Chocolate Yule Log

This is really simple, but everyone loves it! I make this for Christmas every year, it lasts quite a long time in a sealed tin, but the fresher the better. My mum taught me to do this when I was very young.

I use 2 chocolate swiss rolls that you can buy from any supermarket.

1. Cut one end of one of the rolls at an angle. Use a cake board or something similar for the log to sit on.
2. Use a basic chocolate buttercream to cover, ratio of 1 : 2 butter : icing sugar with lots of cocoa powder.
3. Stick the cut swiss roll end from step 1 to the other roll just below the middle of the un-cut one with some of the buttercream, this creates an irregular shape, and makes it look more like a log of wood.
4. Use a butter knife or a palette knife to spread the buttercream over the swisss rolls. Make sure every part is covered, but be careful because if it is too thick, the cake can be quite sickly.
5. Using a fork or a knife, rough-up the buttercream. This makes it look more like wood.
6. Dust with icing sugar, it looks like snow!
7. In the picture below, I made a robin to go on the top out of ready made icing, using grape stalks for the legs to stick into the cake so it stands.

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

I have made these so many times, they make lovely little trreats. The recipe was from the 'Baking Mad' website: http://www.bakingmad.com/recipes/cupcakes/lemon-meringue-cupcakes. I would highly recommend it, you can use any lemon curd you want, I make my own and keep it in the fridge so I use this.
This is how I learnt to make italian meringue and use a blowtorch, it is a more techniquely challenging recipe.

Scrummy Star-Topped Mince Pies

These are great for Christmas, you can eat them hot (re-heat in the oven) or cold. I got this recipe from Paul Hollywood's book '100 Great Breads' and added my own twist to the recipe, here it is :

Ingredients: (makes 25 pies)

For the pastry:

• 375g strong white bread flour
• 250g butter, softened
• 125g caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
• 1 medium egg
• Splash of water

For the filling:

• 2 jars good quality mincemeat
• 1/2 large tin mandarins, drained and chopped
• 2 apples, finely diced
• I add a splash of brandy too

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C (180 fan).
2. Rub the flour, suugar and egg together with a splash of water to make a paste. Don't overmix. 
3. Place the mincemeat into a bowl and blend in the mandarins and apples (and the brandy) by hand until combined.
4. Using deep muffin moulds for the pies, rip off a piece of the sweet paste and use this to line the sides and bottom of the mould (do not make it too thick, I spread it so that it is just opaque over the mould). Repeat this for all the moulds.
5. Fill each mould with a good helping of the mincemeat mixture so that it reaches 3/4 of the way up the sides of the moulds.
6. Use a rolling pin to roll out lids to top the pies, again do not make it too thick. Cut out slightly bigger than the tops of the moulds. 
7. I then cut little stars in the centre of each lid instead of pricking them with a knife, as it looks more attractive.
8. Place a lid on top of each pie and push down (I use a little brandy to stick it together). And prick the lids with a knife (if you haven't cut stars in the centre).
9. Sprinkle all the pies with caster sugar.
10. Bake in the oven for 20 mins, until golden. Then transfer onto a wire rack to cool.
11. Enjoy!

Intensely Chocolatey Hedgehog Cake

I made this for my friend's (Victoria) 16th birthday. This cake is one htat I am very proud of, as I created the recipe myself by mixing and matching and constructed it without any prior knowledge of how to do so. Everyone declaired this cake 'amazing' both in taste and looks. Here's what I did:

I used the same chocolate cake recipe that I did formy Very Chocolatey Celebration Cake although only for the basic recipe : http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1190635/bestever-chocolate-layer-cake.
However, instead of cooking in sandwich tins, I used a pudding bowl and this took longer to cook. Just keep testing with a skewer.

Then I made a chocolate buttercream, using ratio 1 : 2 butter : icing sugar plus 100g milk chocolate and cocoa powder.

I placed the cake with the wider flat side down and cut  so that it was more of an oval shape and used the excess to round the top and creat a triangular snout for the hedgehog's face (using buttercream as glue).

Next, I covered the entire cake with the buttercream and used milk chocolate buttons to create the effect of spikes for the hedgehog, see details of patterns etc from pictures below (leave the face clear). I made the eyes and nose out of roll out  icing. Finally, on the face, I roughed up the buttercream a bit so that it looks more realistic. Et voila, the chocolate hedgehog complete. Final result below:

Cat's Christmas Cake

Everyone that has tried it has said it was the best Christmas cake they have ever had, it's delicious! This was passed down to me from my nan ('granan') and uses a recipe by Zena Skinner although I have made some modifications:

Make the cake any time from October, as this allows more time for it to mature.

Ingredients:

•  12 oz currants
• 12 oz sultanas
• 8 oz raisins (California seedless)
• 3oz chopped blanched almonds
• 3 oz chopped angelica (we just use that mcuh extra candied peel)
• 4 oz quartered glace cherries
• 4 oz chopped candied peel
• 10 oz plain flour
• 10 oz butter
• 10 oz dark muscavado sugar
• 5 eggs
• Grated rind from 1 lemon
• 3 tablespoons brandy (or rum)
• 1 teaspoon mixed spice (I add extra cinnamon etc to give more flavour)
• Pinch nutmeg
• Pinch salt

Method:

• Line a 8 inch square tim with double thickness greeseproof paper/ baking parchment. Tie a band of brown paper around the sides of the tin and secure with string.
• Mix together the flour, spices and salt and set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat the eggs in one at a time, adding a tablespoon of flour with each egg.
• Add all other ingredients a little at a time exept for the brandy (or rum).
• Finally, add the brandy/ rum and some milk if it is too stiff (it is probably needed), the mixture should just drop off the spoon easily.
• Bake at 150 degrees C (130 fan) for around 3 1/2- 4 hours. Test it with a skewer, if it comes out clean and the cake is lightly brown, it is done (don't worry about holes left in the cake as it will be covered).
• Turn the cake out onto a wire rack to cool, when completely cool, wrap in greeseproof paper and seal in a tin to leave it to mature for Christamas.

The covering and decoration:

I use roll out marzipan (buy from supermarkets), but you can always make your own.

• Sive apricot jam and place in a pan. Heat it for around 5 mins, until hot then leave to cool.
• Roll out the marzipan (about 2 packets if you buy from the shops) quite thin on a icing sugar covered surface and until large enough to cover the cake.
• Use a pastry brush to cover the cake with the jam (this is so the marzipan will stick).
• Use the rolling pin to roll the marzipan around it then drape it gently over the cake. Ease it around the corners (you may have to mould it further) and smooth it over and trim the excess (use for decorations).
• Then you have to leave the cake for at least a few days for the marzipan to dry, otherwise it will ruin the cake.

I then use roll out white icing (buy from supermarkets), but you can use royal icing instead.

• Roll out the icing (about 2 packets if you buy from the shops) quite thin on a icing sugar covered surface and until large enough to cover the cake.
• Using a pastry brush, cover the marzipan-ed cake with brandy (this is so the icing will stick).
• Use the rolling pin to roll the icing around it then drape it gently over the cake. Ease it around the corners (you may have to mould it further) and smooth it over and trim the excess (use for decorations).

On this cake, I used red writing icing to pipe 'Merry Christmas' and added a red ribbon around the sides. I also made models of: santa, snowman, rudolf, penguin, presents; this was done by using leftover white icing and using food colouring. I also made marzipan stars. Below is the final result:

White Chocolate and Ginger Cheesecake

Simply delicious! I originally came upon this idea when eating in 'Wagamama', then researched the recipe at home, here is my adapted recipe: (warning, this is a big cheesecake)

Ingredients:

For the base:

• 13 oz ginger biscuits
• 2 tablespoons caster sugar
• At least 1 teaspoon ground ginger (but I use about 2-3, my family love ginger)
• 6 1/2 tablespoons melted butter

For the filling:

• 1 pound white chocolate (the better the quality, the better the cheesecake)
• 32 oz ( 4 x 8 oz packs) cream cheese
• 1/4 cup caster sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract (this helps with the white chocolate flavour)
• At least 1 teaspoon ground ginger (but I use about 2)
•  2/3 cup finely chopped ginger (the ginger in syrup you can get from supermarkets)

Method:

1. Grease a high sided (just under 3 inches) 9 inch spring form tin.
2. Wrap the outside of the tin with 2 layers of aluminium foil (this is beacause it willl be cooked in a bain marie).
3. Grind the biscuits alpong with the ground ginger and sugar by hand or in a food processor (quite finely).
4. Add the butter to the biscuit mix and mix. Press into the bottom of the tin quite firmly and chill in the fridge whilst you prepare the filling.
5. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees C (130 fan).
6. Melt the chocolate over a pan of boiling water or just in the microwave and leave to cool.
7. Beat the cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl ntil fluffy with and electric mixer. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating between each addition.
8. Beat in the vanilla and ground ginger then the melted white chocolate. Stir in the ginger.
9. Pour the filling onto the base and then place the tin tinto a roasting tin and pour in hot water (deep enough to come halfway on the cheesecake).
10. Bake in the oven for around 1 1/2 hours, or until the edges crack slightly.
11. Transfer onto a rack to cool in the tin, use a knife to go around the edges to loosen then leave to cool.
12. Remove the foil and chill the cheesecake overnight in the fridge (still in the tin).
13. Remove from the tin and put the cheesecake onto a serving plate.
14. Top with crystalised ginger or white chocolate.

Tarte Au Citron

This is May Berry's recipe from the BBC food website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/tarte_au_citron_94480. After this, I used writing icing to pipe 'Citron' on the top of the tart, as this is how you would normally find it in France. I cut thin slices of lemon and then halved them to go on top, sprinkled with icing sugar then let my family devour it! There is no need for extra lemons in this recipe, it has the perfect zing and is just right for a light summer dessert.