Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts

Tuesday, 24 December 2013

Christmas Baking with Claire... Gringerbread Biscuits | Lifestyle

Merry Christmas Eve everyone!

I'm back with another festive recipe for you all to try. Today it's all about gingerbread.

 
Gingerbread Men
 
What you will need...
 
250g unsalted butter
200g dark muscovado sugar
600g plain white flour
7 tablespoons golden syrup
4 teaspoons ginger
2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

For decoration.....

whatever you feel like!

Method

1.Pre heat your oven to 200Âșc

2. Melt your butter, sugar and syrup in a pan on a low gentle heat. Be careful and try not to burn it because then you will have to start again.

3. Mix together the flour, sugar and ginger in a mixing bowl. Then add in the bicarbonate of soda and the cinnamon.
* You can even add in a hint of cayenne pepper if you wish. Just to give your gingerbread a kick.

4.Pour the melted butter, sugar and syrup into the mixing bowl. Stir together until it forms a dough.

5.Tip onto a floured surface and roll out with your rolling pin.

6. Grab your chosen cutter and cut out. Place onto a non stick tray and place it into your oven for 12 - 15 minutes.

Now your ready to decorate. Enjoy



I hope everyone has a happy and safe Christmas, and I will be back in the New Year.


Monday, 23 December 2013

Christmas Baking with Claire.... Rocky Road | Lifestyle


Christmas is my favourite time of the year. It's also the busiest and most stressful time. There's all this rushing around trying to get things done, like buying gifts for loved ones, wrapping up presents, decorating the tree and sending out cards.....the list goes on.

One of the many things I love about Christmas is baking. Every Christmas Eve I'm in the kitchen making some delicious goodies for the festive period.

This year is no different, so I thought I'd share with you two great recipes that you should all try. The first is a recipe I've been using for the past few years. It's simple and easy to make.

 
A Very Rocky Road
 

For the ingredients you will need.....
 
250g dark chocolate
150g milk chocolate
175g soft butter
4 tablespoons of golden syrup
200g amaretto or digestive biscuits which ever you prefer (I've gone for digestive as I think they taste better)
150g red glace cherries
100g sultanas
1 tablespoon icing sugar
 
Now that you have everything let's begin preparing.
 
1. Break up both dark and milk chocolate in to small pieces, put into a heat resistance bowl then add  the butter and syrup. Melt on a gentle heat until the chocolate becomes a smooth liquid.
 
 
 
 


 2. Grab your digestive/amaretto biscuits and put them into a freezer bag, then bash them up with a rolling pin. They need to have a crunchy consistency.
 
3. Next, divide your cherries into two lots. You want some that are whole and the rest that are halves.
 
 
4. Now its time to combined all the ingredients together. Grab yourself a mixing bowl and pour in the melted chocolate and digestives. Stir together then add in the cherries and sultanas. Make sure that everything is covered in chocolate.
 
 
5. Line a baking/foil tray with  a few layers of Clingfilm, then cover the base with a piece of baking paper. Tip the mixture into tray smoothing it out as best you can, although it will look bumpy.
 

 
6. Pop the tray into the fridge for an hour or until it is firm. After the mixture is set take it out of the and cut it up into bite-size chunks. Sprinkle some icing sugar on top to give that snowy effect.
 
 
And there you have it. Rocky Road with a hint of snow. Enjoy.
 
Hope you liked this posted. If you made some of these then comment and tell me how you got on. Catch you later xxx