Wednesday 10 November 2010

Stirring up for Christmas

Last week, I got started with the Christmas Cakes and Puddings. I have had a pile of orders already for lots of different types (gluten free, nut free, etc, etc...the list goes on!) Anyway, I have already made quite a few and they are just 'sleeping' (as I like to think of it!) in their tins while I feed them regularly with Brandy in preparation for the Big Day. All this Christmas baking has made me think that the great thing about baking for a living is that you can totally and unashamadly immerse yourself in the festive spirit of things a long way before it's actually decent to do so-Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Bonfire Night...I'm thinking about them months in advance in anticipation and that's just the way I like it.


After much testing (spanning quite a few years!), I'm making my cakes and puddings to a recipe that is part -Delia, part -Rachel and part- my Mum's and I'm icing them in a variety of ways-some just with almonds dropped in before they bake like a Dundee Cake, some with glazed nuts or fruit and some with some full on sugar paste decorations that I am learning to make in my wonderful SugarCraft Night Class. I know it sounds very old fashioned but I can't recommend these classes enough if you're interested in cakes and cake decorating and general crafty things like that-all I can say is you'll be amazed what you can make with some sugar paste (pictures to follow next week when I finish my latest creation.)

3 comments:

  1. What a fabulous atmospheric and inspirational blog you have - do you mind if I follow you? xx

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  2. Hello ! Thank you so much for popping by. Your blog is lovely & your photos amazing.

    I leave ALL cake making to my teenage daughter who actually enjoys it - I'd rather cook a roast ! I like making Christmas puddings with a friend - we mix up a washingbowl full of ingriedients then divide into pudding bowls !

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  3. Your Christmas cake looks lovely. I'm not sure if I'll be making one this year. I last made one 2 years ago, baking it in what was then a new oven. It looked fine and I tested it with a skewer, but when we came to cut it, the middle wasn't cooked!

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