Who doesn’t like ice cream and meringue? Put the two together and you’ve got the perfect pudding. You could use whichever flavour of ice cream you like. Start these puds in advance, keep in the freezer for a couple of hours and simply bake in the oven when you’re ready.
mini baked alaskas
4 × 1-cm/½-in thick slices of shop-bought chocolate loaf cake
2 tablespoons jam or chocolate spread
4 scoops of good-quality vanilla ice cream
2 egg whites
a pinch of salt
125 g/⅔ cup caster/superfine sugar
a 6-cm/2¼-in round cookie cutter
a baking sheet, lined with baking parchment
makes 4
1 Preheat the oven to 240°C (475°F) Gas 9.
2 Using the cookie cutter, stamp out a round from each slice of chocolate cake and place on the prepared baking sheet. Spread ½ tablespoon jam over each round, top with a scoop of ice cream and freeze.
3 Place the egg whites in a large, clean mixing bowl with the salt. Ask an adult to help you use an electric whisk to beat the egg whites until they’re nice and thick. When you turn the whisk off and lift them up slowly, the egg whites should stand in stiff peaks.
4 Gradually add the sugar, beating well after each addition, then whisk for a further minute until the meringue is very stiff and glossy.
5 Using a palette knife, cover each ball of ice cream and cake with meringue. Ask an adult to help you put the sheet on the middle shelf of the preheated oven. Bake for 2–3 minutes, or until the meringue begins to turn golden at the edges. Serve immediately.
This is a thin chocolate sponge which is rolled up and decorated to look like a wooden log. This is traditionally what French people eat for dessert on Christmas Eve. Try it and see if you like it!
bûche de noël
125 g/1 cup self-raising flour
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
4 eggs
150 g/¾ cup caster/granulated sugar
Chocolate Frosting (page 77)
icing/confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Chocolate bark
150 g/5 oz. chocolate (milk or dark/bittersweet)
a 35 × 25-cm/14 × 10-in Swiss roll tin/jelly roll pan, greased and lined with greased baking parchment
a large sheet of baking parchment, sprinkled with caster/superfine sugar
2 robins, to decorate (optional)
serves 8
1 Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F) Gas 5.
2 Dust the prepared Swiss roll tin/jelly roll pan with a little flour. Tip out the excess flour.
3 Sift the self-raising flour and cocoa together onto a piece of baking parchment.
4 Break the eggs in the bowl of an electric mixer (or use a large bowl and an electric whisk). Add the sugar and ask an adult to help you mix on medium-high speed for about 5 minutes until the mixture is very light, pale and foamy, and has doubled in size.
5 Gently tip the flour and cocoa mixture into the bowl and fold in using a large metal spoon. Carefully tip the mixture into the tin/pan and spread it right to the edges, being careful not to knock out too much air.
6 Ask an adult to help you put the tin/pan on the middle shelf of the preheated oven. Bake for 9–10 minutes until the cake bounces back when lightly pressed with your finger. Be careful not to burn your finger!
7 Ask an adult to help you remove the tin/pan from the oven. Using oven gloves, tip the warm sponge out of the tin/pan and upside down onto the prepared sheet of baking parchment. With one of the long sides nearest you, carefully peel off the parchment. Roll up the sponge with the sugar-dusted paper rolled inside the sponge. Set aside to cool.
8 Make up the Chocolate Frosting as described on page 77. You may need to leave it somewhere cool for 30 minutes to thicken enough to spread.
9 Unroll the sponge and spread the surface with one-third of the frosting. Carefully roll the log back up completely, without the paper this time. Slice one-third off the end at an angle. Arrange the larger piece on a serving plate with the join underneath. Position the smaller third at an angle on one side. Spread the remaining frosting over the cake to cover it.
10 To make the bark, ask an adult to help you put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water or in the microwave on a low setting. Stir very carefully until melted.
11 Spread the melted chocolate in a thin layer on a sheet of baking parchment. Leave to set, then break into pieces. Stick the bark onto the log and dust with icing sugar. Decorate with robins, if you like.
This is a delicious French gingerbread cake. Make it a couple of days before you want to eat it so that the flavours of all the spices mixed with the honey will taste much better. Serve it in slices on its own or with a lick of butter.
pain d’épices
225 g/1¾ cups plain/all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 teaspoons ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon salt
150 g/10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
75 g/⅓ cup packed light brown soft sugar
125 ml/½ cup clear honey
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3–4 tablespoons milk
a 2-lb. loaf tin/pan, greased
makes 10 slices
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) Gas 4. Base-line the prepared loaf tin/pan with greased baking parchment.
2 Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves and salt together into a mixing bowl and set aside.
3 Put the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer (or use a large bowl and an electric whisk). Ask an adult to help you cream them until pale and light.
4 Add the honey and mix again. Gradually add the beaten eggs, mixing well between each addition and scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula from time to time.
5 Add the sifted dry ingredients and the milk to the bowl and mix again until smooth. Spoon into the prepared tin/pan and spread evenly with a knife.
6 Ask an adult to help you put the tin/pan on the middle shelf of the preheated oven. Bake for about 1 hour, or until well risen and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. You may need to cover the cake loosely with a sheet of foil if it is browning too quickly.
7 Ask an adult to help you remove the cake from the oven. Leave it to cool in the tin/pan for 5 minutes before tipping out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Nothing says Christmas like a gingerbread house and this one is straight out of a fairy tale. You could decorate the cake with any number and type of candies, so let your imagination run wild. Be aware that you will need to make up the recipe twice.
gingerbread house
Make up this recipe twice
375 g/3 cups plain/all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda/baking soda
3 teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon each of ground cloves and allspice
a pinch of salt
125 g/1 stick unsalted butter, softened
75 g/⅓ cup dark brown soft sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
100 ml/⅓ cup golden syrup/corn syrup
350–500 g/2–3 cups royal icing sugar
assorted candies
3 solid baking sheets, lined with baking parchment
a piping bag, fitted with a plain nozzle
serves 12
1 Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda/baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice and salt together into a mixing bowl and set aside.
2 Put the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer (or use a large bowl and an electric whisk). Ask an adult to help you cream them until fluffy.
3 Add the beaten egg and golden/corn syrup and mix until smooth. Add the sifted dry ingredients and mix again until smooth.
4 Sprinkle a little flour on a clean work surface. Shape the dough into a ball and push on it and press it onto the work surface, turning it round often. Do this for a minute, then flatten into a disc, cover with clingfilm/plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours until firm.
5 Repeat steps 1–4 to make a second quantity of gingerbread dough.
6 When you are ready to bake the house, preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) Gas 4.
7 You will need to make paper templates for the walls and roof of your house. Take a large sheet of paper and draw a rectangle measuring 20 × 11 cm/8 × 4½ inches for the roof. Make another paper rectangle measuring 19 × 10 cm/ 7½ × 4 inches for the front and back walls. You will also need a template for the sides – this will be a 10-cm/4-inch square with a 4-cm/1½-inch high triangle on top.
8 Sprinkle more flour on the work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to a thickness of about 3–4 mm/⅛ inch. Use your paper templates to cut out 2 roof shapes, 2 big walls and 2 sides. You may find it easier to write on the baking parchment which shapes are which as you cut them out. Arrange them on the prepared baking sheets. Carefully cut out windows from the walls and sides.
9 Ask an adult to help you put the sheets on the middle shelf of the preheated oven. You will need to bake the gingerbread in batches. Bake for about 10–15 minutes until firm and just starting to brown at the edges.
10 Ask an adult to help you remove the gingerbread from the oven and leave to cool completely.
11 Use the royal icing sugar to make icing according to the manufacturer’s instructions. It will need to be thick enough to hold its shape when piped, so add the water gradually until you have the correct consistency. Fill the piping bag with the icing. You will need 2 pairs of hands for the next step!
12 Take one gingerbread side and pipe a line of icing along the bottom and up one side (just up to but not including the gables). Hold it up on a serving tray or platter. Take a big wall and pipe some icing along the bottom and 2 sides. Hold this at a right angle to the first, iced side. Pick up the second big wall and pipe some icing along the bottom and 2 sides. Hold this in place opposite the other wall and so that it meets the side at a right angle. Repeat with the remaining side. You may find it easier to position cans or jars inside the house to hold the walls in place until the icing has set firm.
13 Once the walls are completely set and secure, you can attach the roof. Pipe a line of icing down the gables and position one roof panel on either side of the gables. Pipe a line of icing across the top of the roof. Hold the roof in place until the icing feels firm.
14 To decorate the house, pipe royal-icing patterns onto the roof panels and decorate with your choice of candies. Pipe borders around the windows and doors, as well as along the bottom of the house, and decorate with candies as you like.
A classic American holiday recipe that can be whipped up in no time using shop-bought sweet pastry and a can of pumpkin purée.
pumpkin pie
375 g/12 oz. ready-made sweet pastry/pie crust dough
1–2 tablespoons milk
425-g/14-oz. can puréed pumpkin pie filling
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
150 g/⅓ cup packed light brown soft sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
a pinch of grated nutmeg
a pinch of ground cloves
a pinch of salt
125 ml/½ cup double/heavy cream
2–3 teaspoons caster/granulated sugar
icing/confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
a 23-cm/9-in round pie dish
a small star-shaped cutter
serves 6
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) Gas 4 and place a baking sheet on the middle shelf to preheat.
2 Sprinkle a little flour on a clean work surface. Roll out the dough to a thickness of about 2–3 mm/⅛ inch. Carefully lift up the pastry (it may help to lift it while on the rolling pin) and lay it in the pie dish. Carefully trim any excess pastry from around the edge with a small knife.
3 Gather up any scraps of dough, knead very lightly to bring together into a ball and roll out again. Use the star-shaped cutter to stamp out lots of stars. Brush the edges of the pie with a little milk and stick the pastry stars, slightly overlapping, all around the edge.
4 Chill the pastry case in the fridge while you prepare the filling.
5 Put the puréed pumpkin, whole eggs and yolk, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt and double/heavy cream in a large bowl and whisk until well mixed and smooth.
6 Carefully pour the mixture into the pie dish, brush the stars with a little more milk and scatter the caster/granulated sugar over them.
7 Ask an adult to help you put the pie on the hot baking sheet in the preheated oven. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until the filling has set and the pastry is golden brown.
8 Ask an adult to help you remove the pie from the oven. Leave to cool to room temperature before dusting with icing/confectioners’ sugar.
This is a simple fruit cake that can be decorated any number of ways, but with its crown of sparkling, jewelled dried fruits, it makes a beautiful teatime treat.
easy fruit cake
75 g/½ cup glacé cherries, chopped, plus extra, whole, to decorate
50 g/¼ cup candied mixed peel
450 g/1 lb. mixed dried fruit (eg currants, raisins, chopped dried apricots)
225 g/1¾ cups plain/all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon mixed/apple pie spice
a pinch of salt
175 g/1½ sticks unsalted butter, softened
175 g/¾ cup caster/granulated sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
25 g/¼ cup ground almonds
2–3 tablespoons milk
apricot jam, chopped dried apricots, blanched almonds, pecan halves, to decorate
a deep, 20-cm/8-in round cake tin/pan
serves 8–10
1 Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F) Gas 3. Ask an adult to help you line the base and side of the cake tin/pan with a double thickness of baking parchment.
2 Mix the chopped glacé cherries, mixed peel and dried fruit together in a bowl.
3 Sift the flour, baking powder, mixed/apple pie spice and salt together in another bowl.
4 Put the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer (or use a large bowl and an electric whisk). Ask an adult to help you cream them until pale and light.
5 Gradually add the beaten eggs, mixing well between each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula from time to time.
6 Add the dried fruit and stir to mix.
7 Add the sifted dry ingredients and the ground almonds to the mixture and fold in using a large metal spoon or rubber spatula.
8 Add the milk and mix until smooth.
9 Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin/pan and spread evenly.
10 Ask an adult to help you put the tin/pan on the middle shelf of the preheated oven. Bake for 30 minutes, then turn the heat down to 150°C (300°F) Gas 2. Continue to bake for a further 1½ hours, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
11 Ask an adult to help you remove the cake from the oven and leave to cool in the tin/pan.
12 Once the cake is completely cold, tip it out of the tin/pan and carefully peel off the paper.
13 Ask an adult to help you put about 5 tablespoons apricot jam in a small saucepan over low heat. Leave until runny, then pass the jam through a sieve/strainer to remove any lumps.
14 Brush the top of the cake with a thin layer of the jam. Arrange the glacé cherries, apricots and nuts in a pretty pattern on top. Brush with a little more jam to glaze, then leave to set.
This is the perfect cake for a Christmas party, as it will feed a good crowd of hungry mouths.
frosty the snowman
Medium Cake (page 76)
Large Cake (page 76)
Buttercream Frosting (page 77)
red food colouring paste
300 g/4 cups desiccated coconut
1 large cupcake (store-bought or home-made)
1 plain liquorice allsort/short licorice twizzler
chocolate chips
4 red sugar-coated sweets
40 g/1½ oz. white ready-to-use fondant or royal icing
orange food colouring paste
2 short lengths of flaked chocolate
an 18-cm/7-in round cake tin/pan, greased and base-lined with greased baking parchment
a 23-cm/9-in round cake tin/pan, greased and base-lined with greased baking parchment
a length of ribbon
serves at least 14
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) Gas 4.
2 Make up the Medium Cake and Large Cake as described on page 76. Spoon the medium cake batter into the prepared 18-cm/7-inch cake tin and the large cake batter into the 23-cm/9-inch cake tin/pan. Spread evenly.
3 Ask an adult to help you put the tins/pans on the middle shelf of the preheated oven. Bake the medium cake for about 30 minutes and the large cake for 35–40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cakes comes out clean.
4 Ask an adult to help you remove the tins/pans from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes before tipping the cakes out to cool on a wire rack.
5 While the cakes are cooling, take the Buttercream Frosting and put 5 tablespoons into a small bowl. Tint this small amount red using the red food colouring paste.
6 Lay the cold cakes side by side. If necessary, cut a thin layer off the tops of the cakes so that they are the same height. Cut away about one-fifth off the larger cake in an inward curve and set aside. Lay the ribbon down horizontally before fitting the smaller cake on the ribbon into the curved space.
7 Cover the top and side of both of the cakes in the untinted buttercream, spreading it evenly with a palette knife. Cover the whole cake evenly in desiccated coconut.
8 Use the reserved leaf-shaped piece of cake and the cupcake to make the snowman’s hat. Cover these in the red buttercream and position on top of the snowman’s head.
9 Cut the liquorice allsort/twizzler in half for the eyes and arrange the chocolate chips for the mouth. Position the sugar-coated sweets down the centre as buttons.
10 Tint the fondant icing orange using the food colouring paste and shape this into a carrot. Position on the snowman’s face.
11 Finally, push a length of flaked chocolate into each side for the snowman’s arms.
