Bad blogger!

Wow! Blog abandonment.... !

Let me get right back onto this.

The "Almost Too Late for Christmas" Christmas Cake

Anyone who makes, or even just really likes, Christmas Cake knows that it should be make a couple of weeks in advance! Yes, well indeed! Seems like time got away with me again! Anyway, I was going to skip the Christmas Cake this year except that child number one asked if we were going to have some this year, then he asked again. Since I have a family of Christmas Cake eaters, I figured, why not... need to improvise and make a fruit cake that does not need as much time to ripen.

I've made a variation of this one before, it had a tendency to be a little dry, but I think I've solved that problem. Brandy! Lots of Brandy!

This is far from a traditional fruit cake, mainly because there  is not a huge amount of fruit and that there is chocolate in it. This year, I tweaked it again and added some chopped chocolate covered almonds. Got that idea from a cake I saw in Martha Stewart magazine. I mean really, how could that not be good?

After the cake has been baked and cooled. Turn out onto a cutting board and cut into either eight or nine small bricks of cake. 

Wrap each piece of cake  in a brandy-soaked piece of cheesecloth and then wrap in parchment (or wax) paper. I warm the brandy slightly and dip the cut piece of cheesecloth right into it. Squeeze gently, you don't want to squeeze all the brandy out, it should be wet.

Pour more brandy onto the cheesecloth-wrapped chunk of cake, remember, this keeps it nice and moist.

Then wrap each chunk in tin foil and store in a cool place for a minimum of a week. Eat as desired, share only with those who love Christmas Cake...!

Chocolate Pecan Fruitcake
5 cups mixed peel
2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
4 oz unsweetened chocolate - finely chopped
4 oz semisweet chocolate - finely chopped
1 cup chocolate covered almonds - roughly chopped
1 1/2 cups golden raisins
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature) 
1 cup granulated sugar
6 eggs
3/4 cup brandy
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large bowl, combine the mixed peel, raisins, pecans, chocolate and almonds. Add a quarter cup of the flour and mix gently. Combine the remaining flour in a bowl with the baking powder and salt.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy, beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly. Stir in a 1/4 cup of the brandy and vanilla extract. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients until well blended.  Stir in the fruit/chocolate mixture. 


Pour into a 9x13 inch pan (this will fill the whole pan, it does not rise really) and smooth with a spatula. I line the pan with parchment paper, but you can spray it with Pam or other baking spray.


Bake at 300 Fahrenheit for 1 and 1/2 hours or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely in the pan (sitting on a cooling rack).

Kris Kringle Cookies

Sometimes it's nice to try new cookies at Christmas, but the ones that are usually best enjoyed are the more familiar.

This is a recipe for Kris Kringle Cookies.. not sure how authentic they are, but they are very popular in my house, especially with teenage boys and their friends.

The combo of white chocolate chips, dried cranberries and pecans seems a little odd, but together they provide a very nice taste. Oddly, both my husband and one of my sons (the one that is most like the husband) said independently to me that they don't like white chocolate, but in this cookie.... it's really good. 

I make a double batch (which is huge) and save some of the uncooked dough in the fridge (in tupperware) for a couple of days and until the first batch is eaten. Then I can be all Martha-ish and whip up fresh cookies very quickly later on.

This is my recipe, adapted from kraftfoods.com

The original recipe says it yields 72 servings, one cookie each, I have never actually counted, but I make mine bigger so I am sure it is way less. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 12 ounces White Chocolate Chips
•  1 1/2 cups Chopped Pecans, toasted
• 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Beat butter and sugars in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add flour, baking soda and salt; mix well. Stir in chocolate, pecans and cranberries.
2. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls,* 1-1/2 inches apart, onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper or use a Silpat. (I use a spring-loaded ice cream scoop which is 2 tablespoons. Makes a really nice sized cookie.
3. Bake 9 to 11 min. or until lightly browned. Cool 3 min.; remove to wire racks. Cool completely. Store in tightly covered container at room temperature.

Notes:

• Depending on your oven, you may need to reduce the temperature to 350 and then bake for 11-13 minutes. I suggest doing one tray on its own first to see how they come out. You want them to be slightly soft, but not have that underdone look to them. They should crunch when you bite into them, but still be quite soft.
• You could substitute chopped dried apricots for the cranberries and/or chopped whole almonds for the pecans. The original recipe called for 2 cups each of nuts and cranberries, but when I made a double batch, I cut it back by 50%, still great!

Apple Dumplings! Sort of like apple pie, but better...

Apple dumplings can be a couple of things, one of them is kind of wet and soggy and the other is a whole apple wrapped and baked in pastry. Mine is the pastry kind and is not wet and not soggy. Also, I do not like apple pie.. don't ask my why, but this.... this is good.

I was craving this dessert (thinking it was from my childhood, but realizing it was perhaps not. I do recall however, eating these, in the long-gone Cullen Country Barns restaurant with my Mum). Anyway, they're warm and yummy and were a hit at my house. Had to make them two weekends in a row just to be sure. Success both times!

 

Chocolate Buttermilk Whoopie Pies with Raspberry Marshmallow filling

Whoopie pies are an American baked good item that have seen a huge surge in popularity recently, even here in Canada. A certain coffee chain sells miniature red velvet ones (for a not so miniature price) and strangely sell the same ones in their Canadian stores as they do in their Edinburgh stores. 

I've tried making these a couple of times with limited success. Often the cake bit is too large and can get sticky after a few hours. This particular recipe is adapted from the Wilton baking site - since I bought their specialty pan to make these (yes, I do have a weakness for baking pans (and shoes of course)) - however, I adapted to using my favourite 'dump' method, probably just because it's easier and doesn't use butter. Here is the Wilton recipe. 

Fraisiers - or Fancy Cream Cake with Strawberries

The Daring Bakers July 2011 Challenge: FRESH FRAISIERS!

This is another Daring Baker challenge. I have been looking forward to getting this done, but sadly am doing it just before the deadline because it's been too freaking hot to bake! When temperatures hit 40 Celsius with a humidex of 52, there's no way I am turning the oven on. Salads and ice cream are just fine for meals thank you.

Parisian Macarons

Parisian macarons... as opposed to macaroons, have given me baking grief since I first ever tried to make them. The very first batch (from a Martha Stewart recipe) turned out good, but never again. No matter which recipe, which method, which six magical steps I followed (let them dry, old egg whites, bake with oven door propped open, recite incantation.. etc.) nothing worked.

Successful (but not neatly-filled) Swiss Meringue Macarons