A Happy New Year

A  Happy New Year

Normal routine has been restored to the 

Busy Bee house hold

following all of the festivities

of Christmas.

I am back to work and the children are safely

ensconced in school.

We had a wonderful time.

The magic of Christmas was very much

bestowed upon us. 

With a five and nine year old at home

I did feel as if this was one of the

very special years we will always

cherish.

Santa called and left a wealth lovely gifts.

Far too many really but,

well,

it's Christmas.

The children were very happy with everything

they received and thank you cards

have been made and posted.

I was given a gorgeous necklace

by Mr B. which I happened to comment on

one day during a day out 

in Helmsley.

Unbeknownst to me,

he had sneaked back to buy it whilst

I was busy sorting out the

kids with the obligatory toilet break 

before we left for home.

Sneaky huh?

The amount of food that we consumed over the

holidays was not too bad at all.

I didn't break into the Christmas cake until

New year's day.

It was delicious and well worth

the wait.

Suffice to say,

there is not a great deal of it left now.

Well, it would be a shame to leave

it to go dry - right?

I must confess I have run my baking mojo

down to empty 

with the run up to Christmas,

so I do not feel compelled

to spend too much time in the kitchen at present,

but I'm sure this will change in a short while.

I also made a little new years resolution not to

get too carried away with trying to make

things and then feel utterly swamped

with everything.

Unfortunately that did involve me

promising Mr.B that I would not

buy any more wool or crafty things

until I have used up my 'stash',

and he also suggested that 

this could include recipe books too.

I think I have sufficient to keep me

going for a while,

don't you?

Seville oranges will be coming into season any time now

so no doubt there will be some

marmalade making going on soon.

So until next time,

I wish you all a very happy 

and healthy 2017.

Bernice

x

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