"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.

American Style: Snickerdoodles (Cup Measurements)

Happy New Year! My first offering of 2020 is a delicious cinnamony treat: the Snickerdoodle!

 

I meant to make these in the lead up to Christmas, as these are traditionally a holiday biscuit. But sadly for me I spent from December 19th to 31st in and out of bed with a horrible viral illness. So, a lot of my plans went right out of the window with my ability to breathe properly or eat. So, I made these during the week instead as my first baking venture of 2020.

As you know, last September I discovered the strange and enigmatic wonders of working with American cup measurements when I made whoopie pies. When I made those I thought to myself: could I design my own recipe with cups instead of ounces or grammes? That led me to this delicious creation, which was the result of much foostering and tweaking.

One thing I will impress upon you, however, is that you measure the ingredients correctly: there is, indeed, a way to properly use cups when measuring flour, caster sugar, and brown sugar.

I use Jill Selkowitz's guide to measuring flour on her website This Old Gal, where she stresses that flour must be nice and airy before measuring to get consistent results. Also, brown sugar must be compacted into the cup measurements nice and tightly to get the right results. Brown sugar is a little softer than white sugar, so the cupfuls are slightly lighter.

So, without further ado, here is the first recipe that I have ever designed to be made using American cup measurements!

INGREDIMENTS

2 cups (240 grammes) plain flour: wheat, or spelt, spooned and leveled
½ cup (105 grammes) soft light brown sugar, packed
½ cup (115 grammes) caster sugar
½ cup (115 grammes) butter
1 medium (US large) egg
½ level teaspoon (2.5 millilitres) baking soda
1 level teaspoon (5 millilitres) ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon (1 millilitre) fine salt
Optional: 1 level teaspoon (5 millilitres) ground ginger
Cinnamon sugar, to coat


METHOD

• Line one or two baking trays with non-stick baking paper, and preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, Gas Mk.4). Make sure the oven racks are in the centre of the oven.
• In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugars. Beat in the egg to get a fluffy mixture.
• Sieve in the dry ingredients and work by hand into a soft dough that is a little bit tacky.
• Divide the mixture into 12 balls, rolling each ball in cinnamon sugar to coat. Arrange the dough balls on the sheets about 2 inches (5 centimetres) apart to allow for spreading. I only have small trays so I can only fit 6 to 8 cookies on mine.
• Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, depending on how crispy or chewy you want them: shorter cooking makes chewier cookies, longer cooking makes them crispier.

Tarte au Chocolat (Metric Measurements)

Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers!

During the holiday season, we love to indulge; and there is nothing more indulgent than this French style chocolate tart, or tarte au chocolat. I've made a chocolate fudge tart in the past, which is an American style sticky sweet treat. But if you'd prefer the darker, more intense European experience of a dark chocolate baked ganache, this is for you!

I like to decorate mine with frozen berries for that frosty, wintry look. However, this can also be dusted with cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice for that quintessential Thanksgiving flavour.

~ * ^ _ ^ * ~

INGREDIMENTS

Pastry

180 grammes plain flour

120 grammes unsalted butter (or a mix of butter and margarine), soft

20 grammes icing sugar

Optional: a beaten egg

Filling

250 grammes plain chocolate, 50 to 60% cocoa

200 millilitres whole milk

50 millilitres evaporated milk, or double cream

25 grammes butter

1 medium egg, roughly 55 grammes
Frozen or fresh raspberries, to decorate

METHOD

First, bake the pastry

• Preheat the oven to 180C, and make sure the shelf is in the middle
• Make a crumbly shortbread by rubbing all the pastry ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Press the crumbly mixture into a 25 centimetre round tart tin. Keep the pastry case thin, about 2 or 3 millilitres thick, so if there is leftover dough you can make it into a biscuit or something.
• Dock the pastry all over with a fork, bottom and sides, to make sure the pastry doesn't bubble.
• Line the pastry with foil or baking paper and fill with pastry weights, like dried beans or coins. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the lining and cook for a further 10 minutes.
• If there are any dock holes in the pastry case that go through the bottom after baking, brush the pastry case with the beaten egg and pop back in the oven for about a minute.
• Allow the case to cool completely before filling.

Then, make the filling

• Preheat the oven to 150C. Break the chocolate up in a heatproof bowl. 
• In a saucepan heat the milk, evaporated milk (or cream), and butter to boiling point. Pour the hot milk mix over the chocolate and leave to stand for 3 minutes. 
• Whisk the chocolate mix until completely smooth. In a small bowl, beat the egg and add in a small amount of the hot chocolate mixture, whisking all the time. This tempers the egg so that it won't scramble.
• Add the egg back into the main chocolate mixture and stir well. Pour the filling into the case through a strainer to remove most of the bubbles. If there are any big bubbles on the surface after a gently wiggle, pop them with the corner of a piece of kitchen paper.
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. When ready, it should have a skin over the whole surface and have a gentle wiggle under the surface.
• Allow to cool completely before putting in the fridge for at least 4 hours to chill thoroughly.
• Before serving, allow to come to room temperature. This tart is best served with whipped cream and sour berries like raspberries, cherries, or blackberries.

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.

Christmas Cake Decoration Idea

Merry Christmas, everyone! In this post, I'm going to provide you not with a recipe, but with a decoration idea for Christmas cake.

I have many different Christmas cake recipes on this blog, which I will list. If rich fruit cake is not something you would like, you could make a chocolate cake, or a gingerbread spiced cake. You don't need to honour tradition every year!

This year, I decorated the cake with a little Christmas tree and presents scene, using meringues and marzipan models. I started the process three days before Christmas, and used:

• One 8 inch (22 centimetre) round rich fruit cake
• Marzipan, as prepared below
• Meringue trees, as prepared below
• One 12 ounce (350 gramme) bag of instant royal icing powder
• Red, purple, blue, green, and yellow gel colouring
• Icing sugar

To make the meringue trees, I separated one medium egg into white and yolk, and kept the yolk for a different project. I whipped the egg white with a few drops of lemon juice until it became foamy, then gradually added 2 ounces (55 grammes) of white caster sugar while whipping until it reached stiff peaks. I mixed in a few drops of green colouring gel to get a delicate slightly minty green. I lined a baking tray with non-stick paper, and put the meringue mixture into a piping bag fitted with a star tip. I piped little swirls, about an inch and a half (4 centimetres) tall, sprinkled them with coloured hundreds and thousands, and some star shaped and snowflake shaped decorations. I baked them in an oven preheated to 120°C (250°F, Gas Mk.½) for 45 minutes. When cooked, I allowed them to cool slightly on the tray before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

I made some homemade marzipan, following this recipe but upping the almond to icing sugar ratio to 3:4, as opposed to 1:1, and adding a few extra drops of water to account for the extra sugar. I used 6 ounces (170 grammes) of ground almonds, and 8 ounces (225 grames) of icing sugar.

I rolled the marzipan to a half inch (1 centimetre) thickness, cut a circle to fit the top of the cake, and fixed it to the cake with a simple icing sugar and water glaze. Using the remaining marzipan, I divided into 5 parts, colouring each part red, purple, green, blue, and yellow. Using the marzipan, I made a selection of little presents, varying from an inch (2½ centimetres) to a quarter inch (5 millilmetres) in size, and in a few different shapes, like ovals and rectangles.

I made some royal icing (from a bag; yes, I cheated) to cover the 8 inch (22 centimetre) round fruit cake. I set aside about 3 tablespoons (45 millilitres) of the icing to ice the presents, and used the rest to coat the cake. I hit the icing with the back of a metal spoon to peak it.

I arranged the trees onto the icing while it was still wet. I filled a small greaseproof icing bag with the remaining royal icing, and arranged the marzipan presents in piles, using the icing to fix them together and decorate them with a tied ribbon effect. 

After everything was fixed to the cake, I sprinkled everything lightly with some icing sugar, to simulate some now.

Here are some more photographs of the finished cake:

 

 

THIS TIME IN 2015: Gingerbread Pandas (Wheat Free with a Dairy Free Option)
THIS TIME IN 2014: A Multitude of Different Kinds of Fudge [Back Dated]
THIS TIME IN 2013: No blog