Traditional Christmas Sausage Rolls

Me making sausage rolls is now a Christmas tradition in my family. I simply use pre-made puff pastry, quality sausage meat and an egg glaze. They're very moreish.

Mary Berry's Chocolate Mousse Cake

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/celebration_chocolate_26103

 

Great recipe.

I swapped the brandy for amaretto and decorated with mini Terry's chocolate oranges and clementines.

 

Chocolate Slab!

My dad is a hard person to buy for so I thought I'd make him something edible for Christmas. I melted 300g dark chocolate then sprinkled on dried fruit. I left it to chill in the fridge then broke it up into large pieces. I hope he likes it!

Mini Victoria Sandwiches to celebrate Bake Off 2014!

100g butter

100g caster sugar

100g self raising flour

2 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Splash of milk

Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whisk in the eggs, milk and vanilla. Sift in the flour and mix until just combined. I greased and filled a mini cake tin but you could use a cupcake or fairy cake tin. Bake at 180C/gas 4 for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. 
Leave to cool. To make the butter cream, whisk 100g butter with 200g icing sugar together with a splash of water. 
Sandwich two cakes together with strawberry jam and top with butter cream. 

Jammie Dodgers!

250g butter

140g icing sugar

375g flour

Splash of milk

1tsp vanilla extract

Jam of your choice to decorate

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Mix in the rest of the ingredients until it comes together as a dough. Chill for about 15 minutes. Roll out and cut into circles. Cut a heart out of the middle of half the biscuits. Bake at 180C/gas 4 for  10 minutes or until just golden.

Leave to cool and sandwich the biscuits together in twos with jam. 

Gingerbread Christmas Tree Decorations

225g butter

175g light brown sugar

175g golden syrup

550g self raising flour

3tsp ground ginger

1tsp ground cinnamon

Melt the butter, sugar and syrup together in a pan over medium heat. Then add to the other ingredients and combine to make a dough. Leave to cool in the fridge for ten minutes. Roll out and cut into shapes. I made donut shapes using two different sized circle cutters to make hoops for tree decorations and used the middles for little biscuits. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. The biscuits will firm up when taken out of the oven so don't try and take them off the tray straight away. 

Tie the hoops together with ribbon and place on your tree! 

I glazed the little circular biscuits with a simple icing made from clementine juice and icing sugar. 

Chocolate Amaretto Cupcakes

70g dark chocolate

70g butter

60g self raising flour

100g sugar

1 egg

10g cocoa powder

Splash of milk

100g unsalted butter

200g icing sugar

Large splash of Amaretto

Preheat the oven at 180C/gas 4. Melt the butter and chocolate together. Separately whisk the egg then fold all the ingredients. Spoon into cases in a cupcake tin. Bake for 10-15 minutes, test with a skewer. Leave to cool. Thoroughly whisk the icing ingredients until light and fluffy then decorate the cupcakes.