My Mum's Christmas Cake

I have made several Christmas cakes but still didn’t have a favourite recipe so I searched for a new one, with ‘easy’ as one of the keywords. I used one called 'Simmer-and-Stir Christmas Cake' and it is now the one I will use in future years (although next year I will remember to buy some nuts!).

I made a round cake and a very small taster cake in a loaf tin with the spare mixture, so I already knew it was going to be a good one. I made my own almond marzipan (and chocolate coated marzipan sweets with the spare) and topped it with a soft royal icing as I don’t like the stuff that breaks teeth! Then, knowing the limits of my artistic icing skills, I just decorated it with 4 chocolate stars and a ribbon.

Gingerbread House and Biscuits

It's become a tradition in my house to make a gingerbread house just before Christmas every year, and smother it in icing, chocolate and sweets.

This year we made lots of mixture and made an extra 60 star biscuits too! I can't claim to have made this house unfortunately - my mum made the mixture and my little sisters decorated it. However I did help, and definitely helped eat it...

 Look out for a guest post from my mum with her home-made Christmas cake soon!

Christmas Cupcakes

For the last few Christmases I have succeeded in stressing myself out making chocolate logs (the weighing scales didn't work, the sponge splits when I rolls it, the chocolate doesn't melt...) so I decided this year I would make stress-free cupcakes!

I assembled Christmas-themed cupcake cases, giant chocolate stars, silver balls and holly. I made several small cupcake mixes using a standard recipe for each (2oz butter, 2oz sugar, 1 egg, 2oz flour and 1 tsp baking powder) and added different flavours.

Peanut Butter Cookies

This recipe is from The Hummingbird Bakery cookbook which I absolutely love, everything I've baked has been so tasty, probably due to the high sugar and butter quantities, but one must rebel once in a while...

The is my attempt at food photography and an exact (attempted) copy of the photo in the book.

They use crunchy peanut butter and even have chocolate chips in for that extra level of decadence. They are delish with a cold glass of milk for a late-night supper (yes I'm still a child).

First preheat the oven to Gas 3. Whisk 225g butter with 200g caster sugar and 200g light brown sugar (I decreased the sugar quantities slightly) until light and fluffy, add 2 eggs, one by one. Beat in ½ tsp vanilla escence and 240g crunchy peanut butter. Add 340g plain flour, 2½ tsp bicarb and ½ tsp salt. Finally stir in 75g of chopped dark chocolate.

Arrange equal amounts of cookie dough on lined baking trays, make sure the cookies are spaced apart to allow for spreading while baking. Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges and quite flat. The cookies should be soft and chewy.

I tend to make half mixtures of new recipes, and this mix worked fine with half quantities.

Very Quick Chocolate Cake

I'm not sure about you, but I sometimes have a craving for chocolate cake that almost sends me out to the local shop at 10pm at night in the cold and rain. This recipes is perfect for those moments, as all of the ingredients are standard store-cupboard staples. This recipes has been a real life-saver on those dark cake-craved evenings...

A standard Starbucks mug is the perfect size for this recipe, but any large coffee cup will do.
Simply mix 2 tbsp plain flour with 2 tbsp caster sugar and 1 tbsp cocoa powder. Add 1½ tbsp milk, 1½ tbsp sunflower oil, a small egg and a splash of vanilla essence.

Pour into a large mug and put in the microwave for 3 minutes. And that's it, instant cake!! Don't be alarmed if the cake rises over the top of the mug, it just give is a slightly top-hat look.

It's not the moistest cake so I usually eat it with my favourite food in the world – custard.

Smarties Cookies

I've had it in my head to make Smarties cookies for a while now, who knows why! I found a couple of recipes on the internet, and adapted them to make my own.

I creamed together 5oz of butter with 4oz sugar (you could get away with another ½oz of sugar if you like particularly sweet treats). Next, beat in a small egg and a couple of drops of vanilla. Add 6oz self-raising flour and ¼ tsp of baking powder. It should form a stiff dough, if it's too sticky add a little flour, or if it doesn't come together add a tbsp of milk.

Brooklyn Blackout Cake

I received the Hummingbird Bakery cookbook for Christmas last year, and the pictures are yummy enough to eat.
I've spoken to a few people who have had bad experiences baking from this book with regards to the quantities of the ingredients. I haven't had any problems really, and the ones I did have I'm pretty sure were down to my cooking rather than the recipes!


Brooklyn Blackout Cake is seriously a chocolate lover's heaven! The filling and frosting on top are made from an eggless chocolate custard, and the top is covered with crumbled chocolate sponge.


Here is a condensed version of Hummingbird's recipe:


Cream 100g butter with 260g caster sugar. Add 2 eggs, and beat in ¼ tsp vanilla extract, 45g cocoa powder, ¾ tsp baking powder, ¾ tsp bicarb and a pinch of salt.
Add half the flour (170g plain flour), then 160ml whole milk, followed by the rest of the flour. Pour the mixture into 3 lined 20cm cake tins, and bake in a 170°C preheated oven for 25-30 minutes.