On the twelfth day of Christmas...

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!!

It's finally arrived and although mine was short (I had to work on both days) it was lovely and I did get to spend some time with my family having a wonderful Christmas with a lot of good food and company.

Once again I had a very intense week with work and all my baking It felt like I was doing two shifts a day! But I don't mind being tired if it means I get to bake and spread my goodies for others to enjoy.

This year I made a lot of gifts and I loved it! all were made with the person who was receiving them in mind... giving them a special touch.

One of my favourite things to make was chocolate bark. So easy and simple, yet so delicious!

Here are some of my chocolates.

On the eleventh day of Christmas...

Christmas is near and one of my favourite Christmas traditions is the Advent Calender... of course the chocolate ones:P And although I am a young adult I still get one every year.

source: http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/chocolate-advent-calendar

Next year I will be making my own chocolatey Advent Calender :) 

on the tenth day of Christmas...

Do you have leftover cake trimmings and you don't know what to do with it?

Well I have an idea for it!

What's better than receiving a cake in a jar?! it's so delicious and one of those perfect comfy food for those bad days. I layered chocolate cake trimmings with cream cheese frosting, condensed milk, chocolate chips, marshmallows and melted chocolate (I know calorie bomb!). But you can do all different combinations. The final effect is gorgeous and you do have fun making them.

I made this for some of my friends' xmas presents and I have been told that it does indeed taste yummy!

On the ninth day of Christmas...

What is there more festive than peppermint Candy Canes?!

So today  my suggestion is... Peppermint Candy Cane chocolate bark!

I saw a video for this idea about a year ago and decided to give it a go. Unfortunately for some reason, in Portugal I can no longer find peppermint Candy Canes (only weird fruit ones... definitely not the same) . So this year my good Friend Grace was an absolute star and sent me some!

I recommend you give it a try. It's very delicious! Here is how you make it:

This isn't the original video I saw for it but I can't find it!

Give it a try and have fun!

On the eighth day of Christmas....

It has been a crazy week. Between work, cake orders, xmas presents and dinners I am still amazed I am managing to post on my page this much!

Yesterday I got the chance to give some xmas presents and oh boy I was excited! Yes... I am one of those geeks that makes something and loves it more than the person who is receiving it. Well i did put a lot of love and thought into my gifts ;) The best part of making them is knowing they will be appreciated.

On to the fun part... I made cookie mix in a jar! I found the idea online when searching for images of edible goods in a jar.

Those cake mixes you find in the supermarket have always bothered me because they are so artificial and in the end don't really taste like nice homemade cake. But it is true that a lot of people do not possess the time, the patience or the passion for baking and when looking for something nice and easy to make they use pre- packed cake mix.

So to me this gift idea makes sense as it works just like a pre- packed cake mix but it's all natural, additive free ingredients, and the final effect is amazing! I like to think of it as gourmet cake mix.

For these jars I made two different cookie mixes, Santa's cookies and triple chocolate cookies. I found the first one on www.tipjunkie.com (http://www.tipjunkie.com/homemade-gifts/48-homemade-gifts-in-a-jar-2/), which then reverts back to the original recipe (Bakerella). For the second one I searched for a while until I found  a whole page dedicated to cakes and cookies in jars. (http://www.mixesinajar.com/mixes/cakes/)

You can also just use your home recipes to fill up the jars, however these pages give you the exact quantity for the jar. Which will save you a lot of time when putting this wonderful gift together.
For the labels you can find quite a few online and most recipes will come with a template for you to print. I made mine from scratch (using powerpoint) and glued them onto the jar with UHU power stic.

Also don't forget to sterilise all of your jars before packing in the ingredients.

I hope you enjoy these amazing gift ideas as much as I have!

Keep Baking x

On the seventh day of Christmas...

I saw this video and thought you might like it...

How cute are these mini gingerbread houses? they would look awesome on a cupcake!

Unfortunately because of all the xmas orders I have I won't have time to try these adorable houses out!

But I do recommend you give these very talented baker's creations a try.

Bake away!

On the sixth day of Christmas...

When I think of Christmas there one thing that always springs into my mind... Mince pies!

Even though I am not a fan, I know they are a big English Christmas Staple and are devoured by many (including my cousin and mum).

Traditionally made with mincemeat (reason why they are called mince pies), they are an evolution of a medieval pie that contained meat, dried fruit and boiled eggs. (http://www.englishteastore.com/history-mince-pie.html)

These small pies go wonderfully well with custard... oh so very British ;)

Do give it a try!

Ingredients

• 350g/12oz high quality mincemeat, preferably homemade
• 200g/7oz plain flour, sifted
• 40g/1½oz golden caster sugar
• 75g/2¾oz ground almonds
• 125g/4½oz unsalted butter, diced
• 1 large free-range egg, beaten
• milk, to glaze
  
  

  Preparation method

  1. Lightly butter a 12-hole pie or patty tin. Tip the mincemeat into a bowl and stir so that the liquid is evenly distributed.
  2. Place the flour, sugar, almonds and butter in a food processor and process briefly until resembling breadcrumbs, then slowly add the egg through the feeder tube. (Or rub the butter into the dry ingredients by hand and stir in the egg.)
  3. Bring the mixture together with your hands, wrap in clingfilm and chill for an hour or so. Thinly roll out the pastry on a floured surface. Cut out 12 circles with a fluted pastry cutter, large enough to fill the base of the prepared tin. Press gently into each hole, then fill with the mincemeat.
  4. Cut out another 12 slightly smaller discs and use to cover the mincemeat. Press the edges together to seal. Make a small slit in the top of each, then brush lightly with milk. Chill for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
  5. Bake the pies for 20 minutes until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack and serve warm.

source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/mincepies_73207

On the fifth day of Christmas...

In my house we never throw out jars because they are so handy and we can always find use for them (for my 24th birthday I used them as glasses for my guests!) . So this year I found another use for them  as most of my Christmas presents will come in a jar!

So I found jars in all shapes and sizes, perfect for all my ideas. But I did encounter a problem... some of the labels are so stuck to the jars and it was very hard to remove. Hot water removes the paper part of the label but removing the glue wasn't as easy!

The secret? very simple really... Mayonnaise!
I am glad I wasted all that time at Uni watching 'How clean is your house', those ladies do have some great tips on how to clean! They used mayo to remove old stickers from windows so I apply the same technic on the jars.
Get a small amount of mayo and rub it on the jar where the glue is and let it stand for a while. After, wipe it off and with the blade of knife scrape off the glue. Once you've removed all the glue wash the jar and sterilize before using it.
Some glues are harder to remove and will probably require more than one go.

Who knew such a yummy ingredient could be so useful!

On the fourth day of Christmas...

As you travel through life, experiencing different people and cultures, you realise how traditions vary and you learn to appreciate yours more by experiencing others.

My family has also their own Christmas tradition, which brings together Portuguese, English and American elements... 

On Christmas Eve we always have a very Portuguese evening... Cod, potatoes, cabbage, boiled eggs, carrots and warm olive oil to top it up. As a starter we have something that is a family tradition... bean and cabbage sprouts (very bitter not for everyone's taste). 

on Christmas day the turkey and it's stuffing never fails! Since my cousin developed his passion for cooking we also get some other roasted bird, this varies between a duck and a goose.  Always a full and delicious table. 

For dessert on both days we have a wide selection, some more traditional than others...

All desserts are made by my very talented family and they are delicious!!
What are your family Christmas traditions? which desserts remind you of Christmas? 

On the Third day of Christmas...

The cold is officially here! 

And nothing better to keep you warm and cozy than a nice glass of mulled wine. As the very talented Jamie Oliver says it is 'Christmas in a glass'. The following recipe is taken from Jamie Oliver's website (www.jamieoliver.com) 

Ingredients

- 2 clementines

- peel of 1 lemon

- peel of 1 lime

- 250g caster sugar

- 6 whole cloves

- 1 cinnamon stick

- 3 fresh bay leaves

- 1 whole nutmeg

- 1 whole vanilla pod, halved

- 2 star anise

- 2 bottles of Chianti, or other Italian red wine (or Portuguese wine ;)) 

Peel large sections of peel from your clementines, lemon and lime using a speed peeler. Put the sugar in a large saucepan over a medium heat, add the pieces of peel and squeeze in the clementine juice. Add the cloves, cinnamon stick, bay leaves and about 10 to 12 gratings of nutmeg. Throw in your halved vanilla pod and stir in just enough red wine to cover the sugar. Let this simmer until the sugar has completely dissolved into the red wine and then bring to the boil. Keep on a rolling boil for about 4 to 5 minutes, or until you’ve got a beautiful thick syrup. The reason I’m doing this first is to create a wonderful flavour base by really getting the sugar and spices to infuse and blend well with the wine. It’s important to do make a syrup base first because it needs to be quite hot, and if you do this with both bottles of wine in there you’ll burn off the alcohol. 

When your syrup is ready turn the heat down to low and add your star anise and both bottles of wine. Gently heat the wine and after around 5 minutes, when it’s warm and delicious, ladle it into glasses and serve. 

Source: www.jamieoliver.com

Give this recipe a try! have fun warming up:) 

On the second day of Christmas...

Today I am feeling relaxed... I have the week off so I treated myself to an anti stress massage. And it was so good! I've been needing one for a while. Since I have a week off work I decided it's time to start making my Christmas presents. This year I want to get as much done as possible ahead of time so I don't have to in the crazy stress pack weeks just before Christmas.

I started with my flavoured sugars. It is such a great idea and can be used for various things. For example to flavour your coffee and your baking(instead of using essence you swap it for the sugar).
You can find so many different recipes for this and it is so easy to make!

I based my sugars on the recipe found on the following link :
http://www.countryliving.com/cooking/pantry-staples-gift-ideas#slide-1

I also did one cup of sugar at a time, seen as my jars only hold that amount. The instant  aroma is amazing!

Give it a try!

On the first day of Christmas....

Christmas is here! and to celebrate the arrival of such a festive season I went all out and bought myself two more Christmas Cds! (I think I have around 15 already :P)

I guess the reason why I am so into the Christmas spirit is because I have been planning all my baking and presents for a few weeks now. This year I decided to make all of my gifts as through time I realise we sometimes end up giving useless things just because we want to give a Christmas present. So as a result I will be making all of my gifts edible. 

Through my research on what to give I came across amazing simple ideas, which would make many people happy:) My favourite reference (the first place I turn to for inspiration) is Martha Stewart's Website(http://www.marthastewart.com/). There you will find everything you need. From food to accessories, you will find wonderful ideas to make your life easier and fun. 

I have also been trying out different cookies this year to sell, and I have come up with 3 amazing varieties, which will then be sold in a christmas themed metal box.
Here are the 'cooky-candies',which were taken from Betty Crocker's cooky book. The consistency of the cookie reminds me of shortbread, very crumbly. They taste amazing and the visual effect is just perfect!

Have a good Sunday! 

Halloween

I had so much fun this Halloween! There isn't a big halloween tradition in Portugal but since I was little I have embraced fright night. My aunt lived in the States for a few years and brought back pumpkin and witches and created a family tradition. We used to spend Halloween afternoon in her house decorating pumpkin spice cupcakes and carving pumpkins. 

This year my best friend and her mother decided to go all out and do a Halloween party. So I did my best and put a lot of effort into looking like a witch! It was a night full of scares and fun. 

The day after we joined my aunt, uncle and cousins to celebrate his belated birthday. And to celebrate both occasions I made some scary halloween cupcakes:) 

I have bursts of inspiration and normally they happen when I start creating. I did some decorations I had done last year and then created some new ones and they looked so good! They were a huge success as the kids loved them and gobbled down more than one!  

I hope you had a fun Halloween:) 

Vanilla Vanilla Vanilla...

A true baker's kitchen is not complete without vanilla. The smell of pure vanilla is beautifully intense and always brings good memories.

However, there seems to be a lot of products with artificial vanilla flavouring... and I can't do artifical flavours. So vanilla aroma for my cakes is out of the question! Go extract!! Unfortunately I cannot find it anywhere only vanilla pods. 

Luckily I follow some amazing bakers online and one of my favourite on youtube, yoyomax12, has made a very useful video on how to make your own vanilla extract.

I started a week ago so now my extract is in a dark cupboard maturing away! when it is ready for use I will show you my results. In the mean time here is Yoyomax12's video tutorial on how to make your own vanilla extract. Enjoy!

I sterilised my bottles as I used green glass water bottles. To do this all you have to do is place them in a  cooking pot submerged in water (only enough to cover the bottle opening). Bring to boil and let it sit in boiling water for 15 minutes(also place bottle screw cap in the water). Remove them from water with tongs and let them cool down on a kitchen cloth.  

Passion fruit

Because I sell some of my baked goods, I seem to have this need to be original and make all recipes my own. As a result, lots of experiments go on in my kitchen.

For my experiments I require tasters to try out my goodies(which is not hard to find!) and among my tasters I have some really good critics, being my number one critic my mum.

One of my work colleagues was kind enough to give me a big bag of passion fruits for me to try making some cupcakes with it! So I searched all my cupcake books (which surprisingly did not have any recipes for passion fruit cupcakes) and the internet for a good recipe for passion fruit cupcakes. I ended up making my own recipe for them and let me tell you they were pretty amazing! obviously one of the reasons why they were so successful was because the passion fruits were home grown (which makes a big difference when it comes to flavour).

However I encountered some opposing opinions between the tasters... With or without the seeds?!  

Autumn memories

Autumn is here... but the weather isn't reflecting it!(I'm still going to the beach).

However I am craving all the flavours that remind me of this beautiful season. Due to my upbringing, I have a very rich list of autumn ingredients, such as, pumpkin- introduced in my life by my aunt through pumpkin pie and pumpkin spice Halloween cupcakes. I also associate with Autumn quince. I am Portuguese and in October most Portuguese households will smell of rich aromas of sugar and quince, as on the stove you will find gigantic pots filled to the brim with all the ingredients that will soon become quince jam. 

And roasted chestnuts?! definitely a must- have during these months! the streets of Porto are filled with people selling roasted chestnuts(wrapped in newspaper), will leave you with black fingers(from peeling). But nonetheless delicious and comforting in the red, yellow and orange days. 

Every year I look for new and innovative recipes to try and since last year I have been anxious to try quince jam muffins. A great way to enjoy this rich jam for Breakfast. 

So I finally I got to try them and they came out amazingly good! 

I used my mum's solid quince jam (natural pectin,sugar quantities and cooking times will determine whether it's more solid or gooey). For the muffins I used a basic recipe taken from The Good Housekeeping cookbook (2007, revised edition) and gave it my own twist. 

So give it a try and let me know what you think!

 Bake away :) 

  

Quince Jam Muffins

Makes 12

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup wholewheat flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter(1 stick), melted
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Quince jam cubes (add to taste)

1. Preheat oven at 200ºC (400ºF). Grease twelve 2 1/2" by 1 1/4" muffin-pan cups.
2. In large bowl, with wire whisk, stir flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In medium bowl, with fork, beat milk, melted butter, egg, and vanilla until blended. Add liquid mixture to flour mixture; stir just until flour is moistened (batter will be lumpy).
3. To the muffin batter add quince jam cubes and lightly blend them in.
4. Spoon batter into prepared muffin-pan cups. Bakes until toothpick inserted in centre of muffin comes out clean. 15 to 20 minutes. Immediately remove muffins from pan to cool down.

For the quince jam I have found to good recipes that you can follow to make your own at home. Here are the links:
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/membrillo_quince_paste/
http://greekfood.about.com/od/dessertspastriessweets/r/marmakythoni.htm 

You can also look online for places to buy the jam in your hometown.