Snowflake Joconde Imprime Torte filled with Dark Chocolate Mousse & Cranberry Compote, topped with Chocolate Glaze

This torte was this years alternative dessert offering for those (strange) people who don’t like Christmas pudding. The non Christmas pudding eaters of the family are devout chocoholics and so any dessert must involve copious amounts of chocolate and this dessert doesn’t disappoint.

I wanted to create something with a bit of wow factor, to fit in with the Christmas celebrations and decided a joconde imprime torte would be the way to do it. It sounds a bit daunting, but it’s actually quite a simple yet very effective technique. You pipe a design onto your parchment using a special cake batter and freeze it before putting a swiss roll batter of a different colour over the top of the frozen cake batter and baking it. Freezing the design stops the two batters mixing together before you bake it. Then when you turn it out, you have a perfectly piped design on the underside of the sponge. Clever!

This joconde sponge is very flexible and it is used to line the sides and base of a ring mould which you can then fill with whatever takes your fancy. I decided to use a rich dark chocolate mousse with a layer of fresh cranberry compote for a festive flavour.

My joncode sponge was decorated with a piped snowflake design to make it extra Christmassy. I think it worked well although I was annoyed my silicone paper crinkled slightly in the oven after being transferred from the freezer, so the finished underside of my sponge was a little crinkled in places. I’ll make sure to use one of those stiff silicone mats next time. The effect was still good though.

I topped the torte with a hot water ganache which gave a lovely glossy finish. The finished torte was divine. Moist, light sponge filled with an airy, creamy, rich dark chocolate mousse with a hidden layer of the tart and tangy cranberry sauce. The fudgy chocolate glaze added an extra chocolaty hit. It tasted amazing! It was completely indulgent and intensely chocolaty but not in the least heavy or stodgy, perfect after a big Christmas meal.

All my family loved it and there were actually arguments over the leftovers the following day. I’ll be making this again for sure! It takes a little bit of time to make, as there are quite a few processes and the mousse has to chill in the fridge overnight, but don’t let that put you off. You could just make a plain joconde sponge and not bother with the design and then use a shop bought cranberry sauce to make things simpler.

I’ve already been asked to make it again for New Year! Tell me, what festive pud did you serve for the non Christmas pudding eaters of the family?

Oh and for people who wondered what my Christmas pudding looks like when its steamed and served – here’s a photo. Moist fruity boozy loveliness.

Snowflake Joconde Imprime Torte filled with Dark Chocolate Mousse & Cranberry Compote, topped with Chocolate Glaze

White Snowflake Sponge Paste

35g unsalted butter

35g icing sugar

1 egg white

40g rice flour

Chocolate Joconde Sponge

2 egg whites

15g caster sugar

60g ground almonds

60g icing sugar

2 eggs

20g cocoa powder

20g unsalted butter, melted

Cranberry Filling

200g fresh cranberries

2 tbsp caster sugar

Juice of 1 clementine

Chocolate Mousse

200g dark chocolate

120ml water

3 eggs, separated

40g caster sugar

150ml double cream

Chocolate Glaze

50g dark chocolate

2 tsp cocoa powder

2 tsp caster sugar

100ml hot water

To decorate

20g white chocolate

Method

Print out your chosen design for your sponge on a couple of A4 sheets of paper. Cut them so they line the base of a 33x25cm (13x10inch) swiss roll tin. Cut out a piece of silicone paper to line the base and sides of the tin and lay it over the top of the design.

For the white decorative paste, cream softened butter and icing sugar together until light and fluffy. Gradually add the egg white, beating continuously. Fold in the flour until combined. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a small tube nozzle. Pipe out your design onto the silicone paper, tracing over the printed out design beneath.

Transfer the silicone paper to a flat baking tray and place in the freezer for 10 minutes to freeze the design solid. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220C and make the chocolate joconde sponge.

For the chocolate joconde sponge, whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl to stiff peaks stage. Add the caster sugar, one teaspoon at a time, whisking between each addition to make a glossy meringue. Set aside.

Add the ground almonds, icing sugar and eggs into a new clean bowl. Whisk together for 3-5 minutes, or until doubled in volume, a stand mixer is useful here, but not essential. Sift over the cocoa powder and fold it in gently. Add one-third of the whisked egg whites and fold in to lighten the mixture. Add the rest of the egg whites and fold in more gently until just incorporated. Melt the butter, and pour it down the inside side of the bowl and fold in, until incorporated.

Remove the silicone sheet with the decorative paste from the freezer and place into the base of the swiss roll tin.

Tip the joconde sponge mixture over the top and gently spread into an even thin layer. Bake for 7 minutes, or until slightly risen and lightly springy to the touch.

Place a sheet of baking parchment over a cooling rack and turn the cake out onto it. Carefully peel off the silicone paper from the base of the cake, revealing the piped design. Lay the paper back on top of the sponge and leave to cool completely.

To make the cranberry compote, place all the ingredients into a pan and heat gently. The cranberries will start to pop and released their juice. Simmer for 10 minutes until the cranberries have broken down and thickened into a thick compote. You should be able to drag a spatula along the base of the pan without any excess liquid flooding the space. This happens quite quickly. It will taste very sharp at this stage, but you need this to cut through the rich chocolate later. Set aside to cool.

Line the inside of a 20cm/8inch ring mould with a strip of acetate and place it onto a sturdy baking tray that has been covered with clingfilm. Trim off the sides of the sponge before cutting a long strip of sponge, 6cm tall from the long side of the sponge. Cut a similar sized strip from the shorter edge of the sponge and use them to line the inside edge of the ring mould. Make sure to have the design facing outwards, so it will show off the outside of the dessert once the ring is removed. Push the edges of sponge together to join them together and trim off any excess. Cut out a circle from the leftover sponge, slightly smaller than the diameter of the tin, and use it to line the base of the ring mould, design facing down. Spread the cooled cranberry compote evenly over the base of the sponge inside the ring.

For the chocolate mousse, break the chocolate into pieces and place into a small pan along with the water. Heat on the lowest heat, stirring occasionally until the chocolate is melted and combined with the water.

Separate the eggs, putting the whites into a clean bowl. Beat the yolks into the chocolate mixture and set aside.

Whisk the egg whites to the soft-peak stage, then whisk in the sugar, about a third at a time, whisking until the whites are glossy. Fold one-third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to loosen it; then carefully fold in the rest. Whip the cream until it just starts to hold its shape but is still very soft. Carefully fold this into the chocolate mixture.

Pour all the chocolate mixture into the ring mould, over the top of the cranberry compote. Don’t worry if it rises and fills the mould above the rim of the cake, this is fine. Carefully cover the top of the ring mould with clingfilm and place in the fridge to firm up and set for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

The following day, make the chocolate glaze. Break up the chocolate and place it into a small pan along with the cocoa powder, sugar and water. Heat over a low heat, stirring continuously until everything is melted and combined into a glossy sauce. It should be of a pouring consistency. If too thick, add a little boiling water from the kettle and stir to create the desired consistency. Do not add cold water or the mixture will seize.

Remove the torte from the fridge and pour the chocolate glaze over the top. Use a small pallet knife to spread it out to the edges. Give it a gentle shake to smooth the top.

Melt the white chocolate and drizzle or pipe it over the top of the torte to decorate.

Return to the fridge and chill for a further 2 hours before serving

To serve, carefully lift the torte off the baking tray and transfer to a serving plate. Remove the outer ring mould, this should lift off easily due to the acetate sheet beneath. Carefully peel away the acetate from the torte and serve. Use a sharp knife to cut down in one swift motion to get a clean cut. It’s quite rich so you only need fairly small slices.

Store any leftovers in the fridge and eat within 3 days.

Makes 1 x 8inch torte

Cucumber ‘Bread & Butter’ Pickle for Christmas

I can’t believe it’s Christmas day in 3 days time. Where has December gone? Every year I like to make something homemade to give away to family and friends along with their standard Christmas gifts. I think it adds a nice touch to get a handmade present, plus I enjoy the excuse to spend some time in the kitchen.

This year I decided to try making a pickle. I considered baking some cookies but my family always get so much to eat over Christmas that I wanted something they could enjoy later on without the fear of it spoiling. Pickles, jams and chutneys are the way to go.

My Dad has fond memories of his father making cucumber pickle aka Bread & Butter Pickle when he was growing up. I remember seeing jars of it in the cupboard, these odd looking jars of sliced cucumber with little flecks of red chilli and balls of mustard floating in it. My granddad is sadly no longer with us, so I thought it would be a nice idea to try and recreate a cucumber pickle for the festive season.

Pam Corbin of River Cottage fame came to the rescue with the perfect looking pickle. It looked and sounded just as I remember my grandfathers to be. I’ve never made a pickle before and was surprised to learn the ingredients require only the merest of cooking time, the majority of the time is spent brining the cucumbers before their soak in the pickling liquid. This also ensures the cucumber pickle retains a bit of crispness and bite, rather than being a mushy mess more in line with a chutney.

The pickling liquid a bit of raw onion and red chili to add a little extra kick. It’s not meant to be spicy, but lend a gentle background tongue tickle. Sugar is added for a touch of sweetness and to help balance out the sharp tang of vinegar. Ground turmeric also transform the pickle from a rather anemic looking green to a bright and exotic looking golden yellow (be carefully when handling it, turmeric stains are impossible to get out). I think it also makes it look wonderfully festive. The mustard seeds add little pops of flavour when eaten and I think there is something quite hypnotic watching they bob around in the pickle.

Cucumber pickle aka bread & butter pickle may sound an odd name as the pickle does not contain these ingredients. It gets its name from the fact it is a pickle traditionally eaten with your bread and butter. They got their name "bread & butter pickle" during the great depression when fresh cucumbers were grown by many households and so often eaten for lunch with bread and butter. Due to the lack of refrigeration, rather than let any surplus cucumbers go to waste, they were pickled to make them last all the rest of the year. Very frugal and a great way of ensuring nothing went to waste. I’m sure it would taste delicious with some leftover turkey, stuffing or cheese too!

To see Pam Corbin make the bread & butter pickle, click here for her video on River Cottage Food Tube.

Cucumber ‘Bread & Butter’ Pickle

(Recipe by Pam Corbin from River Cottage aka Pam The Jam)

Ingredients

1.5kg cucumber (5 large)
1 large onion
5tbsp salt
500ml cider vinegar (must be 5% proof or more*)
200g granulated sugar
1½ tsp ground turmeric
1½ tsp celery seeds
3 tbsp white mustard seeds
1-2 finely chopped red chilli, seeds removed

Method

Peel the cucumbers, cut off the ends, quarter lengthways and slice into 3-4mm thick slices.  Peel and chop the onion into fairly small pieces (no larger than the pieces of cucumber).  Mix the cucumber and onion pieces together in a non metallic bowl.

Sprinkle over the salt, gently toss through the cucumber and onion and leave for 2 hours.

Rinse the cucumber and onion well in icy water. Taste check the cucumber and rinse again if it is too salty (they will be naturally quite salty at this stage though). Leave them to drain in a large sieve or colander and pat dry with some kitchen paper.

Wash the jars well and place the lids and jars into the oven on baking tray. Heat the oven to 150C and leave the jars to heat and sterilize while you finish the chutney.

Place the vinegar into a saucepan that will be large enough to eventually take all the ingredients. Add the sugar, turmeric, celery seeds, white mustard seeds and chopped chilli.

Heat gently, stirring until the sugar has dissolved, stir to combine and bring to the boil.

Add the drained, rinsed cucumber and onion, stir and bring back to the boil then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes only! It needs this long to destroy any bacteria which could cause the pickle to deteriorate, but any longer and the pickle will be less crisp.

Remove the pan from the heat and the jars from the oven. Carefully distribute the cucumber pickle into the jars, filling almost to the very rim. Make sure all the cucumber is covered with some of the pickling liquid.

Using rubber gloves, quickly screw the lids tightly onto the jars while they are still hot. Leave them to cool on the side. You should hear the lids make a sudden ‘pop’ sound as they cool. This means the heat has created a vacuum and the jars are effectively sealed and airtight, meaning the pickle will keep safely until opened.

Label the jars and store in a cool place until required. Once opened, store in the fridge and eat within 4 weeks.

The pickle can be eaten immediately or kept for up at a year.

Makes 7 x 450g (1lb) jars

Note: The vinegar must be at least 5% proof in order to sufficiently pickle and preserve the cucumbers. The vinegars will state their proof % on the bottles.

Gluten Free Fruity Christmas Pudding with Amaretto for Stir Up Sunday

Today is Stir Up Sunday – the official day to stir together a delicious mix of dried fruits and spices to make your Christmas pudding. Every year the Sunday before the last Sunday in November, the last Sunday before the start of advent, is the official day to make your xmas pud. It is a tradition that has been going on for decades, possibly centuries, and one I hope continues for many more to come. I love the thought that today people all over the country are today making a pudding for their friends and relatives to eat and enjoy on Christmas day. It’s the kind of unity and homely food based tradition that I love. I expect many people buy their Christmas puddings from supermarkets these days, but for me its more than the enjoyment of eating the pud, it’s the time, care and love that went into making it, knowing its something special to be shared by the whole family that forms part of my enjoyment of it. Especially as they are eaten but once a year.

In years gone by all the family would gather together around the bowl and take it in turns to give the ingredients a stir, while making a wish. In some households, people put coins in the pudding mix and allow children to find them, and it was believed that finding a coin brings wealth, health, happiness for the coming year. The coin traditionally used was a silver sixpence. This isn’t something we tend to do now, but I like the idea. I can image the health and safety police did away with it for fear of people choking on their coins!

Christmas pudding is not too dissimilar to Christmas cake. Your soak your fruits in alcohol before using them, like a Christmas cake, but then combine this glossy boozy fruity mixture with a mix of spices, breadcrumbs and traditionally suet. I love how the often dried and wizened fruits become so plump and glossy after their boozy soaking session and the aroma of boozy soaked fruit with fresh citrus and spices is intoxicating.

I always made my own breadcrumbs from crumbling up some gluten free bread and use frozen grated butter in place of the suet (which is usually coated in wheat flour). This fruity, spicy mixture is placed into a pudding basin and part boiled, part steamed for several hours to create a densely fruited, rich, spicy and incredibly moist fruit pudding. It has all the flavours of Christmas cake only in a squishier, softer and more intense form. The pudding mix doesn’t look all that appetising before it’s steamed, but just look at the fabulously dark and succulent sticky pudding it transforms into after its steaming session. You get the added bonus of it filling the house with a fabulous rich and spicy Christmas scent as it happily simmers away.

Like Christmas Cake, the pudding is kept for several weeks to allow the flavour to mature and develop. Then on Christmas day the pudding is heated, doused in Brandy and set alight! The lights are quickly turned down and people ‘ohhh’ and ‘awww’ as wispy blue flames dance around the pudding creating a spectacular end to the Christmas meal. There can’t be many foods that people look forward to intentionally setting on fire! The only other one I can think of is Baked Alaska and that’s more of a gentle torching rather than dousing it in a flammable liquid and setting it alight! However, the actual flames last mere seconds, so no harm comes to the pudding itself, its too moist to get scorched or burnt.

The pudding requires 5 hours of boiling/steaming, but don’t let that put you off. As long as you check the water level a couple of times during cooking, it can be left to its own devises. It’s quite relaxing pottering around the house and listening to it gently simmering, filling the kitchen with the warm spicy note of Christmas. I always like to line the base of the pan I steam it in with paper. This protects the pudding from the direct base heat of the pan and stops it making too much noise from the pudding basin hitting the base of the pan as it simmers. It’s a great way to make use of some of the tedious junk mail and unwanted catalogues that always get pushed through the letterbox at this time of year.

I actually steamed mine yesterday, so right now it’s wrapped up tight and awaiting its final steam on Christmas day. You still have time to make your own and you can add whatever fruits and spices you like to it. You can also replace the alcohol with orange juice or non alcoholic wine if you wish. Go stir up a pudding – its stir up Sunday!

Oh and if you want to make a Christmas cake too, click to see the recipes I use most – traditional or gingerspiced.

Gluten Free Fruity Christmas Pudding with Amaretto

Ingredients

200g raisins
120g sultanas

50g chopped dates
60g glace cherries (check they are GF)
Zest of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 orange
100ml Amaretto (or Brandy)
20g chopped pecans (optional)
50g grated frozen butter
30g gluten free fresh breadcrumbs (crumbled from some GF bread)
45g rice flour

5g tapioca starch
90g dark soft brown sugar*
½ tsp mixed spice
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground star anise (or clove)
½ tsp salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten

* I was out of dark brown sugar so used 70g light soft brown sugar & 20g black treacle

Method
The day before (or up to 3 days before), add the raisins, sultanas and chopped dates into a bowl. Chop the cherries in half and add to bowl. Grate the orange and lemon zest over the top and pour in the Amaretto. Give everything a good stir, cover the bowl with clingfilm and set aside for 24 hours (or up to 3 days) to allow the fruits to plump up and absorb the alcohol.
The next day, place all the remaining ingredients into a large bowl. Add the soaked fruits, scraping in any leftover juices. Fold everything together with a spatula until everything is evenly combined, it may look a little dry at first but keep mixing.
Place a small disc of parchment paper in the base of a 1½ pint pudding basin. Fill the basin with the pudding mix, pressing down lightly. Place another disc of parchment on top and cover the top of the basin with a sheet of foil that you have folded a pleat into the middle of, to allow the pudding to rise during steaming.
Tie a long strip of string around the top rim of the pudding and then secure it over the top of the basin from one side to the other to form a string handle. (This will help you retrieve the pudding from the pan later without burning yourself).
Lay sheets of newspaper (or junk mail) in the base of a large saucepan. (This protects the base of the pudding from the direct heat from the stove and stops it rattling around inside your pan.) Place the pudding on the papers before filling the pan with boiling water from the kettle, until it reaches halfway up the side of the pudding basin.
Bring the water to a boil, then reduce to the merest of simmers, cover with the lid and leave to simmer gently for 5 hours. It should be barely bubbling. Leave the pan half off the heat of the flame if your hob doesn’t go low enough.
Every 2 hours lift the lid of the pan to check the water level. Add more boiling water if it’s looking low.
Once the 5 hours is up, lift the pudding out of the pan with the help of the string handle. Place on a cooling rack and leave until cool. Leave it in the basin and with the parchment disc still on top. Once cooled, remove the foil top and wrap the whole pudding, still in the basin, tightly in clingfilm and store in a cool dark place until required, the longer the better.
On Christmas Day, steam the pudding again for 2 hours to heat through thoroughly. When hot, run a knife around the edge of the pudding and turn out onto a serving plate that has a rim. Carefully warm a ladleful of Brandy, then set light to it with a match or lighter and quickly pour it over the pudding to flambé. Serve with Brandy butter, Brandy cream or custard once the flames have extinguished. 
Makes 1 pudding, to serve 6 – 10 people

Sprout & Almond Soup

Happy New Year! Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. After all the rich festive food I always crave a few days of simple, lighter meals. Soup fits the bill perfectly. It’s warming, comforting and in this case, packed full of veggies.

Sprouts have a bad reputation, but I personally love them. I think they only taste bad when they have been overcooked and start of give off the musty damp smell of old socks. Anything that smells of stinky socks and is graying in colour is never going to taste good. Cooked so they are only just soft and still green in colour they are delicious. I even love them cold, yes I know people are probably reeling back in horror now, but trust me, try them sliced and eaten with some warm crusty bread with houmous, or in a cheese and mustardy sandwich and they’re delicious!

As I went home to my parents for Christmas when I returned to my flat I was sadly sproutless. A quick visit to the shops to stock up on supplies and I came away with a huge bag of sprouts that had been reduced to 30p. There was no way I could eat through such a big bag myself so sprout soup it was to be. I know some people are already turning their noses up in disgust, but if I’d said leek soup or even broccoli or spinach, no one would have batted an eyelid. This is not just a sprout soup, it is a sprout and almond soup. The nuts added the same creamy nuttiness that chestnuts do and sprouts and chestnuts are often a classic (and much loved) Christmas side dish.

In this case the almonds come in the form of almond milk, added just before blitzing and also from a splash of almond liqueur. The alcohol itself gets burnt off during simmering, but the flavour remains and it just gives it that little something extra. I’ve seen Brandy used in soups before, so I decided to try Amaretto for an almondy touch and I loved the results.

If you have lots of leftover sprouts, or someone who insists they ‘hate’ sprouts, give them a bowl of this soup and I bet it will change their minds. Just don’t add carrots to the mix, orange carrots and green sprouts = murky brown soup and murky brown sprout soup is never going to convince anyone!

If you’re not much of a soup eater use them in place of cabbage to make bubble & squeak or how about trying some creamy blue cheese & sprout pasta that I made last year?

Sprout & Almond Soup

Ingredients

600g sprouts

3 medium or 2 large potatoes

1 red onion

25g butter

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp ground coriander

1½ tsp dried thyme

1 litre vegetable stock

250ml almond milk (or regular milk)

1 tbsp Amaretto (optional)

To Serve

Chopped almonds

Double cream, crème fraiche or yoghurt

Bread for dipping

Method

Heat the oil and butter together in a large saucepan until the butter is melted, then turn to a low heat.

Peel and roughly dice the potatoes and red onion. Add to the pan, stir briefly and then place the lid on the pan and leave them to sweat for 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, remove any dirty of damaged outer leaves from the sprouts, but don’t be too fastidious as the more you remove the less you add to the soup. Cut the sprouts in half from root to top.

Stir the potato and onion mixture in the pan and add the sprouts, don’t worry if a bit of the veg has stuck to the base of the pan, this adds flavour later. Add the herbs; replace the lid and leave to sweat for 3-4 minutes longer.

Add the vegetable stock and Amaretto if using. Bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce to a simmer, replace the lid and leave to bubble away for 15 minutes.

Remove the lid and stir the soup mix well, scraping any stuck on bits from the base of the pan. Test a potato chunk for tenderness. If it is soft, then remove the pan from the heat. If not, then leave to simmer for 2-3 minutes longer.

Once the veg is soft, stir in the almond milk (or regular milk) and blitz until smooth using a liquidizer or hand blender.

Serve the soup in bowls topped with a swirl of cream and a sprinkling of chopped almonds.

Makes approximately 6 servings

Christmas Cake 2013: Penguins

It’s Christmas!

I hope everyone has a wonderful day. I drove back to my parents house last night and I can’t quite believe today is actually Christmas. It all seems a bit surreal, but in a very good way of course.

I wanted to share with you my decorated Christmas Cake. I always do a different design each year and this year it’s Penguins! The theme courtesy of my grandmother’s suggestion – thanks Grandma.

To make it, I covered my gingery Christmas fruit cake with a disc of marzipan and a layer of blue swirled fondant that I made by only half kneading in some blue food dye. The little igloo and penguins are all made out of fondant too. They were a little fiddly to make as their heads kept falling off.

The little penguins features I added by dipping a cocktail stick in black and orange food dye. I’m happy with the finished design though, I think it’s simple but effective.

Happy Christmas everyone!

Starry Mince Pies with Zesty Orange Pastry (& Choc Shot Giveaway Winner)

I can’t believe Christmas is mere days away; it’s probably close enough to start counting down in hours! I have been so busy recently that I am quite behind on my festive baking. Last weekend I realised with shock that I hadn’t yet eaten a mince pie this Christmas! Being coeliac means it’s not so easy to come across gluten free mince pies at social gatherings or in bakers shops and I hadn’t got round to baking my own. I decided this would definitely not do and set about rectifying this immediately.

 

To give my mince pies a bit of an extra festive touch I flavoured the gluten free pastry with some orange zest. This gave the pastry a nice golden hue and a little extra zesty freshness. I liked how I could see the orange strands speckled throughout the pastry too. I love the combination of fresh orange with the heady spices used in the sweet boozy mincemeat.

I also topped the pies with pastry stars rather than round lids, as I like to see the mincemeat poking out between the stars points. Once baked they were given a light dusting of icing sugar and they were good to enjoy – or should that be scoffed considering I ate three in one afternoon? Oh well, they say pastry is best eaten on the day of baking, and I needed to make up for lost time.

 

I used the leftover scraps of pastry to make some festive pastry shapes, which I baked and devoured while still warm straight out the oven. This is a little treat that my mum always used to allow us to do whenever she made anything with pastry. It always makes me feel nostalgic and there’s no point letting it go to waste.

 

How many mince pies have you eaten this year? Do you even like mince pies? If not, what’s your festive go to treat?

 

In case I don’t blog again before Christmas I hope you all have a wonderful fun, friend, family and food filled festive day!

Starry Mince Pies with Zesty Orange Pastry

Ingredients

200g gluten free plain flour blend

90g butter

1 egg

40g icing sugar

Zest of 1 orange

½ tsp xanthan gum

1-2 tbsp water

½ jar gluten free mincemeat (most is GF but always best to check)

2 tsp milk for brushing

2 tbsp extra icing sugar for decoration

Method

Preheat your oven to 180C and have a 12 holed muffin tin to hand.

Mix the flour, 40g icing sugar, orange zest and xanthan gum together in a bowl.
Cut the butter into cubes, add to the flour and rub together using the tips fo your fingers, lifting the flour and butter up above the bowl and letting it fall back in as you squish the two together. Continue until the butter is broken down and coated in flour, it should look like chunky breadcrumbs.

Beat the egg, add to the bowl along with 1 tbsp water. Mix in using the tip of a round bladed butter knife. Once mostly incorporated using your hands to bring the mixture together to form a dough. Add a tiny bit more water if it seems too dry, but you don’t want a wet dough.

Knead the dough gently for 1 minute to ensure everything is well combined.
Roll out the pastry between two large sheets of clingfilm until 3-4mm thick.

Use a fluted cutter to cut out rounds to fit the wells of your muffin or tart tin. Gather up the off-cuts and re-roll them before cutting out 12 stars to act as pasty lids.

Fill the pastry shells with 1 heaped teaspoon of mincemeat and top each with a pastry star. Brush the tops with a little milk.

Bake in the oven for 18-22 minutes until lightly golden and firm to the touch.

Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before lifting out and transferring to a wire rack to cool.

Dust with icing sugar and enjoy while still warm.

Makes 12 mince pies

 

Note: Re-roll any leftover pastry scraps and cut out some festive shapes. Place on a baking tray and bake for 12-18 minutes (depending on size). Once baked, dust with icing sugar and enjoy while still hot.

Choc Shot Giveaway Winner

I’m also delighted to announce that the winner of the Choc Shot giveaway is… comment Number 5 – The Caked Crusader!

Her comment was picked by a random number generator. Congratulations Caked Crusader. I’ll be contacting you shortly for your address.

Christmas Pudding for Stir Up Sunday!

Today is Stir Up Sunday – the official day to stir together a delicious mix of dried fruits and spices to make your Christmas pudding. Every year the last Sunday in November, the last Sunday before the start of advent, is the official day to make your xmas pud. It is a tradition that has been going on for decades, possibly centuries, and one I hope continues for many more to come. I love the thought that today people all over the country are today making a pudding for their friends and relatives to eat and enjoy on Christmas day. It’s the kind of unity and homely food based tradition that I love.

Christmas pudding is not too dissimilar to Christmas cake. Your soak your fruits in alcohol before using them, like a Christmas cake, but then combine this mix into a spiced breadcrumb and suet batter. I always made my own breadcrumbs from crumbling up some gluten free bread and use frozen grated butter in place of the suet (which is usually coated in wheat flour). This fruity, spicy mixture is placed into a pudding basin and part boiled, part steamed for several hours to create a densely fruited, rich, spicy and incredibly moist fruit pudding. It has all the flavours of Christmas cake only in a squishier, softer and more intense form. The pudding mix doesn’t look all that appetising before it’s steamed, but it transforms into a lovely dark and sticky pudding after its steaming session. You get the added bonus of it filling the house with a fabulous rich and spicy Christmas scent as it happily simmers away.

 

Like Christmas Cake, the pudding is kept for several weeks to allow the flavour to mature and develop. Then on Christmas day the pudding is heated, doused in Brandy and set alight! The lights are quickly turned down and people ‘ohhh’ and ‘arrrrh’ as wispy blue flames dance around the pudding creating a spectacular end to the Christmas meal. There can’t be many foods that people look forward to intentionally setting on fire! The only other one I can think of is Baked Alaska and that’s more of a gentle torching rather than dousing it in a flammable liquid and setting it alight! However, the actual flames last mere seconds, so no harm comes to the pudding itself, its too moist to get scorched or burnt.

The pudding requires 5 hours of boiling/steaming, but don’t let that put you off. As long as you check the water level a couple of times during cooking, it can be left to its own devises. It’s quite relaxing pottering around the house and listening to it gently simmering, filling the kitchen with the warm spicy note of Christmas. I always like to line the base of the pan I steam it in with some paper. This protects the pudding from the direct base heat of the pan and stops it making too much noise from the pudding basin hitting the side of the pan as it simmers. It’s a great way to make use of some of the tedious junk mail and unwanted catalogues that always get pushed through the letterbox at this time of year.

 

This year I decided to place a thin slice of orange at the base of my pudding, which I hope will give a pretty top when turn out. I’d only got the one orange and when I came to slice it I found it was rather a unique orange in that the inner segments formed more of a random mosaic pattern than the usual triangular segments! While not quite the effect I was after, I think it will certainly look pretty on the pudding so I used it anyway. I’ll let you know how it turns out! Right now it’s wrapped up tight and awaiting its final steam on Christmas day.

Gluten Free Christmas Pudding

Ingredients

230g raisins
125g sultanas
50g glace cherries (check they are GF)
Zest of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 orange
100ml Brandy (I used Amaretto)
20g chopped pecans
50g grated frozen butter
30g gluten free brown breadcrumbs (crumbled from 1 slice of GF bread)
50g gluten free plain flour
90g dark soft brown sugar
½ tsp mixed spice
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground star anise (or clove)
½ tsp salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Method
The day before (or up to 3 days before), chop the cherries in half and place into a bowl along with the rest of the dried fruits. Grate the orange and lemon zest over the top and pour in the Brandy. Give everything a good stir, cover the bowl with clingfilm and set aside for 24 hours (or up to 3 days) to allow the fruits to plump up and absorb some of the Brandy.
The next day, place all the remaining ingredients into a large bowl. Add the soaked fruits, scraping in any leftover juices. Mix together lightly with a wooden spoon or spatula until everything is evenly combined.
Place a small disc of parchment paper in the base of a 1½ pint pudding basin. Place a thinly sliced disc of orange in the base (optional).

Fill the basin with the pudding mix, pressing down lightly. Place another disc of parchment on top and cover the top of the basin with a sheet of foil that you have folded a pleat into the middle of, to allow the pudding to rise during steaming.
Tie a long strip of string around the top rim of the pudding and then secure it over the top of the basin from one side to the other to form a string handle. (This will help you retrieve the pudding from the pan later without burning yourself).
Lay sheets of newspaper (or junk mail) in the base of a large saucepan. (This protects the base of the pudding from the direct heat from the stove and stops it rattling around inside your pan.) Place the pudding on the papers before filling the pan with boiling water from the kettle, until it reaches halfway up the side of the pudding basin.
Bring the water to a boil, then reduce to the merest of simmers, cover with the lid and leave to simmer gently for 5 hours. It should be barely bubbling.
Every 2 hours lift the lid of the pan to check the water level. Add more boiling water if it’s looking low.
Once the 5 hours is up, lift the pudding out of the pan with the help of the string handle. Place on a cooling rack, remove the foil and leave until cool. Leave it in the basin and with the parchment disc still on top. Once cooled, wrap the whole pudding, basin and all, tightly in clingfilm and store in a cool dark place until required, the longer the better.
On Christmas Day, steam the pudding again for 2 hours to heat through thoroughly. Turn out onto a serving plate that has a rim. Carefully warm a ladleful of Brandy, then set light to it with a match or lighter and quickly pour it over the pudding to flambé. Serve with Brandy butter, Brandy cream or custard once the flames have extinguished.
Makes 1 pudding, to serve 6 – 10 people

Gluten Free Ginger Christmas Fruit Cake

It’s that time of year again, time to bake the Christmas cake!! I’ve always baked my own Christmas cake, even in my pre-coeliac days. There is something magical and special about preparing the fruits, soaking them in booze and then baking them into a dark spicy cake that is so traditional and ritualistic that I always look forward to it. Plus as the cake bakes you get the most divine aroma of warm fruits, black treacle and spices wafting through the kitchen that it instantly makes me feel all warm and cozy. Knowing that you are preparing food for your family to share and enjoy, and the love and time that goes into making it make it all the more special.

Each year I try and give the cake a bit of a different twist. Last year I replaced the brandy with rum and use some ground cardamom in the spices, this year I decided to give it a warming twist of ginger. I stirred a generous amount of crystallised ginger into the fruit mix and upped the ground ginger in the cakes spice mix. I also used satsuma zest and juice in place of my standard orange and replaced sultanas with dates. Ginger itself adds a peppery warming heat, which I felt would work well in a Christmas cake. I can’t wait to taste it on Christmas day and find out if it comes through.

I left my fruits soaking for a whole week, preparing them one weekend and baking the cake the next. During this time they soaked up the booze and fruit juice and became wonderfully plump and glossy. The zest, fruits and brandy created quite a heady aroma that I was half tempted to forgo the cake and eat spoonfuls of the fruit mix on its own but I managed to resist.

My cake is now snugly tucked away and awaiting its first feed of brandy in a few days time. Nearer Christmas I have the fun challenge of decorating it. I was stuck for ideas this year, but my grandmother has suggested a penguin which I think it a lovely idea. I’ve not planned a design yet, you’ll have to wait until nearer the time to find out if I managed it.

Do you bake your own Christmas cake? Are there any special family traditions you MUST do around this time of year to get into the festive feeling?

Gluten Free Ginger Christmas Fruit Cake

Ingredients – Soaking Mix

170g raisins

100g dates

65g dried apricots

50g crystallised ginger

50g dried cranberries

Zest of 1 lemon

Zest of 1 satsuma (or ½ orange)

50ml brandy

40ml satsuma or orange juice

Ingredients – Cake Mix

140g gluten free plain flour

15g tapioca starch

20g ground almonds

120g dark soft brown sugar

120g unsalted butter

1½ tsp ground ginger

1 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp ground cinnamon

40g black treacle

2 eggs

(pre soaked fruit mix – above)

Feeding

30ml brandy once baked & additional for feeding

Soak the Fruit

Place the raisins and cranberries into a bowl. Chop the dates and apricots into pieces the same size as the cranberries and slice the crystallised ginger into small cubes.

Grate over the zest of the lemon and Satsuma. Squeeze the juice from the satsuma and add to the brandy. Pour the liquid over the fruits and stir to coat.

Cover the bowl with cling film and leave the fruit to soak for at least 24hours and up to 1 week, in a cool place to allow the fruit to plump up and absorb the brandy and fruit juice. I left mine for 5 days and stirred it twice in this time.

Bake the Cake

Lightly grease a 6.5inch/15-16cm deep round spring form tin. Line the base and sides with greaseproof paper, letting the paper rise about 1 inch above the rim of the tin. Preheat the oven to 140C or 120C fan.

Weigh all the cake ingredients, expect the pre soaked fruit, into a bowl and mix with a hand mixer until well combined.

Add the pre soaked fruit, including any remaining juices and fold together using a spatula.

Spread the mix into the tin, pressing down gently. Create a small dip in the middle of the cake to allow the mixture to rise into a flat, level surface on baking.

Bake in the oven for 2hours 10minutes until browned and quite firm to the touch. Allow to cool in the tin for 20 minutes before pricking the surface of the cake and drizzling over 30ml more brandy. Cover the cake and leave to cool in the tin before unmolding. Leave the greaseproof paper round the cake and wrap it tightly in clingfilm. The longer the cake has to mature the more developed in flavour it will be.

Every 1-2 weeks carefully remove the clingfilm from the cake and drizzle over a little more brandy. This is known as ‘feeding the cake’ and will ensure a richer and moister flavour and texture to the cake. (This is non essential though)

Makes 1 x 6.5ch cake

When Ready to Decorate

Ingredients - Decoration

500g fondant icing

250g marzipan

2 tsp brandy

Food dye to decorate

Ribbon

Trimming and Decorating the Cake

When ready to decorate, peel away the greaseproof paper and carefully level the surface of a cake using a bread knife. Fill in any tiny holes with fruit taken from the off cuts of cake.

Place the cake on a 7-8inch cake board that has a few dobs of royal icing on it, to keep the cake in place.

Roll out the marzipan and use the base of the tin to cut out a large circle. Brush the top of the cake with a little brandy and smooth the marzipan over the top of the cake.

Roll out the fondant icing so that it is 2 inches bigger in diameter than the base of the cake. Brush the cake with brandy before covering with the fondant. Smooth the edges and top with your hands or cake smoother if you have one. Cut off the excess fondant from around the base.

Gather up the off cuts of fondant and dye as appropriate for decorations. Decorate the cake as desired and secure a ribbon around the bottom edge of the cake.

(I don’t have any photos of my finished cake yet, as its still in the ‘feeding’ stage)