February 8, 2010

Hot Chocolate Fondant

I had the girls round for dinner the other night. Mr. C was doing his thing in London so my two girlfriends came round and it was great to see them and catch up. I had a little difficulty trying to decide what to cook for dinner, but I did know that, having shared a room with one of them in college for 2 years, the chocolate fondant I had decided on for dessert would be a big hit. And it was!

I have always loved chocolate fondant but was terrified of trying to make them for years. Two minutes too little in the oven, and the will end up all over the plate like chocolate sauce. Two minutes too long and they are like upside down cupcakes. However, when you get the timing right, they resemble an upside down cupcake on the outside, but when you break into them, the hot chocolate filling oozes out over your plate.

They are very simple to make and can be made in advance, stored in the fridge to be baked when you require them. I usually take them out of the fridge when serving dinner to allow them to come up to room temperature before baking for 9-12 minutes at 180C. It may take a couple of tries to get them perfect. I had the timing down to a T when I was using my mothers oven, however, when I was using my own, it took 2 or 3 attempts to get it right. And I have to say that I did enjoy those efforts.

To make, you will need to grease 4-5 dariole molds with unsalted butter, and then dust with cocoa. Set to one side.

Your ingredients are;

100g unsalted butter, 100g dark chocolate*, 100g caster sugar, 100g whole eggs & 50g plain flour

Melt the butter and chocolate in a bain marie. While this is melting, whisk the sugar and eggs together until creamy. Once the chocolate has melted, pour two tablespoons of the chocolate into the sugar and egg mixture and stir. Once combined, pour the rest of the chocolate into the mixture and combine.

Sift the flour into the mixture and fold in gently.

Pour the batter into the molds and bake in your preheated oven for 9-12 minutes. I find that three quarter filling the molds is more than enough. These are very rich.

These little chocolate fondants are also perfect for a certain Jour d’Amour that is fast approaching. You could easily half the ingredients and just make two. Serve with a rich vanilla icecream and a dusting of cocoa powder.

Valentines Day is not an event in our house. I cancel it every year in early January. However, saying that each to their own. If you do celebrate Valentines, this is the perfect dessert to finish a quiet, romantic night in. If you are trying to watch the pennies, why not stay in and make dinner together. One of you can make the mains and the other the dessert.

We will be celebrating on the 13th (hopefully) when Ireland play France. Fingers crossed the Irish rugby team and fans can show the French a thing or two about passion!!!

Enjoy,

Orls xx

*I have used 100% cocoa solid chocolate for these before and they were amazing, but ridiculously heavy. If you are using that high a cocoa content, you could use a smaller mold.

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January 26, 2010

Zucchini/Courgette Bread & A new Arrival

Things have been very busy in our house for the last few weeks. We finally got around to painting the living room transforming it from a magnolia room that was just too bright at night to a lovely, cosy space that feels a little more like home, and not a rented house that you can do nothing with.

We have also had a new and very exciting arrival in the house. We had always planned on it eventually, but a Sunday afternoon drive left us with more than we had bargained for. Charlie Bird. He is lovely, friendly and very needy. He makes noise when he is left alone and rewards you with bright eyes and excitement when you come back.

Charlie Bird is an 18 month old Boxer cross that we got in the Rescue Centre. He had been abandoned before Christmas and when we saw him in his cage 2 weeks ago, I fell in love with him. I have wanted a boxer since I was about 10 and he is an absolute joy. He is a little needy at the moment, but in fairness who wouldn’t be if left on the side of the road to fend for yourself at just 18 months old?  There are so many dogs that are abandoned by people who don’t realise how big a dog will grow/how much time and exercise they need or who  simply change their mind. If you are thinking of getting a dog, don’t buy one, give a rescue dog a second chance and give them a home. They are a wonderful friend to have in the house and have so much love to give.

Right, after that little rant, I have done little baking in January. However, a search through the veg drawer in the fridge revealed 3 courgettes that were begging for a bit of excitement in their lives .They obviously did a little too much over the holidays too, like me!  I recalled seeing a recipe for courgette, or Zucchini bread, on 101 Cookbooks a while ago. The preparation of ingredients will take a little while, but once that is done, the rest is super simple.

You will need;

1.5 cups chopped walnuts, half cup unsalted butter, 1 cup sugar, half cup soft light sugar, 3 large eggs, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 3 courgettes grated*, 3 cups wholewheat flour, 1.5tsp baking soda, half tsp baking powder, 1tsp salt, 1tsp cinnamon

* You will need to squeeze out a lot of the fluid out of the courgettes and fluff them up a little.

Preheat the oven to 180C, and line 2 loaf tins.

Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy and add the eggs one by one. Scrape down the sides and base of the bowl each time and make sure that the mixture is well incorporated. Add the vanilla, and turn the speed right down. Add the courgettes and beat slowly.

In a 2nd bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add the dry ingredients into the wet and stir. Fold in the walnuts and pour into the loaf tin.

Bake for 40-45 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes in the tin before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Try not to leave it in the tin as it will go soggy.

The flavours, with the walnuts and the cinnamon, reminds me a lot of carrot cake. I changed the recipe from 101 Cookbooks a little in that I didn’t want any poppyseeds or ginger. But feel free to add your own. AND it is a great way of including some of your five a day in your diet. And lets face it, you can never eat too many vegetables.

The marathon training is going well…ish. I have joined a running club and meet them a couple of times a week. This weekend, I am due to do a long run which should be interesting! I will keep you all informed. Whether you want to know or not!!! hee hee.

Enjoy, I am off to see whether I can make a needy dog stop whining. I think he thinks that we are going to leave him alone.

Orlsxxx

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January 11, 2010

New Year, Snow and Detox Promises

 
Happy New Year!!!!!

A Grey and snowy drive to Co. Clare

Things have been mighty cold here since the week before Christmas. What started as inconvenient icy roads and pretty hazardous driving conditions, turned into the worst, and coldest weather that we have seen in about 30 years. Christmas was a very quiet affair as a result. I headed to my parents house on Christmas Eve and didn’t leave until the 27th as the roads were horrid!

New Year was fab, and while the weather was bitterly cold, we spent the weekend with friends in a beautiful little secret of a place called Loop Head, which is the most westerly point in Co. Clare on the west coast of Ireland. While to took us 6 hours to get there, it was well worth it. Good food, lots of wine (a couple of hot whiskeys for medicinal purposes you understand) and great company with good friends helped us ring in what, I hope will be a great New Year.

As we all know, with the new year, comes resolutions, or promises to ourselves that we are going to get healthier, spend more time with family, or get our finances in order (All three for me it seems!) It has been shown that the most common of all resolutions is to lose weight after the madness that is Christmas. Mince pies for breakfast, followed by a turkey and stuffing sandwich for elevenses plays havoc with non elasticated waist bands. Oh… just me then??? Right…

Well the following recipe for Granola, bursting  with dried cranberries, blueberries and apricots will make the particular resolution about healthier eating, seem like less of a chore! The ingredients include porridge oats, which are proven to lower cholesterol as well as being a low GI food.  If you can, get hold of dried berries that are not infused with sugar. This whacks up the calorie content and makes the granola not as  healthy as it could be!

I have adapted a recipe from the Barefoot Contessa (her recipe has cashews which I am not mad about, and cherries which I didn’t have in stock!) I have mine with some natural yoghurt and a tiny sprinkle of cinnamon, but you could enjoy it over some stewed apple or even with milk à la Mr. C. Super easy to make, it stores in an airtight container for about 3 weeks meaning that you always have something sweet to nibble on, avoiding the attack of the goody drawer.

To Make the granola, you will need;

4Cups rolled porridge oats, 2 cups flaked almonds, 2 cups desiccated coconut, 3/4 cup Vegetable Oil, 1/2 cup Honey, 1 1/2 cup dried apricots chopped, 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries, 1 cup dried blueberries

Preheat your oven to 180C. Toss the oats, almonds and coconut in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the honey and vegetable oil together and pour into the oat mix. Stir unti the oats are all coated. You may need to get your hands into the mix to make sure that they are all coated well. Pour the mix into a large baking sheet and bake until the mix turns a nice even brown. You will need to stir the mixture every 5-10 minutes to make sure no burning. I found that I had to stir about every 7 mins as the edges were starting to burn a little. Once cooked, remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan.

While cooling, combine the apricots, cranberries and blueberries in a bowl, and once the oat mix is completely cool add the fruit and stir well. Store in an airtight container. As I said earlier, the mix will keep for about 3 weeks once airtight.

 

 

A couple of tablespoons of granola with a heaped tablespoon of natural yoghurt, and sprinkle of cinnamon certainly kept the nibbles away for the past couple of days while I was snowed in!

An Alternative to the Goody Drawer

So why not brighten up the dreary month that is January and enjoy your detox!!!

Orls xx

PS Just to write it down and seem more real (if that is possible) I will be taking part in the London Marathon on April 26th for a very good cause (more on that later) I have always said that London is my Everest and 2010 is the year that I conquer it… I hope.

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December 20, 2009

For the Seventh Bake of Christmas…

I was starting to get a little tired. Working a full time job, cooking lots, visiting radio stations AND getting ready for Christmas is very tiring for me. Very Tiring indeed.

My sofa has been calling me for a few days now. And what started as a whisper has become a loud noise from the living room. The final of Strictly Come Dancing was on Saturday evening, and even though I got home late from work (on a Saturday), I had recorded it.

The weather here has been so so cold over the past few days and it even snowed on Friday night. It was bitterly cold on Saturday night when I was getting in, so I was quick about putting on my PJ’s and a fluffy hoody and snuggling up on the sofa with a steaming hot cup of tea and some Sticky Gingerbread, courtesy of Nigella’s Christmas.

Light, dusted lightly with icing sugar, and just as nice served slightly warm, this gingerbread zings with ginger and cinnamon.

Preheat the oven to 170C and line a roasting tin or ovenproof dish ( about 30cm x 20cm) with parchment.

150g Butter, cubed, 200g golden syrup, 200g black treacle, 125g dark muscovado sugar, 2 tsp freshly grated ginger, 1tsp ground ginger, 1tsp ground cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, 1 tsp bicarb of soda dissolved in 30ml warm water, 250ml  full fat milk, 2 eggs, lightly beaten, 300g plain flour.

Melt the butter, golden syrup, treacle, sugar, fresh and ground ginger, cinnamon and cloves over a low heat until combined.  Take off the heat and add the milk and eggs. Add the bicarb of soda that has been dissolved.

Sift the flour into a bowl and pour in the wet ingredients. Beat the mixture until well mixed. The batter will be very wet but this is the way it is meant to be.

Pour into the baking tin and place in the middle of the oven for 45-60 minutes. It will be well risen and firm but bewares as it it overcooks, it will be bitter. And dry. Which will mean it will no longer be sticky ginger bread! When cooked, let cool in the tin for about 10 minutes before cutting into about 20 squares.

This is better a couple of days after cooking. Wrap in parchment and store in an airtight container. To serve, dust with icing sugar. If you wish, heat ever so gently and have with a strong coffee or tea while watching celebrities dance for our entertainment!

This would be perfect any time of year, not just christmas.

Enjoy,

Orlsxxx

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December 20, 2009

On the Sixth Bake of Christmas…

I cheated a little and didn’t really bake anything. Or cook for that matter.

I melted some chocolate and that was about it!

I made pudding bonbons. Little morsels of christmas pudding and chocolate that explode full of flavour in your mouth. Pretty to look at and rich in flavour, you may only manage one or two before you put the lid back on the box and return them to the fridge until next time. They are simple to make but guaranteed to wow any crowd. Or place them in a pretty box and give them as a gift.

Before you start line a baking sheet with parchment or silicone baking sheet.

You will need;

125g best quality dark chocolate, chopped, 350g leftover, or freshly cooked and cooled christmas pudding, 60ml sherry or whatever alcohol you used in the pudding, 30ml golden syrup

Crumble the pudding into a large bowl and add the alcohol and the golden syrup. Mix well. Melt the chocolate in a bain marie and add to the pudding mix. Stir and combine well.

Make the next step easier on yourself and get hold of some of those latex disposable gloves. Honestly, you will thank me for it when you see the state of them! Pinch out small amounts of mixture and roll them into small balls. The size is up to you but just bear in mind that they pack an incredible punch!  You should get about 30 balls from this mixture.  Cover with cling film and place in the fridge to set.

When ready to decorate, you will need;

100g white chocolate chopped, 6 glacé cherries and 6 green glacé cherries or 6 lengths of angelica

Melt the chocolate in a bain marie, and while allowing to cool slightly, chop the glacé cherries and angelica. These will represent holly and leaves. Use a teaspoon to lightly drop some white chocolate on the top of each pudding. When you have placed the chocolate on all the mini puddings, the next step is to place the cherries, red and green, on the top. You will need to do this fairly quickly as the chocolate will set fast!

These sweets can be made a week in advance. Store them in a cool dark place until you use them or give them as a gift. If you are giving them away on the same day as you make them, place a small label with the sweets telling the recipient to eat within a week. If you make them a week in advance, the note should read to store in a cool place and eat within 2 days.

However, I guarantee, they will not last that long.  They literally vanished the last time I gave them as a gift.

Enjoy this mouthful of christmas. xx

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December 19, 2009

For the fifth bake of Christmas…

I went AWOL. Sorry about that.

Big news here with a radio show appearance with Mr. C which meant that all the baking was done. But all the blogging was put on the longest finger that I have! But we are back.

The radio show appearance was for the Alison Curtis Office Christmas Party, on Today FM. You can stream it here if you want to listen. Mr C appears 4 times singing some christmas tunes. Click on Thursday 17th December.

I arrived laden down with goodies, all of which will feature in the coming posts. However, the ones that I found myself eating the most were the Christmas Morning Cranberry Muffins. They are so simple to make, and cook in 20 minutes. If you want your house to smell of cinnamon, orange and yum on Christmas morning, you can also make a batch, keep in a jug and pour into a muffin tin. They will make a nice light alternative to a full breakfast on a day that is so full of food!

You will need;

250g  Plain flour, 2 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 100g caster sugar, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg, 2 clementines (or one orange) aprox 125ml full fat milk, 75ml vegetable oil, 1 egg, 175g dried cranberries

Preheat your oven to 200 C and line a 12 muffin tin with papers. Place the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, caster sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg into a large bowl. Grate the zest of the clementines into the mix and combine. If you are planning on making the mix in advance, leave the grating until just before your pour the mix.

Squeeze the juice of the clementines or orange, in a measuring jug and pour in the milk until it comes up to the 200ml mark. Add the oil and egg and lightly beat until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry mixture and stir until just combined. A slightly lumpy batter is a good thing here!

Fold in the cranberries and then spoon the batter into the muffin cases. If you are doing this on christmas morning, leave the batter in a jug, and stir up to mix the cranberries and pour into the cases.

If you wish, sprinkle some demerera sugar on the top. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.

By this time your kitchen and house will be full of the smells of christmas!  These muffins are very light and you will eat more than one!

Enjoy!

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December 15, 2009

For the Forth Bake of Christmas…

….I was a little confused as to what to make for my cousins for Christmas Eve. They are all very very excited about a certain Mr Claus visiting and tell me at every opportunity just how many sleeps are left until C-Day. They usually leave lovely cookies out for Santa, and a glass of milk. Of course, when we were little it was a couple of biscuits and some brandy or some whiskey. But we all know how important it is for Mr Claus to stay safe while conducting his world tour and driving a sleigh.

As well as giving them some lovely biscuits to share with Santa, these biscuits double up as tree decorations and, as with a lot of the other Christmas Bakes, make a lovely gift to share with children and adults who are also waiting to see whether they have been good or not!

They are super simple to make and I use the rich butter shortbread recipe. Just roll out the biscuits a little thicker than normal and poke a hole in the top of them before baking. When making the hole, don’t make it too close to the top as when they come out of the oven they can be a little delicate.

You will need to preheat your oven to 180C and to have a baking sheet and the necessary cookie cutters ready. The christmas tree and snowman that I have are actually pancake moulds that I picked up in Crate and Barrel a couple of years back in Boston. I have never actually used them as pancake moulds.

To make the cookies, you will need;

175g Flour, 100g Butter at room temp, cubed, and 50g caster sugar

Rub the butter and flour together until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and bring the mix together until it forms a dough. Tip onto a lightly floured surface and knead ever so slightly. Form the dough into a disc about 3cm thick, wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for about 30 mins.

When you want to cut the shapes, roll out to a thickness of about 5-7mm, cut the shapes and place on a baking sheet. Using a sharp tool, or the end of a wooden skewer, poke a hole in the top of the cookie shape.

Place the biscuits in your preheated oven for 9-12 minutes until golden brown. Watch them carefully though as they will turn dark brown and bitter very quickly! And well, you can’t give them to anyone. You just have to eat them. (When I say bitter, I don’t mean inedible!!!)

Once cooked take them out of the oven and allow to cook on a wire rack. Once completely cool, you can decorate them as you wish. With 6 cousins, I find it is easier to put their names on them to avoid any little rows about shapes or the like. Use some pretty ribbon and thread carefully through the hole in the biscuit. Place in a clear plastic bag with the ribbon coming through the top and a bag tie at the top.

Hang on your tree until Santa comes to visit, at which stage, you can place on a plate with a glass of milk. It may also be advisable to take a little nibble just to make sure that Santa will like it!!!!

These biscuits will keep on the tree for a couple of days but just make sure that the bag tie is nice and tight and the bag is as airtight as possible.

Why not include them in a gift hamper for your friends and family. They will bring out the child in everyone! And for a little Christmas kick, why not add a half teaspoon of ground ginger to the dough.

Enjoy!

Orls xxx

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December 14, 2009

For the Third Bake of Christmas…

I made a Christmas pudding. Nothing says Christmas indulgence like a slice of pudding, heated to steaming, with some whipped cream or really good vanilla ice-cream.

Nothing else says Christmas like Dublin Airport arrivals hall. The whole area has been decorated with the images from the now legendary Coca Cola adverts, with huge pictures of a certain Mr Claus, the truck from the TV ad, and while sitting there yesterday morning, I was humming to myself, Holidays are coming, holidays are coming….Now I like my lie in’s on a Sunday morning, but yesterday I was at the airport at 840am with my best friend from college. We were waiting for one of our best college friends to come home for Christmas. I have never had reason to be at the airport at Christmas before but always felt a pang of emotion when the TV shows reunions in arrivals halls. Silly as it may sound, I was a little jealous of not having someone who would come home and need meeting at the airport. Well all that changed yesterday. My lovely and amazing friend Grace arrived in from Sydney yesterday morning. After 18 months of just speaking on the phone and via email, I cried like a child when I met her! Welcome home Gracie.

Now back to all things pudding.  I know that I am a little late given that Stir Sunday was a fortnight ago. However, this pudding can be made in 2 days and is just as good eaten straight away as it is if left to sit and develop.

The end result is rich, tasty, fruity and yes, very more-ish!

You should soak the fruit for a minimum of 12 hours. You will need:

800g luxury mixed fruit, Grated zest and juice of one large orange, 150ml brandy or grand marnier, and 3 Tablespoons of black treacle, 1 large cooking apple – grated, 50g each of breadcrumbs and flour, 1Tbsb ground mixed spice, 100g blanched almonds – chopped, 2 large eggs beaten, 125g chilled, unsalted butter

Put the mixed fruit, orange zest and juice, brandy and treacle in a large bowl and stir well. Cover and leave to sit for 12-18 hours. Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a 1.8l pudding bowl and line the base with 2 circles of greasproof paper.

Add the apple to the fruit along with the breadcrumbs, flour, spices, almonds and eggs. Mix well after each addition.

Grate the butter into the mix and stir well. I find at this point the best thing to do is to roll up your sleeves and mix really well with your hands to make sure that all the butter is mixed in properly.

When everything is all mixed up well, spoon the mixture into your prepared pudding bowl. Cut 2 large square of greas proof paper (measuring 12in square) Put one on top of the other and fold a pleat down the middle. Place the paper over the bowl, and tie under the rim of the bowl with string.

Stand your pudding bowl into a large deepsided tin. Pour 1.7litres of water into the dish and cover completely with tinfoil. Ensure that the edges are sealed properly. Place carefully into the oven and bake for 6 hours. You shouldn’t have to top up the water, but ensure to keep an eye on it just in case!

Once the pudding is cooked, allow to cool a little and turn out of the dish. In order to store, wrap your pudding in a double layer of parchment and then in foil.

In order to reheat the pudding, cook in the same way as before for one and a half hours.

Enjoy!

Orls xxx

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December 12, 2009

On the Second Bake of Christmas…

…I made Mince Pies. To use up the mince meat I made last week.

Mince pies are one of those things that are only eaten for the month of December. They start to make their way into the shops around mid November with the rest of the Christmas decorations, food, goodies but you daren’t eat them until at least the 8th December. However, every time I eat a mince-pie, I wonder why they aren’t eaten all year-round. I would eat them every day (if I thought that I wouldn’t gain an ounce of weight, but that isn’t going to happen!)

They are also super handy to have in the house should someone pop over to say hi. Boil the kettle and make a pot of tea or coffee, or even have them with a hot whiskey, if the weather permits! Either eat them alone and cold, or slightly heated through, with some cream or ice cream. yummy yummy!

The best pastry I have found (and I have tried a lot of them) is courtesy of the Odlums Christmas Baking booklet that I got about two years ago. The pastry can be made in advance and will keep in the fridge for about 3 days. Why not make up a second batch and keep in the fridge for unexpected guests. You can throw together a batch of pies in about 20 minutes!

For the Pastry, you will need:

225g Plain flour, 125g caster sugar, 100g ground almonds, 125g margarine (room temp), one egg beaten and a little water if necessary.

Preheat your oven to 200C and lightly grease your mince-pie tin. Put the flour, sugar and almonds into a mixing bowl and stir. Rub the margarine into the dry ingredients until they resemble breadcrumbs. Add a little egg ( not all of it) and bring the dough together with a fork. Add a little more egg as needed and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently until it all comes together. Wrap the dough in cling film and place in the fridge until needed.

Roll out your pastry on a floured board and cut circles to fit your tin. Put a teaspoon (heaped ish) into each case and place a “lid” on the pies. I think that stars are quite nice to place on top, plus, all the mincemeat seems to seep out the side of the pies when I try to put a full lid on!

Bake the pies for about 15 minutes until golden. Take out of the oven and allow to cool for a couple of minutes before removing from the tin. Dust with icing sugar and enjoy! You will get about 2 dozen pies from the pastry.

They also make a lovely gift if you are visiting friends.  A nice little box, and some pretty fabric or ribbons makes them all the prettier.

On another note, alluded to in my “What I want for Christmas” list, I got a very short-lived, but lovely surprise when I came home from work on Wednesday. This little dote scurried in the door after me, and stayed to play for a few hours! It turns out that she had escaped from one of the neighbours houses and I was afraid she might run under a car, so I kept her in the house. But needless to say, I thought that she was my present.

She wasn’t. But she is back with her owners.

So Close. Soooo close!

xx

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December 9, 2009

The 12 Bakes of Christmas….

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me….. not the puppies that I was hinting at last week. I have been told that they are not part of my present that is currently hidden in the attic. I am afraid of the attic therefore he knows it is safe up there!

However, on the first Bake of Christmas, and the 11 that will follow between now and the big day, Graciesbakes will bring to you some Christmas treats. Some will need baking, some will need putting together, and some will need a little gentle cooking.

The first Bake of Christmas, is just that. Something that needs a little cooking.

Here’s a little question for you. What do you  get if you take these ingredients below, and add a couple more like apple juice, glacé cherries, and blanched almonds?

You get mince meat! For mince pies. It is the trusty recipe from Nigella’s How to Be A Domestic Goddess and I have made one particular change which sweetens it. I use apple juice instead of the dry cider that the recipe calls for. If you have the time, press your own juice which will make it taste all the better!

To make the mincemeat, you will need;

250g soft, dark sugar, 250ml apple juice (or dry cider if you wish), 1kg cooking apples cored, peeled and chopped, 1/2 teaspoon mixed spice, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 250g currants, 250g raisins,        75g glacé cherries roughly chopped, 75g blanched almonds, finely chopped, rind and juice of 1/2 a lemon, 90ml (6 tbsp) brandy or rum (optional).

Dissolve the sugar and the apple juice in a large, heavy based saucepan, over a gentle heat. Roughly chop the apples, and add them to the saucepan along with all the other ingredients, except the brandy or rum. Simmer for 30 minutes or until everything becomes all pulpy. Take it off the head and when it has cooled a little, stir in the brandy or rum, if you are using it. I don’t, but if you want a little kick to your mince pies, go for it!

Spoon your mixture into sterilized jars and seal. You will have about 2kg.

This mincemeat is another gift idea. You could make a jar of it look pretty, and perhaps make up a portion of the pastry with simple instructions for the recipient, and make up a nice Christmas hamper.  Other ideas will be coming up over the next bakes of Bakes of Christmas!

Enjoy,

Orlsxx

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