Christmas and the New Year

Hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas and New Year filled with a lot of delicious food! Sorry that I didn't manage to post anything Christmassy in time, but I thought I would share the photos with you anyway and will hopefully put up a lot more recipes (including these) in time for Christmas 2014.

I spent New Years Eve in Edinburgh this year which was amazing and I cannot rave enough about Michael Neave's restaurant. I had the best steak and dauphinoise I've ever eaten so if anyone is in Edinburgh definitely go there!

Happy 2014 everyone!

Festive baking

This is a very late Christmas baking post but I really wanted to show you what I made over the festive period. Since Christmas has been and gone, I won't actually provide the recipes like usual but if you do want to know more information then feel free to leave a comment or contact me via the links above and I will happily give you the recipes and method etc. Hope you had a lovely Christmas and New Year and that you enjoy the pictures!

Yule Log

I made this for Christmas day but because the Christmas period is so hectic I opted for the shop-bought chocolate swiss roll which I then cut up and positioned in the below shape (my mum's influence!) and  made the chocolate buttercream to spread on top. It looks and tastes better than the finished shop-bought ones but takes almost no time at all and is really simple. It would not have been Christmas without this!

Mince Pies

Again, you are going to think I'm really lazy, but I 'made' these gorgeous mince pies with ready-made shortcrust pastry and a jar of mincemeat! And I'm actually not ashamed to admit this since they were so yummy and although one day I would love to make them entirely from scratch, this way means you can whip them up in under an hour and they still look really impressive. It is never too late for a mince pie so I definitely recommend making these while the weather is still cold - warm from the oven mm mm.

Cinnamon and chocolate biscuits

Half of these were chocolate and cinnamon, and the other half just mixed spice and to be honest, I couldn't really tell the difference but they were so warming and delicious all the same. The stars and holly leaves I just used cutters and then decorated with writing icing, and the snowmen I used royal icing, food colouring, writing icing and silver balls. I loved making the snowmen, I think they look so cute. These biscuits are basically just the same as any recipe but just add the spices and they're even more delicious! 

Brie and cranberry parcels

These make perfect starters and are actually more ideal for Christmas time, but I had all the ingredients in the house so couldn't resist! They're really messy and all oddly shaped (as you can see...) but I love that they're a bit different. The filo pastry I used was the jus rol brand and had actually been opened for quite a while so had dried out a fair bit, making these harder to shape - so if you use the pastry fresh then they will probably look neater and more appealing. 

*I'm not going to put exact quantities because it becomes pretty obvious when making them and it depends how many you want to make for however many people*

Ingredients

- Filo pastry cut into squares

- butter, melted

- brie, sliced

- cranberry sauce/jelly

1. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 5 / 190 degrees.

2. To make one parcel, take 3 squares and brush them with melted butter. Layer them on top of one another with the points sticking out at different angles, like a star shape.

3. Place a slice of brie in the middle and a teaspoon of cranberry sauce and lift the pastry corners up to form a parcel, pushing together gently with fingers.

4. Brush the outside with more melted butter and place on a baking tray.

5. Repeat as many times as you desire!

6. Bake in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes, or until the filling is hot and melting, and the pastry golden brown and crisp.

Enjoy :)