Search Results for 'Christmas'

Preheat your oven on CircoTherm® to 160˚C. Beat the butter and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Add the egg yolk and golden syrup and beat until combined. Stir in the sifted dry ingredients and mix well. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Press dough into a disc, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Place the dough between 2 pieces of baking paper and roll out until 4mm thick. Use an 8cm star shaped cookie cutter to cut out approx 32 stars. Place onto greased baking trays, leaving room for spreading. Reroll any excess dough to make additional stars. Bake for 12 -15 minutes or until cooked.  Allow to cool on the trays on a wire rack. Meanwhile combine the sugar and water in a saucepan and stir over a medium heat/ setting 6 until sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil and continue cooking, without stirring until golden. Remove from the heat then slowly and carefully pour in the cream and stir until smooth. Cool. Beat the cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth then add the cream and beat again until thick. Fold through the fruit and chill. To assemble: Reserve 4 or 5 gingerbread stars for decoration. Break the remaining stars into rough pieces. Layer one quantity of gingerbread into the base of a 3.5litre trifle bowl. Spread with one-third of the fruit mince cream. Top with another layer of gingerbread. Spoon over one-third of the thick custard then drizzle with caramel sauce. Repeat this process twice more to make 6 layers finishing with the caramel sauce. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight to allow the gingerbread to soften. Decorate with reserved gingerbread stars prior to serving.

Place the cinnamon, cardamom and fennel seeds in a medium saucepan and dry roast the spices over Induction level 8 or FlameSelect® level 9 for 5 minutes or until aromatic. Place the spices in a piece of chux or muslin cloth and tie into a pouch. Return spice pouch to the saucepan, add the orange juice and zest, sugar and butter. Bring the glaze to a boil on Induction level 8 or FlameSelect level 9. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low while preparing the ham. Remove the skin of the ham by first cutting around the leg, 10 cm from the end. Using a sharp knife, run the knife tip under the skin to make a 10 cm slit to fit your fingers. When you have a good grip of the skin pull the skin back, it should pull back easily. Use a knife if needed, ensuring little fat is removed. Score the fat with incisions 2 cm apart in one direction, then again in the other direction which will give a diamond pattern. Push the cloves in the corner of each diamond all over the top of the ham. Place the ham on a wire rack, on top of the universal tray lined with baking paper. To stop the ham from moving you can use some crushed foil place on each side. Remove glaze from the heat and using a pastry brush, coat the top of the ham with the first layer of glaze. Place ham in the oven and select CircoTherm® at 140⁰C with a low level of steam. Set cooking time for 2 hours. Set minute minder for 30 minutes and then baste ham again. Reset minute minder and repeat every 15 minutes until all the glaze has been used and ham has cooked for 2 hours. Remove ham from oven and rest for 30 minutes before serving.

[embed]https://youtu.be/zviEQjn6cJQ[/embed] Place all the fruit in a medium bowl with the boiling water, bi-carb and brandy. Cover and let stand overnight. In a large bowl of an electric mixer, add the butter and sugar, and beat until light in colour. Add the eggs one at a time and then the orange rind. With a large metal spoon, mix in the flours and spices and the fruit mixture. Stir until well combined. There are three ways to cook the puddings. To make individual puddings, grease 12 (1 cup) muffin pans and line the base with a small circle of baking paper. Spoon pudding mixture evenly into pans. Top puddings with a sheet of baking paper and then loosely crimp a sheet of aluminium foil over the muffin tray. Place puddings in oven, select Steam at 100 ⁰C and set cooking time to 45 minutes. To cook the pudding in a pudding basin, grease an 8 cup pudding basin and line base with a circle of baking paper. Spoon in the pudding mixture and smooth top. Place a sheet of baking paper over the top of pudding basin and secure with a locking lid. If a lid is not available, cover with a piece of baking paper that has been pleated to allow for expansion and then a piece of aluminium foil. Secure with string. Place pudding in oven, select Steam at 100 ⁰C and set cooking time for 3 hours. Fill water tank as requested. To cook the pudding in a cloth, wet an 80 cm square piece of calico, place in oven, select Steam at 100⁰C and set cooking time for 3 minutes. Wearing rubber gloves, remove calico from oven, lay out on a flat surface and rub the extra plain flour in a thin layer to cover a 50 cm circle. Spoon pudding mixture onto the circle of calico, gather up the ends and secure with string. Leave enough string to hang the pudding. Place the wire rack on the highest shelf position in the oven. Securely tie the pudding to hang from the circle of the wire. Select Steam at 100⁰C and set cooking time for 3 hours. Fill water tank as requested. When cooked, allow the pudding to hang to cool and dry completely.

Traditional shortbread Preheat oven on CircoTherm® to 150⁰C. Line enamel tray with baking paper. Mix together the flour, rice flour and salt in a medium bowl. Add the sugar and stir to combine. Add the butter and rub together with your fingertips until the mixture begins to bind together. Lightly knead to form a dough. Divide the dough into two and shape into two flat discs approximately 18 cm, pinch to make a decorative edge, prick all over with a fork and score with a knife into eight portions. Bake for 30 minutes or until pale golden brown. Allow to cool on the tray. Cut into portions and store in an airtight container. Lemon and blueberry shortbread Mix together the flour, rice flour and salt in a bowl. Combine the sugar and butter in a bowl of an electric mixer and mix until light and fluffy. Stir in flours, add the lemon rind and dried blueberries and form a dough. Divide into two, form two logs and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least ½ hour or up to 1 week. When ready to bake, preheat oven on CircoTherm® to 160⁰C and line baking trays with baking paper. Cut logs into ½ cm slices and place on prepared trays. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until pale golden brown. Cool on trays before storing in an airtight container. Jam filled shortbread Mix together the flour, rice flour and salt in a bowl. Combine the sugar and butter in a bowl of an electric mixer and mix until light and fluffy. Stir in the flours and mix to form a dough. Preheat oven on CircoTherm® 160⁰C and line baking trays with baking paper. Between two pieces of baking paper, roll out shortbread to ½ cm thick and using a 5 cm round cutter cut out biscuits. Cut a small star using a decorative cutter from the centre of half of the biscuits. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until pale golden brown. Cool biscuits. Spread each whole biscuit with a teaspoon of jam and top with a star biscuit.

Preheat your oven on CircoTherm® at 160˚C. Beat the butter and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Add the egg yolk and golden syrup and beat until combined. Stir in the flour, ginger, mixed spice and bicarb. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Press gingerbread dough into a disc, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Place the dough between 2 pieces of baking paper and roll out until 4mm thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes making sure you leave 3cm between each shape (to allow for expansion during cooking). Lift away the excess dough and place baking paper with gingerbread shapes directly onto trays. Repeat with the excess dough until all used. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes or until brown. Larger shapes may need extra cooking time. Remove from oven and transfer onto a rack to cool. To decorate Beat the egg white with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add icing sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Placed prepared icing into a piping bag and decorate the gingerbread shapes.