Nutella mince pies, now this is a delightful way to shake up your festive routine. In our house, we always make a batch or two of mince pies, often on Christmas Eve, and they’re such a comforting nostalgic bake that I can’t see this changing …
Oh my, these are just the most deliciously indulgent easy peasy cheesy snacks out there. Think no fuss savoury doughnuts filled with mozzarella and you get the idea. Mozzarella dough bites are made with a handful of ingredients and don’t require yeast, so don’t need …
Cranberry and apple curd. Goodness, this is a special, no fuss seasonal joy of a recipe. It’s the sort of make ahead recipe, similar to chutneys, that you can serve with so many things and it just makes everything taste that much better and more festive too. Cranberries and apples go so well together and with the orange and cinnamon it is a real holiday treat.
Made in minutes, it’s a brilliant way to use up leftover cranberries you’ve got lying around, particularly if you’re like me and buy too many for your cranberry sauce and then aren’t quite sure what to do with the rest. Plus they’re only in season so fleetingly it’s lovely to be able to celebrate their jewel bright colour and gorgeously zesty flavour like this. Have it on toast, a cheeky slice of panettone, lovingly spooned onto breakfast muffins or scones, stirred into a steaming bowl of porridge or use like your would lemon curd in baking. So many choices. They would make a beautiful and unique homemade gift this time of year too.
If you pop it in a sterilised jar it’ll keep for months, or pop it in the fridge and use within a few weeks. Or, batch some up and pop in the freezer for when you fancy it. So versatile.
This curd has some texture even after you blitz it, but if you want it smoother, sieve the puree before adding the eggs and butter. It’s delicious either way, but I quite like the texture, it gives a real sense of what is in the curd, and it is homemade after all, that’s part of its charm. (Less washing up too) Fab-yule-ous.
Give the cranberries a good wash and add them to a large saucepan.
Chop the cooking apple into small pieces and add to the cranberries then zest the oranges on top.
In a jug, juice the oranges (this should give you about 130 ml and then top it off with cold water to reach 200ml in total) Pour this into the saucepan too, alongside the cinnamon and salt.
Cook the cranberries on a medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until they have popped, the apples have softened and cooked and some of the liquid has evaporated and thickened. Off the heat, use a stick blender to make a puree. Remove approximately 100ml of the puree and leave to one side to cool. Leave the remaining batch of puree to cool too for about 10 minutes before the next stage.
Separate 3 egg yolks (you can save the whites for meringues) and gently whisk in a bowl. Once the puree has cooled, add the 100ml into the eggs, gently stirring them all together. (This is called tempering the eggs, which basically means, gradually warming them up, so they don’t curdle, which really isn’t what you want here).
Then add the mixture into the rest of the puree and stir gently to combine on a very low heat. (You don’t want the eggs to scramble if the heat is too high).
Once the mixture begins to thicken, gradually add cubes of butter and stir. When you have added all the butter and it has melted and combined into the curd it’s ready. Turn off the heat and spoon into prepared jars.
Mince pie Christmas cupcakes. Oh festive baking; in my mind there really isn’t anything better and complete to make me feel all cosy and Christmassy. Mince pies are such a classic staple in the UK, but I have to admit I’ve never been the biggest …
Gingerbread may just be my favourite cake of all time. Not to get this sticky, sumptuous delight confused with equally delicious gingerbread figures, this is a cake that is so richly spiced with 3 types of ginger and other gorgeous flavours that it really packs …
Fruit and nut is a classic combo and it works so well as a festive treat in this rich fruit and nut fudge. Filled with indulgent chocolate infused with coffee and vanilla, this is a seriously tasty no bake treat that you can make in minutes. Super, for when people come round unexpectedly over Christmas. It just needs a short wait in the fridge to firm up and then you’re good to go. This is a cheats fudge; no need for sugar thermometers, condensed milk is our secret weapon here. (I always use Carnation)
These are naturally gluten free which is always handy having a few GF treats up your sleeve and the even better news is that it’s so easy to make this vegan and dairy free friendly too; love an inclusive bake, or a no-bake in this case. Woop!
Fruit and nut fudge
Recipe
350g dark chocolate (or vegan friendly dark chocolate)
1 tin condensed milk (or vegan friendly alternative – I use Carnation for both)
1 tsp ground coffee powder
2 tsp vanilla
100g mixed nuts (I use pistachios, walnuts, pecans and whole almonds)
50g dried apricots
50g dried cranberries
Method
Chop the mixed nuts and dried fruits and leave to one side while you prepare the speedy fudge mixture. (Leave some aside to sprinkle on the top on the fudge when it’s ready)
Chop the chocolate and add to a saucepan. Pour in the condensed milk and add the coffee and vanilla.
On a low heat gradually melt and combine all of the ingredients together.
Take the pan off the heat just before the last pieces of chocolate have melted and stir until everything is lovely and smooth. (I find that it is best to gently combine everything otherwise the mixture can get a little greasy looking if overheated, so just be patient with it)
Add in the chopped nuts and fruit and stir to combine.
Add to a 9 inch sandwich tin and use a spoon to evenly cover the whole tin and make it as smooth as possible.
Then add the remaining fruit and nut and gently press down to help it all stick to the chocolate mixture.
Pop it in the fridge to chill for a few hours or you can leave overnight.
Cut the fudge into pieces.
This is best stored in an airtight container in a cool dry place or cupboard and it will keep for about 5 days. Alternatively you can freeze it and it will keep for about a month.
Halloween sandwich cookies. These cheeky monsters are more cute than creepy but with their bright colours and googly eyes are perfect for a spooky treat. Rich dark chocolate biscuits sandwiched with buttercream. A simple biscuit to make but a gorgeous little show stopper for a …
White chocolate Halloween fudge is so simple to make. With just a handful of ingredients you’ve got a super colourful treat that everyone will love. This is also an easy-peasy cheats fudge. No need for sugar thermometers, which really takes the stress out of things …
As the seasons change; the days get shorter and the chill in the air gets heavier, soup really does take on hero status for me. So cosy. So satisfying and also, oh so cheap. I mean, seriously cheap and so good for you. What’s not to like? This roasted carrot and lentil soup is delicious, bursting with sweet carrots, fragrant spices and comfortingly filling courtesy of the lentils. There is a little heat from the harissa, but really it isn’t hot, it simply contributes to the warming hug in a bowl nature of this friendly soup and the orange helps to bring out all the gorgeous sweet carrot flavour.
I love a sofa snuggle and quite frankly any meal I can eat out of a bowl with tons of toppings and a hearty chunk of bread is going to be a winner for me.
Peel and chop approx 500g carrots into similar size chunks, ready to be roasted. Cover in a little oil and salt. Cook for approx 30-40 minutes. Turn the carrots every so often to make sure that they cook evenly in the oven.
While the carrots are roasting, prepare the rest of the soup.
In a food processor (or by hand if you like) blitz the onions and remaining carrots alongside the coriander stalks and pulse until very finely chopped.
Heat a large saucepan with a little oil and then add the cumin, coriander, fennel seeds and turmeric and warm for a few minutes until they give off their fragrant smell. Then when the oil is hot, add the onion and carrot mix and stir to combine. Add a little salt at this stage to help the vegetables cook gradually. The salt will release water from the vegetables, so it doesn’t burn but reduces down nicely.
After 5 minutes or so, add the tomato and harissa paste and stir. Cook for a few more minutes. Then add the garlic granules, vegetable stock cube and yeast extract alongside the zest and juice of the orange.
When the vegetables are soft and cooked down add the red split lentils and coat in the vegetable mixture. Add about a litre of hot water from a recently boiled kettle and turn down the heat to let the soup cook. The lentils will absorb water while they cook, which takes about 15 minutes, so keep adding water every so often to make sure it isn’t too thick.
When the lentils are cooked, add in a little more salt and pepper to taste. It’s best to add most of the seasoning at this stage, as too much salt can make lentils a little hard when cooking.
By this point, the roasted carrots should be done. Add them to the soup alongside the rest of the coriander, leaving a little aside to top the soup with afterwards if you like. Turn off the heat and using a hand held blender, blitz until smooth. Add a little more boiled water until you get the texture that you like.
Let’s serve up the soup
Serve the soup with yoghurt, a little more of the harissa, the few last sprigs of coriander and a gorgeous chunk of crusty bread.
The roasted carrot and lentil soup will keep happily in the fridge for 3-4 days and is great to freeze in batches and defrost as you need. It’ll last in the freezer well for about 3 months.
Mars Bar cupcakes, what a joyous trio we have here. These cupcakes make me so happy. Chocolate and caramel is a mighty combo, so delicious. Soft and fluffy vanilla cupcakes, filled with dulce de leche and topped with not one by two flavours and buttercream, …