Peppermint Bark

Christmas Treats

It has been a lovely weekend at home.

We've been having fun with finishing off the

last of the Christmas decorations,

icing cakes,

and, of course,

making some delicious Christmas treats.

A personal favourite is Peppermint Bark.

I discovered this recipe just a few years ago,

but it has soon become a very popular

favourite.

It is so simple to make,

but looks like you have slaved away for

hours in the kitchen.

You will need :

800g white chocolate

300g dark chocolate

1 box of peppermint candy canes

7 tbsp double cream

2-3 tsp peppermint extract

1. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

I used a tray with about 2cm deep sides.

This will allow plenty of depth for the layers of chocolate.

I also used a few clips to hold the paper in place.

It makes life so much easier.

2. Place the candy canes into a resealable plastic bag,

and bash the living day lights out it.

This is a good way to let go of some of the stress

that has been building up over the past few weeks.

Make sure you do not do this on a wooden surface as it may

damage the wood,

and the same goes for your rolling pin too.

Best to use an old one that won't

be missed.

Once you have broken everything up into small pieces

pour the broken candy through a colander.

This will remove all the dust,

which we will use in the chocolate ganache layer later.

If you find any large pieces of candy cane that 

escaped your earlier beating,

give it another go.

3. Pop half of the white chocolate (400g)

into a heatproof bowl and place

over a pan of warm.

Heat until completely melted,

taking care not to let the bottom of the pan

touch the water,

or else the chocolate will spoil.

Once fully melted,

pour the white chocolate into your prepared tray.

Put the tray into the fridge for about an hour to

set firmly.

4. Once the white layer has set,

it's time to get cracking on the dark chocolate ganache layer.

Do this by placing all of the dark chocolate into a basin

over water as before.

To this, 

add the double cream and peppermint extract.

You can make the flavouring as mild or 

as strong as like at this stage.

I tend to prefer a little bit of a kick to mine,

so I put the full 3 teaspoons into the mixture,

but 2 teaspoons would obviously be a 

little milder.

Santa's Little helper joined in for this bit.

Give the mixture the occasional stir until it suddenly becomes 

a thick, glossy and luxurious mix.

5. Leave the ganache to stand for a few minutes to cool slightly.

Then working fairly quickly,

Pour the ganache over the set white chocolate layer.

Smooth it out and then sprinkle the magical

candy cane dust from earlier over the dark chocolate layer.

Put back into the fridge for an hour to set, as before.

6. For the third and final layer,

it's just as before.

Put the remaining 400g of white chocolate 

into  a clean glass bowl,

and back on the pan of 

warm water until melted.

Pour this over the set ganache layer,

and like before,

try not to dilly dally about over this,

as the warm of white chocolate will

quickly melt the dark chocolate underneath.

Finish by sprinkling the broken candy cane liberally

over the top of the white chocolate,

and again back into the fridge for it's final set.

7. Once everything has set firmly,

remove from the baking tray.

It's now time to start cutting this slab of 

Christmas gorgeousness into pieces.

I trim of the rough edges first.

The left overs are a treat for the baker.

How large, or small,

you cut the pieces is entirely up to you.

It is quite rich so I tend to make the pieces on the small

side.

If you want another piece you can always go back for more.

Plus,

if they are intended as gifts,

your make will go a lot further in smaller pieces.

Once sliced and diced,

you can pop them into a pretty box

for gifts,

or simply display on plate

for people to graze on as they pass.

(If you dare).

I hope you enjoy giving this recipe a try.

It really is so easy.

Until next time,

enjoy your day.

Bernice

x

The Dusklynn Sweater

A Very Chunky Affair

I wanted to make a winter cardigan

for Miss B but I just

didn't have the time to knit one.

Knowing how quickly crochet

will grow I decided to try

a pattern from

Velvet Acorn

which I had seen on line recently.

Heidi May's designs are so pretty and the

majority of them seem to

be in super chunky so will

knit or crochet very quickly.

The patterns are well written
 and clear to understand.

I plumped for the Dusklynn sweater

as we both liked the pattern,
but there are a few more on my
wish list for a later date.

I set about trying to find some super chunky yarn

and discovered this very pretty coloured yarn

in Black Sheep Wools.

It was from Sirdar

and even better,

was reduced in price.

Kiko comes in a few different  shades

and we chose Madie.

Misty is a lovely shade too.

Maybe my next project?

The wool disappears very quickly and

you seem to be reaching for a new

ball of yarn every few rows.

I was worried I would run out of wool
at  one point,
and did need to order
four more balls by post.

I now know to check the yardage
of anything I buy in future,
rather than the gram weight.

We learn from our mistakes, yes?

The body is worked in one piece from the neck down.

The sleeves are added on later.

I have to confess I found the welt a little frustrating.

I just could not get it to lay flat and

in the end I abandoned it and just finished

the edges off with a row

of double crochet.

I think I like the neck more with my

version and Miss B was happy

so that's all that really matters.

It's a wonderfully soft and

tactile cardigan

and I know it will

be just perfect for our rambles down

at the beach

as the weather changes

and becomes more autumnal.

Until next time,

enjoy your day.

Bernice

x

Christmas Fruit Cake

Festive Baking Time

It will have been roughly

six weeks since my gorgeous

jewelled box of booze soaked

fruits have been waiting

patiently to be used,

and the time has come to

get out my favourite cake tin  

and get cracking.

This Sunday is Stir up Sunday,
the special day in our baking calendar 
that is dedicated to 
getting our groove on
with all our Christmas baking 
and preparation.

A perfect time get cracking with this
lovely recipe.

I have used a tin I bought in 

Lakeland many years ago,

 which has been lovingly 

re-christened 

the Christmas cake tin.

It's a good, strong 8 inch tin which always

seems to produce a lovely even bake.

Lakeland is one of those shops I

have to wander around,

 and come out of with some random purchase,

that I "had to have"

but didn't really need.

Miss. Bee  refers to Lakeland as a

"mam shop".

In other words,

there is nothing in there of any

faint interest to her!

One of my best tips I can give you when it comes

to baking a fruit cake is to

line your tin well.

Over many years of experiencing 

well baked disasters,

I have found spending a little time on

lining your tin well will pay

a huge reward at the end when you remove

the cake and find beautiful

golden brown sides to the cake.

Double line your tin with good quality

baking parchment and leave a collar

approximately 3 inches above the top of the cake tin.

This will shield the cake whilst baking.

Folding the sheet in half will give just about

enough height for this.

I fold the folded edge back over by about an inch

and make a small cut about a inch apart.

This will allow the paper to sit neatly 

around the base of the tin before you

put the base layer in.

I do find that about two hours 

into the baking process the top of

the cake can start to look done.

I tend to put a cover over at this stage just to

protect the cake from over baking.

The easiest thing for this is a 

piece of baking parchment

crumpled into a ball,

unroll it and then mould it into the

shape of the top of the tin.

Drop the cover down into the collar of

the lining parchment but do not force it down

onto the cake itself.

This will protect the cake without affecting

the baking process itself.

Now to get down to the cake.

This recipe is adapted from Ruth Clemens

a.k.a the Pink Whisk.

Ruth has shared some amazing recipes

over the years and this

has got to be the one recipe I cannot

recommend more.

It is simple to follow,

and the couple of little changes I have made

are insignificant to the original recipe,

but it  tastes delicious.

Ruth suggests a long, 

slow bake to really bring out the flavour

of the cake.

Having tried several ways of baking

fruit cakes over the years,

I have to agree that the slower bake really

does make a huge difference to not only

the flavour of the cake but also the texture.

You will need :

1 x soaked fruit

225g softened butter

150g light brown sugar

75g dark brown sugar

2 tbsp treacle

5 large eggs

285g plain flour

2 rounded tsp mixed cake spice 

1. Pre heat the oven to 110c(fan)/gas mark 1

Cream together the butter and sugars 

until they are light and fluffy.

2. Add the treacle and beat in well.

3. Add each egg and mix well before

adding the next.

I always break the egg into a little jug before adding
to the mixture.
This makes sure the odd bit of egg shell is avoided

4. Next add the flour and mixed spices.

Give it a last stir up and then you are ready 

for my favourite part,

adding the fruit.

5. Gently peel off the lid from your soaked fruit

and just take a second the 

inhale the amazing

smell that will be unleashed 

on your sense of smell.

It is one of those treats that will

evoke every memory of Christmas from your

childhood -

helping your grandmother to

make the Christmas cake in the 

kitchen when you were

a child,

being the chosen one to get the first

slice of the Christmas cake when it was 

cut on Christmas day,

my list could go on!

But I digress,

back to the preparation.

Scrape every last raisin and drip of licour

from your storage bowl into the cake mixture

and gently but firmly stir the mixture until

the fruit looks evenly distributed.

Pour into you prepared cake tin,

smooth off the top of the mixture

and bake in the oven for 

3 hours 45 minutes.

Yes I know it seems like a long time,

but trust me it really is worth it.

Plus the house will smell amazing

for a whole lot longer.

You now have plenty of time to clean up
and of course the most important
part of any cake,
cleaning the spoon.

'nom-nom'

Be sure to keep an eye on the baking.

I start checking mine after about 2 to 2.5 hours.

If the top starts to look dark brown it's time to

put the hat on!

(see above notes)

Keep checking the cake,

and when a skewer comes out clean,

remove from the oven and allow to cool

completely before removing from the tin.

Once fully cooled,

remove from the tin and it's ready for wrapping,

Lay out two layers of foil and 

two layers of greaseproof paper

like the picture below.

A cross of foil

now a cross of baking parchment on top of the foil

Remove the baking parchment from your cake 

but leave the base disc if you can

as this will help when you are

feeding your cake with the alcohol.

Pop your cake on top of the paper

and foil,

and give it a good basting with

your chosen alcohol.

I used rum, 

but brandy is another popular choice.

Wrap the cake and store in

an airtight container.

Pop it into a cupboard away from direct sunlight

and heat.

Feed it every 3 to 4 days for the next couple of weeks,

or until the cake will not absorb

any more liquid.

That's it - job done!

You can decorate the cake when you

are ready. 

There are so many options for

decorating from 

very traditional royal icing

to more modern fondant designs.

The internet is a wealth of inspiration 

when it comes to cake decorating,

and I would love to see your designs.

Until next time,

enjoy your day.

Bernice

x

Apple and Blackberry Jam

Bramble and Bramley Jam

I love September.

Apart from it being my birthday month,

I  have always enjoyed

how the month plays out.

It's that time of year when

you can feel the air is changing a little,

and it is just a little fresher

when we leave the house

in the morning.

The dark nights are creeping in and

the temperature is dropping

once the sun has gone.

I think Autumn maybe on it's way.

Following a recent day out

with my family

down to Bedale,

we made the

serendipitous discovery

of a huge Bramble bush

in the car park.

We always park down by the river

and it has become a ritual

to feed the ducks before we leave.

I make sure to empty the

bread bin before we leave

so that the children

have plenty of

treats to throw to the ducks.

Though I fear Little Bee was just a bit

over enthusiastic this time.

He threw in a whole bread bun,

much to the amusement of his sister,

and the ducks seem more than happy.

On returning to the car

Miss Bee commented on all

the black berries

which I must confess,

I had completely missed.

I discovered an emergency carrier bag

in the boot of the car

and berry picking commenced.

We managed to get quite a haul,

almost a full kilogram,

and some pretty purple fingers to boot.

I had a browse around my recipe books

at home and decided to try

this lovely recipe for

Bramble and Bramley Jam.

It is from Vivien Lloyd 

and is very simple

but tastes delicious.

I got about six medium size

jars of jam from this recipe.

They look beautiful stacked up on my shelf

and the beautiful deep, 

jewelled purple

colour looks so tempting.

I have given a couple away as gifts already

and the recipients seemed very pleased.

I have detailed the recipe below but the

link above will give you the same information.

You will need :

1kg(2lb) blackberries
200ml (7floz) water

340g (12oz) peeled, cored and sliced cooking apples ( prepared weight)

1.4kg (3lb) granulated cane sugar

1. Pick over the blackberries and place them

in a large pan with half the water.

I used my jam pan for this.

Bring to the boil, then simmer until tender.

Place the apples in a separate pan

with the remaining water

and cook until the fruit is pulpy.

Meanwhile warm the sugar

in a low oven,

140C/275F/Gas 1.

2. Place the cooked apples

into the preserving pan

with the blackberries,

Add the warmed sugar

and stir until it has dissolved,

then bring the jam quickly

to a rolling boil.

You benefit from a

thermometer at this stage.

This took about 5 minutes for me.

3. As soon as setting point is reached,

remove the pan from the heat and

leave it to stand for a few minutes.

I prefer to drop a little of the jam

onto a cold saucer and if you

get a little crinkle on the surface

when gently pushed with your finger tip

you know it's ready.

4.  Remove any scum with a metal spoon

by gently pushing out towards

the edge of the pan

and then scooping it  away.

5. Gently stir the jam and pour it into the jars,

 up to the brim.

Seal the jars immediately

with new twist top lids.

Leave the jars upright and

undisturbed until cold.

Label the jars and store in a cool cupboard.

These will keep for approximately

six months unopened

but they are perfect for gifts so

will they last that long?

Have fun with your foraging

and until next time,

enjoy your day.

Bernice

x