Popcorn Candy Cane Slice

Yum!  This Christmas slice is so easy and so tasty (I'm warning you now, once you start, it's hard to stop!)  It does break up a bit when you cut it, but I don't mind the rustic look of slice "chunks" - but you could always up the white chocolate content to help it stay to together.  It's so delicious, you'll love it!

Ingredients
8 cups popcorn (pop your own in a saucepan with a bit of oil)
220g white chocolate, melted
10 candy canes, crushed
red sprinkles, optional
silver balls, optional

Method
Put popcorn in a bowl and mix with white chocolate and red sprinkles.

Spread into a lined slice pan, then sprinkle with candy canes and silver balls.

Refrigerate until firm, then cut or break into chunks and serve.

Chocolate Christmas Clusters (gluten-free & dairy-free)

If you love Christmas treats but are conscious of the calories, this recipe is for you!  Or perhaps you love to give goodies to friends but someone is gluten-free and dairy-free - look no further!  These are super easy, absolutely delicious and are perfect for the health-conscious this Christmas.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/3 cup desiccated coconut

1/3 cup coconut oil

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup cranberries

1/4 cup slivered almonds

Method

Mix cocoa, coconut, oil and maple syrup in a small bowl until well combine.

Spoon into a 12-hole silicone mini muffin pan.

Top with cranberries and almonds.  Refrigerate until firm.

Pop out of pan and serve.

White Chocolate & Gingerbread Cheesecake

I've been thinking about this recipe all of December and finally got a chance to make it - WOW!  I love love love it - the gingerbread base is to die for, the white chocolate is divine and the lime just gives it an extra little punch.  It's just so Christmas - you'll love it too!

Ingredients
250g gingerbread biscuits (can be bought or home-made) + 6-8 extra biscuits to decorate
100g melted butter
250g cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup caster sugar
3 eggs
180g white chocolate, melted
300g sour cream

zest & juice of 1 lime

1 teaspoon ground ginger

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Crush biscuits in a food processor until ground finely.  Add melted butter and mix well.

Spread over the base of a lined 7 or 8-inch springform pan.  Press down firmly.

Using a food processor or electric mixer, beat cream cheese with caster sugar for about 30 seconds.

Add eggs, one at a time, then melted chocolate, sour cream, lime juice, zest & ginger.  Mix until smooth and well combined.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Allow to cool until warm, then refrigerate until cold and set.

Top with biscuits and serve.

Spiced Choc-Cherry Brownies

These delicious brownies are just Christmas through and through, with the added spice and fresh cherries!  Very decadent - perfect for a gift!  They're pretty amazing :-)

Ingredients
250g dark chocolate
150g butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup plain flour (can use gluten-free)
1/3 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon mixed spice
15 fresh cherries, halved and pitted

Method
Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius fan-forced.

Place chocolate and butter in a heat-proof bowl.  Microwave for 1 minute on medium (50% power), stir and return for another minute, or until melted.

Add the brown sugar and stir until well combined.  Allow to cool slightly before adding eggs & stirring well.

Add flour, cocoa and spice & mix.

Spread into a lined square baking tin.  Place cherry halves on top, cut-side down.

Bake for about 30 minutes (baking time depends on if you prefer them on the firm side or a bit more gooey!).

Remove from oven and cover with alfoil.  Allow to cool, then slice and serve.

Chocolate Fruit Mince Bites

This recipe came about because I'd made some Shortbread Biscuits but unfortunately had a few breakages, so they couldn't be gifted.  I checked out my Christmas supplies in the pantry and using some of the staples I always stock up on at this time of year, came up with these delicious treats!  They are delicious and divine and very, very sweet!  They are so quick to make and don't even require baking - these little treats simply are like Christmas in your mouth!

Ingredients (makes 24)
200g dark chocolate, melted
150g plain or spiced biscuits, chopped (I used spiced shortbread, but something like Nice biscuits are fine)
100g fruit mince (home-made or make your own from Charlie's dried fruit)
30g desiccated coconut
150g condensed milk

Method
Mix together all ingredients until well combined.

Press into 2 silicone mini muffin pans and refrigerate for 1 hour.  Turn out and top with festive M&Ms, sprinkles, cocoa, icing sugar or coconut.

Pfeffernusse

My Christmas tree is up and I'm getting into the spirit with some early festive baking!  I can't believe I've never made these before - they are divine!  They are a German biscuit and just embody that Christmas spice taste.  Perfect to wrap up as little gifts...or to eat yourself (just try and stop at one!)  I made a couple of batches, and in one I was a bit impatient in letting the mixture cool - those ones didn't turn out as well, so it's definitely worth following the instructions for the perfect taste and texture :-)  These will also freeze well, so you can get organised now (I have to hide them from my husband so they actually last until Christmas!)  Enjoy these ones, I know you will!

Did you know Charlie's can supply all of your Christmas spices?!  Check them out!

Ingredients
1/2 cup golden syrup

125g butter

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

2 cups plain flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon bicarb soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Method

Combine golden syrup, butter and vanilla in a small saucepan over low heat.  Cook, stirring often, until butter has melted and ingredients have combined.

Remove from the heat and set aside to cool to room temperature.  Stir in the beaten egg.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, bicarb and spices. 

Gradually add the liquid and stir until well combined.  Chill the dough in the fridge for about 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius/150 fan-foced.

Line two large trays with baking paper.  Roll dough into balls about 2cm in diameter.  Place onto the trays, allowing room for them to spread.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until they are slightly firm on top.  They may have small cracks - that's okay!

While they are still warm, roll in icing sugar to coat.  If you like, you can roll them a second time for extra coating once they've cooled.

Mini Steamed Christmas Puddings

Yes, it's October.  And I'm talking about Christmas.  But just bear with me for a bit!

Last December, I felt so busy with cooking and preparing for the festive season, that I vowed to be more organised this year - and here we are!  Christmas Puddings are perfect to prepare ahead, because they freeze well and the flavour gets even better with time.  I prepped these up this week, wrapped them in calico I picked up from Spotlight - and now I have 30+ puddings in my freezer ready for Christmas!  I feel so organised!

You can use any dried fruit you like to make up the quantity - tailor it to your taste.  This method gives you that steamed texture, but is so much easier than steaming in a saucepan in the calico.  So get organised - December is just around the corner!

Grab your dried fruit, eggs and oranges from Charlie's!

Ingredients (makes about 34 mini puddings)
1kg mixed dried fruit
250g dried cranberries
250g dried apricots, chopped
150mL brandy
juice and zest of 1 orange
250g butter
2 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons Parisian browning essence (optional)
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 cup self-raising flour
2 teaspoons mixed spice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
4 eggs

Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius/160 fan-forced.

Combine dried fruit in a bowl and add brandy and the orange juice.  Cover and leave for 2 hours (or up to overnight if you have the time).

Place fruit in a large saucepan and add butter, sugar, orange zest, maple syrup, browning essence and water.

Heat at medium-high, stirring regularly, until butter has melted and sugar dissolved.  Bring to the boil then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Cool slightly.  Add dry ingredients then eggs and mix well to combine.

Grease 3 muffin pans with oil.  If they are not silicone, place a circle of baking paper in the bottom of each to prevent sticking.  Divide mixture between pans.  Place each pan in a roasting tray and fill to half-way up muffin pans with boiling water.  Cover pans with baking paper then alfoil, gathered tightly around edges.

Place in oven and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until cooked through.  (I did 2 trays for 1 hour, then 1 tray for 45 minutes).

Cool to room temperature, then wrap in squares of calico and tie with ribbon.  Reheat in the microwave.

Beetroot Relish

This is another relish that I would've posted in the Christmas lead-up, but ran out of days!  I'm currently a bit addicted to this and the jar in my fridge won't be lasting too much longer!  I love it on toast, on a wrap with grated cheese and lettuce, mixed with some sour cream as a dip, or as a base spread on pizza.  So delicious, give it a go!

Ingredients
4 large, fresh beetroot (about 800g), peeled and grated
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 large green apples, peeled, cored and chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 3/4 cups red wine vinegar
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon cooking salt

Method
Combine beetroot, onion, apple, garlic, vinegar, sugar and salt in a large saucepan; stir over high heat, without boiling, until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 40 minutes until relish is thick.

Spoon hot relish into hot sterilised jars; seal immediately.

Christmas Pudding Shortbread

Any type of shortbread is a delicious Christmas Treat - but Christmas Pudding Shortbread just gives it that extra level of deliciousness!  This is an easy, tasty little biscuit that's sure to impress :-)

Ingredients
125g butter, at room temp
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup plain flour
1/3 cup rice flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
extra flour for kneading
1 eggwhite, whisked
1/3 cup demerara sugar (I used some combined caster sugar and cinnamon on mine instead)

Method

Preheat oven to 160C. Line 2 large oven trays with baking paper. Put butter, brown sugar and vanilla in a bowl and beat using electric beters until light and creamy. 

Sift flour, rice flour, cinnamon, cloves, mixed spice and nutmeg over butter mixture and stir until well combined. turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until mixture comes together.

Roll out dough between 2 sheets of baking paper until 4mm thick. Using a 7cm round fluted biscuit cutter, cut 15 rounds from dough, re-rolling as required. 

Cut rounds from dough, re-rolling as required. Put rounds on prepared trays, brush with eggwhite and sprinkle with demerara sugar. 

Bake for 15-20 mins or until light golden and firm. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Package them up in a little bag and ribbon like this and you have a perfect little Christmas gift!

Apricot & Vanilla Bean Jam

I can only finish of Edible Gifts Week with one recipe - this delicious jam!  Apricot Jam is a bit of a "thing" in my family - my Grandma makes the BEST one ever, but my mum, aunty and sister have also made pretty amazing renditions along the way.  This one is a Women's Weekly recipe - and I've already have a few rave reviews from people who've received these as gifts for Christmas.  It's easy and tastes amazing - what better Christmas gift?!?

Ingredients
1kg fresh apricots, halved and seeded
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthways
1 cup water
1 kg white sugar

Method
Combine apricots, vanilla beam and water in a large saucepan; bring to the boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, about 15 minutes or until mixture is pulpy.

Add sugar to pan; stir over high heat, without boiling, until sugar dissolves.

Bring to the boil; boil, uncovered, without stirring, about 35 minutes or until jam jells when tested.

Discard vanilla bean. Pour hit jam into hot sterilised jars; seal immediately. Label and date jars when cold.

Kris Krinkles

Today's Christmas recipe (can you believe we're up to #22 already?!?) is a guest post from my dear friend, Jess.  She gives us a jar of these biscuits every Christmas, and I always look forward to receiving them and eating them!  I love also that they come with a great story - thanks Jess! :-)

"This is the easiest recipe and came from a magazine my mum had about 35 years ago! They have such a lovely story these cookies- mum started making them when my eldest brother went to school for his teacher and it progressed from there until she was doing them for all three of our teachers, neighbours, family and friends every year and they all still talk about them! She has moved to a whole new town and workplace and now bakes them again every year for her colleagues and they love them. Now I'm carrying on the tradition for my friends and hopefully my kids' teachers!"

Ingredients
250g butter
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla essence or rum
2 1/2 cups plain flour
3/4 cup glace cherries, chopped
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup desiccated coconut

Method
Cream butter and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla/rum.

Stir in flour, cherries and nuts.

Form into 2 logs then roll in coconut, scattered on some foil (see pictures below).  Wrap in the foil and chill overnight.

Cut into cookies and bake at 190 degrees for 12 minutes or until just gold - watch carefully as they burn quickly!

Gingerbread Ice-cream Pudding

This recipe came out a challenge set by my workmates to use up the rest of the Gingerbread House that we devoured for our work Christmas Party.  It seemed like such a waste to throw out the crumbled remnants, so I decided to mix together an ice-cream pudding to serve on Christmas Eve.  The liqueur and chocolates had been given to me as gifts, so it was a great way to use up some things I had on hand!  This one is seriously indulgent and delicious - and I love it because it is super easy (no cooking involved, just mixing!) and you can make it in advance and not have to think about dessert again until you're about to serve.  Definitely a perfect Aussie Christmas dessert!

Ingredients
Leftover gingerbread, crumbled
2L hokey pokey ice-cream
16 ferrero rochers, crushed
1/3 cup caramel liqueur
white chocolate ice magic
cranberries and silver balls, to decorate

Method
Put ice-cream in a large bowl and leave out to soften.  Mix in gingerbread, chocolates and liqueur.

Place in a silicone mould (the Tupperware Kugelhopf is perfect!) or pudding basin lined with cling wrap.

Freeze for several hours.

Turn on to a plate, squeeze ice magic on top and sprinkle with cranberries and silver balls.

Cashew Nut Dukkah

I'm a big fan of Dukkah as a nibble - with simple fresh bread, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, it makes for a perfect snack.  I decided to try and make it recently - and I was amazed at how easy it was!  You can, of course, use any nuts, like almonds, hazlenuts or pistachios.  Or perhaps mix it up a bit with some different spices.  Another gorgeous little gift when packaged up nicely!

Ingredients
1 cup cashews
1/2 cup sesame seeds
2 tbs ground coriander
2 tbs ground cumin
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp sea salt
Extra virgin olive oil, to serve
Balsamic vinegar, to serve
Crusty bread, to serve

Method
Heat a medium frying pan over medium heat. Add the sesame seeds and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes or until golden. Add coriander and cumin and cook for 1 minute.

Crush cashews in a food processor.  Transfer to a bowl. Add the crushed spices, pepper and salt and mix well.

Serve dukkah with some extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and crusty bread.

Gingerbread House #2

Making a Gingerbread House is a Christmas tradition I started last year, with this delightful little creation.  I just love the neat, tidy and slick look of last year's, but I decided it was time to get the kids involved.  This recipe was from www.taste.com.au.  As I explained last year, I have a mould that I use, which makes the whole process so much easier!  I absolutely love the finished product this time - yes, it's messy.  Yes, it has teeny fingerprints on parts.  Yes, the lollies are randomly-placed and falling off in parts.  But we had a great time doing it and creating Christmas memories :-)

Ingredients
3 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1 cup plain flour
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
185g butter, chopped
1/2 cup golden syrup
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Royal icing
2 eggwhites, lightly beaten
3 cups pure icing sugar

lollies, to decorate

Method
Combine flours, ginger, cinnamon, sugar and butter in a food processor. Process until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Whisk golden syrup and eggs together in a jug. With the motor running, add egg mixture and process until dough just comes together. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently until smooth. Cut dough in half and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or until well chilled.

Roll dough, 1 portion at a time, between 2 sheets baking paper until 5mm thick. Remove top layer baking paper. Using cardboard cut-outs as a guide, cut shapes from dough. Place gingerbread in a single layer on trays. Freeze for 15 minutes or until firm.

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line 4 baking trays with baking paper. Place gingerbread on trays. Bake, 2 trays at a time, for 15 minutes or until firm. Cool on trays.

Make royal icing: Using an electric mixer, beat eggwhites until soft peaks form. Gradually add icing sugar, beating constantly until thick.

Use icing to join walls together, placing unopened cans of food to support walls until icing dries. Use icing to attach roof to walls, using cans to support roof (to prevent it from slipping off walls) until icing dries completely.

Spoon 1/2 cup remaining icing into a snap-lock bag. Trim 1 corner of bag and pipe windows and doors on house and frost on roof edges. Allow to dry. Spoon remaining icing into snap-lock bag. Pipe a little icing on the back of each lolly and attach to house to decorate. Dust roof with icing sugar.

Happy little helpers!

What a team :-)

Lemon Curd

Here's another perfect Edible Gift - a tangy but sweet Lemon Curd, courtesy of the Women's Weekly Jams & Preserves book.  This is perfect on toast, pikelets, scones or in mini tarts.

Ingredients
6 egg yolks
1 cup caster sugar
80g unsalted butter, chopped
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon rind
2/3 cup lemon juice

Method
Whisk egg yolks and sugar in medium bowl until combined; transfer to small saucepan with remaining ingredients. Cook, stirring, over low heat, about 8 minutes or until mixture thickly coats the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat immediately; stir for 30 seconds.

Pour into hot, sterilised jars; seal immediately. Label and date jars when cold.

Tomato Relish

Another Monday and it's only 8 days until Christmas!  I hope you're enjoying all the Christmas recipes so far.  We've already done Ham Week and Christmas Treats Week, so now I'm launching into Edible Gifts.  Hopefully this will give you some great ideas of unique gifts for family and friends that come from the kitchen - mainly jams & preserves.  I have a special friend doing a guest post for me this week, so can't wait to share her delicious recipe.

So, kicking off today is Tomato Relish!  This recipe is a bit of a combination between one from Jamie Oliver and one from Julie Goodwin. This was my first attempt at relish and i was so happy with the result! It is just divine - perfect with cheese or as an accompaniment with quiche, sausages, steak or savoury scones.

Ingredients (makes about 4 cups)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons curry powder
500g onions, sliced thinly
2kg ripe red tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup red wine vinegar
375g brown sugar
2 tablespoons whole grain mustard

Method
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat, then add curry powder. Stir for a minute, until fragrant. Add the onions and cook for a further minute, then add tomatoes and bring to the boil.

Add the rest of the ingredients. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 1 hour, or until reduced to a thick, spreadable consistency.

Spoon into sterilised jars and seal. Once open, keep in the fridge for up to 6 months.

It's not hard to fill some jars with edible goods for a practical, delicious and always-appreciated gift!

Choc Candy Cane Bites (& a Christmas Treats Exchange!)

You might remember back in this post, I promised you I'd give you a great idea of what to do with the unused middle of the wreath biscuits.  Of course, you could always re-roll the scraps and make more wreaths, but I was on a time frame, so instead, I just baked the rounds as they were, spread with a touch of melted white chocolate and sprinkled with crushed candy canes.  SO EASY!  They look great, taste delicious and make a perfect little gift.

I also want to share with you a lovely afternoon I had the other day with some mum friends - one of the girls organised a Christmas Biscuit Exchange (although, I've called it a Christmas Treats Exchange because we ended up with a variety of things, not just biscuits).  We all took along 24 biscuits or sweets and laid them out on a central table.  The wonderful hostess had stocked up on plates, cellophane, ribbon and tags, and we all filled our plates with an amazing variety of sweet treats, which we then packaged up beautifully to give away as gifts.

You can see in the picture above what we ended up with - reindeer biscuits, melting moments, oreo truffles, brownies, white Christmas bites and cake pops to name a few!  It was such a great idea to spend some time with each other (while the kids played together) and leave with these gorgeous plates to gift.  It's such a great and easy way to spread some Christmas cheer!

Apricot & Almond Christmas Pudding

There's something SO Christmassy and SO authentic about a traditional steamed pudding.  It's not something that's often done apart from at Christmas, so I guess that adds to its appeal!  I think I've only ever made one steamed pudding before, so I was really keen to try another one this year - plus the fact I went and bought myself my very own pudding basin from K-mart ($9, what a bargain!!!)  I searched around in a few books and found this one in a Coles Magazine.  I love apricots, so I knew this one would be delicious.  It's actually really easy to make the pudding itself, just very time consuming to cook it!  But totally worth it, and served with custard - yum!!!  I think I'll definitely be making a pudding every year from now on :-)

Ingredients

2 cups Mixed Dried Fruit

1 ½ cups Dried Apricots, chopped

1 ½ cups Raisins

1/2 cup Blanched Almonds, chopped

1/4 cup Orange Juice

finely grated zest of 1 Orange

250 g Butter, at room temperature

1 cup Brown Sugar

4 Eggs

1 cup Plain Flour, sifted

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Ground Cinnamon

2 cups Fresh Breadcrumbs

1/4 cup Apricot Jam

2 tbsp Brandy

Cream or Custard, to serve

Method

Place fruit, almonds, orange juice and zest in a saucepan. Heat until hot and steaming, but not boiling. Remove from heat and set aside to cool, stirring occasionally.

Grease and line the base of an 8-cup pudding basin with baking paper. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together, until pale and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in fruit mixture. Fold in flour, baking powder and cinnamon, then fold in breadcrumbs.

Spoon into prepared basin, packing down lightly as you go. Cover with a circle of greased baking paper and two sheets of foil. Tie securely around rim of basin with kitchen string (or use a pudding basin with a lid!) Stand pudding inside a large saucepan or stock pot. Fill with enough hot water to come two-thirds up side of basin.

Cover and cook for 5 hrs over low heat, topping up with boiling water as needed. Remove basin from pan, cool completely and store in fridge until Christmas Day.

To reheat, boil pudding, using above method, for 2 hrs. Warm the apricot jam and stir in the brandy. Brush over pudding. Cut into wedges and serve with cream or custard.

And as you can see, I had a little "helper" during the photo shoot for the pudding!

Mr Innocent!

Oh, you mean THAT pudding?!?

Bwahahaha!!!

Cinnamon Holly Biscuits

I found this recipe in a library book called "Festive Cooking" and it's definitely one of my new favourite Christmas recipes!  They are so tasty and look  fantastic!  As you can probably see, I ended up cutting my mint leaves in half as they were too big to put two on each biscuit - I think it still looks cute - but you could always just make bigger biscuits!  Although there are a few steps involved, these are easy to make and look so festive and bright :-)

Ingredients
2 cups self-raising flour
90g butter, chopped, at room temperature
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup golden syrup
1 egg, lightly beaten
mint leaves
red Mini m&ms

Icing
2 1/2 cups icing sugar, sifted
100ml lemon juice

Method
Place flour, butter and cinnamon in a food processor.  Process until combined.  Add sugar, syrup and egg until mixture comes together.  Turn dough onto a floured board.  Knead until smooth then roll out between sheets of baking paper (in 2 batches if necessary) until 5mm thick.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to moderate, 180 degrees celsius.

Using a 6cm fluted cutter, cut rounds from dough.  Place rounds on lined baking trays.  Bake 8-10 minutes, until firm.  Cool on trays.  Repeat with remaining dough.

Icing: meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine icing sugar and juice until a thick paste forms.  Spread over cold biscuits.

Arrange mint leaves and m&ms onto wet icing to form holly.  Set aside to set.  Store in an airtight container, layering between sheets of baking paper.

Christmas Cupcakes

These delightful little cupcakes were based on a recipe I found on www.taste.com.au.  As always, I made my own little changes and was thrilled with the result.  You can decorate as you wish (I've seen some cute little packs where you get Christmassy patty pans, with matching toothpick decorations to stick on top) - I melted some white chocolate, coloured it with food colouring, piped out my shapes, then arranged them on top with some coloured shiny balls (in case you can't see it properly, I did stars, bells and Christmas trees).  The cupcakes themselves are delicious and super easy to make.  Sure to be a winner on your Christmas table!

Ingredients
125g butter
100g (1/2 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar
1 tsp finely grated orange rind
2 eggs
1.5 cups dried mixed fruit
80ml (1/3 cup) fresh orange juice
75g (1/2 cup) plain flour, sifted
75g (1/2 cup) self-raising flour, sifted
1 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp cinnamon

Buttercream

150g butter, at room temperature

2 cups icing sugar

food colouring

Method
Preheat oven to 170°C. Line twelve 80ml (1/3-cup) capacity muffin pans with cases. Use an electric beater to beat the butter, sugar and orange rind in a bowl until pale and creamy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

Stir in the dried fruit and orange juice. Stir in the combined flour and spices. Spoon into the lined pans and smooth the surfaces.

Bake for 25 minutes or until cupcakes are firm to touch. Set aside in the pans for 5 minutes to cool before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make buttercream:  beat butter with an electric mixer until pale.  Gradually add icing sugar.  Tint with food colouring as desired.  Decorate.