things would produce - but fear not, success!

1kg Blackcurrants (mine were frozen and defrosted in the pan with no water)
150ml water (if your fruit is fresh and dry)
4 tablespoons rosewater (this is entirely optional and won't affect the jam if you leave it out)
Juice of a lemon
800g preserving/jam sugar

Place the blackcurrants in a large pan/maslin with the water (if using) over a gentle heat and add the rosewater and lemon juice

Bring the pan up to a simmer and cook until the blackcurrants start to break up and you have lots of lovely juice (about 20 minutes). This took a bit longer for me as I wanted to defrost the fruit gently

At this stage, if you're a pip hater, you can push the fruit through a fine sieve so you are left with just the juice and some of the pulp. Discard the pulp if you are using this method. You will probably get a couple of jars less. I left the pips and whole fruit in and got 7 x 7oz jars.

Then add the sugar and slowly bring to a boil

Once again, the jam is ready to jar when it wrinkles when placed on a chilled plate. Mine set very easily after about 10 minutes on a gentle boil.

Place in warmed jars and seal immediately

What could be easier? 

PS All my lovely jams and jellies will be on sale at the Ansell's Yard Table Top Sale held every Saturday 10am to 2pm, so come along and buy mine or come along and sell your own!

Zingy Quince & Lime Marmalade

Yes, I'm still wading through a hundred weight of lovely quince. I've had BigT peeling them for me. I also had a big bag of juicy limes, so this is an ad hoc recipe.

Zingy Quince & Lime Marmalade

800g peeled and chopped quince
Zest of 3 and juice of 2 large limes
1kg jam/preserving sugar
800ml water

Place the water and quince in a large pan/maslin
Add the water and lime juice and bring to the boil, then simmer gently until the fruit is very soft (mashable)
Either blend or mash until there are very small lumps of fruit
Add the lime zest and simmer for a further 10 minutes
Add the sugar and bring the temperature up slowly.

Before mashing

I find with quince you don't really need to bring it to a rolling boil before you reach setting point as they have a huge amount of pectin which greatly enhances setting, plus any citrus fruit is also very high in pectin.

Test on chilled plates (the marmalade is ready when a skin forms quickly once cool and when you push the surface with a finger it will wrinkle up).

Pot up in warm sterilised jars and put the lids on immediately.

Not a bad morning's work

Toast a large loaf and nom - this marmalade is VERY zingy and totally mouthwatering

We're Jammin'

A rainy Sunday, bleurgh! So I'm bringing Summer into my kitchen with the scents of fresh apples, berries and rose petals.......we're jammin'!

Yesterday my friend Alison and I spent the whole afternoon foraging the village bridleways and footpaths for blackberries and elderberries - my hands are a bit shreddy. We spent a few relaxing hours in her kitchen making apple and elderberry jam and a very fragrant plum and chilli sauce (the plums and apples were also picked locally (scrumped!) a few days before).

Our jam jar order didn't arrive, so I'm winging it with whatever random receptacles I can find in the kitchen.  If you get your pot of Summer in an old coffee jar don't be surprised.

Seedless Blackberry, Vanilla & Rosewater Jelly
Makes approx 4 medium jars

This is a bit of  faff, but well worth it I think

1kg Blackberries
1/2 vanilla pod
500 grams preserving/jam sugar
3 tablespoons rosewater (entirely optional, or just add a bit extra water instead)
100ml water
Juice of 1 lemon

Wash and drain the berries and place in a large pan or maslin
Add the lemon juice, water, vanilla pod and rosewater
Heat slowly and simmer until the fruit is soft
Either mash or blend the fruit (I use a handheld blender) until you have a thick porridgey consistency
Now push the fruit through a sieve with a big spoon to get all the lovely juices
You should now have approximately half the amount in weight of fruit puree
Discard the sieved pulp (but wash and dry your vanilla pod and put it in a jar of caster sugar  - vanilla sugar is lovely for cakes)

Place back in the pan/maslin and add the sugar. Bring slowly to the boil and check for setting point on chilled saucers. Once the jam wrinkles on the cold plate it is ready to jar. Make sure your jars are hot before adding the very hot jam! or they will crack. Put lids on straight away and leave to cool.

Quince essentials

At the weekend I was given 15 kilos of beautiful quince by our lovely friends at Bridgefoot Meadows. After scouring the internet I found lovely recipes for quince jam, Spanish Membrillo (which is a kind of paste cooked in the oven that you can eat with cold meats and cheese), quince gin (definitely doing that!) and preserved quince.

I decided on the jam in the end, but I'm giving it my own little twist with vanilla bean and lemon. It's on the hob at the moment and what a heavenly aroma!

Quince Jam

You will need

1kg prepared (peeled and sliced) quince
Juice of a lemon
Vanilla Bean (pod) - optional
1 litre of water
1.5kg sugar (I use jam/preserving sugar)

Simmer the quince in the water and lemon juice (add the vanilla bean if using) until very soft.
Add the sugar and dissolve slowly
Bring to a rapid boil and test on chilled plates (the jam is ready when a skin forms quickly once cool and when you push the jam with a finger it will wrinkle up).

Pot up in warm sterilised jars and put the lids on immediately.

Crumpets!

A Countryboy Eats: No bake Italian Cheesecake/Ricotta Cream Pie

I am attempting this today:  A Countryboy Eats: No Bake Italian Cheesecake

Without the nuts and chocolate, but with a punnet of juicy English strawberries - Yes, a whole punnet

Making Whoopie - Update.....

I am very much liking this recipe for Whoopie Pies - and I think I would prefer the marshmallow filling to buttercream........ I shall be trying this out SOON
Chocolate Whoopie Pies with Marshmallow

Oh wow! These are DIVINE
A year's chocolate fix in one bite

A few little amendments:  You won't get 36 biscuits using tablespoons - I got around 20 - I suggest a large heaped teaspoon.

Please note, DO NOT use more than 1 marshmallow per biscuit (they may look underpopulated when you add them, but boy do they spread) - and don't leave them until they run, I would say 2 mins max. I used pink AND white; decadent.

Great British Bake Off

Don't forget - Great British Bake Off  tonight at 8pm!

It's not actually all about cake.....

So, this weekend no baking!  We live in a lovely small village in the North of West Sussex where the locals like to grow their own and now we are coming to the end of Summer there is a glut of all things delicious. So far this week we have been given by our lovely neighbours red and yellow tomatoes, runner beans, cucumber and beetroot. I've been giving my veg bed a little rest this year and mostly growing herbs, nasturtiums and sunflowers for the birds. I planted a few red spring onions, phew they're hotties!

I have blanched off about two pounds of runner beans and they are now in the freezer ready for when we fancy a "bean feast". 

In the oven are gorgeous roasted beetroots with balsamic, olive oil and garlic (a la Jamie Oliver) - the most delicious way I've had beets EVER!  A little garlic roasted chicken and roast spuds with swede and carrot mash and runner beans (of course). Perfect.

Bon apetit my friends. Enjoy your Sunday lunch whatever it is.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Now this might just persuade me, after all Nigella is a goddess.........

Nigella's Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Eat Beet

..........and while on the subject of veg, have a look at this amazing site full of wonderful things to do with beetroot (I didn't realise they were so versatile!). No longer will they be consigned to the salad bowl. The cake looks yum!

Beetroot Recipes


Another "sneak in the back door" route to veggies in kids and unwilling adults.

Zucchini Cake

After watching the Great British Bake-off, I was intrigued by the zucchini (courgette) cake one of the contestants baked. The judges said it was very light and tasted wonderful.  I haven't tried it, but with all the courgettes being offered, I might give it a go.

A good way to sneak veggies into the kids!

Zucchini Cake

Dare you!

Does this count as fat free? (there's none in the recipe!)

Coconut Loaf

A lovely teatime treat and so easy to make. I think this counts as fat free! 

There's obviously a certain element of fat in the coconut and egg, but no butter or margarine

4oz dessicated coconut

8oz caster sugar

4oz self-raising flour

1 egg
Pinch of salt

120ml milk

Preheat oven to 180c

Line a loaf tin with baking paper (I use loaf liners)

Throw all of the above in a bowl and mix together

Pour into loaf tin and bake for approx 45 minutes until the top is springy and a skewer comes out clean

Yes, it really is that easy.

Rob's cake conundrum

Today we found a problem: how do you slice a cake covered in buttons! We had to ping them off then put them back on.......choc fudge icing hands! Rob's cake ended up a bit of a gooey mess (although a very yummy gooey mess). Anyways, I think he enjoyed it :-)

Eggstra, eggstra............. what exactly happens when you bake a cake?

Science (ology) is what happens.  How can three or four pretty bland ingredients be 'voilad' into a wonderful moist, scrumptious cake? What occurs in that mixing bowl and hot place? Some of you will know that you start off by creaming together butter and sugar (in pretty exact quantities!). During this process the butter coats each granule of sugar and air is added, lightening the mix.

The beaten eggs are added, the proteins in which coat the air bubbles and stop them disappearing when heated.

Once you add the self raising flour, which has a chemical leavening agent (baking powder: a dried acid (eg cream of tartar and sodium aluminium sulphate) and an alkali (sodium bicarbonate, or baking soda). Adding water and heat to this mixture allows the acid to react with the alkali to produce carbon dioxide gas. This is trapped in the tiny air pockets created when you creamed the fat and sugar together in the first stage.

Some of the proteins in the flour join together to create an extensive network of coiled proteins, known as gluten. It is this gluten that holds the cake together. Its elastic nature allows the batter to expand during baking (to incorporate gases) and then it coagulates into a strong network that supports the heavy weight of sugar and shortening.

Folding the flour in gently (as Mother always told you) avoids breaking down the bubbles you have worked so hard to put into the mix in the first place. It also reduces excessive gluten formation: Gluten is essential to the structure of the cake, but excessive beating creates too much gluten, resulting in a cake with a heavy texture. Cake flour is made from soft wheats with a low protein content.

So, what happens in the oven?

As the batter temperature rises, the gases in the air cells expand the stretchy gluten from the flour, then the chemical leavening agents release carbon dioxide. (Starting to sound dangerous?). As the batter reaches 60degrees centigrade, water vapour begins to form and expand the air cells. Carbon dioxide and water vapour account for approximately 90% of the subsequent expansion of the batter, the remaining 10% being due to thermal expansion. At around 80 degrees, the risen batter adopts its permanent shape as the egg proteins set, starch granules absorb water, swell and form a gel, and the gluten loses its elasticity.

Finally, flavour-enhancing browning (Maillard) reactions take place on the surface. It is at this point you have to decide whether the cake is ready – one of the most critical points in the whole process. The cake will shrink slightly away from the walls of the tin and the crust will spring back when touched with a finger.(A knife or skewer inserted in the centre of the cake should come out clean).

Bakers? nooooo, we're scientists, it's official!

Piping without the ooze

I make a lot of cupcakes - big creamy swirly ones - which calls for reliably strong, ooze free piping bags. I've tried many and I've had a lot of frosting on my shoes. Then I found these: Lakeland "Get a Grip" piping bags  - amezzin!   Super strong and very grippy, so even if you do get a (rare) ooze it won't be like icing with a wet bar of soap!

and now for the jam......

Proper home made jam can't be beaten in my book. Here's my recipe:

The same weight in preserving (jam) sugar as fruit (say a kilo of each)
A lemon - juiced
A maslin or big wide pan
Some sterilised jars and lids (I microwave them for this as they need to be warm when you put the jam in)
A couple of chilled small plates for testing

Wash and prepare the fruit - I usually just halve strawberries
Layer the sugar and fruit in the maslin and place over a very gentle heat until the sugar has completely dissolved, stirring from time to time. Stir in the lemon juice.

Once the sugar is dissolved bring the pan to a rolling boil for approximately 10 mins - keep checking the jam and don't let it catch on the bottom of the pan, it will be bitter and burnt tasting if this happens - place a little blob on a chilled plate (it should cool quickly). Once cool push it with your finger and if you get a good wrinkle on the surface your jam is ready to be jarred.

Make sure your jars are warm and fill almost to the top. Place a circle of wax paper on the surface and then put the lid on immediately.

Leave to cool.

You're now ready to get the scones polished off!

Proper Cornish Scones!

With all the gorgeous strawberries around at the moment, what's better than a real cream tea? Thank you to my wonderful friend Dawn in St Austell for this amazing recipe for proper Cornish scones. These are sooooo easy and great for the kids to make. Eat the same day.

12oz self raising flour
2oz caster sugar
6fl oz buttermilk (you can get 2 batches from a 284ml carton of buttermilk, just add a little milk to make up to 6floz)
3oz butter

Method
Preheat oven to 210 centigrade

Rub butter and flour together until a fine breadcrumb texture is achieved

Stir in sugar

Stir in buttermilk and blend to a smooth dough, but don't overwork it

Press out the dough until approx 3/4 inch thick and cut circles of approx 2 1/2 inch (I can usually get about eight from a batch.

Place on a baking sheet with enough room for the scones to spread. Bake for 12-15 minutes until just pale gold.

Enjoy!