Gifts from your kitchen
These festive bakes are perfect for packaging up into beautiful, heartfelt offerings from your kitchen, says NZ House & Garden’s Sally Butters.
Christmas mince puffs
Make these as a change from regular fruit mince tarts and finish them with a lick of white chocolate icing or a dusting of icing sugar.
2 sheets sweet shortcrust pastry 50g fruit mince (approximately) 1 egg, lightly beaten
White chocolate icing
120g white chocolate melts 3 tbsp cream
1 tsp brandy or orange liqueur Edible gold leaf (optional)
Heat oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Place a sheet of pastry on to a piece of baking paper and lightly mark 4cm round circles using a cookie cutter. Spoon a teaspoon of the fruit mince into the centre of each circle. Brush around each pile of Christmas mince with the beaten egg.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the second sheet of pastry a little thinner. Carefully place over the first sheet and press down between the fillings to seal the edges.
Cut the puffs using a floured 4cm cookie cutter. Place on prepared tray and bake 15-20 minutes until just golden. Cool on trays.
Icing: Gently melt chocolate with cream and liqueur in a bowl set over a pot of barely simmering water, stirring constantly until smooth. Remove bowl from heat and allow icing to thicken to a spreading consistency. Spoon over cold puffs and decorate with edible gold leaf if desired. Puffs with keep for 7-10 days in an airtight container. Makes about 16
Almond, cherry & pineapple wreath cake
Ring cakes cook faster than traditional fruitcakes and are easy to decorate so they look festive. We used a fluted baba tin for an especially attractive result.
175g butter, softened
175g caster sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1⁄4 tsp almond essence
1 lemon, finely grated zest
70g ground almonds
200g self-raising flour
3 tbsp milk
150g glace´ cherries, halved (reserve a few for decoration)
100g glace´ pineapple, coarsely chopped (reserve some for decoration)
30g blanched almonds, coarsely chopped
Icing
150g icing sugar
1 tsp butter, almost melted 1-2 tbsp warm water
Red food colour
Silver cachous for decoration
Heat oven to 170C. Grease and flour a 20cm ring tin, shaking out excess flour.
Cream butter and sugar then gradually add beaten eggs, vanilla, almond essence and lemon zest. Stir in ground almonds then fold in flour alternately with milk. Gently fold in cherries, pineapple and chopped almonds. Transfer mixture to prepared tin and bake 50-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool about 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Icing: Sift icing sugar into a bowl. Combine butter and 1 tablespoon water and gradually mix into icing sugar to form a smooth paste, adding extra water if needed. Add food colour in very small amounts to reach desired hue. Drizzle icing over cake and decorate with reserved cherries and pineapple and silver cachous. Cake will keep for up to a week in an airtight container.
Ginger, fig & chocolate loaves
Use this recipe to make mini loaves for giving, or one large loaf to serve to your visitors in thin slices with tea, coffee or (even merrier) a glass of sherry or eggnog.
120g pistachios, coarsely chopped, plus extra for garnish
100g stem ginger, coarsely chopped, plus extra for garnish
120g dried figs, coarsely chopped 120g dark chocolate (at least 60 per cent cocoa), coarsely chopped 2 oranges, finely grated zest
21⁄2 tbsp rum
3 eggs
1⁄2 cup brown sugar
1⁄2 cup self-raising flour
1 tbsp cocoa
1 tsp ground ginger
1⁄2 tsp each: ground nutmeg and cardamom
Ginger icing
1 cup icing sugar
1 tbsp stem ginger syrup 1⁄2 tsp vanilla extract. Combine pistachios, ginger, figs, chocolate, orange zest and rum in a bowl and leave for 30 minutes.
Heat oven to 160C. Grease six 1⁄2-cup capacity mini loaf tins or one 23cm x 12cm loaf tin.
Beat eggs and sugar until light and fluffy then fold in nut mixture. Sift over flour, cocoa and spices and mix to just combine.
Spoon mixture into prepared tins and bake – mini loaves 20-25 minutes, large loaf 50-60 minutes, or until cakes are cooked when tested with a skewer. Leave in tins 5 minutes before turning out to a wire rack to cool completely.
Icing: Combine icing sugar, ginger syrup and vanilla with enough water to form a pouring consistency. Pour over cooled loaves and decorate with extra chopped ginger and pistachio nuts.