Sinfully Decadent Chocolate Fudge

Well, it has been an age since I have posted any baking, but, fresh from my school holiday home entertainment program, I have some rather tempting fudge to entice you into the kitchen with.

 

 

 

You wont want to be on a diet for this little number as it is guaranteed to add inches to your waistline overnight, but oh my (!) it tastes so wickedly divine...... PLUS, it is as easy as a wink to knock up - or, do as I did and set your little poppets to work for you.....easy peasy lemon squeesy !

 

Microwave Fudge

 

500gms chocolate (milk, white or dark)

1 Tin condensed milk

70gms Butter

2 Tablespoons icing sugar

3/4 cup chopped pistachios

 

Line slice tray with non-stick baking paper

Place chocolate, condensed milk, icing sugar & butter in a microwave safe bowl - microwave for 1 minute. Take out and stir - if chocolate is not quite melted, zap at 30 second intervals till fluid. (If you prefer to avoid the evils of microwaves, do the same in a bowl sitting in a saucepan of hot water on the stove)

 

Mixture will come away from bowl when ready.

 

Add pistachios and combine. (You can add any other ingredients you like at this point - m&ms, sultanas, nuts, honeycomb etc)

 

Pour mixture into lined tray and pop in the fridge to set.

 

Mmmmmmmmmmm.........

Delectable Christmas Wreath

Well, it has been some time since I posted a baking article, so here is one just in the nick of time for all those Christmas festivities. Remember the age old 'chocolate log cake' from childhood BBQ's and pot luck dinners? Well, this beautiful festive dessert has taken the traditional chocolate log and turned it into a Christmas wreath.

 

Simply grab two packets of chocolate ripple cookies at the supermarket, and a generous tub of cream. Don't forget your chosen lolly decorations. (I used Cherry Ripe, Spearmint leaves and jaffas)

 

Whip your cream with an electric or hand held mixer and proceed to create chocolate ripple cookie 'sandwiches' with the cream in the shape of a circle on a large plate.

 

Cover the entire wreath with cream and decorate in any way that seems creative to you.

 

Too easy ! (And too yummy!!)

 

Donna Hay - Chocolate Malt Self Saucing Pudding

Some years ago I received a Donna Hay Chocolate cookbook for my birthday - it has been a delight to trial various recipes from it over the years, but this was the first time I attempted her Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding. May I tell you, it was well worth the effort on this rainy autumn day in old Northern Victoria? Mmmmmm, Beck, Michelle and I hooked into this scrummy dessert dolloped with ice cream as we gasbagged about all things wonderful - from the upcoming local football formal ball to Johnny Depp and Tim Burtons latest collaboration. Why not join us - whip up this decadent delight and have a girls coffee morning some rainy Monday !!!

130g softened butter

1 1/4 cups Castor sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups plain flour

2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup hazelnut meal

1/4 cup malted milk powder

1 cup milk

 

sauce

 

2/3 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup malted milk powder

1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups boiling water

 

(I actually found that I wanted more sauce in the pud....you might like to double the quantity as I will do in the future...)

 

Preheat oven to 170 degrees C. Place butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until pale. Add the eggs gradually and beat until smooth. Sift the flour, baking powder and cocoa over the mixture, add the hazelnut meal, malted milk powder and milk and beat until smooth. Spoon the pudding mixture into a well greased ovenproof baking dish.

 

To make the sauce, place sugar, malted milk powder and cocoa in a bowl, pour over boiling water and stir to combine. Spoon over the pudding mixture and bake for 45-50mins or until risen and cooked when tested with a skewer. Serves 6 plentifully.

Amazing Fruit Slice....mmmmmmmm

Been in a baking mood recently ( for the first time in a very long while ). Maybe its the cooler weather, maybe its a renewed interest in making my own and knowing whats in the food I eat, maybe its because the kids have gone back to school and I wanted interesting treats for arvo tea and the lunch box......whatever the case, I got my mojo on and made this divine Fruit Slice last week, took it to coffee with the girls and the response was very gratifying (as was the taste !!). So dig in lovely people - there is a new season upon us, and now is the time for getting handy in the kitchen again after a summer of fun ! (Here in Australia anyhow - in the Northern Hemisphere, enjoy your spring !!!)

 

Base:

1 packet malt biscuits crushed

1/4 cup milo (malted milk powder)

1/2 cup (1/2 tin) condensed milk

60gms butter

 

Top:

1 cup dried chopped apricots

1 cup sultanas

1.5 cups shredded coconut

1/2 cup (1/2 tin) condensed milk

 

Method:

Melt butter and condensed milk together, combine with rest of base ingredients. Press into lined slice tin. Combine topping ingredients and smooth onto base. Refrigerate. (Note - I find that a tad more butter in the base works best to hold it all together.)

 

 

Once it has set, all that's needed is to cut it up and serve to ravenous crowds or at a dignified high tea with friends - the choice is yours !

 

Banana Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting

 

I went to my pantry this week and discovered 5-6 bananas that had turned. So, in the traditional spirit of waste not want not, I set about to make a banana cake, but discovered this great banana bread recipe instead. Unfortunately, my kids don't seem to enjoy cake (can you believe it !!! I cant !!!) so my lovely companions at Mawsons helped me dispose of my yummy creation - and I was not left with a whole banana cake to eat over the weekend on my own...... hoping you and yours derive as much pleasure from your thrifting of banana's !

 

 

 

Banana Bread

 

175g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarb soda

125g butter melted

150g brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

4 - 5 large bananas mashed

100g sultanas (optional)

 

Mix melted butter and sugar until well blended. Add eggs and vanilla, then mashed bananas. Mix well. Stir in sultanas. Gradually add sifted flour, baking powder and bicarb soda, stirring well. Scrape into loaf tin, greased and lined. Bake 1-1 1/4 hours until golden and springy. Leave in tin to cool, then ice with cream cheese frosting. (Can also be eaten warm from the oven, spread with butter and no icing.)

 

Cream Cheese Frosting

 

250g Block cream cheese softened

2/3 cup icing sugar

2/3 cup full cream milk powder

grated rind of the citrus of your choice

 

Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth, add milk powder and beat again until smooth. Stir through rind. Use as required.

It's that time of year again.....

A couple of years back now I posted a recipe for the most delicious Christmas cake you could possibly imagine....one that people will actually eat AND enjoy. Not dry, crumbly and bland, but filled with any sort of fruit you like, moist like the best puddings, and oh so very tasty. Well, it was so good I wanted to share it again - but this time with a slight variation..... I have been busily at work in my kitchen, with the help of my most adorable 4 year old assistant, concocting this cake recipe and turning it into small bowl sized 'puddings' to decorate, and wrap in red cellophane and silver curly ribbon as gifts for my children's teachers. Everyone knows I really hesitate to give cheap disposable rubbish gifts, and would much rather give something of use or value, homemade (where possible) or locally sourced, so these pudding seemed to fit the bill.......food is always a more palatable option than a trinket to gather dust on the shelf before it finds its way to the rubbish bin in a few months time. So here is the recipe once again - you might like to make tiny mini puddings out of it, or bowl sized ones like mine, or a full on Christmas cake....but do enjoy its yummy goodness in whatever shape it comes in this year !! Happy Christmas !!

 

 

'Aunty' Hannahs DIVINE Christmas Cake

1 medium tin crushed pineapple with fruit juice
500gms of dried fruit of choice (apricots, sultanas, apple etc) – diced.
½ cup Sherry
1 cup juice of choice
125gms butter
1 cup raw sugar

Place all together in large saucepan and boil for 5 mins. Let cool for ½ hour or so.

Add 1 ½ – 2 cups of SR Flour
2 Large eggs whisked
1 Teaspoon nutmeg and cinnamon

Mix all together. Place in a lined and greased large spring tin, or pudding sized bowls etc. Bake at 160 degrees Celsius for 1-1 ½ hours or until a skewer goes in and comes out 'clean'. Allow to cool in tin. Ice and decorate as creativity desires !!!

 

 

Flourless Choc Cake.....mmmmmmmm

280g quality dark chocolate

2/3 cup organic coconut oil

4 free range eggs

2/3 cup almond meal

2 tbsp cornflour

1. Heat up your oven to 180 degrees. Oil a spring cake tin and line with baking paper

2. Place chocolate and oil in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir as chocolate melts.

3. Remove from heat and whisk in eggs.

4. Stir in almond meal and cornflour, mixing well until combined and pour into prepared tin.

5. Bake for 20mins or until a skewer inserted in centre comes out with moist crumbs.

6. Remove from oven and refridgerate for 3 hours before turning out from tin.

7. Sprinkle with icing sugar if so desired

Yummy - and this is particularly nice served as a choc brownie dessert with cream or ice-cream.

The best ice cream EVER!

The poppets and I have been on a bit of a kitchen jaunt recently - we have been making all sorts of goodies, and its a great way to spend the idle hours of a weekend or evening together. But by far, the most outstanding item we have made in ages, is this incredible ice cream....seriously, I cannot impress upon you enough just how fantastic this tastes......the verdict is unanimous in our household of 4 ice cream lovers, this recipe is far better than any bought or store made ice cream you will try. Dont believe me? Well, you are just going to have to try it for yourself !!!!

 Best Ice Cream Ever

1.5 cups full cream milk

1.5 cups thickened cream

6 egg yolks

2/3 cup caster sugar

300g dark chocolate

Bring milk almost to boiling point on medium heat.

Remove from heat and add chocolate.

Set aside to melt 5 mins, then whisk until smooth.

Whisk egg yolks in a large bowl with sugar until very thick and pale

Gradually pour in chocolate milk whisking constantly to combine

Return to saucepan and cook on medium heat 5 mins stirring occasionally.

Do not boil.

Cool to room temperature.

In seperate bowl beat cream until firm peaks form and stir into chocolate custard mixture.

We dont posess an ice cream maker, so we poured mixture into a freezer proof pan and popped into the freezer until it began to set (about 2 hours).

Remove from freezer and pour/scrape mixture into an electric beater.

Beat until well and truly 'fluffy'. then re-freeze overnight (6 hours).

Serve alone or with fruit, chocolate or anything else your sweet tooth desires !!

This can be made minus the chocolate and replaced with berries, banana, mint...basically anything that would make scrumpteous ice cream !!!

(Hmmm - that strawberry needs a little love - they were the only two the poppets had left me !!)

Valentines Day - All you needs is love

Darling friends, I know, I know, Valentines Day has been and gone.....contrary to all appearances, I am not caught in some kind of time machine....... blunt truth of it is, I have been just too busy to have posted this on the day itself, or even around the time.....and it's not even still February.......but let me tell you what I did on Valentines Day just the same.....

On Valentines Day this year, as I am deviod of any type of personal love interest of my own, I decided within myself that Valentines Day is simply NOT just for lovers. Look at the world and tell me that it does not require lashings of love spread around everywhere, to all people, every day of the year! So, I decided that I would invite my adorable next door neighbours, Max and Denise, over for a Valentines day afternoon tea - to tell them how much I appreciate and love having them for my neighbours, and to also show my 3 little bundles of energy that it is vital to show care and love to those around us. I did attempt to also teach them the value of table manners and having a dignified afternoon tea, but I think that was expecting just a little too much !!!!

We started by baking a lovely heart shaped chocolate sponge (recipe below), filling it with cream and jam, icing it with choccy icing and crumbled up cherry ripe. It may never have graced the TV program Choccy Woccy Do Dah, but it sure looked good to us none the less ! We got out the 'good china' (which should be used all the time !!!), table cloth and a vase of red geraniums from the pots outside the window, and made a pot of tea....then, when everyone arrived we sat down and devoured it all....It was busy. It was hectic. It was yummy. It was a celebration.

The more I work in the placemaking field, the more I believe that it is celebration that gives life it's zing and magic. We need to make time, make room, make the effort to celebrate - people, moments, good times and honour even the bad times being over. It is celebration that will colour our life with memories to be treasured, that will fill our lives with people who are special. It doesnt matter that Valentines Day is over commercialised, celebrate it and use it as a vehicle to create something special in your life - a memory, a moment, the treasuring of people you love - we can never have too much of such things in our lives.

Chocolate Sponge Cake

4 eggs seperated

3/4 cup cornflour

1 tsp cream of tartar

3/4 cup castor sugar

1 tbsp custard powder

1/2 tsp bicarb soda

3 tbsp cocoa powder

Beat egg whites with a dash of salt.

Add sugar slowly as you go.

Add egg yolks one at a time.

Sift dry ingredients then fold in with a wooden spoon.

Bake in moderate oven (180degrees) for 20-25 minutes.

Decorate and fill as desired.

Cupcakes for lunches

Fancy Pants eyes off some blueberry muffins that he helped make!

On a big sustainable lifestyle bent recently (thanks to the arrival of my adorable 5 chickens - Fancy Pants, Rainbow Chook, Fluffy Bum, and we have yet to name the other two!) I have been baking my own bread and making home made goodies for the kids school lunches. These home made goodies usually take the form of muffins/cupcakes, and I have no end of delight in devising new and exciting recipes with my little ones......we have tried chocolate and raspberry, sultana and raspberry, blueberry, and pear and chocolate so far, and have many more up our sleeve to put into action over the coming 4th term.

So here is our recipe for basic muffins/cupcakes, and in the spirit of creativity, feel free to experiment with what you add - choc chips, fruit, nuts, marshmallows, you name it, the fun is always in the creation !!

We experimented with my new icing piper on our chocolate cupcakes...

Basic Cupcake Recipe

125g soft butter

125g Caster sugar

150g self raising flour

2 eggs (thanks Fancy Pants!!)
2 tablespoons natural yogurt or cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius and fill muffin tray with 'patti pans'. Cream butter and sugar. Add flour, eggs, yogurt/cream and vanilla in large bowl of electric mixer and mix until just smooth. Beat in desired flavouring by hand and place mixture in 'patti pans'. Bake in oven for 15mins or until springy to touch.

My only problem seems to be that all my children's friends want some too - hence I now make double quantity !!

My babies adore their  pet chooks, and love to cuddle with them....

Chocolate Fudge Funtime

School holiday's provide the perfect opportunity to get into the kitchen and make some seriously indulgent, hip expanding goodies with the kids......and I have found nothing better to accomplish this than my girlfriend Kerry's AMAZING chocolate fudge recipe !! Try it out for yourself and be tantalized........

500g Chocolate of choice

1 tin of condensed milk

60g Butter

melt all ingredients in in a saucepan stirring continually

Spoon into a lined slice tin and put into fridge until firm and set

** You can add nuts, fruit, choc chips, mint essence...infect anything creative at all to make your own 'house speciality' !! We made rocky road fudge above with fruit, nuts and marshmallows....mmmmmm !!

Oh, and dont forget that this sort of cooking makes terrific homemade christmas gifts, all packaged up beautifully of course! (Or you could buy a plum pudding from my shop !!)

Gillian's dreamy Earl Grey Tea Cake

This cake is simply to die for !!! You simply MUST try it - either for afternoon tea, or for a scrumptious dessert served with cream, custard or icecream. Mmmmmmmm..............

Earl Grey Tea Cake

1.5 cups of chopped fresh dates

1 tsp bicarb soda

 1 cup of brewed earl grey tea

 2 apples peeled and grated

1 1/4 cup of self raising flour

3/4 cup of brown sugar – for a lighter version, use raw sugar and a tablespoon of golden syrup

150 grams butter melted – if you prefer a less “greasy” cake, reduce the butter to 80g- it still works well

2 tsp of natural vanilla extract

4 eggs

Preheat Oven to 180C. Line baking loaf tin with baking paper. Place dates, bicarb of soda and tea in a bowl. I left the tea bag in the bowl during this time for around 10 minutes. Using a barmix or hand held blender, blend the mixture till smooth. Set aside. Mix flour, apple and sugar in a bowl till combined. Add in butter, vanilla, eggs and date mixture. Mix well with wooden spoon.

Spoon into loaf tin and bake for 45-50 minutes till cooked when tested with a skewer.

Rest and cool before removing from tin.

Beautiful Kerry's easy peasey Orange Cake

Kerry’s amazingly easy and scrumptious orange cake

Blend whole orange (with skin) in blender to a reasonable pulp.

Add:

185g melted butter

3 eggs

1 Cup caster sugar

1.5 Cups Self Raising Flour

Blend ingredients again till well combined.

Pour into lined and greased cake tin and cook in moderate (180) oven for 35-45 mins or until golden on top.

Ice with lemon icing or cream cheese icing if preferred.

Mmmmmmmmm !!!!! It doesn't last long !

 

Oatmeal Choc Chip Cookies

Since moving into my own rental cottage, I must confess I have been very slack on the cooking front. Recently, however, I seem to be finding my mojo again - to the great delight of my little poppets !! Here is a sample of some goodies.......

Oatmeal Choc Chip Cookies

125g butter softened

125g sugar

75g soft brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

135g plain flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda

85g oats

250g chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 190 degrees C (375 F). Grease 2 large baking trays. Put butter, sugars, vanilla and egg in a bowl and beat with an electric whisk untill smooth.

Add flour, cinnamon, baking powder and bicarb soda and mix well. Stir in the oats and choc chips.

Put two tablespoons of sugar in a small bowl.

Taking a tablespoon of cookie mixture, form into a ball, dip one side in the sugar and place sugar side up on the baking sheet.

Press down the cookine using the bottom of a glass to make a flat circle.

 Bake in oven for 5-10 mins until golden.

Serve with milk or a smoothie to your kids, and maybe a glass of my home made bailies to your hubby for supper together !!

Perfect end to the day !

Summer Ice Cream

With summer upon us in Australia, the kids and I took the opportunity to make our own ice-cream from a recipe I had stashed away, and it certainly was delicious !!! It really does one good to make your own 'standard favourites' as you soon realise (in this case) just how unhealthy they are.....I LOVE ice-cream, but have been alot more cautious about eating it since we made this....it is now much more of a treat for me, and less of a regular thing. So if you have a spare afternoon this summer, grab the kids and mix up some home made ice cream...fill in your school holidays, and delight your taste buds as a special treat !

(Above - our home made ice cream with ice magic and sprinkles - yummy!!)

Home Made Ice Cream

1 Tin condensed milk

1 Cup water

2 Teaspoons Vanilla

4 Cups cream

Whip the cream

Add water and condensed milk mixed together

Whip again

Add whatever you like - fruit puree, fruit bits, dried fruit, chocolate, lollies, topping/flavouring...

Place in a container, cover with gladwrap and freeze for aprox 12 hours.

Mmmmmm !!!

Scrum-diddly-umptious Lemon Self Saucing Pudding

Ths kiddies and I delighted in making this tangy and delicious pudding on a perfect September Spring day this week, the best part of which was in the eating !! I dont know what it is about Springtime, but it brings out the cook in me and nothing beats something citrus-y for that burst of springflower freshness !

Ingredients

6 eggs - seperated

400g white sugar

4 tbspoons SR flour

600ml milk

grated zest and juice of 4-6 lemons (depending on size and juiciness!!)

2 Tbspoons dessicated coconut

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Place the egg yolks and 300g of the sugar in a bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Add the flour, milk, lemon zest and juice and beat vigorously. in a seperate, clean bowl whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Add the remaining sugar and coconut while whisking. Gently fold in the egg whites into the lemon mixture. Poor into oven proof dish and bake for 1 hour. (I used individual ramkins, 6-8 depending on size, and baked for aprox 30 mins, or until browned on top)

Serve with King Island Cream, or your favourite ice-cream. Mmmmmmmm!!!

Aunty Rhonda's 'Birchip' Sponge

When I was a little girl in the early 80's, my Aunty Rhonda lived in the little township of Birchip in Victoria's Western District. While there, Aunty Rhonda happened across an amazing 'no fail' sponge recipe, which I have called "The Birchip Sponge".......

I have never attempted a sponge before, feeling that it may have been somewhat out of my league, however, after getting this recipe off Aunty Rhonda, I decided to just jump in the deep end and give it a go - after all, you cant be a 50's housewife without being able to make a sponge cake !!! And the results were quite surprisingly good.......

I ended up making four sponges for a community event I catered for - and to my surprise, there wasn't a single piece left over !! I guess they must have tasted quite alright !!

Birchip Sponge

4 eggs - seperated

3/4 cup cornflour

1 teaspoon cream of tarta

3/4 cup castor sugar

1 tablespoon custard powder

1/2 teaspoon bi-carb soda

Beat egg whites with a dash of salt.

Add sugar slowly as you go.

Add egg yolks one at a time.

Sift dry ingredients, then fold in with a wooden spoon.

Bake in a moderate oven (180 degrees) for 20-25 minutes.

Too easy !!!

I made two sponges and sandwhiched them together with jam and whipped chantilly cream (cream beaten with icing sugar and vanilla), and iced the cake with my favourite passionfruit icing (icing sugar mixed with the pulp of two passionfruit). Delicious !

Butterflies in my garden - and my kitchen....

In the beautiful Autumnal sunshine we have been experiencing, my three little poppets have been amusing themselves by running around the garden, butterfly nets in hand, collecting butterflies and caterpillar'ss galore.....I must confess I have never seen anything like the amount of butterflies we have had this year! My 'china doll' bush is simply drenched in fluttering wings - so amazingly pretty !

So in the spirit of life lesson themes, my children and I embarked on making a delicious old fashion favourite - butterfly cakes. Grandma Jean used to make the most delightful butterfly cakes and seemed always able to whip them out for the afternoon tea table, even if we dropped in unexpectedly - amazing woman that she was !

So here is a recipe for yummy butterfly cakes.....to be enjoyed in the sunshine, like any good butterfly would be doing!

Butterfly Cakes

 115g softened butter

115g caster sugar
2 eggs lightly beaten

115g self raising white flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 Cup Milk

Pre heat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease and place patty pans in muffin tray. Sift flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add butter, sugar and eggs and using an electric beater beat until smooth. Add milk and whisk into the mixture. Spoon mixture into paper cases and bake in oven 20 minutes until risen and golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

Decoration

 Use double cream or whip a small container of cream

Make up a packet of red jelly according to packet directions, preferably using a shallow pie dish instead of deep bowl to set in fridge.

Slice a 'cap' off the cooled cakes and fill the indentation with whipped cream. Cut 'cap' in half and place two pieces (or wings) according to picture. Dig out a teaspoon of jelly and place between 'wings', then dust liberally with icing sugar.

Sit down to eat on a sunny autumn afternoon and prepare to flutter away to fantasy land !

Double Delight Cookies

Ingredients:

110g soft butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sifted plain flour
1/4 cup sifted cocoa powder
1 teaspon bi carb soda
125g melted dark or milk chocolate
280g roughly chopped dark or milk chocolate

Method:

Set oven at 160 degrees C. Beat butter and sugar in an electric mixer until light and creamy (10 mins aprox). Add egg and vanilla and beat 4 minutes. Sift through flour, cocoa, bi carb soda and melted chocolate. Add extra roughly chopped chocolate and stir to combine. Roll mixture into round balls the size you desire ( I went for golf ball size myself). Place on baking tray lined with baking paper and flatten with a fork. Bake in oven for 12 minutes, and allow to cool before snuggling down in front of your favourite movie with a mug of hot cocoa and a plate of these !! Mmmmmmm.......

A very vintage Christmas......

Re-creating a vintage styled Christmas is the ultimate goal of every vintage loving momma like me! I want my children to delight in the romance, magic and sheer beauty that Christmas can be - just as I remember it was when I was a child. The house decorated fantasticly in merriment (often home made decorations too - even better !!), Jim Reeves crooning carols on the stereo, a trip to church to celebrate the reason for the season, extended family around - happy, laughing and dressed in their 'Sunday' best, and the dinner table weighted down with decadent delights for everyone. And, of course, what should be the 'piece de resistance' - the Christmas cake topping off a fine time.....and yet, my memories of the cake are a bit disapointing I must say - it was too super rich, crumbly and dry. I don't know who made it in my family but it is time that aspect of my reminiscent vintage Christmas was updated - to something all vintage loving domestic divas would nod in approval over ! Even if you don't particularly like Christmas or fruit cake (like me), you simply MUST try this one! To have a true heritage, vintage Christmas, you must have Christmas cake, so why not have one that everyone at your Christmas party will drool over....and while you are nibbling away, enjoy my little tribute to the vintage beauty of Christmas - the movies, the images, the advertising (!), the food, the elegance, the parties, the fun - HAPPY VINTAGE CHRISTMAS EVERYONE !

'Aunty' Hannahs DIVINE Christmas Cake

1 medium tin crushed pineapple with fruit juice
500gms of dried fruit of choice (apricots, sultanas, apple etc) – diced.
½ cup Sherry
1 cup juice of choice
125gms butter
1 cup raw sugar

Place all together in large saucepan and boil for 5 mins. Let cool for ½ hour or so.

Add 1 ½ – 2 cups of SR Flour
2 Large eggs whisked
1 Teaspoon nutmeg and cinnamon

Mix all together. Place in a lined and greased large spring tin. Bake at 160 degrees Celsius for 1-1 ½ hours. Allow to cool in tin. Ice and decorate as creativity desires !!!

(Dear Candice, Please accept my recipe and little Christmas song as my entre into your wonderful Christmas Competition - the rest of my post is over 200 words! The link to your competition I posted here at Alice Jeans a couple of posts back - Thankyou for a wonderful competition, and a merry Christmas to you, Darling Vintage Vixen ! XX)