Apple and Gingerbread Stuffing

I bloody love this time of year. All my favourite spices are out in force, and even savoury food has a sweet edge. Dishes are warming, filling and above all, comforting. There's nothing worse than soggy packet stuffing filled out with dried herbs and breadcrumbs. This is a recipe inspired by Nigella, the goddess of festive cookery.

I use Jamaica Ginger Cake in mine, mainly because I think it has the perfect texture for stuffing. It crumbles well but also has a sticky exterior. In my opinion, nothing compares! This bad boy is jam packed with flavour, texture and a little bit of joy! It can be used to stuff your bird, but I prefer to make it in a loaf tin then serve in chunks with festive ham.

Ingredients

• A knob of butter
• 1 tsp oil
• 250g finely diced onion
• 1 pink lady or gala apple - diced
• 350g unsmoked streaky bacon - cut into small pieces
• Zest of one medium orange
• 1 Jamaica Ginger Cake - crumbled
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 beaten egg

Method 

1. Line a 2lb loaf tin with greaseproof paper.
2. Heat the oil and butter in a large pan and soften the onion and apple over a low heat for about 10 minutes (pop a lid on).
3. Add the bacon pieces and cook on a medium heat for about 5 minutes.
4. Take the pan off the heat and leave with the lid off for about 10 minutes.
5. Add the crumbled gingerbread, zest, pepper and spices and stir well. 
6. Stir in the egg. This is why it needs to be a bit cooler... no-one likes scrambled egg in their stuffing!
7. Pack the mix into the loaf tin and cook in the centre of the oven on gas 7/220 C for 40 minutes.
8. TIP: I make this in advance of the meal. It even freezes really well. Cut into cubes, pop it in an ovenproof dish and place it at the bottom of the oven when you are making roasties. It warms through and gets crispy on the edges...

Enjoy...

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Spiced Lemon Frosted Christmas Bundt

This is the cake I made for the Christmas Fair on Saturday. I decided on lemon because it's always the most popular at bake sales, but I added a little spice to warm things up and add a sniff of Christmas cheer! The addition of cinnamon and nutmeg somehow lift the lemon, making it perfect for the festive season.

This cake is ridiculously moist and the underneath goes dark and sticky without tasting bitter. Jenny sold this cake by the 'tree', but it can just as easily be made in a plain bundt or ring tin... I was just dying to use my holiday tree tin again! Enjoy x

Ingredients:

Cake

• 225g unsalted butter at room temperature
• 450g golden caster sugar
• 6 medium eggs
• 420g plain flour
• 1/2 tbsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp lemon extract
• 270g low fat plain yogurt 
• Juice of 2 large lemons
• Zest of 3 large lemons

'Snow'

• A bowl full of icing sugar (I probably used about 400g)
• Juice of 3 large lemons
• A little warm water

Method:

1. Grease and flour a regular sized bundt tin (2.4l, 10 cup, 10 inch)
2. Soften the butter, then beat in the sugar in stages. There is a lot of sugar so be patient...
3. Beat in the eggs one by one on a nice slow speed.
4. Sift all the dry ingredients to a separate bowl.
5. Add the yogurt, lemon zest, lemon juice and extract to another bowl.
6. Alternate the yogurt and flour mixes into to the main mix, starting with flour. Fold it gently... you don't want it to resemble actual rubber...
7. Pour into a prepared bundt tin and bake on gas 4/180c for around 1 hour. Check the cake is done by inserting a skewer - it should come out with no wet mix attached and it should shrink away from the sides of the tin. This is essential if using a patterned tin like this.
8. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out. 
9. When cool, mix the 'snow' ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Amounts are really tricky here, but you are looking for a runny glace icing.
10. Now. Grab the bull by the horns and tip the whole thing over the cake. That's right, the lot. If there are bits which remain uncovered, just tease the icing in place with a spoon or spatula. It doesn't have to be perfect... it's 'snow'... I finished mine with silver spray to give it a beautiful snow fallen sheen! If the thought of this gives you collywobbles, just dredge with icing sugar!

My bundt hints and tips

Bloggers: Please respect the fact I am sharing my own ideas and recipe. Blood, sweat and many tears have gone into getting this right, so you may enjoy a perfect bundt. If you wish to re-blog a recipe from these variations, please credit my blog and link to this original post rather than pasting the recipe on your own page. 

Please see my Creative Commons Copyright information for more details. Thank you.

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Horwich Christmas Fair

On Saturday my friend Dawn and I held our second fair to raise money for tiny or poorly babies in the care of the Royal Bolton Neo Natal Unit.

Back in March this year, a tiny man called Sam came into the world. Dawn surprised me with a text the day after my birthday, saying he was here. He wasn't due for another five weeks. After a stay in the neo natal unit, he was home with his family and fit as a butcher's dog. A really small one. When she asked for my help to raise a bit of cash for the unit, I said yes without a moment's hesitation.

Granted, the Summer Fete nearly killed us. However, I found myself agreeing to do a Christmas one whilst still high from the euphoria of success. This time I was armed with a spreadsheet, and several lists!

We had such a great day. Crafters, knitters, bakers, puzzle makers, first time traders and some wonderful local folk came together at Horwich RMI to make an unforgettable day. We raised over £1000 for the unit (money is still coming in...), survived the icy chills of the Aspinall Suite and ate lots of cake.

We would both like to say a huge thank you to everyone who came or contributed, and to our friends who helped us; especially Jenny, Kev and Lucie, Clare and her girls, Corinne, Michelle and our long suffering families! Our husbands resisted divorcing us and our nerves remain intact.

Rather than blabber on much more, I'm going to let the pictures do the talking. Huge thanks to Carl Duffy who took most of these outstanding shots.

Please leave your comments below... x

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