"Hot Toddy" Irish Coffee (Contains Alcohol)

January has come.... so dark... so wet... so dreary. According to many, the first Monday in January is the saddest day of the year. You might need a bit of a pick-me-up to help you out, and here is one full of Christmassy cheer: a "Hot Toddy" Irish Coffee!

I don't know why nobody else has thought of combining two quintessentially Christmassy whiskey cocktails, and even when I put the two things together in my head I didn't really know what it would look like. But with some brainstorming, I eventually designed an Irish coffee that's infused with the common hot toddy flavours: cinnamon, cloves, and lemon. You might be thinking "lemon? With coffee?!" but don't knock it as the Portuguese have been combining coffee with lemon for a while in their summer tipple, Mazagran.

Infusing coffee with spices or herbs is actually pretty simple if you have a French press or pour-over filter, simply pop the spices in with the coffee and as it steeps the spices will give their flavour to the finished brew. It's also fairly simple if you have a coffee capsule machine (like I do: I got myself one with some of our wedding gift money) if you pop the spices into the bottom of a warmed glass and allow the coffee to dispense onto them, then cover with a coaster and allow to brew for about 5 minutes.

Despite the fact that the Irish coffee was invented in my home county of Clare (or Limerick, depending on your sources) I had never had one until my brother made me one this Christmas. He makes his Irish coffees with a strong bias to whiskey, however this drink was originally meant to have only an ounce measure of whiskey as a night-cap.

INGREDIMENTS

For 2 servings

6 fluid ounces (170 millilitres) strong black coffee

4 whole cloves

2 inches (5 centimetres) piece of cinnamon stick, broken into small pieces

Half a teaspoon of lemon zest

Two shots (60 millilitres) Irish whiskey: Irish brands include Jameson, Bushmills, Powers, and Tullamore Dew

4 teaspoons (20 grammes) Demerara sugar

Whipped cream, to serve. I use whipped cream from a squirty can because it's convenient

Grated nutmeg, for decoration

Optional: 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) fresh lemon juice

METHOD

• Infuse the coffee with the spices and lemon zest, either by popping the aromatics with ground coffee into a French press, or putting them into the bottom of a warmed glass, pouring over the coffee, then covering with a coaster to brew for about 5 minutes.
• Use two small stemmed glasses, measuring about 6 fluid ounces (170 millilitres) each, and warm with hot water before using. 
• Divide the sugar between the glasses, and gently pour half of the whiskey into each glass without stirring.
• Gently add the coffee (making sure you've strained the spices out) by gently pouring it over the back of a teaspoon into the glasses. Irish coffee is best if the layers don't mix much.
• Top off with whipped cream and grated nutmeg.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Merry Christmas 2019, everybody!

From everyone in the Sweetie Pie household to every one of my readers, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a fabulous new year!

I've sadly in bed with flu, but I managed to muster my strength to get up and make this Yule Log for my friend Alex's birthday and go to his party for a little while on the 21st. I made this using my Swiss roll recipe, replacing half the cornflour with cocoa powder, filling and coating with a chocolate fudge icing, and topping it off with some M&M holly berries and paper leaves.

I didn't get better pictures because I had to go home before they ate it, but I hope they enjoyed it!

See you all in 2020 with more cookery experimentations, photos, and hopefully videos!

Love,

Sweetie Pie xxx

Super Fluffy Nougat Bars, and How Not to Temper Chocolate

Looking for a super sweet treat? Why not try your hand at the super fluffy nougat that you'd find in a Mars of Milky Way bar!

I won't lie: nougat isn't the easiest of sweets to make. It involves working with egg whites which are fragile and finicky, and working with boiling sugar syrup, which is also fragile and finicky. But the results are just like what you find in a nougat bar like a Snickers, and it's worth all the effort!

This is my first foray into making nougat, so it can only continue to improve! I actually wanted to learn how to make this kind of fluffy nougat so I could recreate on of my childhood classics, the strawberry Milky Way, which is no longer available in Ireland. So, watch this space for further nougat flavours!

But not only did I learn how to make this kind of nougat, but I finally started my journey with tempering chocolate, which went quite well. However, if you're going to try tempering chocolate, here are some little tips for you:

1. Don't temper chocolate in small batches! It should be done with at least 300 grammes (11 ounces) of chocolate.
2. Don't temper assorted chocolate! Stick to one kind of chocolate. Milk with milk, dark with dark, and white with white. The different chocolates need different tempering temperatures.

I used the Supervalu website directions on tempering, which worked perfectly well for me. I now just have to work out how to get rid of the streakiness, but that was probably caused by mixing chocolate.

INGREDIMENTS

2 cups (1 pound, 455 grammes) caster sugar

1 cup (12 ounces, 340 grammes) golden syrup, or golden corn syrup/glucose syrup

½ cup (4 fluid ounces, 120 millilitres) water

2 medium egg whites, room temperature

Up to ½ teaspoon salt, to taste

1 tablespoon (15 millilitres) vanilla essence

To coat
18 ounces (510 grammes) milk chocolate, tempered

METHOD

• Put the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer with whisk attachment, or into a large heatproof mixing bowl and use an electric hand whisk.
• In a medium saucepan, cook the sugar, syrup, and water, stirring as little as possible; you can swirl the pan, though. As soon as the mixture begins to boil, whip the whites to medium peaks. 
• Once the syrup reaches 120°C (248°F), take about a ¼ cup of the hot syrup and drizzle it into the whites while whipping to make a fluffy meringue with stiff peaks. Stop the mixer while you cook the rest of the syrup.
• Cook the remaining syrup up to 140°C (284°F), and then drizzle very, very, very slowly into the meringue while whipping. It'll go through some phases: first, it'll be like a big fluffy meringue, then it'll become something that is much stiffer, but still fluffy. Eventually, it'll be quite frosting-like. 
• Near the end of the whipping process, flavour the nougat with the vanilla and season with salt to taste.
• Once fully whipped, press into a 4 by 9 inch (10 by 23 centimetre) mould for thick sweets, or a 10 inch (23 centimetre) square mould for thin sweets, and set for at least 4 hours.
• Cut into fingers (I got about 16 thin sweets because I used a larger square mould, but the smaller mould will get 8 thick fingers), and dip in tempered chocolate.

A December Disaster! You Should Probably Service Your Oven......

So, on Thursday night the element in my oven went to the Big Electric Element in the Sky: my oven no longer produces heat!

Because my oven is out of action for a week or so, I can't upload any of the planned recipes until it's fixed as they were all cakes and biscuits. As such, I'll have to focus on stove top or non-cook recipes until then.

This actually gives me the opportunity to look at some ideas for sweets that I've been playing with.... watch this space!

Thanks for your patience!
Sweetie Pie xxx

Slow Cooker Mulled Wine: Happy Advent! (Metric Measurements)

Happy Advent 2019!

As 2019 draws to a close, my sister and I put up my Christmas tree. Contrary to Sweetie Pie's image, the everyday me very much likes skulls and darkness... so I have a black Christmas tree with Star Wars baubles and skully tinsel.

As part of our celebrations, I made us some deliciously festive mulled wine that was made super simple with my slow cooker! The long slow heating infuses the wine with all the delicious wintry flavours, giving a rich deep flavour.

This recipe is a twist on the good old punch formula, which you can read more about here if you haven't already!

INGREDIMENTS

700 millilitres fruity red wine

200 millilitres sweet sherry

50 grammes brown sugar

1 orange

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 cinnamon sticks

2 star anise

6 whole cloves

METHOD

• Slice half of the orange into thin strips, then squeeze the other half into the pot of a slow cooker. Add in the slices, cutting any really big slices in half, and the spices, snapping the cinnamon sticks.
• Add in the rest of the ingredients, stir well, and heat on low for about two hours, or until as hot as a nice cup of tea. Stir the wine once every so often to make sure the sugar dissolves.
• Ladle into glass mugs, or normal mugs, making sure

"Marvellous Creations" Muddie Buddies [BACK-DATED]

Looking for a delicious snack for your party entertaining! Try this American style treat with an English twist: "Marvellous Creations" Muddie Buddies!

Muddie Buddies, also known as Puppy Chow, is a Mid-Western American treat which involves coating Chex cereal in melted chocolate (and often peanut butter) and dusting the whole thing in icing sugar. Sometimes, other sweets are mixed in to make a themed puppy chow, like M&Ms or Andes Mints. The origin of this sweet treat isn't known for sure, but Chex cereal was invented in the late 1930s so it's a fairly recent creation.

Now, I know this treat is served normally at Christmas, but I think it'd be good for any large gathering, including birthdays or Halloween!

As for the "Marvellous Creations", you ask? That's where England comes into it! Cadbury has a Dairy Milk chocolate bar that has popping candy, cherry jelly beans, and coloured crispy shelled chocolates. I thought combining these two things together would make for a delicious mix and it did!

We can't get Chex in Ireland, so I used chocolate frosted Shreddies (Aldi's knock off finest!). I mixed 4 ounces (115 grammes) of these Shreddies and tossed them in 8 ounces (225 grammes) melted plain chocolate and about a tablespoon (15 millilitres) of popping candy. I mixed together 1 ounces (30 grammes) each of icing sugar and cocoa powder, and tossed the cereal until each individual piece was coated. I allowed it to set for about an hour.

I mixed small portions of the snack mix with crispy M&Ms, a variety of pink jelly beans, and sprinkled extra popping candy on top. It was lovely!

I feel that if this were tossed in icing sugar alone it would be too sweet, but if that's what you're used to knock yourself out!

"Jacob's Mikado" Cupcakes: Coconut, Raspberry, and Marshmallows

Mikadoo, doo, doo, push Pineapple shake the tree.... 

Y’all know I love Mikado biscuits. I don’t think I’ve ever done a Mikado recipe on this blog before, but I’ve probably enthused about this all-Irish treat at some point on some blog post in the past. A Mikado, produced by a company called Jacob’s, is a small rectangular biscuit topped with two parallel rows of pink marshmallow, between which is a row of tangy raspberry jam; the whole confection is dusted with desiccated coconut. Although they are available all year round, they are especially popular at Christmas time, where they’re sold in massive plastic tubs to make sure you have enough for all the guests you’ll be entertaining throughout the Christmas season. 

Mikados are just one biscuit in a range of marshmallow biscuits produced by Jacob’s: there are Coconut Creams, which are round plain biscuits topped with a splodge of coconut sprinkled marshmallow (which are either pink or white); and there are Kimberleys, which are a sandwich biscuit made of gingerbread and marshmallow, the exposed edges of which are encrusted with coarse white sugar crystals. And all of these, of course, come in a chocolate coated variety for greater indulgence at special occasions (there’s even a triple chocolate Kimberley, where the biscuit and the marshmallow within the chocolate coating are also cocoa flavour. It’s sinfully delicious). 

This simple combination of plain, buttery biscuit, jam, marshmallow and coconut is easily adapted to all sorts of baked goods, including these here cupcakes! These are a nice vanilla almond cake (a flavour which is commonly referred to as “birthday cake” flavour in the States, sans the sprinkles) filled with seedless raspberry jam and topped with pillowy 7-minute frosting, before being dunked in desiccated coconut. The whole thing is then crowned with a Mikado. 

I make 7-minute frosting by mixing 2 egg whites, 2 tablespoons of water, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, and 8 ounces of caster sugar in a heatproof bowl. I then gently heat this over simmering water until the sugar dissolves and it’s warm to the touch. I take it off the heat and whip it with an electric hand mixer for a full 7 minutes, until it is marshmallowy light and cool to the touch. This is easily flavoured and coloured: in hindsight, I should have coloured mine pink to mirror the biscuits, but the white it also pretty; I flavoured mine with vanilla. 

This is best eaten within three days, as after three days the icing turns all dusty as the sugar re-crystalises. To avoid this, you can replace up to a third of the sugar with glucose syrup. 

Frohe Weihnachten! Part 4: Marzipan Slices

Frohe Weihnachten! I present to you the fourth part in a series on German-style Christmas biscuits: delicious marzipan filled biscuit slices!

From my personal observation, Germany loves Christmas, and Germany loves marzipan. It makes perfect sense, then, that Germans would combine the two to make delicious Christmas marzipan biscuits.

These started off life as a different concept, but evolved. Here, you see they are individually sliced biscuits, in a slice-and-bake style. However, my first attempt at these was based on German recipes that I read online, that instructed the baker to cook the whole filled log and slice it after baking. This technique was unsuccessful; twice. I found that chilling the log entirely then slicing it made for much nicer looking biscuits. Maybe I just wasn't using the right kind of pastry, or the correct oven temperature. Either way, I prefer the slice and bake method.

As you can see on mine, the marzipan isn't entirely in the centre. Be careful when you're wrapping the biscuit pastry around the marzipan log.

INGREDIMENTS

6 ounces (170 grammes) salted butter, at room temperature

6 ounces (170 grammes) caster sugar

1 medium egg

12 ounces (340 grammes) plain white flour: spelt, wheat, or gluten-free

2 tsps vanilla essence

1/2 tsp almond essence

A pinch of salt

1 pound (455 grammes) white marzipan, tinted in different Christmassy colours

METHOD

• In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolk and essences until fully incorporated.
• Sieve in the flour and salt and mix in by hand or with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together. It will be slightly dry, but don't worry: that's what gives them such a delicate, sandy texture.
• Flatten into a disc and wrap in cling film, and chill for half an hour, until it's firm to the touch.
• Divide the marzipan into two or more Christmassy colours, and roll into ropes. Use the coloured ropes to make a larger twisted rope about an inch (2.5 centimetres) thick. Just play with it until it's the right thickness.
• On a floured surface, roll the dough to a quarter-inch (5 millimetres) thick, and as wide as the marzipan rope is long, trimming the edges if needed. Brush the marzipan rope with water and place on the edge of the dough sheet. Roll up the marzipan with the dough until is it evenly wrapped; trim the excess. Depending on your shaping and sizing, you might have enough dough leftover to make a few cut-outs.
• Wrap up the whole roll in cling film and chill completely, at least 2 hours or even overnight. 
• Once the dough is chilled, preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F, Gas Mk.2). Line one or two flat baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
• Slice the dough log into half-inch (1 centimetre) slices and place on the baking sheet(s) about an inch (2.5 centimetres) apart.
• Bake for 12 minutes, turning the tray(s) around halfway through cooking. Remove from the oven, and allow the biscuits to cool for 5 minutes before transferring the biscuits to a wire rack: the marzipan filling is very soft and sticky immediately after coming out of the oven, so it will get completely messed up if you try to transfer them immediately.

Frohe Weihnachten! Part 3: Meringue Jam Rings (Butterplӓtzchen mit Baiserringen)

Frohe Weihnachten! I present to you the third part in a series on German-style Christmas biscuits: buttery biscuits, with a delicious filled meringue rings!

I came across this idea when I was surfing the web for different kinds of biscuits. I saw one small picture of these in a sea of Google images. As such, I couldn't really find a good reliable recipe, not even on any German websites (yes; I speak a little German). So, I kinda had to wing it: I added a little more sugar than usual to a basic meringue mixture to get it to crisp faster in the oven, and surprisingly it actually worked.

Sweet and buttery almond-hinted biscuits, crowned with a ring of vanilla meringue, and filled with a variety of jam, lemon curd, chocolate and caramel. What's not to like? Even people who don't really like meringue, including my fiancé, have admitted to liking these when I have fed them with the promise of "I swear it doesn't taste like meringue!" The lemon ones are particularly nice, because it's like single serving of lemon meringue pie.

DIFFICULTY

Intermediate: has a few fiddly steps

INGREDIMENTS

Makes 12 biscuits

For biscuit dough

2 ounces (55 grammes) caster sugar

2 ounces (55 grammes) butter, at room temperature

1 medium egg yolk

4 ounces (115 grammes) plain white flour: spelt, wheat, gluten-free

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

A few drops of almond essence

A pinch of salt

For meringue rings

1 medium egg white

3 ounces (85 grammes) caster sugar

A few drops of lemon juice

A pinch of salt

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Fillings of your choice: fruit jam, lemon curd, caramel, chocolate ganache, vanilla custard, frangipane etc.

METHOD

First, make the biscuits

• In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolk and essences until fully incorporated.
• Sieve in the flour and salt and mix in by hand or with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together. It will be slightly dry, but don't worry: that's what gives them such a delicate, sandy texture.
• Flatten into a disc and wrap in cling film, and chill for half an hour, until it's firm to the touch.
• Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F, Gas Mk.2). Line one or two flat baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
• On a floured work surface, roll the pastry to just under a quarter-inch (about 4 millimetres) thick and cut out 3-inch (7.5 centimetre) rounds, re-rolling the scraps. You should get about 12 biscuits.
• Bake in the centre of the preheated oven for 10 minutes, turning the trays halfway through. The biscuits should just be starting to turn golden around the edges.
• Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before starting the meringues.

To make the meringues

• Lower the oven temperature to 100°C (210°F, Gas Mk.½).
• In a heat proof bowl over a pan of hot water, stir the egg white, sugar, salt, and lemon juice until the sugar has completely dissolved and the mixture is warm to the touch.
• Remove from the heat and whip on high speed with an electric mixer to make a meringue which holds stiff peaks and is cool to the touch. Beat in the vanilla essence
• Fit a piping bag with a star-shaped nozzle and pipe a ring of meringue on the top of every biscuit. Place back on the baking tray and bake for 1 hour on the centre shelf.
• Halfway through cooking, fill the centres with half a teaspoon of filling (except for chocolate ganache, which should be added after cooking, and never cooked in the oven). This will help the filling set a little.
• Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack before serving.

STORAGE

Store in an airtight container at room temperature, or in the fridge, for up to a week.

Frohe Weihnachten! Part 2: Pinwheels

Frohe Weihnachten! I present to you this second part in a series on German-style Christmas biscuits: two-tone pinwheels!

Everyone knows how to make biscuit pinwheels, so this isn't a demo; this is merely me sharing one of my creations that I made. These are made using chocolate and vanilla flavoured doughs, but you could use anything you like.

One thing I will say though, is that I think it looks prettier if the outer layer is slightly longer than the inner layer, giving it an enclosed look. Also, having one very thin layer and a thicker layer adds a degree of visual interest.

These are made using the exact same dough as the sandwiches, which is a lovely versatile dough mixture of 6 ounces (170 grammes) each of caster sugar and butter, beaten together, followed by 1 medium egg, and 12 ounces (340 grammes) of plain flour and whatever flavouring you like. The chocolate dough has one eighth of the flour replaced with cocoa powder.

Frohe Weihnachten! Part 1: Sandwich Biscuits

Frohe Weihnachten! I present to you the first part in a series on German-style Christmas biscuits!

Last year I planned on doing a whole series of German-inspired Christmas biscuits, but I never got the opportunity. So, this year I'm gonna put that to rights! I'm kicking off the season of biscuits with a delicious selection of sandwiches.

This is just a show-and-tell because making biscuit sandwiches is something pretty much any home cook can make. You just choose your favourite buttery cut-out biscuit recipe, like shortbread or plain biscuits, make some tiny cut-outs, and fill them with some icing, ganache, caramel, or jam.

As you can see in this picture, I made a variety of shaped tiny biscuits: these are only about an inch (2½ centimetres) or so wide and about quarter of an inch (5 millimetres) thick, and I have hearts, fluted rounds, snowflakes (even though they look like stars), flowers, and bells. I made a small batch of biscuit mixture of 3 ounces (85 grammes) caster sugar, 3 ounces (85 grammes) salted butter at room temperature, half a medium egg, and 6 ounces (170 grammes) plain white spelt flour. I flavoured it with vanilla essence and almond essence. This amount made about 48 biscuits, or 24 pairs. One pair was sacrificed to quality control before filling....

Each shape was supposed to have a different flavour of filling inside, but after a few biscuits that went out the window. I used chocolate buttercream, lemon curd buttercream, vanilla buttercream (using real vanilla pods), some Araquipe dulce de leche (yes, it's still leftover since my brother got back from Ecuador in August), and some good old fashioned strawberry jam.

After a little trip in the fridge, I dipped the tops of every flavour bar the caramel and jam ones in chocolate. I mixed a little sunflower oil into some white and dark chocolate, and some vanilla seeds into the white chocolate. Once I had dipped some of chocolate-filled ones in dark chocolate, and all the vanilla- and lemon filled ones in white chocolate, I marbled the remaining chocolates together to dip the remaining chocolate filled ones. I dusted the lemon ones with edible gold dust just for visual interest.

So there you have it! A special little treat for someone special in your life this Christmas, or even just for the table after dinner. Keep an eye out for the next few creations! :)

Death By Chocolate Trifle, Ditch the Jelly and Sherry!

I absolutely, completely hate trifle: the jelly (which I hate in general) soaked into the sponge fingers has the most revolting texture, the canned fruit cocktail is abysmal, and cold custard.... oh, cold custard. My brother and my Dad love it (sans the sherry, because neither of them drinks), but I find it disgusting.

However! There are alternatives to traditional trifle for those who, like me, despise its very existence. At the end of the day, a trifle is simply a layered dessert which includes cream, cake soaked in a flavoured syrup, and some sort of other filling like custard and/or jelly and/or mousse. Once you know the basic formula, the ideas generate themselves.

In this trifle, I chopped two chocolate brownies into little cubes and sprinkled them with a simple syrup flavoured with peppermint vodka (which I made myself). I prepared some chocolate custard following this recipe.

I made a rich chocolate mousse by separating one medium (US large) egg, placing the white in a bowl for whipping, and setting the yolk aside. In a heatproof bowl over a pan of warm water I melted 1 ounce (30 grammes) of plain chocolate and 1 ounce (30 grammes) of unsalted butter. I then quickly beat in the egg yolk and heated it while stirring for a minute.

I whipped the egg white with 1 ounce (30 grammes) of caster sugar to form a stiff peaking meringue. I folded a third of the meringue into the chocolate, then poured the now-lightened chocolate mixture into the rest of the meringue and folded through completely.

In two 10 ounce (280 millilitre) high-ball glasses, I divided the mousse and allowed it to set in the fridge for about half an hour before adding in the brownie pieces, the custard, and then finally some whipped cream with I had lightly sweetened with caster sugar and swirled with a little red food colouring for a festive feel.

One of these trifles is enough to share between two people, so you can divide the mixture among four tumblers or dessert glasses if you prefer!

If chocolate isn't your thing, you can:

• Make individual tiramisu desserts, soaking lady fingers in coffee- and rum flavoured simple syrup, a traditional light marscapone mousse, and some whipped cream.
• Layer slices of jammy Swiss roll with strawberry mousse (like Angel Delight) and cream.
• Gently sprinkle some gingerbread slices with rum and layer with some thick caramel and whipped cream.

However you make your trifle, be sure to keep it in the fridge for no more than 3 days.

Buon Natale! Orange Amaretti: Italian Almond Macaroons (Gluten- and Dairy Free)

And thus, our Advent-ure (get it?) around Central Europe will begin with a trip to Italy! Here is my take on a simple Italian seasonal treat: amaretti, with a hint of orange!

Essentially, an amaretto is an almond macaroon and a lot of Central European countries have a version of nut macaroons and coconut macaroons. In Germany, there are kokosmakronen (coconut), mandelmakronen (almond), and haselnussmakronen (hazelnut); in France, you have the iconic macarons, which are much more delicate and technical than its cousins in other countries; and in Hungary, there are kókuszcsók (coconut). Here in Ireland, coconut macaroons are definitely more popular than the almond variety.

Making amaretti doesn't really need a recipe, as it's just a combination of egg whites, sugar, and almonds. To make them, simply make a stiff meringue with 3 ounces (85 grammes) of caster sugar for each medium (US large) egg white. Add in orange zest and almond essence to taste, and enough orange food colouring gel to get a nice pastel shade, and then fold in 3 ounces (85 grammes) of ground almonds for each egg white.

Fit a disposable piping bag with a half-inch (1 centimetre) round nozzle, and fill the bag with the mixture. Pipe the biscuits onto non-stick paper lined baking sheets, making each biscuit into a mound about an inch or so tall and wide.

Bake in an oven preheated to 150°C (300°F, Gas Mk.2) for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the biscuits are crisp and dry to the touch. Allow to cool slightly on the trays before gently peeling off and tranferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with a little icing sugar to serve.

These keep very well in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

メリークリスマス! Japanese Christmas Strawberry Shortcake

So, on my Facebook page, I recently announced that this December would be one without traditional dried fruit recipes: no mince pies, no fruit cake, no pudding, et cetera! This led me to do an awful lot of research into the Christmas food traditions of various nations from all over Eurasia, particularly Central Europe, and I was considerably educated!

However, before we delve into the Christmas traditional vitals of the central Europeans, here is an offering from the far East: Japanese Strawberry Shortcake!

From my superficial research, I was surprised to discover that mainstream Christmas celebrations weren't common in Japan until the American occupation after World War II, as such Japan doesn't have much of a Christmas food culture. Christmas is a primarily commercial affair to the mostly-Buddhist Japanese, and there aren't many particular foods that are associated with the event.

In all of my Pinterest surfing and Google searching had one cake in common, however: strawberry shortcake, called いちごのショートケーキ (ichigo no shōtokēki). This confection comprises of two light fluffy sponges (sometimes tinted pink) brushed with liqueur-scented syrup, sandwiching a sweetened whipped cream and fresh strawberry filling, iced with more cream and fresh strawberries.


While soaking cake in alcohol is very much a Christmas thing, the rest of it is something I'd associate more with a summer time dessert. And even the name is not fully correct, as the word "shortcake" refers to a cake which has a high butter or fat content, which this cake certainly does not as a (mostly) fatless sponge. Most articles say that this cake is a common generic celebration cake in Japan, and as such is eaten at Christmas as a celebratory food. I suppose this is a case of East is East, West is West, and ne'er the twain shall meet.

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DIFFICULTY

Each step is simple, but there are a lot of steps

TIME

About 2 or 3 hours

RECIPE RATING

Intermediate

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INGREDIMENTS

For one 7x11 inch (18x28 centimetre) rectangular cake

3 medium (US large) eggs

3 ounces (85 grammes) caster sugar

3 tablespoons (45 millilitres) sunflower oil

3 tablespoons (45 millilitres) milk, cream, or Baileys Irish Cream, or milk alternative

3 ounces (85 grammes) plain spelt flour

1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) vanilla essence

A few drops almond essence

Pink or red food colouring

Simple syrup

2 tablespoons (30 grammes) caster sugar

2 tablespoons (30 millilitres) water

Optional: 1 tablespoon (15 millilitres) liqueur of choice: Kirsch, rum, brandy, amaretto, Baileys Irish Cream

The liqueur can be replaced with a few drops of almond essence

Whipped cream and strawberry filling

3 ounces (85 grammes) strawberries, stems removed and cut into quarters

1 teaspoon (5 grammes) caster sugar

9 fluid ounces (250 millilitres) whipping cream

2 tablespoons (15 grammes) icing sugar

2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) vanilla essence

A few drops of almond essence

6 whole strawberries, stems removed and cut in half

Optional: 1 tablespoon (15 millilitres) Baileys Irish Cream

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FREE FROM

Wheat, yeast, nuts

CONTAINS

Eggs, spelt, dairy (dairy free option in italics), refined sugar

~~ ^ _ ^ ~~

METHOD

First, make the cake

• Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F, Gas Mk.4). Lightly grease a 7x11 inch (18x28 centimetre) rectangular tin, and line with non-stick baking paper.
• Prepare the cake according to this recipe, adding the essences and enough food colouring to make a delicately pink mixture. Once baked, remove the paper and allow to cool completely.

Prepare the syrup

• Mix the sugar and water together in a jug or mug, and heat in the microwave for 1 minute on high, until the sugar has dissolved completely in the water.
• Mix in the liqueur, and allow to cool slightly until just warm. If you don't want to use alcohol, add in a few drops of vanilla and almond essences.

Prepare the strawberries and cream

• In a bowl, toss the quartered strawberries with the caster sugar and allow to sit for 10 minutes. The sugar will transform into a delicious syrup and the strawberries will become juicy.
• Whip the cream with the icing sugar, vanilla, and almond essences to soft peaks in a cold mixing bowl. Take about 3 ounces (85 grammes) of the cream and fold into the juicy strawberries.
• Keep the remaining cream and the strawberry cream in the fridge while you prepare the cake for assembly.

Now, assemble the masterpiece!

• Cut the cake in half to make two 7x5½ inch (18x14 centimetre) cakes. Brush liberally with the simple syrup to soak the surface. 
• On a serving plate, sandwich the two cakes together with the strawberry cream, spreading the filling to the edges. Press together gently, and chill for an hour.
• Take out of the fridge and trim the crusts; your cake will be reduced in size to roughly 6x5 inches (15x13 centimetre). Enjoy the cut offs!
• Ice with the remaining cream, smoothing to your liking, and then decorate with the halved strawberries.
• Chill for about 2 hours before serving. This cake can be cut into 12 little squares, or 6 fingers.

STORAGE

This cake will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for 3 days.

Last-Minute Traditional Christmas Cake, with Spelt (Alcohol-, Dairy-, and Gluten Free Option)

Happy 300th blog! And I thought that something befitting a celebration would be in order for this momentous post, so I bring you last-minute Christmas cake!

If any online article these days is to be believed, making a Christmas cake is a load of palaver: soak the fruit, bake the cake, store for three months feeding with alcohol, etc. In some respects it's off putting due to complexity, but it also leads people to believe that a Christmas cake can only be made three months in advance of the event, and there's no last minute option if you forgot to make your cake in September.

But fear not! A cake only needs to be made that far in advance if you plan to feed it with brandy or whiskey, and if you don't plan on doing that it can be made as soon as a week before Christmas. In fact, a Christmas cake made at any other time of year is just a very fruity fruit cake, which is a recipe found in nearly every cookery book published.

So, please, do not worry if you find yourself a week before Christmas without a cake: just follow this simple recipe. The only time consuming aspect of this cake is waiting for the fruit to soak overnight in tea and orange zest.

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DIFFICULTY

Lining the tin is a little fiddly, but the cake is very simple

TIME

4 hours, plus an overnight chill

RECIPE RATING

Easy!

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INGREDIMENTS

For fruit preparation

1½ pounds (680 grammes) dried fruit: sultanas, raisins, glacé cherries, candied peel, candied ginger, currants, prunes, apricots, etc.

Juice and zest of an orange

Zest of a lemon

4floz strong black or earl grey tea, or sherry, brandy, whiskey, or spiced rum

For cake mixture

8 ounces (225 grammes) plain spelt flour, or gluten free plain flour

2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) ground ginger

 ½ teaspoon (2½ millilitres) ground coriander

 ½ teaspoon (2½ millilitres) ground mixed spice

¼ teaspoon (1 millilitres) ground cloves

Pinch of salt

8 ounces (225 grammes) soft butter, or baking margarine

8 ounces (225 grammes) brown sugar

4 medium (US large) eggs, at room temperature

2 ounces (55 grammes) ground almonds

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FREE FROM

Spelt, yeast

CONTAINS

Eggs, spelt, dairy (dairy free option in italics), nuts, refined sugar

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METHOD

First, prepare the fruit

• In a large saucepan, place the fruit, orange juice and zest, lemon zest, and tea (or spirits) and heat gently until it begins to simmer, stirring continuously. Once simmering, remove from the heat.
• Pour into a large glass bowl and allow to cool to room temperature. Cover with cling film, and then allow to soak overnight.

The next day, make the cake

• Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F, Gas Mk.2), and grease and double-line a 9 inch (22 centimetre) round deep cake tin, about 3 inches (7½ centimetres) deep.
• Onto a large piece of baking paper, sieve the flour, the spices, and the salt. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, cream the soft butter, or margarine, and sugar together very well with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
• Beat the eggs in a jug, and beat into the butter and sugar in several additions, beating for at least 30 seconds after each addition. It helps if you beat the eggs for a bit where they're added to the bowl before mixing around the whole bowl to fully incorporate the eggs.
• Beat in the ground almonds and a quarter of the flour mixture only until there is no more visible dry flour. Using a metal spoon for a silicone spatula, fold in all the fruit and any leftover soaking liquid.
• Sieve in the remaining flour and fold through thoroughly with the spoon or spatula, until there is no dry flour left and the mixture is smooth and soft. 
• Pour into the tin, and bake on the centre shelf for 2½ hours, or longer if needed. It'll be done when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out completely clean. If it's browning too quickly on top, cover with a layer of tin foil.
• Turn off the oven and cool down inside to room temperature. Once at room temperature, remove from the tin, and peel off all the paper.
• Store in an airtight container for 5 days before coating with marzipan and icing. 

STORAGE

Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. This cake can also be frozen for up to a year: just wrap in a layer greaseproof paper, a layer of foil, then finally a double layer of cling film before freezing.