I think I found my Christmas Baking Mojo today . . .
I've spent
the whole day immersed in sugar and flour and eggs and Christmas Carols . . . as memories of Christmas Past played around in my head like sugar plums. Christmas has landed, and not a moment too soon!
My mother didn't bake an awful lot at Christmas time when we were growing up but we could always rely on a few things that she would bake each year . . . it was the only time we would have these baked treats, and we all looked forward to them. I plan on sharing them with you over the next few days. I am sure you all have in your main ingredients for your Christmas Lunch (dinner) and so these posts are just for fun. You may see something that may inspire you to bake an additional treat at the last minute, or you may not.
These Feather Squares are exceptional and something that if you were to ask each of us what our favourite Christmas Treat is they would be if not at the top, very close to the top of the goodie list, their only drawback being that they are not something which keeps for very long. Usually only about a day or two at the most. They are fabulous though, and it just would not have been Christmas in our home without them . . . and even today I find myself wanting to bake them sometime during the last day or two before Christmas.
Really I should keep them for baking on Christmas Eve . . . but the child in me just cannot wait to dig into them. You have a traditional plain buttery sponge cake base . . . baked until golden brown, but still moist, and then slathered all over with sweet raspberry jam . . . (Oh I do love my jam!) Then the jam layer is covered with a beautiful marshmallow-like soft meringue, and sprinkled with flaked coconut.
Banged back into the oven to brown the coconut and meringue . . . so that it looks like a field of downy feathers . . . lightly browned and covering a fluffy blanket of snow . . . covering that jammy field of cake deliciousness.
Altogether . . . quite, quite blissful . . . and festive.
It just would NOT be Christmas in our home without them. A tradition we can not give up. Hoping that you will give them a go and enjoy them as well.
*Mom's Christmas Feather Squares*
Serves 12
Printable Recipe
When I
was growing up, I knew that when these delicious bars were in the
larder, Christmas could not be too far behind. Christmas was the only
time my mother made these and we certainly looked forward to seeing them
every year. A moist and delicious cake type base covered with sweet
raspberry preserves and a lovely meringue topped with toasted coconut on
top make these holiday winners!
4 TBS butter, softened
3 large eggs, the whites and yolks carefully separated and put into two different bowls
1 cup sugar, divided (190g, in two lots of 95g each)
2 TBS milk
1 tsp baking powder
1 TBS cornstarch
1 cup flour (140g)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup raspberry preserves (4 large dessertspoonfuls)
1 cup flaked sweetened coconut (75g)
Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Lightly butter an 8 inch square baking pan and dust with flour. Set aside.
Cream
together the butter and 1/2 cup of sugar until light and fluffy. Beat
in the egg yolks, one at a time. Stir in the vanilla. sift together
the flour, baking powder, cornstarch and salt. Add to the creamed
mixture alternately with the milk, mixing together until smooth. Spread
this mixture into the prepared pan. Bake in the heated oven for 20
minutes, until lightly browned and the top springs back when lightly
touched. Remove from the oven and immediately spread with the raspberry
jam.
Beat the egg whites until foamy. Continue to beat,
adding the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar slowly until the mixture it stiff
and glossy. Spread this over the top of the jam and sprinkle with the
coconut. Return to the oven and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes,
until golden brown and the coconut is toasty. Remove from the oven and
allow to cool before cutting into squares with a wet knife.
Now this does sound delicious and I dont thik we shall be able to go without one of these so I shall be baking this tomorrow
ReplyDeleteThank you for your fabulous blog recipes and
Wishing you and your family a
Very Merry Christmas
Wendi
Thanks for your kind words Wendi! I hope you enjoy and a very Merry Christmas to you and yours as well! xxoo
ReplyDeleteYour mom must be so proud:)
ReplyDeleteIt's funny at our home also there were never many sweets..an occasional apple crisp..pie..or a certain bar..that tasted like butter tarts:)
These are gorgeous Marie..
Lucky we are to bake..and enjoy music..:)
Have a lovely day.
Silly question, but how do you store this? in the fridge I assume? And does it keep well? I'd like to make it sunday for christmas, would it hold up for 2 days?
ReplyDeleteI would store this in the fridge, and it should keep for two days. You may find that the jam will soak into the cake a bit, but to my way of thinking it makes it even scrummier!!
ReplyDeleteThese look beautiful - love the coconut on top!
ReplyDeletethese are beautiful Marie, I will have to try these,
ReplyDeleteHi Marie,
ReplyDeleteMade this last night for my husband's birthday. It was a huge hit with him and the rest of the family.
Easy to prepare and looks very impressive. No extra slice to nibble on today. We devoured every last crumb.
Many thanks for sharing your wonderful recipes with us.
Happy Holidays,
Elise
I am so happy you and your family enjoyed this Elise! YOU made my day! I am always very pleased when someone takes the time to back to let me know they have enjoyed one of my recipes.
ReplyDelete