Eggnog

Ireland has been experiencing snowy weather these past few days.  On Friday night I was witness to a lightning storm, the like of which I have not witnessed before in Ireland.  The whole night sky was illuminated with each flash and they grew progressively more frequent as the night went on.  A quick check in with the lovely @yddib over on twitter to pick the brain of her very own personal weather man explained that it was the result of hail clouds colliding.  When I woke the next morning we had the lightest dusting of snow and sure I was only delighted with life, until I phoned my sister that is.  "Oh we have a few inches here, can't even see where the kerb ends and the road begins."  Show off!  That was me on snow watch for the rest of the day, willing the clouds to empty their load so I could concur, "oh we have inches here, won't be venturing outside the door in that".  Alas it was not to happen.  I toddled off to bed to dream of snow angels and snow ball fights.

There was still quite a nip in the air on Sunday morning and imagine my delight when I stumbled down the stairs & threw open the curtains to be greeted by a pure white blanket of snow, thick on the ground.  I was up the stairs in a jiffy and before the hubs knew what was happening I had burst through the bedroom door and decided there was nothing else for it other than to bounce on the bed and scream "snnnnooooooooooooooooooooooooooowwww".  Needless to say at 8a.m. on a Sunday morning he wasn't too impressed.  We did have a little snow ball fight as we walked to the shop later that morning before we tucked ourselves up indoors for a cosy day.

I wandered into the kitchen in the afternoon with the intention of whipping up a batch of mince pies but instead emerged half an hour later with a glass of eggnog in hand much to the hubs amusement.  I'm not much of a drinker you see but the sight of the marshmallow world outside was screaming Christmas at me, so a glass of eggnog was the only man for the job.  I then spent a blissful afternoon on the sofa eggnog in one hand, large Toblerone in the other and Love Actually on the old telebox.  Bliss. 

It really is beginning to look a lot like Christmas.  Enjoy! x

Eggnog
(serves 8-10)

6 Large Eggs, separated
180g/8oz Caster Sugar
1tsp Vanilla Extract
250ml/8floz Milk
500ml/16floz Cream
100ml/3.5floz Brandy
100ml/3.5floz Rum
Nutmeg, freshly grated to serve

1.  Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until well combined, the sugar is dissolved and the mixture thickened slightly.  Gradually beat in the vanilla, milk, cream and alcohol.

2.  Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks, then thoroughly whisk into the cream mixture.  Pour into glasses and sprinkle each with a little grated nutmeg.

Christmas Cake Cookies

If you are a regular reader of this blog you may have picked up on the fact that I am not a huge fan of dried fruit.  I can tolerate it, sometimes I quite fancy a fruit scone. Given the choice though, chocolate or creamy desserts always come out on top for me.  However, I am rather partial to an oatmeal cookie with my Butler's hot chocolate.  The cookies are rather substantial in size with a perfect chewy consistency and are perfect on a cold winters day, it's spices warming you from within.

As I soaked some fruit for a Christmas cake mixture the other night I remembered the Butler's cookie and wondered would it be possible to create something similar but with a festive twist.  I find that Christmas cake can be a little fruit heavy and wanted a lighter alternative to enjoy while faces are stuffed with cake and pudding on the big day.  I sat and scribbled in my notebook that evening and came up with a recipe I thought would work.  I busied myself in the kitchen this afternoon testing out my efforts and I am more than pleased with the end result.  So happy in fact that I scoffed two in quick succession and my brain has been monopolised with thoughts of a third ever since.

These cookies are the perfect baking exercise for a snowy Sunday afternoon.  I highly recommend eating while still warm from the oven, accompanied by a steaming mug of hot chocolate; or allow them to cool and serve with a glass of milk.  They are delicious either way, that is why I had to eat two, so that I could inform you accurately.  It's tough but I have to do it for the greater good of cookie lovers everywhere.  Enjoy!

Christmas Cake Cookies
(Makes 12 large cookies)

110g/4oz Unsalted Butter, softened
170g/6oz Dark Brown Sugar
0.25tsp Salt
1 Large Egg
1tsp Vanilla Extract
2tbsp Water
2tbsp Brandy
2tbsp Treacle
90g/3oz Plain Flour
0.5tsp Baking Powder
0.5tsp Baking Soda
1tsp Ground Cinnamon
0.5tsp Mixed Spice
0.5tsp Ground Nutmeg
100g/3.5oz Oatmeal Flakes
30g/1oz Crystallised Ginger, finely chopped
40g/1.33oz Raisins
40g/1.33oz Sultanas
40g/1.33oz Currants
40g/1.33oz Dried Cranberries
50g/1.66oz Almonds, blanched and chopped

1.  Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.
2.  Line two baking sheets with greaseproof paper.

3.  In a large bowl cream together the butter, sugar and salt, with an electric whisk, until smooth.  Add the egg, vanilla, water, brandy and treacle and whisk to combine.  The mixture might seem quite wet and runny don't worry, this is exactly how it should be.
4.  Sieve the flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices into the wet ingredients.  Add the oat flakes and gently fold in. 
5.  Add the crystallised ginger(toss this in a little flour to stop it sticking together and sinking), dried fruit and nuts and mix to distribute evenly.  The mixture may still seem quite wet at this stage but it will be fine.
6.  Using an ice cream scoop place level scoops of the mixture onto the prepared baking sheets approximately 1.5" apart(they will spread in the oven).  Flatten the tops slightly with the back of a wet spoon.

7.  Place into the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes.  The cookies should still be slightly wobbly when they come out of the oven but with a thin, crisp shell.  They will firm up slightly as they cool, but will remain moist and chewy on the inside.  Allow to cool for 10 mins on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.  Store in an airtight container(if they last long enough to be stored that is).

Mam's Christmas Pudding

My brain has become a little fazzled of late thinking up new recipes and dreaming up ways to improve some oldies but goodies.  I also have writers cramp from scribbling in my blog notebook.  I have pages of yummy things to try out and I just wish I could grow another me to make it possible, but I will eventually get around to trying them all out soon.  For this reason when it came to developing my own recipe for Christmas pudding my brain just point blank refused to work.  Normally this would bother me, I would sit pen in hand until driven with distraction and the task was finished but I decided to take the 'life's too short' approach this time.  Christmas is not too far away and the puddings need a bit of time to mature, and had I forced the task at hand I would not have enjoyed it and mixed my puddings with a bad heart, and we all know you can't make a cake with a bad heart.  It just won't taste good.  I swear.

I decided I would stick with my mam's recipe as it is well tried and tested.  I combined all of the ingredients on Wednesday and left them to sit overnight to thicken.  Every time I walked into the kitchen I was assaulted by the aroma of Christmas, and I couldn't help but sneak a peak under the tea towel every now and then.  Last night I added the Guinness and myself and Mr. Boo both stirred the mix 3 times towards our hearts before making a wish.

It was tradition in our house that the puddings could not be cooked unless everyone who lived in the house had made a wish.  I'm not entirely sure where the tradition originated but I do remember that even when I was too small to stir the mixture by myself my mam or dad would help me and I would make my wish.  I wouldn't dream of ever skipping this vital step.  I am sure it will have no bearing on the taste of the finished article but I almost feel as though I am stirring through some Christmas magic with each turn of the wooden spoon and I wouldn't dare risk leaving that out.  We all need a little Christmas magic in our lives so go on, gather everyone around and one by one stir 3 times towards your heart and make a special wish. 

I would love to hear if you had this tradition in your house or any other Christmas pudding traditions.  Please leave me a comment as I love to hear from you.

xxx

Mam's Christmas Pudding
(makes 2 puddings)

175g/6oz Self -Raising Flour
1 level tsp Mixed Spice
1 level tsp Ground Cinnamon
0.5 level tsp Ground Nutmeg
225g/8oz White Breadcrumbs
350g/12oz Dark Brown Sugar
450g/1lb Currants
225g/8oz Raisins
225g/8oz Sultanas
125g/4oz Mixed Cut Peel
125g/4oz Glaze Cherries(halved)
50g/2oz Almonds(blanched and chopped)
Finely grated rind of 1 Orange
Finely grated rind of 1 Lemon
225g/8oz Margarine(melted)*
3 large Eggs(lightly beaten)*
2tbsp Brandy*
275ml/0.5pint Guinness(or other stout)

*beat this ingredients together

Firstly I am going to give you some tips before I start into the instructions:

It is very important to be organised when making Christmas cakes and puddings to avoid it becoming stressful.  There are quite a few ingredients so I find measuring everything in at the same time a having it ready to go into the bowl at the same time really helps.  Once the ingredients are measured the rest is a doddle.

The bread needs to be slightly stale to make the breadcrumbs but if you have forgotten to buy it in advance you can pop fresh bread into the oven on a low heat (approx. 100C) for 15mins to dry it out.  It is important that there is no moisture in the bread to prevent mould forming.

Toss your glace cherries in some flour before adding to the mix to stop them sinking to the bottom.

When adding the dry fruit to the flour mix I find it easier to add each item individually and tossing it gently in the flour to evenly distribute, if you just dump it all in and then add the wet ingredients it can mean some extra elbow grease is needed to mix it all well.

Enjoy it.  I find it very relaxing and the wonderful aroma of the spices and zest and alcohol just scream Christmas so don't do it when you are stressed and rushing, allow it the time it deserves and savour the Christmas spirit.

1.  Sieve the flour and spices into a large bowl.
2.  Add the breadcrumbs, sugar, prepared fruit, nuts, lemon and orange zest and mix thoroughly.

3.  Make a well in the centre then pour in the melted margarine and beaten egg and brandy mixture.  Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon.

4.  Cover and leave to stand overnight to thicken.
5.  The next day add the Guinness and mix thoroughly again. ( It's at this stage you make your wish)

6.  Grease 2 x 2 pint/1.1lt pudding bowls.
7.  Cut 2 large circles of grease proof paper for the top of each bowl, grease the bottom layer well and make pleats cross wise in the paper.
8.  Cut a large circle of foil for each bowl and make pleats cross wise in it.

For each pudding you will need:

1 x 2pint/1.1lt Pudding Bowl(greased)

2 x Circles of Greaseproof Paper(1 greased)

1 x Circle of Tin Foil

1 x Large Elastic Band

Twine

9.  Place the mixture into the prepared bowls.

10.Cover each bowl with two layers of grease proof paper(make sure the greased sheet is greased side down on top of the bowl).  Secure in place with some twine or a large elastic band.  Pull tight across the top of the bowl.

I usually cut the paper a little too big and trim

when it is secured in place.

11.Place a layer of tinfoil over the grease proof paper and again secure with twine or a large elastic band.  Pull tight across the top of the bowl.

You may also like to trim your tin foil when

secured in place.

12.Place the lid firmly on the bowl.

13.Tie some twine around the bowl(as if tying up a parcel) and secure on top of the bowl with a loop to make it easier to lift the bowl from the pot when cooked.

14.Place a small clean cloth(this stops the saucer moving around with the simmering water and making noise) into the bottom of a large pot and sit an upturned saucer on top.

15.Sit the pudding bowl on top of the saucer and pour boiling water into the pot until it comes half way up the sides of the bowl.

16.Cover with a tight fitting lid and boil for 6 hours.  (check occasionally to ensure the level of the water hasn't dropped, top up if needed)

17.When the puddings are cooked, remove carefully from the pot and allow to cool completely.
18.When cold remove the damp papers and recover with fresh double grease proof paper(not greased) and store in a cool dry place.

Mince Meat

I have mentioned a time or twenty on the blog that I am not a huge fan of dried fruit.  As a child I was always repulsed at the thought of mince pies at Christmas time.  My mam would heat some up in the oven for my dad or guests and they would be served with a nice dollop of fresh cream or maybe some custard.  Cream and custard with mince?! Bleugh. 

Then one year we made them in school and I was confused to find that there was no meat mixed in with the sweet mixture.  When I tasted the fruits of my labour I was pleasantly surprised and since then I have enjoyed many a mince pie over the festive season.  They are usually a last minute thought for me that I pick up with the final grocery shop before the big day but this year I decided to make my own, completely from scratch, including the mince meat.

I looked at many recipes but didn't find any that I liked so I decided to come up with my own.  I had a good understanding of the basics from reading so many other recipes and so set about it with my pen and trusty note book in hand.  I haven't used either butter or suet in the recipe as I wanted to cut out any unnecessary fat or heaviness.  The mixture gave off the most amazing fragrance as it simmered in the hob and looks beautiful today in it's jar.  I will do another post about mince pies closer to Christmas including a pastry recipe and an assembly how to.  For now you can mix up a batch of mince meat and leave the flavours to mature for a couple of weeks.  Enjoy!

Mince Meat
(makes approximately 800ml)

60ml/2floz Port
150g/5.3oz Dark Brown Sugar
Zest & Juice of 1 Orange
Zest & Juice of 2 Lemons
75g/2.65oz Raisins

75g/2.65oz Currants

75g/2.65oz Sultanas

75g.2.65oz Dried Cranberries
75g/2.65oz Chopped Almonds
4 Apples, peeled and grated
1tsp Cinnamon
1tsp Mixed Spice
1tsp Nutmeg
1oz Brandy
2tbsp Honey
1tsp Vanilla Extract

1.  Dissolve the sugar in the ruby port in a pot over a gentle heat.

2.  Add in the orange and lemon juice and zest, dried fruit, grated apple and spices.

3.  Simmer for 20 minutes or until the fruit has plumped up and absorbed most of the liquid.

4.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.  Add the brandy, honey and vanilla extract.  Stir well to incorporate.
5.  Spoon into sterilised jars and seal.

This will keep for a few weeks once stored in a cool dry place in the unopened sterilised jars.  Once opened refrigerated and use within a couple of weeks.

To sterilise jars:

Wash in warm soapy water or put through a hot cycle in the dishwasher.  Place into a preheated oven at 150C/300F/Gas Mark 2 for 15 minutes and fill and seal while the jar and contents are still warm.

Christmas Cake 2010

I know, I know we haven't even gotten Halloween out of the way and here I am bringing up the 'C' word.  I have good reason to, I haven't gone mental, honest.  I wanted to try to post some of my Christmas recipes nice and early to give you plenty of time to plan and because Christmas Cakes and Puddings tend to need some time to mature.  With that in mind now is the perfect time to make these very important elements of any traditional Christmas celebration.  It also means that when you are knee deep in wrapping paper and tinsel you can allow yourself a smug little smile at the intelligent decision to make them weeks in advance saving you from added blood, sweat and tears being shed.

For the last few years I have used the recipe that my mam followed for many, many years.  This year I decided to tinker with ir a little. (God, when she hears this she'll be haunting me tonight!)  Don't get me wrong, it is a delicious cake and has been eaten with gusto by many for as long as I can remember.  I just thought with such a huge variety of ingredients on offer it would be nice to try something a little different with it. 

The main change I made was to soak the fruit overnight in tea and brandy, much like you would do with the fruit for a tea brack.  Usually the fruit just gets chucked in in all of it's dry, shrivelled glory; so soaking will fill the cake with plump, boozey fruit.  I then added a few new ingredients to add more texture and flavour.

I was curious to find out how it tasted so brought one that I made last week to my dads on Wednesday night.  It was his birthday you see and when I enquired as to what cake he would like he requested a fruit cake.  I decided to kill 2 birds with one stone, get a little feedback on the updated recipe and also bring a smile to my dad's face with a super duper fruit cake.  It was declared to be 'lovely'.  It is a moist cake, choc full of fruit with some crunch from the chopped nuts dispersed throughout.  The brandy and spice flavours brought a little Christmas magic with every bite.  I would say that is mission accomplished. 

The recipe below will yield 2 x 8" round cakes.  I'm not sure if the original recipe my mam used was for 2 cakes or if she adapted through the years herself, she always made a cake for our house and one for my aunty, along with 2 Puddings and 2 German Pound Cakes.  I think all Christmas recipes should yield 2 cakes, how nice is it to wrap one up to gift to a friend or loved one.  I know my dad loves to see me coming with my brown paper parcels in winter time.  I'm not sure his 'birthday' cake will stretch out to Christmas so I am sure I will be making him up another one soon, I wonder who will be the lucky recipient of the 2nd one?

LMUTB Christmas Cake
(makes 2 x 8" round cakes)

200ml/7floz Warm Tea
200ml/7floz Brandy
375g/13.2oz Currants
375g/13.2oz Raisins
375g/13.2oz Sultanas
250g/9oz Dried Apricots, chopped to rough 1cm pieces
100g/3.5oz Dried Cranberries
425g/15oz Plain Flour*
75g/2.65oz Ground Almonds*
1.5 level tsp's Mixed Spice*
0.5 level tsp Ground Nutmeg*
150g/5oz Glacé Cherries
150g/5oz Mixed Peel
115g/4oz Crystallised/Stem Ginger
Grated Rind of 2 Lemons
Grated Rind of 1 Orange
150g/5oz Almonds, blanched and chopped
50g/1.76oz Walnuts, roughly chopped
115g/4oz Hazelnuts, roughly chopped
350g/12oz Margarine, at room temperature
350g/12oz Brown Sugar
2tbsp Honey
2tbsp Black Treacle
7 Large Eggs, at room temperature

* Sieve these ingredients together

Optional:

Additional brandy to 'feed' the cake.

If you like you can 'feed' the cake every 3 - 4 weeks with 3floz of brandy to ensure a moist (and boozey) cake at Christmas.  Simply pierce the cake a few times with a skewer, pour over the brandy and allow it to absorb before wrapping the cake back up.

I will ice this cake closer to Christmas so be sure to check back in to see the finished article.

1.  Place the raisins, currants, sultanas, apricots and cranberries in a large bowl.  Pour over the warm tea and brandy and stir to coat all of the fruit in the liquid.  Leave to sit in the bowl for at least one hour but preferrably overnight.  Cover with a tea towel and stir occasionally to ensure all of the fruit has a chance to soak up some of the liquid.

2.  The next day preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas Mark 2; and grease 2 x 8" round baking tins with melted margarine and line with greaseproof paper (instructions below).
3.  Sieve the flour, mixed spice and nutmeg into a large bowl.  Add the cherries, mixed peel and crystallised ginger and toss to coat in the flour (this will prevent them from sinking as the cake bakes).
4.  Sieve in the ground almonds and add the chopped nuts.
5.  Add the soaked fruit, margarine, honey, treacle, eggs and grated zest.
6.  Stir with a wooden spoon until all of the ingredients are combined. (For the second year running I did this while my husband was out, not a good idea as my poor little arms aren't up to the task and I needed a few little rest breaks.  If you happen to have a strong man lying about the place rope him in for this step!)

7.  Divide the mixture evenly between the 2 prepared tins and place into the preheated oven for 3 hours.  As all ovens vary you may need longer than 3 hours, if this is the case return to the oven and check at regular intervals.  Also, I would advise that you check the cake after 2 hours and if you find that the top is brownng too much place a round of greaseproof paper, with a small hole cut in the centre, on top. It is ready when a clean skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

8.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin overnight.

9.  Remove from the tin and discard the greaseproof paper.  Wrap in a double layer or greaseproof paper and a double layer of tin foil to store.

To Line the Baking Tins:

1.  Cut a piece of grease proof paper large enough to wrap around the circumference of the tin.
2.  Cut in half lengthways.

3.  Fold up approximately 1" along the bottom edge.

4.  Snip up as far as the fold at intervals of approximately 1.5cm.

5.  Now place inside the greased baking tin.  The 'fringed'end will make it easier to position it neatly.  (if you think it is too tall feel free to trim and inch or two off the top)

6.  Cut a circle of grease proof paper to cover the bottom of the greased baking tin.  You can see a little trick for that here.

7.  Cut a second piece of grease proof paper long enough to wrap around the circumference of the baking tin.  Fold it in half lengthways and wrap it around the outside of the tin.  Secure it in place with a piece of twine.  This will help to prevent the outside of the cake from browning too much.