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Christmas in a bite

As it’s our first Christmas in Bramble Cottage and everyone has been so incredibly friendly and welcoming we wanted to invite our new neighbours over for a glass or two and some festive nibbles. Trying to decide what to make was, as usual, very difficult as ideas swirled around in my head until I felt quite dizzy. Cheese gougeres, yes, mini pissaladieres, yes, meatballs and tomato sauce, no-too messy to eat standing up, and so it went on. I then remembered a recipe I created for Good Food magazine a million years ago and I knew it needed revisiting. My idea was to create Christmas lunch in minature with all the flavours you would expect- bacon, turkey(though I used chicken this time), stuffing and a hit of cranberry. It is a bit of work but you can make and bake them up to a couple of days ahead, fridge them and slice and spike them a couple of hours ahead of serving. They really pack a punch flavour-wise which is just what you need and they look and taste very celebratory. So have fun making them and a Happy Christmas to you all.

Christmas in a bite
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Servings Prep Time
Makes 32 30 mins
Cook Time
20-25 mins
Servings Prep Time
Makes 32 30 mins
Cook Time
20-25 mins
Christmas in a bite
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
Makes 32 30 mins
Cook Time
20-25 mins
Servings Prep Time
Makes 32 30 mins
Cook Time
20-25 mins
Ingredients
Servings:
Instructions
  1. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/ Gas 6.
  2. Slice the chicken breasts almost in half like a book and open out. Put between two sheets of cling film and bat out to flatten using a rolling pin. Set aside while you make the stuffing.
  3. Heat the butter in a small pan, add the shallots and fry gently until softened but not browned, about 2 mins. Add the herbs, lemon rind and breadcrumbs and mix well. Remove from the heat and add the egg, along with some salt and pepper.
  4. Spread a quarter of the stuffing evenly over one chicken breast, almost to the edges. Press down gently to flatten.
  5. Arrange a row of cranberries along the length of the stuffing..
  6. Carefully roll up the chicken to enclose the stuffing and cranberries. Repeat with other three chicken breasts.
  7. Bandage each chicken roll with bacon and put in a roasting tin. At this stage they can be chilled for a couple of days until ready to cook.
  8. Roast the rolls for 20-25 mins until the bacon is crisp and golden. Cool, then chill for up to 2 days until serving time. To serve, bring back to room temperature then slice thinly and spike each roll with a cocktail stick.
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Festive spice cake

IMG_1025

Festive spice cake
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I'm not planning to make a traditional Christmas cake this year as we are only a small gathering and what normally happens is that Mick and I spend the days after the big celebration munching our way through slabs of leftover cake and getting fatter by the day. But it's always good to have something in the cake tin to offer anyone who drops by, or for those afternoons by the fire when you really need a slice of something sweet to go with a cup of tea. I've devised this cake to give you plenty of seasonal flavours- spices, nuts, cranberries, citrus, but it's light and very moist. So even if you have already made your cake, this one will sit alongside it very nicely and along the way will fill your house with Christmassy smells- any excuse to get baking.
Servings Prep Time
makes 1 large loaf 25 mins
Cook Time
50-60 mins
Servings Prep Time
makes 1 large loaf 25 mins
Cook Time
50-60 mins
Festive spice cake
Print Recipe
I'm not planning to make a traditional Christmas cake this year as we are only a small gathering and what normally happens is that Mick and I spend the days after the big celebration munching our way through slabs of leftover cake and getting fatter by the day. But it's always good to have something in the cake tin to offer anyone who drops by, or for those afternoons by the fire when you really need a slice of something sweet to go with a cup of tea. I've devised this cake to give you plenty of seasonal flavours- spices, nuts, cranberries, citrus, but it's light and very moist. So even if you have already made your cake, this one will sit alongside it very nicely and along the way will fill your house with Christmassy smells- any excuse to get baking.
Servings Prep Time
makes 1 large loaf 25 mins
Cook Time
50-60 mins
Servings Prep Time
makes 1 large loaf 25 mins
Cook Time
50-60 mins
Ingredients
for the icing
Servings:
Instructions
  1. Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/Gas 3. Butter and line a 2lb loaf tin with baking paper.
  2. Sift the flour,spices and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl. Measure the butter, sugar, treacle and syrup into a small pan. Heat gently, stirring until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Cool for a few minutes.
  3. Mix the milk and egg together. In a separate bowl mix the peel, walnuts and cranberries. Finely grate the zest of the lemon into the bowl and mix well.
  4. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the butter mixture. Gradually beat the dry mix into the centre to make a smooth batter, adding the milk mix gradually as you go.
  5. Stir in the dried fruit and nuts until evenly distributed, then pour into the prepared tin. Bake for 50-60 mins until the cake is well risen and feels firm and springy to the touch. Leave to cool in the tin for 15 mins, then turn out and cool completely on a wire rack.
  6. Warm the jam, then brush over the top of the cake. Leave for a couple of hours to set. Sift the icing sugar into a small pan. Add 2 tbsp lemon juice and heat through gently without boiling to make a smooth icing.
  7. Drizzle over the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. Decorate immediately with walnuts, cranberries, peel and slices of ginger as the icing sets quickly. Wrap in foil and store in a cake tin for up to 3 weeks.
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Blueberry and raspberry friands

Frome independent

Blueberry and raspberry friands
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I've just spent the morning making a big batch of these light-as-air little cakes to sell on my stall at the Frome Independent market tomorrow. They originated in France but are now offered in every good coffee shop in Sydney. You can vary the flavours as the seasons change- I love roasted rhubarb and orange, pear and ginger and pineapple and coconut but you can try your own combinations to make them your own.
Servings Prep Time
Makes 8 20 mins
Cook Time
20-25 mins
Servings Prep Time
Makes 8 20 mins
Cook Time
20-25 mins
Blueberry and raspberry friands
Print Recipe
I've just spent the morning making a big batch of these light-as-air little cakes to sell on my stall at the Frome Independent market tomorrow. They originated in France but are now offered in every good coffee shop in Sydney. You can vary the flavours as the seasons change- I love roasted rhubarb and orange, pear and ginger and pineapple and coconut but you can try your own combinations to make them your own.
Servings Prep Time
Makes 8 20 mins
Cook Time
20-25 mins
Servings Prep Time
Makes 8 20 mins
Cook Time
20-25 mins
Ingredients
Servings:
Instructions
  1. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/Gas 6. Generously butter 8 non-stick friand or muffin tins. Melt the butter and set aside to cool.
  2. Sift the icing sugar into a large bowl. Add the flour and almonds and mi together between your fingers.
  3. Whisk the egg whites in another bowl until they form a floppy foam.
  4. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingedients and stir in the butter and a third of the egg whites. Add the remaining egg whites and lemon zest and mix lightly to a soft batter.
  5. Divide the mixture between the tins and sprinkle a few raspberries and blueberries over each. Bake for 20-25 mins until firm to the touch and golden brown. Cool in the tins for 5 mins, then turn out a cool on a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar to serve.
Recipe Notes

Take care when you are tipping the friands out of the tin as they are very delicate. Make sure you leave them to cool for a good 5 mins to firm them up, then tip them onto a clean teatowel before upending them onto the wire rack.

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