Iced Christmas Trees

These are the simplest things in the world to make!
Take some ice-cream cones and fill with chocolate buttons/jelly-beans/M&M's, etc.Then take some green icing and seal the bottom with a plain, round biscuit.
Coat the whole cone with icing and decorate with dragees, or roll in sprinkles.
Sandwich two oreos together with a little icing. And with a little more icing on the top, attach the cone to the top.
Voila! Iced Christmas trees!

Halloween/Bonfire Night recipes

Light Gingerbread.


Pumpkin soup (serves 4)

Ingredients

1 teaspoon oil
2 medium leeks (700g), chopped coarsely
2 cloves garlic, quartered
Approx. 800g pumpkin or butternut squash chopped coarsely
1 litre chicken or vegetable stock
160ml light evaporated milk
4 tablespoons finely chopped fresh coriander (optional)

Method

1. Heat oil in large saucepan; cook leek and garlic, stirring, until leek softens. Add pumpkin or squash, and stock; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat; simmer, covered, 15 minutes or until pumpkin softens.

2. Blend or process the soup, until smooth. Simmer, uncovered, until soup thickens slightly. Add evaporated milk and coriander (if using); stir, without boiling, until heated through.

3. Divide soup among serving bowls; top with fresh coriander leaves, if desired.

Banana Chocolate cake

Banana and Chocolate cake

A ‘healthy’ cake for parents and kids to make together and so simple there is no excuse not to make it! It’s great fun too as all the ingredients are squashed together with a potato masher! 
If you're making it on your own, it works just as well in the food-processor.

Preparation: 20 minutes. 
Cooking time: approx. 1 hour. 



INGREDIENTS 

450 g. self-raising flour 

1 level teaspoon Bicarbonate of soda 

325 g. soft brown sugar 

175 g. butter or margarine, softened 

3 large eggs 

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

6 ripe bananas 

6-8 tablespoons milk 

200 g. chocolate chips or a bar of good quality milk chocolate 

(each square cut into about four pieces) 


METHOD

1. Grease and line a small roasting tin, roughly 25 x 30 cms. 

2. Measure the dry ingredients and put everything into a bowl except the milk and chocolate.

3. Mash away using a potato masher, squashing and mixing all the ingredients well. 

4. Add enough milk to make a soft dropping consistency and then stir in the lumps of chocolate (if you can’t be bothered to chop up all the chocolate, you can melt it with a tablespoon of milk, and add it that way).

5. Put the mixture into the tin and bake at about 160°C for about an hour or until the cake is cooked through, yet moist.

Jelly Oranges? Orange Jellies? - You work it out!

These are a family favourite! We always make them for Birthday parties, but they're also good for picnics, barbecues, cake sales, etc. However, if possible, it's better to transport them as they are and slice them up in situ, as the jelly can fall out of the wedges on bumpy journeys!
Start by chopping your oranges in half, and juicing them. Be sure to keep the shell intact.
Using a teaspoon, gently scrape the remaining pith and fiber away until you are left with a clean half-orange peel shell.
Place these in a tray and make up your jelly/jello according to instructions. You may want to use slightly less water to encourage a firmer jelly.
Refrigerate for a few hours, or overnight, to allow jelly to set.
Then slice into wedges, and serve.

For those with a cholesterol deficiency!

PEANUT BUTTER, BANANA, AND CHOCOLATE CAKE



For the Cake
110g (4oz) luxury Continental Belgian dark chocolate (75per cent cocoa solids)
1 x 227g jar Whole Earth organic crunchy peanut butter
250g (9oz) unsalted butter, softened
500g (1lb 2oz) light muscovado sugar
5 large eggs
120ml (4fl oz) milk
225g (8oz) plain flour
2 rounded teaspoons baking powder
1 x 125g pack dried banana chips, roughly chopped or 100g chopped banana
Salt

For the Icing
25g (1 oz) unsalted butter
2 as-they-come tablespoons smooth peanut butter
3 tablespoons pure Canadian maple syrup
175g (6 oz) luxury Continental Belgian dark chocolate (75 per cent cocoa solids)

You will also need
A well-buttered ring tin, such as a kugelhopf or savarin tin, with a capacity of at least 2.6 litres (4 ½ pints), or measuring 23cm (9 in) in diameter and 9cm (3½in) deep.

It is easiest to make this cake in a food mixer or processor.



Start by making the cake. Preheat the oven to 170'C, 325"F, gas mark 3. Break up the chocolate into small pieces and melt it in a bain-marie, a bowl suspended over barely simmering water or in the microwave. Meanwhile, beat the peanut butter, butter and sugar in a food mixer for about 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
In a jug, whisk the eggs with the milk until thoroughly combined, then sift the flour, baking powder and ½ a level teaspoon of salt into a bowl and mix until thoroughly combined.
Now, with the machine running, add about a quarter of the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture.
Once it is incorporated, pour in about a quarter of the egg mixture.
After 10 seconds, add more egg and milk, and continue alternating flour and egg mixture until you have used them up. The finished batter should be thick , soft and floppy.
Transfer about half the cake batter into another bowl. Now, stir the dried banana chips or sliced banana(if using) into one bowl of the cake batter, and the melted chocolate into the other, making sure that the chocolate is mixed in well. Using a very large spoon, dollop alternate mounds of banana cake mixture and chocolate cake mixture into the tin, then drag a skewer or knife lightly through the whole cake to create a marbled effect when the cake is cut. Put the cake tin on the bottom shelf of the oven and bake for 30 minutes, then cover the cake with a piece of baking parchment and continue to cook for a further 30-40 minutes, or until the cake is risen but firm and springy when you press it. Remove the cake from the oven and leave it in the tin for 15 minutes, before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the icing, melt the ingredients with 1-2 tablespoons of hot water in a small pan over a very low heat, and whisk until smooth.
Cool, until it is barely liquid, then pour it over the cake, using a palette knife to help spread the icing evenly.
Leave the cake in a cool place, but not the fridge, until the icing has set.
This cake should be eaten immediately with lots of other people, but will keep for several days in an airtight container.

Marmalade!

Sorry I've been so useless about posting recipes!
Anyway, here we go:




SEVILLE ORANGE MARMALADE
GUEST FAMILY RECIPE

3 lbs Seville Oranges
Juice of 2 lemons
6 pints of water
6 lbs granulated or preserving sugar

(makes about 10lbs)

1. Wash, rinse jars – place in cool over to dry out.
2. Scrub fruit – halve and squeeze juice – strain through nylon sieve into pan
3. Spoon out pulp and pips and put in square of muslin and tie with string – put in pan with juice
4. Thinly slice peel (or use cutter on Magimix) add to juice and pulp in pan.
5. Add water and bring to the boil
6. Boil gently uncovered until peel is soft when squeezed between finger and thumb (start trying after 45 mins, more likely an hour -Nigel Slater says organic oranges take less time)
7. When soft – remove muslin bag and squeeze to get as much liquid out into the pan.
8. Add sugar gradually and stir with wooden spoon to make sure it dissolves – takes a few minutes.
9. When sugar has all dissolved bring to a rolling boil and boil rapidly until setting point reached – try on cold saucer after 20 mins.
10. Remove from heat, skim if necessary.
11. Leave to cool for 10 mins.
12. Ladle or pour into warmed jars, cover, and label.

Stuff to do with pumpkins! And a hedgehog!

This is the best use I've found for all the pumkin left over from the jack-o-lanterns!

Spiced Pumpkin Waffles
Ingredients:

285g plain flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
Pinch of salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 eggs
55g brown sugar
250g cooked pumpkin or squash (fresh or canned)
375ml milk
55g melted butter or vegetable oil
Zest of 1 orange

Method:

1. Put eggs, sugar, pumpkin, butter and orange zest into a bowl and mix well.
2. Add dry ingredients. Mix well.
3. Leave batter for 5 minutes while waffle iron warms up before using.

Enjoy!

Tip: If you use fresh squash or pumpkin; grate it, and use a clean cloth or sieve to squeeze out any excess juice. This will stop the waffles being too heavy.

Or, you can make:

Spiced Pumpkin Cake


For the cake
300g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp ground cloves
75g dried currants
75g walnuts, chopped
125g unsalted butter, softened, plus little extra to grease
280g molasses cane sugar (or light brown sugar)
2 large free-range eggs, lightly beaten
300g tinned pumpkin purée
50ml whole milk

For the cream-cheese frosting
125g unsalted butter, softened
200g cream cheese
45g icing sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Finely grated zest of 1 orange

1 Preheat oven to 180C/Gas 4. Line the bases of two 20cm round cake tins with baking parchment. Lightly grease the sides of the tins with butter.
2 Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and ground spices together into a large bowl. In a small bowl, stir together the currants and walnuts with a tablespoon of the flour mixture.
3 Using an electric mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Whisk in the sugar. Gradually beat in the eggs, adding a little at a time. If the mixture threatens to curdle, mix in a tablespoon of the flour. Fold in the flour mixture alternately with the pumpkin purée in two batches. Finally, fold in the milk, followed by the currants and walnuts.
4 Divide and spread the batter equally between the prepared cake tins. Do not worry if the batter only comes up to half the height of the tin. Bake in the middle shelf of the oven for about 25 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cakes comes out clean. You can also tell that the cake is ready when the sides begin to separate from the edges of the pan.
5 Let the cakes cool for 10 minutes, then invert on to a wire rack and peel off the baking parchments. Leave to cool completely.
6 For the frosting, beat the butter, cream cheese and icing sugar together until smooth and creamy. Add the orange zest and vanilla and mix well. Place one cake on a serving plate, bottom side up. Spread half the frosting over with a spatula or a palette knife. Sandwich with the other cake, bottom side down, then smooth the remaining icing on top. Cut into slices to serve, and chill leftovers in a covered container.

And also:

Hedgehog Recipe

This is a family recipe that my mum used to make for special occasions. We've always called it hedgehog, but it's a bit like an English version of tiramisu! It's very rich so you only need a small piece.

Serves 4
• 1 packet of chocolate chip cookies
• 1 small tub of double/whipping cream
• strong black coffee (2 tsp of instant coffee with about 50ml of boiling water)
• 1/2 pack of flaked almonds or a small bag of chocolate buttons
Make the coffee up and allow to cool, then pour into a shallow bowl.
Whip the cream in another bowl.
Take one cookie and dunk into the cold coffee, so both sides are coated. Lay the cookie on a serving plate. Spread the cookie with a small blob of cream.
Dunk the next cookie into the coffee and sandwich it onto the first one.
Repeat until all the cookies have been dunked and stuck together, so you have a long roll of cookies all sandwiched together with cream.
Cover with cling film or foil and put into the fridge for a couple of hours, so that the cookies can absorb the coffee.

After a couple of hours, completely cover the cookies with the rest of the whipped cream.
Then decorate the pudding by sticking in the flaked almonds or chocolate buttons, so that they look like the prickles of a hedgehog! (alternatively you could sprinkle it with crushed chocolate flake).
The pudding can be chilled for a further couple of hours before serving.
Serve on its own or with extra cream.

Variations

For a larger hedgehog, double the ingredients and put the two rows of cookies side by side, before covering with the cream.
For an adult’s version, you can put a tbsp of Tia Maria or Amaretto into the black coffee.