No Fruit Christmas Cake

 



Ingredients

 

225g Salted Butter

4 Large Eggs

200g Light Muscovado Sugar

1 tbsp Treacle

330g Plain Flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

1 1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp Ground Ginger

1/2 tsp Nutmeg

100ml Milk

Zest of 1 Orange

Pre-heat the oven to 175oC and grease your tin, I like a ring tin for this cake.

 

Melt the butter and set aside to cool. Whisk the eggs, sugar and treacle together in a big bowl. In a separate bowl sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg together.

 

Stir the flour mix and the milk alternatively into the sugar and eggs, a little at a time folding gently to keep the air in. Once combined add the orange zest mix it together and add the butter gently. Pour into your tin and bake for 45-55 minutes (depending on your oven) until the cake is springy to touch and you can insert and skewer and pull it out clean.

 

Let the cake cool and then you can decorate with a dusting of icing sugar or a mix of orange juice and icing sugar which can be drizzled over the cake. Alternatively since this cake doesn't have any booze in it like a traditional Christmas cake you could use Cointreau and icing sugar and drizzle that instead.

 

Christmas Cake



Ingredients

 

500g Seedless Raisins

200g Currants

100g Chopped Glace Cherries

175g Mixed Peel

175g Chopped Almonds

125g Apricot Jam

6tbsp Dark Rum

1 1/2tbsp Soft Brown Sugar

One week before making the cake put all of the above ingredients into a bowl and cover, coming back to give it a stir every other day.

 

Oil and line a 9 inch round tin with two layers of baking parchment and wrap the outside of the tin with two layers of brown paper.

 

Pre heat oven to 150oC

 

Then you will need.

 

175g Butter

250g Soft Brown Sugar

4 Large Eggs

210g Plain Flour

3/4 tsp Baking Powder

Pinch of Salt

3/4 tsp Mixed Spice

3/4 tsp Nutmeg

Cream the butter and sugar together then add a little beaten egg gradually. Now add the fruit mix and give it a good stir. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, mixed spice and nutmeg all into the mix and give it another stir until all combined. Pour into the tin and bake for 3 1/2 hours. After 2 hours cover the top with a circle of grease proof paper.

 

When you remove the cake from the oven pour over another two tablespoons of rum. Wrap up and let it mature for a month or two, feeding it with a tablespoon of rum now and again. Then decorate just before Christmas.

 

Florentines

Makes 18-24

Ingredients

50g Butter

50g Golden Caster Sugar

2tsp Runny Honey

50g Plain Flour

50g Candied Peel

50g Dried Cranberries

30g Light Toasted Almond Flakes

100g Chocolate (of your preference)

Firstly turn your oven to 160oC. In a saucepan melt butter, sugar and honey then set aside to cool a little. Mix the rest of the ingredients (apart from the chocolate) add the butter mixture and mix. Put teaspoons of the mixture on a flat tray and flatten slightly with the back of your spoon. Bake for 7-8mins until light gold in colour.

Let the Florentines cool then melt the chocolate and drizzle over the top or spread chocolate over the backs and let cool. Enjoy :-)

Mulled Cider

Ingredients

2Litres Dry Cider

4 Cinnamon Sticks

2 Whole Nutmegs

2 Apples

Cloves

Zest of 1/2 Orange

This recipe is very simple and very quick. Stud your apples with cloves and put in a pan with the cider, nutmeg, orange zest and cinnamon sticks let simmer for 10 to 30 mins. Serve with a slice of apple and orange and enjoy. Something very simple but lovely, warm and festive :-)

Lazy Light Mince Pies

Makes 24

Ingredients

270g Ready made Filo Pastry

822g Ready made Mincemeat

1 Egg (beaten)

Icing sugar  and edible glitter to dust

This is a really simple lazy and quick mince pie to make and I think they look a little like Santa's sack. Turn your oven to 180oC. Grease a cup cake tin, then cut your pastry into even squares and set aside. Take one square and dab a little egg in the middle then place another square at an angle on top (it should look a bit like a star). Place a heaped teaspoon of mincemeat in the centre then from the top layer of pastry pull up each corner and squidge in at the top of mincemeat leaving a little frill at the top. Lightly cover the bottom layer in egg and do the same (it will make it all stick together). Put a little egg on the frills at the top. Place in the oven for 8-10 mins until the tops go golden. Dust with icing sugar and serve.

Hot Chocolate

Serves 1

Ingredients

50g Dark Chocolate 70% Cocoa at the least

250ml Milk

1tsp Cinnamon

Sugar to taste

Cream and Marshmallows (optional)

Grate your chocolate and add this to a pan of simmering milk leave a little to sprinkle on top. Slowly let it simmer (not boil!) until the chocolate melts and the mixture thickens slightly. As it is dark chocolate you will want to add some sugar to taste. Add half a tsp of Cinnamon to the mix and pour into a mug. Top with cream, marshmallows a sprinkle of remaining Cinnamon and chocolate. Sit back put a Christmas DVD on a relax! :-)

Christmas Biscuits

Ingredients

100g Plain Flour

2tsp of Christmas spice (or make your own mix using ginger, Cinnamon, nutmeg)

1/2tsp Baking Powder

50g Soft Brown Sugar

1tbsp Milk

75g Butter

2tbsp Candied peel (optional)

To Decorate

Icing, Sprinkles, Edible glitter of your choice

Turn your oven to 180oC. Put all of your ingredients in a bowl and mix together using your hands. Once combined into a dough sprinkle your worktop with flour and roll out until about 1/2 a cm thick. (You may need to sprinkle your dough with flour lots to prevent it sticking) Put in the oven for 15-18 mins until golden. Let them cool on a rack.

Once cooled you can decorate however you want simply using a sprinkle of icing sugar, completely covering them in icing, or in my case lots of edible shimmer spray. It is completely up to you, have fun with them.

I used a Delicia cutter set which I found on Amazon

:-)

Rum and Raisin Homemade Cake Pops

Makes 20

Ingredients

 4oz Caster Sugar

4oz Butter or Margarine

3oz Self Raising Flour

1oz Cocoa Powder

2 Eggs

100g Dark Chocolate

100ml Condensed Milk

2oz Raisins

2-3tbsp Rum

To Decorate

400g Milk Chocolate

100g White Chocolate (optional)

Sprinkles (optional)

This recipe is exactly the same as my other cake pop recipes but again with a few changes.

Some preparation ahead is needed. Put your raisins in a bowl with 2 tbsp of rum mix around cover with cling film and let them sit overnight and soak up the rum.

Turn oven to 180oC. Now bake your cake, cream sugar and butter together until light and fluffy then add one egg at a time. Use an electric whisk it will give you a lovely light airy sponge. Add flour and cocoa and whisk until combined. Put in a baking tray and bake for 25-35 mins depending on your oven and the size of the tin.

Once the cake is baked and cooled put in a food processor to crumb. Melt your dark chocolate and condensed milk together in a bowl over a pan of hot water. Take off the heat and pour in your cake crumbs, raisins and if you want a stronger rum flavour 1 tbsp of rum. Mix together roll into balls and then let these chill in a fridge for 1-2 hours.

Once the mixture has cooled melt your decorating chocolate. Cover in milk chocolate first then let cool. Drizzle a little white chocolate on top of each and add sprinkles. Let cool place them on cake pop sticks and then eat!