Christmas Ideas
CHRISTMAS IDEAS
The festive season sneaks up and before you know it, you’re scrambling for gift ideas and catering at the last minute. Here at Cake Mistress, we have compiled our favourite posts to help you during Christmas. Below are our Christmas Greatest Hits: Fruit Mince Pies, Gingerbread Houses, Gingerbread Shapes, Fudge, Christmas Cake and a fresh Australian twist on the Trifle.
HOMEMADE FRUIT MINCE PIES
A beautiful homemade recipe by the Australian Baking Queen, Margaret Fulton.
Yield: at least 60 fruit mince pies
Make ahead of time? Yes. Whole pies can be frozen and dethawed to room temperature.
NB. Must start recipe at least 2 days before serving.
Recipe here:
HOMEMADE GINGERBREAD HOUSE
Need an eye-catching centrepiece for your Christmas table? Making your own Gingerbread House is very rewarding. Allow yourself plenty of time to plan, prepare and decorate, however.
Kids (and big kids) love the decorating part, of course.
A how-to guide for making your own Gingerbread House can be found here:
For inspiration, here’s some readers’ own masterpieces
FRUIT CAKE
Needing a traditional sweet dish after Christmas lunch or dinner? The Bourke Street Bakery Christmas Cake ticks all the right boxes.
Splash some Brandy Custard over the top, or serve with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.
Serves: two mini cakes serve 12 to 16 people together
NB. Ideally, the fruit is left soaking in brandy 5 weeks before Christmas.
AUSSIE TRIFLE: MANGO, MACADAMIA and LIME
Christmas Day in Australia is always so hot!!! The last thing you feel like is a stodgy dessert after a full Christmas meal.
We’re in such a fortunate position to have gorgeous fruits in season during Christmas. Do away with the heavy traditional trifle and replace it with a macadamia sponge, fresh mango strips, vanilla cream and a lime syrup.
Recipe for Fresh Australian Trifle is here, adapted from Bill Granger’s recipe: Trifle Recipe
Serves: 10 to 12 people
HANDMADE GIFTS: FUDGE
Give commercialism the flick and give edible handmade gifts this season. They allow a lovely personalised touch if you know your friends favourite foods and liqueurs. Try Peanut Butter & Chocolate, Baileys Irish Cream, Choc Mint, Fruit & Nut, Jaffa …
the flavour combinations are endless.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge Recipe
Chocolate Scotch-Whisky Fudge Recipe (or spirit of choice)
Quick Easy 3 Ingredient Chocolate Fudge Recipe (easy to customise)
HANDMADE GIFTS: GINGERBREAD
Gingerbread offers another opportunity to put a personal touch on a gift, with seemingly infinite shapes and decorations available.
Cake Mistress highly recommends visiting Bake At 350 online for decorating inspiration and tips.
Meanwhile, we’ve put a festive touch on our gingerbread by making these Christmas trees. Dipped in royal icing and sprinkled with edible sugar balls, they’re super easy to make and definitely kid-friendly.
How to make these Gingerbread Trees can be found here:
