ICED CHRISTMAS TREE CAKE

Yet another Christmas cake! These cakes are now a tradition on Kitchen Delights and show just how easy it is to create your own iced Christmas cake, without having to use royal icing or spend hours and hours creating a masterpiece.

For this cake all I used was a couple of Christmas tree cutters, edible red glitter and stars, all of which are available from sugarcraft shops or online.

I would like to wish you all a Happy Christmas and New Year. I will be back in the new year with lots more recipes and photographs.

Thank you to all readers from around the world who have stopped by and looked at my food blog. Also, a huge thank you for leaving such generous comments.

CHRISTMAS CUPCAKES

I've got the glitter bug! Ask me to make either a cupcake or a cake for Christmas and glitter always makes an appearance. It's something to do with my love of Christmas bling, which is perhaps the only time I can realistically get away with it.


My cupcakes are a vanilla flavoured sponge topped with lemon flavoured royal icing. The cupcakes were baked in gold foil cases and when the cupcakes have cooled down, the peaks are cut off with a knife to give a level cake surface. Smother the cupcakes in icing and leave to set.


Cut out some fondant icing shapes and leave them to dry for a while. Brush with a little water and dust the shapes with glitter. Now brush the underneath of the fondant shapes with water and place onto the cupcakes. Sprinkle with yet more glitter.

Mini Black Forest Gateau

The high quality Morello cherries used in this recipe are steeped in Kirsch, they are a speciality ingredient idea - Griottines. The Kirsch Griottines and their liqueur have a 15% alcohol content.

The first maceration of the cherries in liqueur takes place within six hours of picking. After rigorous sorting, grading and de-stoning the Morello cherries are steeped in different liqueurs for successive maceration's over a six month period based on a secret recipe and age-old traditions. The last maceration provides the final touch of Kirsch, which is the hallmark of Griottines.

They are produced in France using a special type of Morello cherry, the Oblachinska, and are only found in the Balkans.

You can use the cherries in cakes, chocolates or desserts. I decided to bring a twist to the traditional Black Forest Gateau and made individual cakes. I lived through the Black Forest Gateau years and have to say, I still love it. Although my memories are tainted now, as I remember just how synthetic the gateau were, but you was very posh if you ate Black Forest Gateau! For me it's still a wonderful combination of flavours - chocolate cake, Morello cherries, Kirsch, softly whipped cream and good quality grated chocolate - heaven!

The Morello cherries can also be purchased steeped in Cointreau.

JAMIE'S 30 MINUTE MEALS - CHICKEN PIE, FRENCH -STYLE PEAS & SWEET CARROT SMASH

My husband kindly bought me Jamie's book, although true to say, he didn't find that out until now! Cookery books are the equivalent of clothes that you bought ages ago and say you have had them for ages. Perhaps though, you can ask Santa to buy a copy and put it in your Christmas stocking.


There has been negativity in the press, even the BBC Watchdog television programme devoted air time(albeit with humour) to the question - can his dinners really be cooked in 30 minutes?

To be fair, I can't give the answer to this, because as usual, I was multitasking whilst cooking ie. emptying the washing machine, putting clothes into the tumble dryer, drying pots, loading the dishwasher and so on.

I didn't give consideration to making his dessert of Berries, Shortbread & Chantilly Cream because we were still ploughing our way through a dessert from a couple of days previous.

You want me to be honest don't you - I am not sure if I could prepare and cook all of this in 30 minutes, even if I had wanted to take up the challenge.I really like Jamie's new book and know I am going to cook a lot of recipes from it. Also, I have enjoyed his series of programmes to go with the book. He is a great guy and has enough passion and fire in his belly to encourage us all to get cooking.

Feedback on the book from young professionals I have spoken to, is they think he has possibly missed a trick by using so many ingredients. Unless you are a keen cook or have plenty of time, it's not always an easy call, and then there is the expense. Maybe, he should write a book using less ingredients, now there's an idea.


The chicken pie, french-style peas, sweet carrot smash is an incredibly tasty meal and I hope you are encouraged to have a go at this one. After all, it's great comfort food and who doesn't like a pie?

LEMON DRIZZLE CAKE - NATIONAL BAKING WEEK 2010

It's National Baking Week from 18-24 October and what could be better than a lemon drizzle cake.

As with most of the cakes I cook, this can be cut into squares and frozen. The cake defrosts perfectly. This is a very fluffy cake and instead of using the usual three eggs, this recipe uses only two and the juice of a lemon is used, giving a very lemony cake. Also the topping is just a little different from the usual lemon drizzle cake.

I know some people think baking is too time consuming, but you don't need any special equipment for this recipe, and even if you just throw everything into a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon for a couple of minutes, the cake will still be lovely.

Hope this has encouraged you to bake a cake this week!

125g butter, 175g caster sugar, 2 large eggs, 175g self-raising flour, 2 unwaxed lemons, 50g granulated sugar.

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4. Lightly oil an 18cm square cake tin and line with baking paper.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together until soft and fluffy. Beat the eggs, then gradually add a little of the egg to the creamed mixture, adding 1 tablespoon of flour after each addition.
3. Finely grate the rind from 1 of the lemons and stir into the creamed mixture, beating well until smooth. Squeeze the juice from the lemon, strain, then stir into the mixture.
4. Spoon into the prepared tin, level the surface and bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes.
5. Using a zester, remove the peel from the last lemon and mix with 25g of the granulated sugar and reserve.
6. Squeeze the juice into a small saucepan. Add the rest of the granulated sugar to the lemon juice in the saucepan and heat gently, stirring occasionally. When the sugar has dissolved, simmer gently for 3-4 minutes until syrupy.
7. Price the cake all over with a cocktail stick, to allow the syrup to soak in.
8. Sprinkle the lemon zest and sugar over the top of the cake, drizzle over the syrup and leave to cool in the tin. Cut into squares.

NIGELLA'S CHOCOLATE BANANA MUFFINS

Nigella has brought us some great muffin recipes to try at home and these in particular were met with a huge mmmm! Whose recipe is this, asked my husband - Nigella's I replied. My husband said he thought her double chocolate chip muffins couldn't be beaten but mmmmm.

I have frozen these and they thaw successfully, I've even thawed them and warmed them up in the microwave, although Nigella says to put them in the oven for a few minutes to warm.

Why not make some? You'll be glad you did!

This recipe comes from Nigella's new book Kitchen