Christmas series #5 and Gluten free #8: Fruit cake

HELLO THERE MY CHEERFUL CHEFS! Merry Christmas! So as you can see I am clearly excited but who wouldn't be? Its Christmas! So today we are doing the second recipe using the 3 in 1 fruit mix and it is fruit cake! I guess it would be like an exception to the Christmas pudding if you didn't want to go though all of that trouble of steaming the cake for 5 hours and all of that.
Joten avulla pääset alkuun! (So lets get started!)
You will need: 4 1/4 cups of fruit mix, 185g of butter, 3 eggs lightly beaten, 1 1/2 cups of gluten free plain flour, 1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and 1/4 cup of brandy.
To begin, preheat the oven to 140 degrees Celsius (Yes that low!). Line base and sides of a deep 20cm round cake pan (or anything close to that). Line the sides with baking paper exceeding 5cm over the edge.
Place fruit mix in a large bowl and stir in the butter, eggs and sifted flour and soda. Spread the mixture into a pan and level the top. Bake for about 2 1/2 hours and then brush the hot cake with the brandy. While still hot and in its pan, cover the cake tightly with foil and then wrap with a towel and cool overnight.

So there it is, simple fruit cake! Just before I go, I will try to upload a recipe for the perfect cooked turkey, but if I don't, I will still finish this series. Don't forget to spread the Christmas magic and have a wonderful day! And until next time, keep on cooking!
Kat Xx

Christmas series #4 AND Gluten free #7: Christmas pudding

Hello my little rays of sunshine! Wow....... That sounded better in my head. Anyway, today we will be using the three in one fruit mix to make Christmas pudding! This recipe is a DOUBLE SERIES recipe, it is both the Christmas AND the gluten free series as we are have Christmas with a member of my family who can't have gluten so this is the perfect opportunity to infuse two series into one! If you don't want this to be a gluten free recipe then just substitute the gluten free flour for regular flour.

Permet donc commencer! (So lets begin!)
You will need: 4 1/2 cups of the 3 in 1 fruit mix, 185g of butter melted, 2 eggs lightly beaten, 2 cups of stale breadcrumbs and 3/4 cup of gluten free plain flour.
To begin, place all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined and that's it! Its the cooking part that takes more time. So for a steamed pudding, grease a 2 litre pudding steamer and line the base with baking paper. Spoon mixture in and cut out a 30 x 40 cm piece of al foil and top with a sheet of baking paper. Fold a 5 cm pleat crossways through the of both pieces.
Place the sheets (baking paper side down) over the steamer and secure firmly with kitchen string and steamer lid. Crush foil and baking paper for a firm seal.

Place the pudding in a large boiler with enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the steamer. Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and steam for 5 hours. Add extra water if needed and allow pudding to cool for 15 minutes before turning out. To store, just wrap with cling film and place in an airtight container to keep for up to 3 months or freeze for a year!

So there it is, a Christmas tradition in my family! It is amazing and a lot less difficult then it seems, so enjoy and until next time, keep on cooking!
Kat Xx

Christmas series #3 and Gluten free #6: Gingerbread house

Hello there jolly elves! (see what I did there?) Today is recipe that is so fun to make, but also to decorate! It is a gingerbread house! We bought this gingerbread house kit which came from Wheel & Barrow, it basically comes with all of the cut outs for making a gingerbread house, dus laten we de slag te gaan! (So lets get going!)

You will need: 2 1/4 cups of gluten free self raising flour, 2 1/2 teaspoons of ground ginger, 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 3/4 teaspoon of ground cloves, 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg, 90 g butter chopped coarsely, 1/2 cup of dark brown sugar, 1/4 cup of treacle (or any thick sweetener) and 1 egg lightly beaten.

To begin, process flour, butter and spices until crumbly. Add the brown sugar, treacle and egg. Process until a dough forms and then turn it out onto a bench floured well with gluten free flour and knead until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Divide the dough up however you want it and roll it out (NOTE: It MUST be between two sheets of baking paper to stop it sticking). Roll it out to a 1/2 cm thickness and cut shapes out. Re-roll the dough if needed. Place the shapes in the oven for 12 minutes until barely firm (they will become crisp when cool). Assemble and go crazy with decorating!

Christmas series #2: Apple strudel

Hello there my jolly fellows! End of the world? Psht, please, my chocolate expires on 22nd of Nov 2013, so it can't end! Anyway, today is a delicious recipe that is so easy to make, apple strudel! This is a recipe that I can whip up without  having to go to the store because most of the time, we have these ingredients ready to be used, so lets begin!

You will need, 2 granny smith apples (Cut the apple into 8 pieces and then quarter them again..... So basically slice it into around 32 slices per apple), 1 lemon (juiced), 1/3 cup of sultanas, 1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon, a bit of milk, 1 sheet of puff pastry and 1/3 of a cup of caster sugar.

To begin, preheat you oven to 200 degrees Celsius. In a medium bowl, mix together the apples, cinnamon, lemon, sugar and sultanas and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, roll out the pastry to make it thinner and more of a rectangle shape. This is where it gets a bit tricky, you want to lay the mixture along the long side of the pastry, ensuring it is near the edge but not touching it. Grab what is left of the edge and pull it over the pastry as far as it will go. Continue to roll and tuck in the mixture at the same time until you have a log. Lay the log seam side down on a greased baking tray and cut slits in the top in whatever pattern you want (I just did 5 diagonal strips). Bake in the over for around 20 minutes or until the pastry is cooked and the mixture hot. Serve with ice cream, custard and enjoy!

This dessert went down so quickly that I didn't have time to take any pictures! However, I will have a recipe up tomorrow and until then, keep on cooking!
Kat Xx

Christmas series #1 : 3 in 1 fruit mix

Hey guys, so unfortunately I have had to drop the lactose free series until after the new year as I haven't had time to do any research on it so consequently have no recipes. But I do however have my Christmas series all lined up! I am going away for Christmas tomorrow but I have written up all of the recipes and I will just upload them from my phone so you will get consistent updates.
But today I am going to tell you how to make a three in one recipe. It is a fruit cake recipe and it is the only recipe we use to make our fruit cakes, mince pies and Christmas pudding (In one batch!).
So lets begin!
You will need: 2 1/3 cups of sultanas, 2 cups of dried currants, 2 1/3 cups of coarsely chopped raisins, 1 cup of finely chopped dates, 3/4 cup of finely chopped seeded prunes, 1 cup of finely chopped dried figs, 2 large apples grated coarsely, 1/4 cup of treacle (or maple syrup or even honey. It really doesn't change it that much!), 2 1/4 cups of firmly packed dark brown sugar, 2 cups of brandy, 2 teaspoons of ground ginger and 1 teaspoon of each nutmeg and cinnamon.

This isn't an attractive photo I know but it is a very scrumptious recipe

This is a very simple recipe in that you just combine everything in a VERY large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and store away in a cool and dark place for anything up to 3 months! Just ensure that you stir it every two to three days and it will all be good!
This recipe makes enough for one Christmas pudding, a fruit cake and a dozen mince pies!

So there it is and until next time, keep on cooking
Kat Xx

Gluten free #5: Cookies

Hey guys so today will be my final gluten free recipe for a while, however, the very last one is taking a lot of time to find. So once I find a good quality recipe I will test it and upload it, but until then this is my last gluten free recipe.
But, today will  be gluten free cookies! So lets begin:
Ingredients: 125g butter, 1/3 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 cup of white sugar, 1 egg, 1 tsp vanilla essence, 2/3 cup of mixed chocolate chips (white, milk and dark) and 1 1/2 cups of gluten - free self raising flour.
To begin, preheat the over to 180 degrees Celsius  Cream the butter and the sugars together until pale and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla essence and beat together until well mixed. After that, add the flour and chocolate chips and fold together until a sticky dough forms.
Line a baking tray and spoon the cookies onto the tray and spread them to form a rough circle. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 - 15 minutes and VOILA! Beautiful crumbly cookies!
So there it is, gluten free cookies! And until next time, keep on cooking
Kat Xx

Lactose free series #1: Mango sorbet

Hey guys so it is the start of my second series, lactose free. So I don't know many people who have to have lactose free food so this isn't dedicated to anyone in particular. But any ways, today's recipe is a cool summery treat and a lot healthier than ice cream, it is mango sorbet.
So let start!
You will need: 4 mangoes (cubbed, skinless and seedless), 1 cup of sugar syrup (Just boil together equal parts of sugar and water until you get 1 cup worth) and 3 tablespoons of lime juice.

To begin, purée the mango in a blender until smooth. Add the sugar syrup and blend again. From here, you can do two things, use an ice cream machine to its setting or the second option which is placing the mango purée into a freezer proof container and freezing until just solid. Then blend all of the mango sorbet for a second time and freeze once more until you want to use it. That's it!

This is such a simple and quick recipe and it requires nearly no skill at all! Along with that, its lactose free!

So until next time, keep on cooking
Kat Xx