Cake Update

 And here is the traditional 'decorated' cake post as promised!

Christmas is Coming . . .

 To continue a theme, time for some festive baking  . . .

Had been soaking the fruit for this year's cake(s) for a few days, so time to get it mixed up and into the rayburn - although, technically, 'Stir-up Sunday' isn't for another week yet.

After some debate - and recognising that it will be a smaller Christmas this year (with uncertainties over the virus) - decided on two smaller cakes.  One for this year, and one for the freezer . . .

Look out for the traditional 'decorated' cake post in due course!

Christmas Cake Bake

After pondering staying with the loaf-style Christmas cake model of the last couple of years, eventually decided to go for one big cake again.

Haven't quite decided on how to decorate it - might forego the icing, and stick with the fruit, nut and marzipan option - in the meantime it will be well fed with brandy :)

Christmas Bakes

Took a couple of days off before Christmas - to brave Morrisons for the food 'shop', and get ahead with the cooking.

Today was a baking day - made some frangipane mince pies . . .

. . . and decorated the keeper from last year's cake bake - very much in the same style too.






Not pushing the boat out too much on the baking front this year, as it's just the four of us on Christmas Day and we don't have any family staying over. 

That said, there'll be the now traditional Sticky Toffee Pudding to go in the oven, Christmas Pud (again held over from last year), and I can feel a post-Christmas chocolate brownie baking session coming on!

Keeping it Simple

In a departure from tradition, decided to keep it simple with the cake this year.  So we have two smaller 'loaf' cakes, with a fruit, nut and marzipan topping, instead of the usual larger, round, iced offering.

Hopefully it will taste just as nice, but without the sugar-overload from the icing!

Icing on the Cake

As is now becoming traditional, the icing of the Christmas Cake had to wait until after Christmas itself.  A mistletoe and ivy theme this year - will start running out of ideas soon!

Bunnies on the Cake

Little late icing the Christmas cake again this year - all in white, with bunnies!

Tree On . . .

Continuing the 'tree' theme - here's this year's Christmas Cake ...

Christmas Catch-Up

A quiet Christmas - had a few days off in the run up, and had actually got most of the food prep done by Christmas Day, which made for a slightly more relaxed morning.

Cooked far too much food as always - expect the leftovers will keep us going for days to come . . .





Had held back on the baking front though - have yet to make a mince pie (that's tomorrow's job, ready for the New Year visitors) and have only just iced the cake!

The Holly and the Ivy

Christmas arrived a bit sooner than I wanted it to this year, what with all the kitchen kerfuffle, but we were more or less ready in the end.

Some things got done a bit at the last minute, but they did get done, and we ate, drank and made merry (well sat in front of the tv and fell asleep - which is probably the traditional equivalent these days!).

Icing the cake was one of those last minute tasks - the theme this year was the Holly and the Ivy (having got myself some new ivy leaf cutters!), reflecting on the distinctly 'green' winter we are enjoying this year.


As you can see the red icing requirement was rather limited, and I ended up freezing almost an entire block - I guess that settles next year's colour scheme!

 

Christmas Snowmen!

Despite all the snow outside we never did get round to building an actual snowman - although there were one or two to be found inside in the warm as part of what Martin refers to as my 'Christmas Bling' ...







It nevertheless seemed an appropriate theme for this year's Christmas Cake (which it looks like we'll be eating well into the New Year!):

Christmas Cake and Catastrophe!

Well another Christmas has come and gone . . .

This year's cake came out well - decoration courtesy of two snowflake cutters and those little silver sugar balls that break your teeth. Tried out frangipane mince pies as well - a bit different from the traditional variety, and very nice too.

All that food (and drink!) serves as a fitting precursor of course to the annual New Year's resolution to lose weight and eat more healthily . . .

The rest of Christmas followed the traditional pattern - meeting up with family, presents under the tree, the occasional bit of TV gold among the Christmas dross. Most of the Christmas food has been eaten or given away now (just a quarter of the cake left), although still enjoying the chocolate, particularly the 'volcanic' chocolate orange (think chocolate with 'space dust' - I quite liked it anyway!).

Then came Boxing Day and our very own minor catastrophe, courtesy of the fish tank, which managed to empty itself (bar a couple of inches or so, which preserved the fish) onto the carpet. Cue a morning of mopping up - it's drying out now, but the dehumidifier is still running, and the room is still in relative chaos:

So that's it for another year - hopefully next year's effort will be a little less wet!

All Things Christmas . . .

Another year, another Christmas . . .













Always feel a bit strange about it - not really religious, but love the Tree and the Lights and everything - maybe I'm harking back to Pagan Midwinters or something.


Kind of enjoy the cooking bit as well - although of course we then have to eat it all. Must admit to being rather chuffed with the way the cake turned out - well the way it looks anyway (the holly leaf cutter was well worth the £3.40 investment!) - of course it's already Boxing Day and there's so much else to eat we haven't got as far as cutting it yet!

Anyway, hope yours was a good one . . .

Nadolig Llawen!

Christmas Cake and Candy Skies

Christmas is rather creeping up on me - can't believe it'll be December in a couple of days. Bit late but finally got the Christmas cake in the Rayburn, after soaking the fruit for the last few days. Haven't made one for a couple of years, but having heard a Rayburn cooks a good cake thought I'd give it a try.



Tweaked the recipe a bit since I'm not keen on candied peel and currants - substituted these for glace cherries and dried cranberries - and added a few crushed pecan nuts as well. So we'll see how it turns out . . . it smells pretty good anyway (maybe that's the brandy and cherry liqueur!). Cooked beautifully, went in at 7.30am, came out about 1pm.

And to finish my second blog of the day (that isn't entirely weather related!) here's a picture of today's candy pink sunset: