Date, Hazelnut and Currant Christmas Cake

I found this recipe for an Italian Christmas Cake in Good Living in the Sydney Morning Herald two Christmas' ago. Dates and currants are probably my favourite dried fruit so I had to try it. The cake has no spices in it but the dried fruits and alcohol still make it smell like Christmas Cake. The cake is delicious and moist and keeps for weeks, I am still enjoying this years with my cup of tea!

Date, Hazelnut and Currant Christmas Cake

I have made this in a regular round cake tin with a hole and a bundt tin, both work well. I have also made it in a regular tin but the middle sank, it is a very moist cake so hard to cook through. But whatever you do don't overcook it!

85g pitted dates, roughly chopped

50g currants

100g roasted hazelnuts, roughly blitzed in the food processor

50ml marsala (plus about 1/4 cup extra)

165g soft unsalted butter

150g castor sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

200g plain flour

1/2 C almond meal

4 tsp baking

Preheat oven to 170C.

Place dates, currants and hazelnuts in a bowl and pour in the marsala. Toss to combine and let stand for a few hours, preferably overnight. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla until light and creamy. Gradually add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Combine flour, almond meal and baking powder in another bowl and stir with a whisk to remove any lumps in the flour. Fold flour mixture into butter mixture and then stir through fruit with all the juices.

Mix well to combine. Spoon into cake tin and bake for 1 hour or until cooked. (If you find that the centre is still undercooked, cover the top with foil and continue baking until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.) Spoon/brush extra marsala over hot cake and allow to cool in tin. Keeps for 2-3 weeks in an airtight container and improves with age!

Reindeer Biscuits

I helped the kids to make these reindeer biscuits as presents for the friends at preschool and daycare, as mentioned in my last post. I used the recipe from Planning with Kids but substituted pretzels for their mint leaf antlers.

I set the kids up with all the ingredients, melted chocolate and a paint brush and both my 5 and 3 year olds were able to make these by themselves with just a little help needed attaching the pretzels securely.

I wrapped them up individually in a square of clear cellophane tied with a ribbon and a Christmas gift tag. They looked very cute even if I do say so myself!

I tried to get my kids involved in gift giving this year, as they are somehow naturally good at receiving! This was a good way to get them to spend time and effort on something for others without just going to the shops and spending money.

Reindeer Biscuits

mint slice biscuits
jaffas
cashous (silver or coloured balls)
mini pretzels
cooking chocolate, melted
small clean paint brush

Use the paint brush to apply melted chocolate on the biscuit in the location of the nose, eyes and antlers. You need quite a big blob of chocolate for the antlers.

Stick on the jaffas, cashous and pretzels. The kids should be able to do this themselves then Mum can just push everything on a little more firmly afterwards.

Leave to set then wrap up to give away!

Christmas Baking

I have had a lovely night tonight alone in the kitchen baking lots of Christmas treats. With all the children asleep, this is my idea of a relaxing evening! The oven was broken all week so was having baking withdrawals. Inspired by the desire to make some edible gifts for my daughter's teachers I browsed online for recipes. I envisage giving them a jar full of something, so we will see whats successful. Here is what I made, I will post back later with the verdict(s)... Ed. see comments below

Almond, Vanilla and Coffee Bean Brittle @ Taste.com.au
 - this was fantastic, see this post about it
Chocolate Caramel Crackers @ Smitten Kitchen
 - this unusual combination was delicious. Bit hard to give as gifts due to the chocolate melting but great to eat as an after dinner treat!
Beer and Chilli Candied Peanuts @ Taste.com.au
 - not that great. The beer didn't add any flavour and I wasn't sure about the chilli and sugar combo, might just do regular candied nuts next time.
100s of Biscuits @ Planning with Kids
 - these were yummy and easy with a nice texture, I flavoured mine with giant freckles I had left over from a birthday party. I made the dough into long logs that were quick to slice into biscuits. I still have one log in the freezer.

And a few more recipes I may still make (not tonight, its nearly midnight!)...
 Ed. never got to these - maybe next year!
Caramel and White Chocolate Fudge @ Taste.com.au
or
Salted Caramels @ Llifestylefood.com.au

Candied Nuts @ Chocolate and Zucchini

Berry and Pistachio Biscotti @ Taste.com.au

Cranberry and White Chocolate Shortbread @ Taste.com.au

I have also soaked the fruit for my favourite christmas cake that I discovered last year - Date, Hazelnut and Currant Christmas Cake. The recipe for this Italian cake was printed in the Sydney Morning Herald last year, I made it then and once in the middle of the year because Christmas was too long to wait. I will do a full post on this once its baked. Doesn't look like it will get its two weeks wrapped in foil to improve with age, never mind!

Tomorrow I along with two little helpers will be making Christmas treats for my daughters classmates, I don't expect it will be quite as peaceful as tonight! We will be making Reindeer Biscuits from Planning with Kids - mint slice biscuits with jaffa noses, cachous eyes and pretzel ears (theirs use mint leaves but I couldn't get these and have seen reindeer cupcakes with pretzel ears that look great).
 Ed. see this post about the biscuits - they were great!