Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
The recipe I am sharing with you today is one I adapted from a recipe I found on a site called From the Larder. It is called Bramley Apple & Mincemeat Pudding.
It is perfect for this time of year, and in fact would make a lovely holiday dessert for Christmas or Boxing day.
At its base is a layer of Bramley cooking apples which are chopped and mixed with some lemon juice, zest and brown sugar . . . .
I think in North America you could use any good cooking apple in the place of Bramley.
Bramley Apples are fabulous cooking apples. Large, flattish round apples with a green skin and red blush these are fabulously tart apples.
They have a beautiful white flesh that cooks down into a frothy pulp which makes them ideal for cooking with. They make beautiful applesauce and crumbles.
They are incredibly tart however . . . I cannot see anyone ever being able to eat one raw without any sugar.
I remember making an apple pie with them when I first moved over here and it was soooooo sour!
They make really great Baked Apples also because they hold up well when baking, but the insides bcome lovely and frothy.
A good North American substitute for them would be a Granny Smith or a Gravenstein.
In any case a layer of these apples, chopped, gets spread out in a baking dish and topped with a sweet cake batter . . .
Its a pretty basic vanilla sponge, with equal parts fat, sugar and flour, with some leavening agents added and spoonsful of prepared mincemeat.
Over here you can get many different varieties of mincemeat this time of year . . . the store shelves are bulging with choice.
I would choose a good basic mincemeat, unless you have made your own.
Homemade is always the better choice and generally speaking I make my own each year. My recipe makes about a pound of mincemeat which is about enough to make 3 dozen mince pies/tarts.
Yield: 1 pound
*Homemade Mincemeat*
A delicious blend of dried fruit, nuts, spices, brown sugar and brandy. (I use apple juice)
ingredients:
150g of currants(1 cup)
125g of raisins (3/4 cup packed)
25g of blanched almonds, finely chopped (1/3 cup)
1 knob of preserved stem ginger, finely chopped
1 eating apple, peeled and grated
50g of shredded beef or vegetable suet (1/2 cup)
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
the finely grated zest and juice of one lemon
2 TBS brandy
1 TBS dark muscovado sugar
125g of raisins (3/4 cup packed)
25g of blanched almonds, finely chopped (1/3 cup)
1 knob of preserved stem ginger, finely chopped
1 eating apple, peeled and grated
50g of shredded beef or vegetable suet (1/2 cup)
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
the finely grated zest and juice of one lemon
2 TBS brandy
1 TBS dark muscovado sugar
instructions:
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and set aside for at least 12 hours to macerate. Transfer to glass jars, seal and store in the refrigerator until ready to use. This will keep a good long while.
Created using The Recipes Generator
Failing the desire to make your own, just use a good store brand. Six TBS of this gets stirred into the cake batter which is then spread over the chopped apple in the baking dish.
You pop it into the oven where it bakes until the apples are succulent and soft and the cake batter is all risen and golden brown.
Ready to be spooned out warm into bowls and topped with your favourite go-withs . . . warm custard (Todd's preference), pouring cream or scoops of a good Vanilla bean ice cream.
This is so very delicious. Pudding here is a name which is used to describe a dessert . . . and they come in many shapes and sizes and types from crumbles and bakes to cakes and stodgy steamed concoctions (Think Plum Pudding here) and everything in between.
Bread and Butter pudding is a real favourite here in this house as well as Sticky Toffee Pudding, and after today this pudding has become another favourite that I know I will be making often for my husband.
Its nothing short of delicious with that jammy apple on the bottom, that sweet spicy sponge on top and of course with the custard/cream or ice cream on top. Altogether, quite, quite delicious! You won't want to miss this!
Yield: Serves 6
Apple & Mincemeat Pudding
prep time: 15 minscook time: 45 minstotal time: 60 mins
If you are like me you have an abundance of mincemeat in your larder during the holidays. This is a very delicious way of using some of it. A light and fluffy spiced cake, studded with currants and raisins, baked atop sweetened chopped apple. Serve warm with custard, cream or ice cream.
ingredients:
2 large cooking apples, peeled and diced
the finely grated zest and juice from 1/2 lemon
2 TBS soft light brown sugar
150g butter, softened (2/3 cup)
150g caster sugar (fine granulated sugar, 3/4 cup)
3 large free range eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 TBS prepared mincemeat
150g plain flour (1 cup all purpose + 1 heaped TBS)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 TBS whole milk
You will also need:
1 tsp caster sugar for sprinkling
warm custard, single cream or ice cream to serveinstructions:
Preheat the oven to 170*C/325*F/ gas mark 3. Butter a shallow baking dish. Set aside.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Mix together the apple, lemon zest and juice and brown sugar. Pour into the prepped baking dish.
Cream
together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs
one at a time. Stir in the vanilla and mincemeat. Stir in the flour
mixture just to combine. Stir in the milk. Pour the batter over the
apples in the dish. Spread out evenly.
together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs
one at a time. Stir in the vanilla and mincemeat. Stir in the flour
mixture just to combine. Stir in the milk. Pour the batter over the
apples in the dish. Spread out evenly.
Bake
for 40 to 45 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the
centre comes out clean. Sprinkle the caster sugar over top just prior
to serving. Serve spooned out into bowls with your desired
accompaniment.
for 40 to 45 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the
centre comes out clean. Sprinkle the caster sugar over top just prior
to serving. Serve spooned out into bowls with your desired
accompaniment.
Created using The Recipes Generator
I will include my recipe for custard as well so you don't have to go hunting for it.
Yield: about 3 cups
Proper Custard
This is also known as creme anglaise. Be sure not to let the mixture boil once the eggs are added, or you will end up with a curdled mess. You only need to heat it up enough to cook the eggs. The custard is ready when it coats the back of a wooden spoon.
ingredients:
8 egg yolks
75g caster sugar (a generous 1/3 cup)
300ml whole milk (1 1/4 cup)
300ml double cream (1 1/4 cup)
1 vanilla pod, split
75g caster sugar (a generous 1/3 cup)
300ml whole milk (1 1/4 cup)
300ml double cream (1 1/4 cup)
1 vanilla pod, split
instructions:
Beat
the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl until well blended. Place
the milk and cream in a saucepan with the vanilla. Scrape the insides
of the vanilla pod into the mixture before you add it. Bring the
mixture just to the boil.
Pour a little of this mixture into the
eggs to temper them, and beat it together well. Pour this back into the
pan and whisk together. Return to the heat and using a whisk, lightly
stir until it begins to thicken. DO NOT BOIL.
As the egg yolks
warm, the cream will get thicker and create a custard. Keep stirring
until it coats the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat and
pass through a fine sieve. Leave to cool a bit before using. Serve warm
or allow to cool completely,stirring occasionally.
the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl until well blended. Place
the milk and cream in a saucepan with the vanilla. Scrape the insides
of the vanilla pod into the mixture before you add it. Bring the
mixture just to the boil.
Pour a little of this mixture into the
eggs to temper them, and beat it together well. Pour this back into the
pan and whisk together. Return to the heat and using a whisk, lightly
stir until it begins to thicken. DO NOT BOIL.
As the egg yolks
warm, the cream will get thicker and create a custard. Keep stirring
until it coats the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat and
pass through a fine sieve. Leave to cool a bit before using. Serve warm
or allow to cool completely,stirring occasionally.
Created using The Recipes Generator
I think this is a dessert for the holidays that your family is really going to love. It is not complicated in the least and is sumptuously delicious. Delicious enough to serve as a light alternative to a heavy Christmas Pudding on Christmas Day!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
Most of you have probably got all of your Christmas Menu planned now right down to the last olive and pickle on the tray, but I thought there might be some of you who are still lacking in a bit of inspiration, and who were looking for something to delight your family in the dessert area of your festive celebrations!
I am drawing today from the vast archive of dishes that I used to make when I worked at the manor and bring to you a selection of four different desserts that are fabulous contenders to grace your holiday table, if not for Christmas lunch then perhaps for New Years, or really any time you are wanting something just a tiny bit special!
A Dark Chocolate Yule Log. Christmas and Yule Logs go together like peas and carrots!
This next recipe makes use of Sweetened Chestnut Puree as a part of the filling. This Chocolate Roulade is fabulously delicious, gluten free, and a very simple bake!
*Chocolate Roulade*
Serves 6
To fill:
250ml double cream (9 fluid ounces)Lay out a clean tea towel. Top with a sheet of baking paper and dust liberally with icing sugar. Invert the sponge onto the baking paper and gently peel away the tin lining paper. Whisk the double cream until almost stiff, then stir in the chestnut cream and brandy Spread this mixture over top of the sponge leaving a 1 inch border around the edges. Scatter the chopped chestnuts over top. Using one end of the teatowel, roll up from the long side carefully. Place onto a serving plate and dust liberally with some more icing sugar.
Chill until you are ready to serve. Cut into slices to serve.
Ginger Cake is a real favourite around here. This recipe used Preserved Stem Ginger in syrup. Stem Ginger and the holidays are wonderful companions!
Now if I have whetted your appetite for a Christmas Ginger Cake and you find it impossible to
get the preserved Ginger. This other Ginger Cake is a most suitable replacement,
and when baked in a bundt tin, very impressive!
Finally something cold to whet your appetites. Orange Ice Cream, served with a tasty Almond Praline!
*Orange Ice Cream*
Serves 6
Whisk in the creme
fraiche and orange peel. Pour into an ice cream machine and churn
according to the manufacturer's directions. Alternately pour into a
freezerproof container, cover and freeze for 12 hours. Remove from the
freezer and beat to break down any ice crystals. Refreeze and beat as
before, then refreeze until solid. Serve in scoops, garnished with the
broken praline.
My English Kitchen is now closed for Christmas and I want to take this opportunity to wish each and every one of you a Very Merry Christmas. May it be filled with lots of love and family and plenty of good eats. See you on the flip side! (If you do have any pressing questions I will be checking comments and e-mails periodically!) Thank you all so very much for your faith and loyalty over this past year. You make blogging fun for me! God bless!
I have really been enjoying these past few days without a car. Its has really clipped our wings and helped us to slow down a lot and really get tucked into what is really important about the Holidays. Home and family, the people you love and care about . . . good food . . . the Christ Child. Taking all the rush and hubbub out of these days has really helped us to feel a lot more festive. Today I really got into the mood and baked Todd some mince pies. He adores Mince Pies. You probably remember me making my mincemeat earlier this month. This is what I used. This was a test run for the ones I will bake on Christmas Eve. Do you do test runs for the holidays?? I think everyone does.
I was keen to try a new pastry recipe which I had found in this Marks & Spencer Christmas cookbook. It looked really nice and, as you know, I am always keen to try something new!
It is a really simple recipe which involves rubbing butter into flour and stirring in some icing sugar, an egg yolk and a bit of milk. I did add a pinch of salt. It rolled out like a dream and I had those tins lined and ready to fill in a nano-second. Well, maybe a bit longer, but you get the gist . . .
One thing I have learnt through the years is not to be overly generous with the mincemeat when making my mince pies . . . not unless I want mince pies that won't loosen from the tin. This is definitely an occasion when less is more. I couldn't find my star cutter this morning and so I used a small snowflake cutter instead. (I will add just a touch more mincemeat when I bake my final batch. This lot of mince meat I made doesn't spread like the store brands do. Its lovely.)
The original recipe said to roll the pastry out to 1/2 inch thickness which I think was a huge mistake. I rolled it out to 1/4 inch thickness and they were just right. Any thicker than that and it would have been far too thick.
I have to say this pastry is beautiful. Easy to work with. Nice and flaky!
You would think that having icing sugar in it would make it sweet, but it doesn't at all. Its just right.
There is nothing like putting Christmas Music on to play and then doing some Christmas baking to put one in the mood for the Holy Holidays!
Todd went to pick the car up from being fixed while I was baking these and inhaled two of them as soon as he got in the door. They got Two Thumbs Up from him! That's a really high accolade, as he is a real connoisseur of mince pies!!!
*Festive Mince Pies*
Makes 16
100g butter (7 TBS) cut into bits
210g plain flour (1 1/2 cups)
25g icing sugar (3 TBS)
1 large free range egg yolk
2 to 3 TBS milk plus extra for glazing
300g mincemeat (10 1/2 ounces)
icing sugar for dusting
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 16 hole tartlet tin and set aside.
Sift
the flour into a bowl. Drop in the cold butter and rub it into the
flour using your finger tips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
Stir in the icing sugar and the egg holk. Stir in enough milk to make a
soft dough. Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly
until you have a smooth dough.
Shape into a
ball and then roll our 1/4 inch thick. Cut into rounds using fluted
cutters. Place into the buttered tin. Half fill each with some
mincemeat. Cut out 16 star shapes from the remaining dough and place on
top. Brush lightly with milk.
Bake in the
preheated oven for 15 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven
and leave to cool on a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar to serve.
Oh boy but these were some good. I will be baking another batch or two before Christmas and most especially on Christmas Eve! You can never have too many mince pies!
I am like my mom who never let anything go to waste.
The leftover cuttings of the pastry got balled back together and re-rolled. Mom used to do this. She would roll it out thin and spread it with butter and a healthy sprinkle of cinnamon sugar.
It would then be rolled up tightly and cut into slices and baked. The end result was delicious flaky cinnamon roll type of pastry bites that my father called Des Pets de Soeur, or loosely translated into English . . . wait for it . . . Nun's Farts.
Now what child would not be thrilled with a plate of these! We loved them! So did my dad. Bon Appetit and Happy Holidays!
I wanted to show you all a simple and easy way to decorate your Christmas Cake this year. You can seriously have it done in about half an hour. It truly is easy peasy, and I think it is really, really cute, don't you?
First you will want to assemble all of your ingredients. You will need one baked fruit cake. Mine is 8 inches in diameter. You will also need some ready rolled marzipan and ready rolled fondant icing. Don't worry if you cannot find it ready rolled, you can either buy the stuff un-rolled and roll your own, or make your own from scratch. I am going to give you the recipes below to make both the marzipan layer and the fondant. You will also need 3 TBS of apricot jam, warmed with 1 TBS of water or Brandy and pushed through a sieve to make it smooth and take out any bits. I have used three gingerbread cutters. One largish man and two smaller ones, a boy and a girl. But you can use any combination that you have in your house. You will also need some ribbons to decorate the edges around the cake or a paper frill, and some candies, etc. to decorate your gingerbread men.
Once you have everything assembled it will go like wild-fire!
It is really very, very easy!
Fasten your cake to the centre of a round cake plate/board. I used a dab of marzipan to hold it in place. If you don't want any lumpy bumpy surfaces, you can go to the trouble of filling in any holes with some extra marzipan, but I am not really bothered myself. Brush your cake all over with the seived apricot jam mixure. Take your marzipan and roll it over a rolling pin to move it without tearing it. Place it gently on top of your cake, smoothing it over the top and down the sides. Smooth the paste over the cake using the palms of
your hands, then trim with a sharp knife around the bottom edge of the cake all around. It is recommended that you wait 24 hours to let it dry, but because you are going to be cutting shapes out of the top you won't want to do that. You don't really want it too stuck to the cake when you lift the shapes off.
Now you want to brush the marzipan all over the top and sides of the cake with more of the apricot jam mixture. Roll the fondant icing over the top of a rolling pin to transfer it and then layer it on top of the marzipan, covering the cake completely and smoothing it out with your hands pressing it down gently around the sides also. Trim off any excess from the bottom and discard. Now place your cutters to where you want them on top of the cake. Press your cutter/s through the fondant and marzipan layers and remove the icing with the cutter still inserted to help give a cleaner outline. Add the gingerbread man features to the cut out shape using either cut out and shaped pieces of white fondant or fondant water icing placed in a piping bag. Marzipan shapes and sweets can be added on to and around your gingerbread man shapes for extra decoration.
I used some white piping icing to make lines and then little red balls for the eyes and buttons, which I also used some of the white piping icing to help stick them on. I cut a bow tie out of a red glace cherry for the larger gingerbread man!
He looks rather dapper don't you think! Then I used halved glace cherries and some slivers of green cherry to add some other decorative touches It doesn't quite look like holly, but I think it looks nice anyways.
I cut some ribbons and placed them around the sides of the cake. I used ball headed pins to hold them in place. Just remember when you go to serve your cake that they are there!
*Vanilla Marzipan*
Makes enough Mix the sugars and almonds in a large bowl, then rub in the vanilla seeds until even. Make a well in the middle, then tip in the eggs and citrus juice. Cut the wet ingredients into the dry with a round bladed knife. Dust the surface with icing sugar, then knead the marzipan briefly with your hands to a smooth dough. Don’t overdo it as it can get greasy. Add a bit more icing sugar if it seems too wet. Shape into a ball, then wrap and keep in a cool place until ready to cover the cake. Can be made up to 2 days in advance.
Flip the top of the circle back over your rolling pin so you can see the underside of the marzipan, then lift the pin up and lift the marzipan over the cake. Stop once you can see that the edge of the marzipan nearest you is about level with the bottom of the cake. Flop the front of the marzipan down. Smooth the paste over the cake using the palms of your hands, then trim with a sharp knife. If any cracks appear, simply pinch the paste back together and smooth. Leave to dry for at least 24 hrs, or up to 3 days, before covering with icing.
*Rolled Fondant Icing*
Makes enough to cover a large cake
1 TBS glycerine
2 TBS butter
I think it turned out really cute! I wanted to show you the neat cake carrier I have to store it as well.
Its one of those Lock Top ones. I got it quite some time ago. You put the cake on the insert part, which has handles for lifting. Then you lift your cake and put it into the cake holder and the lid clips on air tight. There is even a handle for carrying it around, out to the car, into the kitchen, etc. If you don't have one of these you might want to put it on your christmas list! I got mine at a local cook shop, but I think you can get them online at various places.
In any case I hope you enjoyed seeing our Christmas cake for this year! Bon Appetit and Happy Holidays!
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