Time to feed the Christmas Cake...

Greedy things Christmas Cakes; they do like a little drinky. So it's time to bring out the brandy:
use a skewer or cocktail stick to make some holes in the surface of the cake and drizzle in a couple of tablespoons of brandy. Wrap the cake up well again and pop it back into its cool dark storage place until next week. 

And next time, turn the cake over so that you feed it from the bottom too - that way you'll be sure to have a lovely moist well fed cake.

Three weeks to Christmas Day - hurrah!!!

It's Christmas Cake time!

Well it's been so long since I've posted a recipe, I may as well go with THE BIG ONE otherwise known as the Christmas cake of course.

I'm the only one in our house who loves a bit of Christmas cake, but I refuse to miss out on this spiced annual treat. So every year, I make myself a modest cake, safe in the knowledge that it will be far superior than any shop bought affair. Besides, nothing can replace that mellow, spiced fug coming from the oven as the cake slowly bakes...

This recipe will make one 18cm round cake which, if you must, is plenty big enough to share...

• 500g pack luxury dried fruits (Aldi luxury fruits are lovely and such good value)
• grated zest of an orange and a lemon
• 100ml brandy
• 100ml strong breakfast tea (black)
• 75g chopped nuts - whatever you prefer
• 150g soft unsalted butter
• 90g soft dark brown or molasses sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tbsp treacle
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 150g plain flour
• 75g ground almonds
• 1 tsp spice of your choice (I like a mixture of cinnamon and ginger, but you could add ground cloves or use mixed spice)

1. Grease a deep 18cm cake tin and double line with baking parchment, making sure the parchment comes up 10cm higher than the tin. You can also wrap brown paper around the tin if you are worried the cake may brown too quickly. 

2. Place the dried fruit and zests in a small saucepan with the tea and bring to the boil. Simmer  until the tea evaporates, then turn off the heat and add the brandy. Cover and leave to cool.

3. Preheat the oven to 150ºC (gas mark 2).  

4. Cream the butter and sugar and gradually beat in the eggs, treacle and almond extract.  

5. Sift the flour and spices together and mix with the ground almonds and nuts.  

6. Gently fold a spoonful of dried fruit into the creamed mixture, followed by a spoonful of the flour mix and repeat until all of the ingredients are combined.

 
7. Pour into the cake tin and level the top of the cake.

8. Bake for 2 hours (test with a skewer and bake a little longer if needed).

9. Allow to cool in the tin, then wrap tightly in the baking parchment and foil.  

10. Store in a cool dark place, and feed weekly with a tbsp brandy.

And as we get closer to Christmas, look out for my next installment on covering the cake with marzipan and icing...

Vintage French gingham - it's got the X factor

Views and admirers for my vintage French gingham cushion cover have gone crazy on Etsy and other platforms. Which makes me wonder; What is it that gives a product the X Factor?

Vintage French gingham cushion cover on Etsy

Is it the colour, the texture, the pattern. Or is it that when we see an item becoming popular, we join in to be part of the crowd? I wonder. Lets hope I can get the same reaction for my new cushion covers getting ready for launch this week. Some vintage, some contemporary. Watch this space...

Time for a smackerel?

Chocolate melting moments

Makes 20

125g softened butter, beaten well
50g icing sugar
50g cornflour
25g cocoa
100g plain flour

• Preheat the oven to 180C
• Sift the dry ingredients together and add to the softened butter
• Mix well to form a firm dough
• Roll into walnut sized pieces and place evenly spaced on a lined baking tray
• Press each piece with a damp fork to flatten a little
• Bake for 10-12 minutes
• Lift carefully from the tray and leave to cool on a rack 

Wimbledon fever!

Goodness I feel exhausted today. A combination of doing battle for an hour with a two metre long wooden Venetian blind to make it get back in its box, watching Andy Murray slog it out with David Ferrer to reach the semi-final at Wimbledon and perhaps a little too much Chardonnay for a school night...

I'm feeling the Wimbledon fever coming upon me. The second week always makes me twitchy. I can't wait for the men's semi-finals tomorrow. Come on Andy, you can do it!

I really must do some sewing. I've been spending too much time surgically attached to my laptop trying to build my social networking profile (otherwise known as entering another time zone while faffing about - before you know it hours have passed). But it's worth it in the end.

I'm working with some new fabric today. It's a contemporary floral with huge red blooms on a neutral background. I'm thinking zipped with piped edge for my cushions. I'll show you when I'm done.

Meanwhile, here's a lovely recipe for something sweet. These will get softer the longer you keep them. But I wouldn't worry; once you've tasted them, they won't be hanging around for very long!

Time for a smackerel...

Peach and Pecan Oatbakes

Makes 16

5 peaches stoned and sliced (8 slices per peach)
100g pecan nuts
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
200g butter
100g soft dark brown sugar
250g plain flour
125g porridge oats
1 tsp salt

• Preheat the oven to 200c. Grease and line a brownie tin.
• Place the peach slices, pecan nuts, maple syrup and cinnamon in a bowl and mix well.
• In a small saucepan, melt the butter and sugar together over a gentle heat until the sugar dissolves. Leave to cool a little.
• Mix together the flour, oats and salt. Pour in the melted butter and sugar and mix well.
• Press half the oat mixture into the brownie tin making sure you get right into the corners.
• Cover evenly with the peach and pecan mixture
• Add the rest of the oat mixture making sure you cover all of the peaches and pecans. Press very firmly.
• Bake for 25 minutes until rich golden brown. 
• Leave to cool for 10 minutes, cut into 16 pieces and leave in the tin to get completely cold - don't try to turn them out of the tin too soon as they'll break up.