Christmas
Day 12 – Snowmen Macarons
Just a little delicious Christmas idea from me today! Snowmen Macarons!
Ingredients:
1 x qty Macaron mixture recipe here
Milk Chocolate Ganache
80ml double cream
1 tbsp butter
300g milk chocolate chopped
To decorate:
Thin Christmas ribbon
Cake pop sticks
Orange edible icing pen or orange petal dust mixed with a little clear alcohol
Makes: 16 snowmen
Mix up the Macaron mixture following the steps just here, very simply flavour the mixture at the meringue stage with a teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Day 11 – Mantecados
A little something to share with you for Christmas that I’d not come across before. I was tipped off to these by a good friend Helen who lives and works in Spain – you may have come across her blog The Diary of a Cake Maker.
Day 10 – Chocolate Meringue Roulade
Last years Toffee Pecan Roulade went down an absolute storm so I thought this year I’d share a chocolate version. They’re so brilliant because they’re freezable! Make it now and stash it in the freezer for a Christmas dessert.
Ingredients:
Roulade
5 egg whites, large
2 tsp cornflour
225g caster sugar
2 tbsps cocoa powder
Chocolate Caramel Filling
1 x 315g tin of condensed milk
90g soft brown sugar
90g butter
3 tbsps cocoa powder
Cream
300ml double cream
3 tbsps icing sugar
50g chocolate curls
Popping candy (optional)
Cocoa powder to dust
Day 8 – Ecclefechan
Have you ever tried these? They are really delicious and a nice alternative to Mince Pies too. I have added Christmas spices to mine and a zesty orange pastry which isn’t the traditional way so if you want them authentic simply leave those out.
Day 7 – Gala Pork Pie
Would you like one of these on your buffet table? They’ve gone down a storm here and I bet they will with you too!
Ingredients:
Hot water crust pastry
340g plain flour
1 tsp salt
150ml water
115g lard
Filling
500g minced pork (the best quality you can find)
125g streaky smoked bacon, diced
200g sausagemeat
1 tbsp fresh sage, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
1 tsp dried thyme
1 small onion, finely diced
1 egg
6 eggs, large (hard boiled)
1 egg beaten for egg wash
Jelly
250ml chicken stock
2 sheets of gelatine
Makes: 1 x 2lb loaf tin pie
Day 6 – Chocolate and Mulled Wine Tart
An extremely rich mulled wine and chocolate tart – very decadent and something a little bit different to serve this Christmas. I know isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but it’s definitely mine!
Ingredients:
Pastry
100g butter, softened
75g caster sugar
1 egg, large
300g plain flour
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground cloves
Filling
6 eggs, large
225g caster sugar
350ml mulled wine
100ml double cream
3 tbsps cocoa powder
Makes: 1 x 9” tart
Day 5 – Mincemeat Baklava
A new twist on a Mince Pie – Mincemeat Baklava! No sorry, I’m not making my own Filo, it’s Christmas time for goodness sake and I’m just a little bit busy. Ready made Filo is what it’s all about!
Ingredients:
2 x pkts Filo Pastry
1 x jar of Mincemeat
175g melted butter
200ml water
200g caster sugar
80ml honey
2 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise
5 whole cloves
Makes: 1 x 8” square tray of Bakalava
Day 4 – Chocolate Christmas Cake
A super rich dark Christmas cake. I’ve been making this for a few years now and I’m always asked for the recipe. The chocolate isn’t an obvious flavour but it is what makes this cake so rich and luxurious. It’s a great cake to make as the fruits only have an overnight soaking and it doesn’t need any feeding – bargain!
Mini Cakes – Santa Stop Here!
How about these miniature cakes – teeny tiny cakes made in mini baking cups from Iced Jems. Just like the cupcake sized Christmas cakes then one full batch of 8” Christmas cake mix is going to make a ton, 50+ of these teeny tiny ones so just make a part mixture or mix up your baking with a variety of sizes, unless of course you want to make 50?!
