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5-Ingredient Christmas Cake with Gingerbread Houses

5-Ingredient Christmas Cake with Gingerbread Houses

by | Dec 16, 2015 | 5 comments

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Is it a gingerbread house? Or a Christmas cake? Well, this is what happens when a mommy fruit cake and a daddy gingerbread house love each other VERY much. It's such a fun way to decorate a fruit cake and even better, there is not a single piece of that horrid white fondant or persipan icing to be seen!
First up, the fruit cake. Great Aunt May strikes again with one of her famous recipes and this one is her 'never-fail' fruitcake. What I love most about it, is that it only has 5 ingredients, but let's be honest, I had you at 'never fail' right?! Because it only has 5 ingredients, they have to be seriously good ingredients and trust me, you do not want to switch out the Natura Dark Muscovado Sugar for anything other than the real deal 'cos it elevates the humble fruit cake to a point where I want to eat the entire thing. It adds such a gorgeous dark, rich, molasses flavour that you just can't replicate.
The next part: the gingerbread houses. How cute are they? Like a little gingerbread village! You can go totally crazy with decorating them or even better, give the already-baked cookies to your kids, let them make their own houses using sweets and sprinkles and then just stick them around your cake!  This cake is such a show-stopper that you could put it on the table as a decoration that is good enough to eat. And speaking of eating, for those of you worried about your waistlines this festive season, you needn't worry about this cake, it has so much dried fruit in it, one slice is basically one of your five-a-day!

Never-Fail 5 Ingredient Fruit Cake

(Great Aunt May's recipe)

Makes 1 x 24cm cake

500g (750ml) mixed dried fruit

175g (250ml) Natura Molasses Sugar 

125g salted butter

250g (500ml) self-raising flour

1 large egg

Grease and double-line a 24cm-cake tin. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius. Placed dried fruit, sugar and 375ml water in a saucepan with the butter and allow to simmer for 25 minutes. Allow to cool. Stir in the flour and egg and mix well.

Pour into a triple-lined greased 24cm cake tin and bake for 1 ½ - 2 hours on the lowest oven shelf until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool completely.

 

VARIATIONS This is the fun part where you can tailor the recipe to suit whatever you fancy!

Spices and Flavourings: Mixed spice, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove - add as much as you like (about 3 tsp in total should do it)

Nuts: Subsitute some of the dried fruit for hazelnuts, pistachios, almonds, pecans or walnuts

Fruit: Orange or lemon zest, chopped candied fruit or cherries - just make sure to remove a portion of the mixed dried fruit and replace it with the same amount.

Spiced Ginger Biscuit Houses

Makes 24

100g self-raising flour

2 tsp mixed spice

a pinch of salt

50g Natura Molasses Sugar

1 tbsp milk

75g salted butter

2 tbsp candied peel, finely chopped or Christmas fruit mince (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Mix together the dry ingredients then add the wet ingredients and combine to form a dough (you can do this in a stand mixer using the dough or paddle attachment).  Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to 1/2 cm thick.

Cut out house shapes using a sharp knife then place on a baking tray.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool completely before icing.

Royal Icing

1 egg white, beaten

260g (500ml) Natura Demerara Icing Sugar, sifted

squeeze of lemon juice

To make the royal icing, whisk the egg white gently then add the icing sugar until a stiff paste forms. Add the lemon juice and stir before placing in a piping bag.

Pipe the frosting onto the biscuits in patterns (you can make more colourful houses by using sweets and sprinkles) and allow to dry thoroughly. Then use spread the remaining royal icing around the outside of the cake and stick the houses in place. Dust with extra icing sugar to serve.

Angel Snow Globe Cake with Brandy Butter Frosting

Angel Snow Globe Cake with Brandy Butter Frosting

by | Dec 9, 2015 | 0 comments

One of my favourite parts about Christmas, is putting up the Christmas tree. While the rest of my family seems to be totally over the novelty, my sister and I still keep up the tradition. Our tree isn't just any old plastic jobby though, since my parents live on a farm, we make a mission into the pine forest to pick the perfect tree - which often involves heated debates on what exactly the 'perfect' tree is, but always involves us bringing home one that is WAY too big (hey, they look a lot smaller in a forest, okay!).  I always end up covered in tree gum, my mom always moans about the pine needles that fall everywhere, finding a pot big enough to put the darn thing in is impossible and of course, by the time you string the fairy lights up, you realise that in the past year they've stopped working. But all of that is completely forgotten when my favourite moment arrives and I get to climb up on a ladder and put the angel right on the tippy top of the tree.

So, if an angel can make a plain old tree special, just imagine what it can do on top of a cake! I decided to appropriately put this angel on top of a spiced angel food cake, which is really light, airy and not very sweet - basically the opposite of traditional fruit cake - but of course, this idea would look equally as gorgeous on whatever cake you decide to serve this year. Just make sure that when you serve it, you dust the snow globe with icing sugar at the table - then just wait for everyone to go 'Oooooooh!'

Of course, it wouldn't be Christmas without surprises so I stuffed some pretty gold-wrapped chocolate balls in the middle (come on, I had to find a way of incorporating chocolate somehow!) so that when you slice the cake open, they tumble out and your guests are wow'ed again and go 'Aaaaaaaah!'

Angel Snow Globe Cake with Brandy Butter Frosting

Serves 8-10

ANGEL CAKE

12 egg whites, at room temperature

1 tsp cream of tartar

275g Natura Golden Caster Sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

150g cake flour

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp mixed spice

BRANDY BUTTER ICING

170g butter, softened

255g Natura Demerara Icing Sugar, sifted plus extra for dusting

4 tbsp brandy

Gold-wrapped chocolate balls or other sweets, for filling

Angel and glass dome, to decorate

Chiffon cake tin

Preheat the oven to 180C. Do not grease or line the chiffon cake tin - this helps the cake stay light and fluffy (I promise the cake won't stick!) Place the egg whites and cream of tartar in an electric mixer and whisk until soft peaks form. Gradually add half of the sugar and all the vanilla and whisk until glossy and thick. Sift together the flour, spices and remaining sugar twice and then gently fold through. Spoon into the ungreased chiffon cake tin and smooth the top with a palette knife. Bake for 30 minutes or until the cake comes away from the sides and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Turn the cake upside down onto a cooling rack and allow to cool for 1 hour. Remove the cake from the tin and set aside.

Make the frosting by whipping the butter, icing sugar and brandy together until light and fluffy.To assemble the cake, place it on a cake stand then fill the middle with the chocolate balls or sweets. Frost the top with the brandy butter icing then dust liberally with icing sugar. Place an angel decoration in the centre and cover with a glass dome.

TIP You're wondering about the dome though, aren't you? They are so easy to find! Most decor shops or florists have them (the one's with the hole in the front which you can hang up are perfect for placing over the angel!). But if you have a beautiful glass dome, or an upturned round tumbler it will have the same effect.

Vanilla, Olive Oil Nougat with Macadamia Nuts

Vanilla, Olive Oil Nougat with Macadamia Nuts

by | Dec 4, 2015 | 0 comments

Homemade Vanilla and Olive Oil Nougat with Macadamia Nuts
For as long as I can remember, every gift I've ever given my father, has involved nougat. He can't get enough of the stuff and can devour an entire stash in one sitting. No surprises as to who I get my sweet tooth from (she says as she licks her sticky nougat fingers in order to type this post)! This Christmas I've decided that I'm making all my own gifts, mainly because:

1) It's cheaper.

2) I get to eat the 'off-cuts'.

3) Nougat tastes better than socks.

4) Nougat is more thoughtful (than socks).

5) Boney M doesn't play on repeat in my kitchen.

So I'm making a gigantic batch of nougat - for not just my dad but the whole family. You get nougat! You get nougat! Everybody gets nougaaaaat!

Homemade Vanilla and Olive Oil Nougat with Macadamia Nuts
Like all my favourite things, this one is versatile - you can pretty much design your own according to your - I mean your friends' - taste. I went for a fancy-sounding but uber delicious combination of vanilla, honey, macadamia nuts and proper extra virgin olive oil. I know we think of olive oil as great for salads and drizzling over literally everything savoury (a la Jamie Oliver) but I'm telling you that good olive oil adds something really special to desserts, not only adding complexity but balancing the sweetness too. I used Olive Pride's Extra Virgin Olive Oil in my nougat since it has a lovely peppery flavour that is just heavenly with the vanilla and honey.
Homemade Vanilla and Olive Oil Nougat with Macadamia Nuts
Nougat has always intimidated me a bit, I'm not going to lie. In fact, the last time I made it was probably in cooking school (eek!). But this recipe right here is gold! If you don't already have a sugar thermometer, then get yourself one as a Christmas gift because it is totally worth not running around the kitchen going 'Is it ready? Maybe I should wait... No, it's ready. Or not." The only chicken that should be headless in your kitchen at this time of year, is the one in your oven for lunch. And speaking of gifts to yourself, would you not be the happiest sugar addict on this earth if you received this:
Homemade vanilla and olive oil nougat with macadamia nuts
A folded tea towel, a vintage baking tray (or box), some wrapped up sticks of your homemade nougat and a pretty bottle of olive oil - winning! You can also win at the fabulous competition that Olive Pride is running; simply SMS 'Olive Pride' and the last 4 digits of the barcode to 46797. Not only do all the SMS proceeds go to BrightStars, a safe home for children but you can also win a R2000 shopping voucher plus a R500 hamper of yummy olive products.

Now while you go win stuff, I'm going to find out how to get nougat off a Macbook keyboard...

Homemade Vanilla Olive Oil Nougat with Macadamia Nuts

Vanilla Bean and Olive Oil Nougat with Macadamia Nuts

Makes 12 bars

 

2 x A4 rice paper sheets (available from baking shops/in the baking aisle)

350g liquid glucose (available from baking and health shops)

115g honey

550g (2 ½ cups) caster sugar

1 vanilla bean, split (shop my vanilla beans here)

2 large egg whites

50g salted butter

50ml Olive Pride Extra Virgin Olive Oil

400g macadamia nuts, roasted

Line the base and sides of a 20cm square cake tin with baking paper. Cut the rice paper to fit the tin – place one in the bottom and keep the other aside for the top. Place the glucose, honey and vanilla in a saucepan over a low heat until melted, then add the caster sugar and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved and the syrup is translucent. Bring the syrup to the boil and simmer until it reaches 130 degrees celcius on a thermometer.

Start beating the egg whites in an electric mixer to form stiff peaks so that by the time the syrup reaches 140 degrees celcius you’re ready.Gently pour the hot syrup down the side of the bowl into the stiffly-beaten egg whites in a steady stream. Beat for 1 minute or until thick and glossy then gradually add the butter and olive oil. Working quickly, stir in the nuts and spoon the mixture into the lined baking tray. Top with the remaining piece of rice paper and press down to form an even slab of nougat. Allow to cool and set completely for 2-3 hours.Slice into bars or pieces using a sharp serrated knife and a sawing action. Wrap the nougat immediately in baking paper, wax paper or cellophane and store in a cool dry place in an airtight container.

 

VARIATIONS Experiment using different nuts – such as pistachios, almonds and pecan nuts - dried fruit like cranberries, and even coffee beans are delicious in this recipe!

 

Disclaimer: This post has been sponsored by Olive Pride who produce a delicious range of olive products, including the Extra Virgin Olive oil used in this post. www.olivepride.co.za

 

Christmas Gingerbread Biscuit Train

Christmas Gingerbread Biscuit Train

by | Dec 17, 2014 | 0 comments

Gingerbread houses are SO last year. They're out, and gingerbread trains are IN!  Okay, so I made that up but that should totally be the case. Just look at all that spicy cuteness ready to go 'choo choo' straight into your mouth!

And honestly, having made two gingerbread houses before (you can see them over HERE), this train is a breeze to make. Far easier than trying to get four walls and a roof to stand up straight!

How fabulous would this look as a centrepiece on your Christmas table?! And the best part is that guests can tuck into the train with their coffee afterwards. I mean!

Gingerbread train

Recipe adapted from Donna Hay’s Gingerbread Garland

Makes 1

 

125g butter, softened

90g Muscovado or brown sugar

230g golden syrup

375g cake flour

2 tsp (10ml) ground ginger

1 tsp (5ml) mixed spice

1 tsp (5ml) bicarbonate of soda

 

Royal icing

1 large egg white, beaten

2 cups icing sugar, sifted

squeeze of lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 180C. Cream the butter and sugar well until very pale and fluffy. Add the syrup, flour, spices and bicarb and mix until a smooth dough forms. Roll the dough out on a floured surface or between two sheets of baking paper until 4mm thick. Refrigerate for 30 minutes if too soft. Using train cookie cutters, cut out the shapes and place on a lined baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until golden and crisp. Allow to cool completely. To make the royal icing, whisk the egg white gently then add the icing sugar until a stiff paste forms. Add the lemon juice and stir before placing in a piping bag. Sandwich the various components together with the royal icing and allow to dry. Then decorate the carriages using the rest of the icing and sweets, if desired. Allow to dry thoroughly before stringing the train carriages together with ribbon. Store in an airtight container.

 

 

TIPS I used the Tescoma train cookie cutter set (visit their Facebook page here) but you could also use this print out HERE, cut out the shapes then trace around them on the dough using a knife. You don't even have to use all the train cutters provided - simply cut out 4 of the main silhouette shapes and stack those together. You'll lose the 3D effect but it will look just as good! In order to get perfect shapes, refrigerate the dough once you've rolled it out so the shapes don't shift when you lift them onto a baking tray.

 

Gluten-Free Christmas Mince Pies

Gluten-Free Christmas Mince Pies

by | Dec 10, 2014 | 0 comments

I'm always quite sentimental about enjoying my first mince pie of the festive season. I make a big pot of Earl Grey tea, I warm up the sugary little pies and then I sit down (we can't snuggle here in South Africa as it's freaking hot this time of year) and I have a 'moment'. Because I know that 'moment' marks the beginning of Christmas, for me anyway.

These mince pies are not only for the gluten-intolerant (because an intolerance should not stand between you and that wonderful festive feeling) but they're also for the pastry-intolerant (definition: a baker with an inability to make pastry without suffering adverse affects). If you have a phobia for pastry, this ready should relieve some of your stress. Because it's gluten-free, you have no risk of over-working your pastry and developing gluten! It's basically a flop-proof shortcrust pastry. Genius right? Which means you get a crisp, short shell that everyone can make AND everyone can eat!

If you're into taking shortcuts, then buy your fruit mince already made, otherwise, I've included my special recipe for a fruity homemade version which, placed in a pretty bottle, would make a beautiful festive season gift!

Gluten-Free Christmas Mince Pies

Makes 16

 

1 cup (150g) rice flour*

3/4 cup (90g) ground almonds

1/4 cup (35g) corn starch

1/4 cup (50g) castor sugar

½ tsp xantham gum*

125g cold butter, cut into 1cm cubes

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Iced water, if needed

300g fruit mince - or make your own with the recipe below

Egg wash, for brushing

Icing sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 180C and grease 2 x 12 hole non-stick muffin tins. Place the rice flour, ground almonds, corn starch, castor sugar, xantham gum and butter in a food processor and blend until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg and process until the mixture comes together to form a soft dough – adding ice water if necessary. Wrap the dough in clingwrap and refrigerate until firm. Roll out on a surface dusting with a little corn starch until 5mm thick, cut out 5cm discs to fit the muffin tin and press the discs into the muffin tin holes. Roll out the leftover pastry again and cut out stars or snowflakes for the tops. Fill each pastry case with fruit mince then place the pastry shapes on top. Brush with egg wash and bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool in the tin completely before lifting out and dusting with icing sugar.

 

Homemade fruit mince

1/2 cup cider

185ml brown sugar

500g Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and grated

1/2tsp mixed spice

½ tsp ground cinnamon

125g raisins

75g sultanas

75g dried cranberries

¼ cup mixed peel or chopped crystallized fruit

60g cherries

¼ cup pecan nuts, toasted

zest and juice of ½ orange

1 tbsp brandy

To make the fruit mince, heat the cider and brown sugar until dissolved. Add all ingredients except the brandy and cook for 40 minutes until the liquid has been absorbed. Stir in the brandy and pour into sterilized bottles while still hot.

Make the pastry by creaming the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg, beating well to combine. Add all the other ingredients and mix to form a stiff dough. Press the dough into greased tart tins or disposable foil cases to form a thin layer. Dock the pastry with a fork. Roll out the leftover pastry and cut out stars to fit the tops. Spoon a teaspoonful of fruit mince into each pastry case then top with the pastry star.   Brush with the egg yolk, sprinkle with a little brown sugar and bake at 180C for 20 min or until the pastry is lightly golden and crispy.

 

 

 

TIP Find xantham gum and rice flour at health stores or in the health aisle at large supermarkets.

 

Christmas Gingerbread Macarons

Christmas Gingerbread Macarons

by | Nov 30, 2014 | 0 comments

Why buy Christmas tree ornaments when you can make them yourself, and then eat them?! This was the very epiphany I had last week when after moving into a new house I suddenly realised I had nothing to decorate a tree with (in my spring-cleaning chuck-everything-away state they were tossed in the bin). But if you're a baker, who needs glass/plastic baubles when you can make your own which coincidentally look and ARE good enough to eat. My infatuation with macarons continues this year (I tried to convince you all last year to give them a bash with this Christmas mince pie macaron version) with my spiced gingerbread macaron - which I might add, if Christmas had a taste, would taste like this! And with the beautiful edible copper, gold and silver dusts and glitter you can buy these days, it's super easy to add sparkle to your tree. Hang them up and after Christmas dinner, when the family asks where's dessert? Channel your inner Heston Blumenthal and just point to the tree!

I know macarons are daunting but I've tested this recipe so many times I can recite the quantities and it works every time. My five crucial points to success are:
 
1. Grind and sift the almonds and icing sugar thoroughly
2. Beat the egg whites until very stiff - they should form very stiff peaks.
3. Fold until the mixture looks like lava - it should ooze when dropped from your spoon.
4. Check your oven temperature!
5. Bake on the lower third rack of your oven.

Christmas Gingerbread Macarons

Makes about 30

 

120g ground almonds

200g icing sugar

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp mixed spice

100g egg whites (about 3 large eggs)

1/4tsp cream of tartar

35g castor sugar

 

Spiced white chocolate ganache

110ml cream

peel of 1 orange

1 tbsp ground ginger

1 tsp mixed spice

250g The Kate Tin White Baking Chocolate, chopped

Edible copper or gold dust and glitter, for dusting

 

Line 2-3 baking sheets with good-quality baking paper or even better, silicone sheets. Using a tot glass, trace circles onto the baking paper then flip it over – you’ll need these as a sizing guide (unless your piping skills are of Martha Stewart quality!)Blend the almonds, icing sugar and spices together until fine. Sift the mixture to remove any clumps then blend any leftover mixture and sift again until nothing remains. Begin beating the egg whites and cream of tartar on low speed. Once the egg whites are very foamy and white, begin sprinkling in the sugar as you beat. Increase the speed to medium, if necessary, and beat the meringue to very stiff glossy peaks. The meringue should be very firm. Add about 1/4 of the almond/sugar mixture and fold until no streaks remain. Continue to add the almond mixture in quarters, folding until incorporated. The mixture should be a lava consistency so when dropped, it should start spreading and oozing.  Spoon the batter into a piping bag and pipe rows of batter onto the baking sheets using the circles as a guide, giving them enough space to spread. Tap the pan on the counter to bring up any air bubbles and quickly pop them with a toothpick if necessary.  Allow the cookies to rest on a level surface for 30-60 minutes until they are no longer tacky to a light touch. This is a very important step so don't be tempted to be impatient! While they rest, place an oven rack in the lower 3rd of your oven and preheat to 150C (conventional oven, if fan-forced, reduce by 20C). Check your oven isn't too hot or too cold by using an oven or sugar thermometer. Bake the cookies for 16-20 minutes. They’re ready when you lightly touch them and they no longer have any ‘give’.

Make the ganache by heating the cream and orange peel together until just simmering. Set aside for 1 hour to infuse before heating again and pouring over the white chocolate. Stir until melted then mix in the spices and allow to set until spreadable. Sandwich the macarons together with the ganache. Using a clean soft paint brush, coat the macarons with edible copper or gold dust.

 

 

TIP To turn the macarons into tree decorations, insert a long piece of wire with a hook at the top into the macarons while sandwiching them. Allow to set before hanging them up with ribbon or thread.