This week I’ve been very naughty. I’ve basically spent nearly all my time in the kitchen with my nose in a recipe book, preparing for the big day. I’ve baked, I’ve cooked, I’ve shopped and finally things are starting to come together. Unfortunately though, I’ve been unable to pull my brain out of recipe books for long enough to write a new recipe of my own so there’ll be no new treats today!
Let’s be honest though, do we really need a Treat Friday when we all know we’ll be eating our weight in food this weekend? I for one will be saving myself for a weekend of pure indulgence, adding Treat Friday onto that would just be greedy!
To prove that I have in fact been doing as I say, I’ve included some photos of what I’ve been up to and maybe they’ll even give you a little inspiration for your own Christmas treats!
To begin, we have the centrepiece of any Christmas baking – it’s the Christmas cake.
Ordinarily, I make a Yule log as an alternative for those who don’t like Christmas Pudding (aka mad people) on Christmas day. This year however, I decided it was time to attempt a Christmas cake. So there I was at the beginning of November, spending a fortune on dry fruits and brandy and getting everyone in the house (potentially even the dog) drunk on the alcohol fumes as I cooked. Every week I unwrapped the fruity little bundle to feed with brandy and finally today I got to decorate it! I used the Nigella Christmas (the only book you'll need for Christmas) recipe and it seems to have turned out perfectly. Well...it has yet to be tasted but it looks great!
I had planned to decorate it with star shapes cut out of white icing. Unfortunately however I couldn’t find my cookie cutter and didn’t have the patience to leave it until I’d gone to the shops to purchase another. So I improvised, making a quilted pattern in the top and side with the back of a knife and a ruler, studding the edges with silver balls which have since rolled all over the kitchen. And of course, the Christmas tree cutter got involved as you can see.
It’s probable not traditional but I think it’s pretty!
I’ve also made red-velvet whoopie pies from the HummingbirdBakery Cake Days recipe book (which I LOVE). My mother has been pestering me to make these for weeks so I thought I’d treat her, seeing as its Christmas and all! From the same book came some white chocolate fudge cookies which I may adapt for another week’s Treat Friday as they were delicious!
Then I had to make something for my older sister, who was inconveniently born on the 22nd and therefore needed a birthday cake! I chose to again use the Hummingbird Bakery Cake Days book, combining the recipe for red velvet cupcakes with an icing from candy-cane cupcakes.
Getting this effect with the icing, I have to admit, was a pain. It involved dividing the icing into two, colouring one red and then squeezing both in side by side into the piping bag. It was messy work but I think the overall effect was worth it! And yes, that it glitter but I should point out it’s edible glitter from the cake shop – don’t go poisoning yourselves with the craft stuff!
So finally, I just want to wish everyone an amazing Christmas! I’ll be back next week with a brand new recipe, I promise. For the moment though eat , drink and fill yourselves with as many treats as you possibly can – that’s what I’ll be doing!
(I just wanted to include this. My younger sister has been making it for the past three days and it has turned out fabulously – MERRY CHRISTMAS!!)
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