Baking is one of my favourite hobbies, especially on Friday or Saturday early mornings after a week of hard work. I feel it is relaxing and rewarding. I am always intrigued by new recipes and love experimenting, adding, mixing and trying different ingredients I pick up at the supermarket. Good creations come out of the oven, warm, inviting, ideal for breakfast and tea breaks. I exchange pieces of cake with my neighbour Linda too. She makes cakes for her children and six grandchildren. Her cakes are soft, tasty and always perfect, So we have extra treats and different options. Here are some suggestions for the Christmas break, alternative puddings and cakes to the traditional ones. Enjoy!
Nutella tart and Nutella cake
For the tart crust you need: 250 g of self-raising flour, 2 eggs, 80 g of butter, 80 g of sugar.
For the Nutella ganache you need: 250 g of Nutella, 100 g of single cream, one egg, two tbsp of corn flour; 100 g of dark chocolate and hazelnuts to decorate.
Prepare the dough mixing all the ingredients in a bowl and chill it for half an hour. In a saucepan warm Nutella, corn flour, the egg and single cream on medium heat. Roll out the dough and line a greased tart tin. Pour the Nutella mixture on the crust and bake at 180 C for half an hour. Let it cool then melt the dark chocolate in the microwave. Mix the hazelnuts with the melted chocolate and pour it on the tart.
For the cake you need: 250 g of self-raising flour, 80 g of melted butter, 250 g of Nutella, 2 eggs, a pinch of salt, 1 tsp of baking powder, one tbsp of rum or liquor, four tbsp of milk; 100 g of dark chocolate and hazelnuts to decorate.
Mix the yolks of the eggs with Nutella, add the flour and the baking powder mixed with the milk. Whip the whites stiff and add them to the Nutella mixture. Finally add the liquor and salt. Bake the cake in a greased round tin at 180 C for half an hour to forty-five minutes. Let it cool then melt the dark chocolate in the microwave. Mix the hazelnuts with the melted chocolate and pour it on the cake.
Dark or white chocolate tart
For the tart crust you need: 250 g of self-raising flour, 2 eggs, 80 g of butter, 80 g of sugar.
For the ganache you need: 200 g of dark chocolate (70%), 150 g of single cream, one egg, 20 g of butter, one tbsp of honey, 50 g of flour; cocoa and icing sugar to decorate.
Prepare the dough mixing all the ingredients in a bowl and chill it for half an hour. In a saucepan warm the chocolate, flour, honey, cream, egg and butter on medium heat. Roll out the dough and line a greased tart tin. Pour the chocolate mixture on the crust and bake at 180 C for half an hour. Let it cool then dust the top with cocoa and icing sugar.
For the white chocolate version have white chocolate instead of dark and add 100 g of ground almonds in the mixture. Decorate the top with flaked almonds.
Frangipane cake and tart
For the tart you need:
Crust: 250 g of self-raising flour, 2 eggs, 80 g of melted butter, the grated zest of a lemon, 80 g of sugar.
Filling: 150 g of ground almonds, two eggs, 100 g of melted butter, 100 g of sugar, the grated zest of a lemon, 50 g of flour, apricot jam, 100 g of flaked almonds.
Prepare the dough mixing all the ingredients in a bowl and chill it for half an hour. For the filling mix the ground almonds, eggs, butter, sugar and the zest of the lemon. Roll out the dough and line a greased tart tin. Spread the jam on the bottom and pour the almond mixture on it. Finally sprinkle the top with the flaked almonds. Bake at 180 C for half an hour. Dust with icing sugar when cool.
For the cake you need:
200 g of ground almonds, 150 g of self-raising flour, 1 tsp of baking powder and 1/2 tsp of bicarbonate of soda, two eggs, 100 g of soft brown sugar, four tbsp of sunflower oil, half a glass of soya milk, some blanched almonds.
Beat the sugar with the eggs, add the ground almonds, the flour, and the bicarbonate of soda and baking powder mixed with the soya milk. Finally add the oil. Pour the cake mixture in a greased tin cake and sprinkle the blanched almonds on top. Bake the cake in a greased round tin at 180 C for forty-five minutes. Dust with icing sugar when cool.
Pear cobbler
For the cobbler you need: 250 g of self-raising flour, one tsp of baking powder, 70 g of butter, 100 g of ground ginger biscuits, 80 g of sugar, two eggs, four tbsp of milk.
Pear filling: 800 g of pears, two tbsp of caster brown sugar, the juice of a lemon, half a tsp of fennel seeds and half tsp of ground nutmeg.
Cook the ingredients for the pear filling in a saucepan till the pears are soft. Prepare the cobbler mixing all the ingredients. Pour half of the cobbler mixture in a greased tin cake then pour the pear mixture on it and finally the other half of the cobbler mixture on top. Bake the cake at 180 C for half an hour to forty-five minutes.
Pear cake with ginger
For the cake you need: 300 g of self-raising flour, one tsp of baking powder, half a tsp of bicarbonate of soda, two eggs, 100 g of golden caster sugar, 80 g of melted butter, half a glass of milk.
For the pear and ginger mixture you need: 4 pears, 150 g of single cream, half a tsp of ground cloves, one tsp of ginger.
Cook the pears and ginger mixture in a saucepan till the pears are soft. Prepare the cake mixing all the ingredients. Pour the mixture in a greased tin cake then pour the pear and ginger mixture on top. Bake the cake at 180 C for half an hour to forty-five minutes.
Apple and bread pudding
You need: 5 apples, 150 g of soft brown sugar, 50 g of dark chocolate, 50 g of melted butter, the juice of a lemon, 6-5 slices of bread.
Dice the apples and cook them with half of the sugar and the juice of the lemon in a saucepan, add the chocolate and let it cool. Mix the butter with the remaining sugar and spread it over one side of the bread slices. Line a rectangular tin cake with the bread then spread the apple and chocolate mixture on it. Put some remaining bread slices on top and bake for 20-30 minutes at 180 C.
Rice pudding with dried apricots
You need: 200 g of dried apricots, 500 ml of milk, 100 g of arborio rice, one vanilla stick, one egg, the juice and grated zest of a lemon, 100 g of soft brown sugar.
In a saucepan cook the rice in the milk together with the sugar, the egg and the vanilla stick. Chop the apricots and add the zest and juice of a lemon. When the rice is ready, add the apricots and bake the rice mixture in a pudding container for 20-30 minutes at 180 C.
Have a good tasty Christmas time.🎅🌟💝
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