Twelve Days of Christmas
Christmas Chocolate Ombre Cake
How about my modern Christmas crowd pleaser for your Christmas celebrations?
Gingerbread Popcorn!
I’m sure I’ve mentioned my family popcorn addiction in the past so this festive gingerbread version is going down a storm here! Christmas Movies and a big bowl to share is just what we love at this time of year.
Ingredients:
125g popping corn
1 tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil
115g butter
100g soft brown sugar
1 tbsp golden syrup
1 tbsp black treacle
2 tbsps water
2 ½ tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp milk powder (optional but does add a lovely creamy gingerbread latte type of taste)
Begin by adding the oil and popping corn to a large pan with a lid.
12 – Buche de Noel Cake
A traditional Christmas recipe for a Yule log, just switched around a bit to turn it into a showstopper cake instead, I love the stripy inside it makes – a perfect winter dessert! It’s hugely rich and decadent (as you’ll see from the amount of chocolate needed) and the filling is a chocolate French buttercream.
11- Toblerone Fondue Cake
It seems that in our house competitive Toblerone eating is very much a Christmas tradition! When Toblerone sent me a bunch of bars (after hiding them quickly) I thought I’d come up with a toblerone based dessert for serving up.
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10 – Treacle Spiced Loaf Cakes
Little treacle loaf cakes with punchy Christmas Spice, a quick and easy recipe to share with your friends and family. They’re egg free too, don’t worry I haven’t missed them out of the ingredients list.
Ingredients
90g butter, softened
90g caster sugar
250g plain flour
¾ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp mixed cake spice
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
Zest of ½ orange
110g treacle
110g golden syrup
200ml boiling water
9 – Cinnamon Breakfast Buns
Cinnamon Breakfast Buns – make them up now and bob them in the freezer ready to bake on Christmas Day morning – delicious squidgy cinnamon loveliness, what could be better?
This sticky dough really does make the best of buns so it’s worth the fuss!
8 – Frosted Fancies
So I’ll be honest from the outset, these frosted fancies are a bit of work, they’re not quick to do as there’s a fair few steps from cake making, coating and covering plus the decoration and there’s a fair bit of cleaning to do afterwards!
7- Cheddar and Olive Bites
A little something to nibble on? Send a plateful my way!
Ingredients:
165g plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
85g butter, cold diced
200g mature grated cheddar
190g jar of pitted olives in oil, drained (drained weight 110g)
2 egg yolks, large
Makes: 40 approx.
6 – Three Cheese Souffle
Have you ever made a souffle? They’re a pretty retro dish that’s often overlooked and these 3 cheese souffles are truly delicious. You can make them now, literally today and put them in the freezer and just defrost when you want them, we all love a bit of a get ahead bake (and they’re really not so difficult to do either)
Ingredients:
50g butter
20g plain flour
300ml milk
4 eggs, large
50g gruyere cheese, finely grated
50g mature cheddar cheese, finely grated
50g parmesan, finely grated
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper, to season
A little extra melted butter to grease the dishes.
5 – Baileys Chocolate Mousse
Have you planned your Christmas desserts? You might need to squeeze these in somewhere – a simple luscious Baileys Chocolate Mousse and Shortbread Stars. If you need desserts to serve to Mums to be and the elderly (check and check) then you’ll need to avoid uncooked eggs and this little mousse is a great way to do just that!
