How I decorated my Christmas cake (and I'm rubbish at this kind of stuff)

I'm no sugar crafter.  You will see this from my results but although an amateur, I am quite pleased with how my cake turned out this year and the big secret was, it was so easy.

There is no hard stuff here but I'll give it to you with all the short cuts...  You don't even need an icing bag!


I use ready made ready to roll marzipan and icing.  The first thing was to make the leaves.

Add some green food colouring to some ready to roll icing.  Try to avoid the "Southampton colours", especially if feeding to kids.  To do this, add in a few drops with a bit of icing sugar then kneed it in on a board (be careful, food colourings can stain).

Once the colour is consistent, roll it out.

I have some plunger cutters for some of the leaf types, otherwise I use cookie cutters.  If you don't have a plunger cutter for the markings, get a non poisonous leaf which hasn't been sprayed, e.g. a rose leaf and press the reverse side into icing.  Cut out the shapes.

Leave the leaves to dry, dry some on scrunched foil or on something cylindrical so they don't all dry flat.  This just looks a bit cooler!  If you like, either make some icing with slightly different shade of green or pick out the veins with additional colour.

Leave these to dry.  It might take a day or two if you do paint them with colour.

When you're ready to ice your cake, roll out the marzipan.  Warm up some apricot jam with a little water in a microwave.

Put your cake on the surface you're going to present it on, this might be a plate or a board.  Put it upside down so you have the flat side on top.

Brush the cake with the apricot jam then press on the rolled out marzipan, cutting off excess and moulding it with your hands.  Experience with play dough may be useful here...

Then boil some water while you're rolling out the icing.  Brush the marzipan layer with water then cover again with the icing.  This layer is a bit more forgiving than the marzipan.

Trim off the excess then add your decoration!

To make it stick or if you're right into the fancy icing stuff, mix some egg white with icing sugar until really stiff then use that for all that fancy icing stuff or to stick on your easy icing leaves.

Stand back and wait for admiration!  Leave it to dry out uncovered (but away from insects / pests / curious children and animals) for a few hours before covering.

Please add your Christmas cake pictures to my Facebook feed!

Merry Christmas from Mamacook!

Vegetable fritters - great for babies and toddlers on finger foods

After making my sweetcorn fritter recipe; I was determined there must be a good vegetable fritter recipe in me.  Look, I know courgettes (zucchini) aren't terribly seasonal at this time of year but they are still available in the shops and I'm sure you could substitute for another ingredient if you prefer.

This made a lovely, soft, pancake like texture which would be great for babies first finger foods, either alongside traditional weaning or as part of baby led weaning.

Vegetable Fritters - makes approx 10

Ingredients

40g, 1.5oz Self Raising flour (or plain, all purpose flour with 1/2 tsp baking powder)
1 egg
3 tbsp Milk
40g, 1.5oz Grated extra mature (extra sharp) cheddar
40g, 1.5oz Grated courgette (zucchini)

Spray oil or oil to cook.

Method

Mix the egg, milk and flour together to make a batter.  Whisk out any lumps.

Add in the courgette (zucchini) and cheese.

Preheat a non stick pan on a medium heat and oil lightly or use spray oil.  Fry tbsp of the mixture, probably about 3-4 max at any time until the bases are brown (better to cook too slowly rather than too quickly to ensure they cook through.)

Flip and cook the other side; maybe 2-3 minutes each side.

Serve with an assortment of vegetables.  My son really liked these.  The cheesiness is unexpected but really comes through.  This would be a great way to get some veggies into children who are a bit more fussy.

It just so happens that January's Family Foodies challenge is all about 'hidden goodies'.  Is there a more appropriate challenge for Mamacook?  I think not!  So I've submitted this along with a few other recipes to Bangers and Mash and Eat your veg's challenge:

No added sugar, nut free Granola

I find commercial granolas a bit too sweet if I'm honest and although my son loves things like this for breakfast, they're also pretty expensive and, as a three year old, there is still a choking risk on larger nuts.  Not of course if you make it yourself and control what goes in!  This is refined sugar free!

I have to be totally honest and say the chunks weren't all as quite as big as I would have liked but I suspect I might have to add more honey to make that happen.  There were some satisfyingly large bits though and a tasty and pretty healthy option for breakfast.

This should be for over 1's only due to the honey but also be guided by your child and their ability to chew the delicious chunky bits!  My son has been eating things like this since he was around 2 years old.

Raisin and Apple Granola makes around 400g (14oz)

Ingredients

2 tbsp Runny honey (substitute for golden syrup, maple syrup or agave nectar to make vegan)

2 tsp Oil (chose a mild, flavourless oil with high monounsaturates for health, like rapeseed)

1 tsp Vanilla extract

250g, 9oz Porridge oats

75g, 2.5oz Unsweetened dessicated coconut

4 tbsp Apple juice

2 tbsp Sunflower seeds

150g, 5.5oz Raisins

50g, 2oz Dried apple

Method

Preheat the oven to 170oC, 325F, Gas mark 3.

Mix the oats, coconut and seeds together in a bowl.

In a microwavable cup or jug mix the honey, vanilla, oil and juice.  Microwave for approx 30-45 seconds or until the honey mixes in well with the remaining liquids.

Pour the liquids over the dry mix and mix in well.  Turn onto a lined swiss roll tin and press into a layer.

Bake for approx 10 -15 minutes, give it all a stir and bake again for 5-10 more minutes; around 20 mins in total until you have crunchy browned pieces with no soggy bits.

Leave to cool then mix with the raisins, chopped up dried apple and pour into a sealable box (e.g. tupperware).

Serve with dairy or soy milk or yogurt and fruit.  My son loved this and suddenly wasn't quite so interested in Shreddies anymore!

I've linked this up here.

Make it Thrifty:

Look out for 'value' or 'smart price' packs of porridge oats, they work fine and are much cheaper than the branded varieties.

Turkey Sliders for all ages

A slider, so I'm told is a small burger.  I've mixed these up by making them with turkey (seasonal) but also sneaking in some hidden vegetables (why not) and a bit of spice!  These are super easy and healthy because they're made with white meat and baked not fried.

I do have a bit of love for sweet chilli sauce.  Although when my son was under 1 I diligently avoided giving him sugar as much as possible, I eased up as he got older.  Sweet chilli as an ingredient is a great way to introduce some gentle spicing in a way that is more predictable than using a small amount of chilli.

He tried some of my sliders with sweet chilli sauce but on balance preferred his served with ketchup.  Had I got any in the house, I would have served these with baked sweet potato wedges but I didn't so I served with cooked carrot sticks instead.  Might seem a bit strange but he loved it!

Turkey Sliders - made 5

Ingredients

125g, 4.5oz Minced (ground) turkey
60g, 2 oz Grated courgette (zucchini)
1 tbsp Thai style sweet chilli sauce
1 tbsp chopped fresh Coriander (cilantro)

Method

Mush all of the ingredients together then shape into patties and chill on a tray lined with baking paper and covered with cling film (saran wrap).

When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 200oC, 400F, Gas Mark 6.  Remove the film and bake for approx 18 minutes or until cooked through.

Serve in small buns with lettuce and either sweet chilli sauce or tomato ketchup.  I have to admit I liked them and I'd be tempted to make them again just for me!

It just so happens that January's Family Foodies challenge is all about 'hidden goodies'.  Is there a more appropriate challenge for Mamacook?  I think not!  So I've submitted this along with a few other recipes to Bangers and Mash and Eat your veg's challenge: