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.

 

Basil Grande Cocktail Sorbet

Ingredients

235ml Water

75g Caster Sugar

10g Fresh Basil Leaves

1 Lime, Zest and Juice

150g Raspberries or Strawberries

135ml Cranberry Juice

355ml Cranberry and Raspberry Flavoured Sparkling Water

1tbsp Cointreau

1tbsp Vodka

1tbsp Chambord Raspberry Liqueur

Add water, sugar and basil leaves to a pan and let simmer on a medium heat for 5 minutes until the sugar has dissolved and the basil has infused, then remove from the heat and remove the basil leaves. In another bowl sieve the raspberries to get the juice and add this to the cranberry juice. Add the zest and juice of one lime to the cranberry mixture and add the alcohol (optional) and sparkling water. Now add the sugar basil mixture to the rest give it all a stir and place in a Pyrex dish suitable for freezing.

Place in the freezer and go back every 30 mins to an hour and give it a mix around. After 3-4 hours the mixture should have set.

Serve with some fresh raspberries and a spring of basil to garnish.

Hazelnut Chocolates

Ingredients

75g Blanched Hazelnuts

100g Dark Chocolate (72% Cocoa)

100ml Condensed Milk

1-2tbsp Hazelnut Oil

Pinch of Salt

3-4tbsp Hot Water

250g Milk Chocolate (to decorate)

Optional

Add 2-3 tbsp Cointreau or Cognac and decorate with dark chocolate

Pre-heat the oven to 180oC, place your hazelnuts on a tray and toast for about 7 minutes until they are pale golden. Remove the nuts from the oven and let them cool slightly. Then place the nuts in a food processor until they become very fine and almost a paste. In a bowl break up your chocolate add condensed milk and hazelnut oil. Place the bowl over a pan of hot water and melt the mixture together. Once melted add to the food processor  with the nuts and mix it all up. Now add a pinch of salt and the hot water until you have a thick paste. (If you are using alcohol add this now and don't worry if your mixture looks thinner it will firm up) Put the mix in a bowl and put in the fridge for 2 hours or over night.

Once chilled roll the mix into small balls about a teaspoon of the mixture should do. Place these on grease proof paper and put back in the fridge to firm up for another hour.

Now melt your chocolate to decorate and dip the chocolates individually. Add a drizzle of a different type of chocolate or edible glitter for a nice finishing touch.  Keep the chocolates chilled until you eat them.

Cocktail Time!

Ingredients

150ml Cointreau

150ml Vodka

150ml Chambord

1 Punnet Strawberries or Raspberries

Cranberry Juice

Basil (to top)

Mash your strawberries or put them in a food processor blend and then sieve them to get all the juice add all your alcohol and then top the jug with cranberry juice. When your serve place a basil leaf on top and add a couple ice cubes.

For an individual glass reduce the amounts of alcohol but keep the measures even and use about two tablespoons of the strawberry or raspberries and top again with cranberry juice.

Homemade Cake Pops For Grown Ups!

Makes about 20

Ingredients

4oz Caster Sugar

4oz Butter or Margarine

3oz Self Raising Flour

1oz Cocoa Powder

2 Eggs

100g Dark Chocolate

100ml Condensed Milk

4tbsp Cointreau

To Decorate

2 Chocolate Oranges

or 200g White Chocolate with colouring and 2tsp orange essence.

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

Turn oven to 180oC. Firstly 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 then add the cointreau. Pour in your cake crumbs and mix together put heaped spoonfuls on to a plate then let these chill in a fridge for 1-2 hours.

Once the mixture has cooled roll the spooned out mixture into balls. Melt your decorating chocolate, decorate and add whatever sprinkles you want. Let them set and you are done!

This ones for all the grown ups to enjoy. :-)