Yesterday I did a big roast chicken dinner and what better to follow a roast on a cold January evening than apple crumble with a hint of Christmas. To my usual apple crumble I added around 200g of mincemeat that I had languishing in the fridge and it made a very nice addition.
Baileys Irish Cream Marshmallows
They say ‘when life gives you lemons, make lemonade’, I say when your landlord serves notice on New Years Day, make Baileys Marshmallows!
I had intended this to be a post aimed at those wishing to thank Christmas or NYE party hosts for a wonderful gathering in an alternative and ‘light to post’ manner but discovered these are so quick and easy to make (I managed it on 2 hrs sleep…. I was lying awake worrying where I will put all my board backgrounds and props come Spring) and are also great when you are feeling a bit sorry for yourself. I saw this recipe for Eggnog marshmallows over the holidays and tweaked it for Baileys as thats what I had left after Christmas but you could also use bourbon, rum, kahlua, advocaat etc depending what dregs you have left!
You will require a sugar or responsive digital thermometer to make these and preferably a stand mixer unless you have great arm strength for 10 mins using a hand held!
May your salt pigs overfloweth in 2015!
Parmesan, Chilli and Rosemary Biscuits
Due to poor planning on my part these Parmesan, chilli and rosemary biscuits from Jo Wheatley’s fabulous book Home Baking don’t look like a show stopping Christmas post to end 2014 on but they are certainly very moorish and would make an excellent addition to the Christmas buffet table or as part of a hamper. They are supremely cheesey and almost like a savoury shortbread in texture. All that’s left for me to say is eat, drink and be merry this festive season and I will see you in 2015 with more recipes and photos.
Chocolate & Clementine Mini Christmas Pud Cakes
These Chocolate & Clementine Mini Pud cakes were a big hit on the market stall at this time of year mainly because they look so cute but the also taste great too. Clementine puree makes these chocolate cakes moist and not too sweet.
Continue reading “Chocolate & Clementine Mini Christmas Pud Cakes”
Whisky & Ginger Truffles
These whisky and ginger truffles make an excellent homemade Christmas gift and are pretty easy to make, save from covering yourself in melted chocolate as you roll them into balls! I sadly also found out last week that they are extremely comforting after I had to say goodbye to my faithful feline friend Erin. Her final vets bill will no doubt result in everyone getting homemade gifts for Christmas this year and possibly 2015……..
Apple & Walnut Chutney
This apple & walnut chutney was a hit last Christmas and I am very behind with the edible gift preperations this year so it’s making its second appearance in the hampers! I’m not really getting into my usual Christmas spirit but had to get a wriggle on with chutney making so that it had time to mature before the festive season hits. This one is great with cheeses and cold meats too. I will bring you the recipe for the savoury biscuits shortly.
Vegan Christmas Cake
I always bake my friends Jo and Teppo a Christmas cake each year but last year they adopted a vegan diet so my challenge was to find a good vegan Christmas cake recipe so that they could still enjoy a festive treat. I came across this blog post by The Hungry Veggie and the recipe had many positive comments so I used this as the basis of my cake and tweaked the recipe to try and make it as similar in taste to my traditional Christmas cake. It must be good as they requested another this year, so now I have their seal of approval here is the recipe.
Lemon Curd Slices
After a busy few weeks which included swapping my usual food subjects for rock legends after getting my first press pit photo pass, I gladly accepted this baking request from my workmates. Although I never tried one, Eat used to sell a similar lemon curd slice and my workmates were missing them so asked me to recreate them after they found what I believe is a Bill Granger recipe.
Not the most photogenic of slices, I have again battled with the lack of light and after a brief trot round the house with the board and slices trying out the various lighting conditions settled back in my North facing kitchen.
The Wrong Kind of Light
I have been finding it hard getting used to these much shorter days and the soft light that can barely be bothered to seep into my north facing kitchen during gloomy overcast days.
Worryingly, I don’t remember having this problem last Autumn. Maybe I wasn’t so fussy then or the days were brighter and drier. Either way, I am going to have to do lots of testing this week as this egg is looking flat as a pancake.
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