Christmas Cakes 2012 Part 3 :o)

I finally got round to icing the Christmas cakes yesterday :o) There have been various days over the past couple of weeks when I was going to do them, but life has a habit of getting in the way  & I never managed to get them done. However, yesterday I was DETERMINED !! Nothing was going to stand in my way, I said I was going do them & do them I WOULD !! :o)

 



I got Shaun settled in his husband hut & then gathered everything together - icing sugar, icing, decorations, ribbon, pins, rolling pin, board, scissors, knife, pastry brush, boiling water & cakes :o)

I decided to use ready made fondant icing which is quicker & a lot kinder on the teeth than Royal Icing :o) After breaking one of my mother in law's teeth with an extra hard walnut in a coffee & walnut cake earlier in the year, I think it was a wise decision !! :o)

 

Well, it was her fault really - I offered to make her a coffee cake & SHE said - *Can you make it coffee & walnut instead ? I haven't had a coffee & walnut cake in AGES !!* So, being the very good & dutiful daughter in law I am, that's what I did !! :o)

 

Anyway - I digress - as usual :o)

 



 

Because I was icing one big & six small cakes, I divided the icing into 7 pieces & then started rolling :o)

 

To make the icing stick, you have to brush the top of the marzipanned cake with boiled water. Before doing anything, I put the pastry brush & all my decorations & pins - which hold the ribbon on - into boiling water for a few minutes, to steralise & make them clean & safe.

 

 

 

Place the rolled icing on top of the cake & trim any excess.

 



 

Put a blob of icing - made with icing sugar & a drop of boiling water - on to a cake board & place the cake. You can buy Christmas cake ribbons, but I wanted to use the decorative ribbon I already had. Once the ribbon's in place around the cake, pin it in place with 1 or 2 of the pins you steralised earlier.



 

Decorate how you want :o) I like the plain & simple look, personally, but that's mostly because I can't do fancifications :o)  I don't have the ability or the patience, to be honest :o) I'm also old fashioned/traditional. Christmas to me is red, gold & green, so I tend to stick to those colours.

 

This is the large cake. The small ones were done in the same way, but the only decoration they have are ribbons around them & a small tree decoration stuck in them. I thought the recipients could eat the cake & then put the decoration on the tree as a little keepsake :o) It saves having a drawful of cake decorations that they won't use, doesn't it ? :o)

 

Today it's steam-the-Christmas-puddings-& panic-about-parents-coming-to-visit-next-week-&-I-still-haven't-got-a-clue-what-to-get-them-day :o)

 

PANIC !! PANIC !!! PANIC !!!!  :o)

 

 

 

Remembrance Day 2012

 

Are we ever going to learn from history ?

 

Wilfred Owen

 

Dulce Et Decorum Est

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of disappointed shells that dropped behind.

GAS! Gas! Quick, boys!-- An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And floundering like a man in fire or lime.--
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.

In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,--
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.

 

Lest We Forget.



Christmas Cakes 2012 Part 2 :o)

 

I finally got round to marzipanning the Christmas cakes on Tuesday afternoon. I'd tried to find time on the weekend, but it just seemed to slip away & before I knew it, it was Monday again, the start of yet another week of appointments. It would be so nice to have a week or 3 off, but it seems Shaun is in constasnt demand at the hospital, doctor's or clinic. If I never see another medical person again in my life, it will be too soon !! :o)

 

But - I digress :o)  Back to the Christmas cakes :o)

 

First, gather your bits & pieces together - rolling pin, pastry brush, apricot jam, icing sugar, marzipan, board to roll it on & most importantly - the cakes themselves :o)

 

Spoon some jam into a saucepan & GENTLY heat it till it becomes runny. While this is happening, roll your marzipan on an icing sugar covered board. You could melt the jam in the microwave if you prefer, but I like to do it in a saucepan on a low heat. I can keep an eye on it better that way.

Brush the melted jam over the top of the cake - if you are marzipanning & icing the sides, do the same to them, too.

 



 

Place your cake, jammy side down, on top of your rolled marzipan. I used natural marzipan, but you can use the yellow coloured marzipan if you prefer :o) You can also place the marzipan on top of the cake, rather than the way I do it, but I do it that way because I find it easier to cut the marzipan to shape & trim away any excess :o)

 

 

 

The marzipanned cake :o) As you can see, I only do the top. I think too much marzipan & icing makes the cake a little too sweet, but it's a personal choice. I don't like marzipan at all, nor do I like a lot of icing, so IF I liked Christmas cake, I'd probably pull it all off & just munch on the cake itself :o)

 

Top tip: when storing the cake, it can be difficult to get it out of the tin, especially a big cake like the one above. It weighs a TON !! So, put it on the lid of the tin & place the tin over the top. It still keeps the cake fresh but makes it easier to take out when needed. Just remember that the tin is UPSIDE DOWN, so be careful when moving it !! You could always wrap some duct tape or parcel tape around it, just to be on the safe side :o)

 

 

 

 

Smaller cakes are easier to lift in & out, so just store them in a tin or a biscuit box on greaseproof paper. I use individual bits of greaseproof because it helps you get hold of the right cake.Grab a corner, slide your hand underneath & lift :o)

 

 

So, there we are. All marzipanned & waiting to be iced & decorated. It takes at least 24 hours for the marzipan to dry, but I normally leave them at least a week before icing, if not longer, just to be sure.

 

Part 3 when it's icing time :o)

HEAVENS TO MURGATROYD !!!

 

Well !!! Goodgriefalmighty !!! They said the age of miracles was dead, but this morning, when I got back from shopping & was helping 'imself

 out of the car, a miracle happened right before my very eyes !!

 

*What ???* I hear you cry !! Well, hold on to your 'ats, cos here it comes:

 

A sucky-up-machine was only in my road, doing what a sucky up machine does best -

SUCKY UPPING THE BLOCKED DRAINS !!!

 

One of my neighbours came out at that very moment & crossed over in shock to tell me that she's lived in this road for 27 years & this is the FIRST time she's ever seen the drains cleaned out.

 

 A true miracle if ever there was one !! :o)

 

And just to prove it, here are some pics.

 

 

The sight that met my eyes :o)

 

 

 

Getting the sucky-up pipe thing in place.

 

 

 

Giving it a good ol' scrub & a suck :o)

 

 

 

A job well jobbed ? Well, we'll have to wait & see what happens

when it rains again :o)

 

 

 

Goodbye Mr. Sucky-Up-Men & thank you :o)

 

Let's just hope it isn't another 27 years before we see you again !! :o)
 

Christmas Cakes 2012 Part 1 :o)

I decided that today was going to be my Christmas-Cake-Making-Day :o) For the past couple of years, it's been a bit of a mad rush around the middle of November to get them made, what with one thing & another - the one thing being Shaun & the other being . . .  yep, you got it - Shaun :o)

 

Anyhoooo - I gathered together all the ingredients, tins, scales, stripy apron, well worn & grubby cook book etc. & set to :o)

 

 Top tip no. 1 - always soak your mixed fruit in brandy overnight. Not only does this plump up the fruit & help keep the cake moist,  when you take the cling film off the bowl, you get a nose full of boozy scrumptiousness that reminds you of Christmas :o) 

 Top tip no. 2 - Lining your tins :o) After you've drawn around your tin on greaseproof paper, fold the greaseproof in half to cut. You'll end up with a better shaped circle to line the bottom of the tin :o)

 

 

 I had 7 cakes to make today - one large one & 6 smaller ones.

 

 

 This really doesn't look very appetising, does it ? :o)

 

 

 But, once it's all creamed together & the flour & eggs have been added, it looks much better. I wonder what it'd taste like cooked just like this, with no fruit. I'll have to try it one day - if it tastes half as nice as it smells, I might be on to a winner :o)

 

 

 Bung in the mixed peel & glace cherries, along with a good slug of brandy. (Hic !!)

I don't drink, but I do love to make Christmas cakes that have the potential to be lethal !!! :o)

 

 

 Whack in all the booze soaked mixed fruit & hope to goodness your arm muscles are strong enough to mix, mix mix . . . dig down deep to the bottom & make sure all that fruit is mixed in thoroughly :o)

 

 

 The mix is so thick, the wooden spoon can stand up by itself :o)

 

 Cake mix poured into the tins & ready for the oven. A slight dip is made in the middle because we don't want the cake to rise to a point.

 The sun was shining brightly through the window, hence the golden glow :o)

 

 

 All that leaves is the washing up . . . . sighhhhhh . . .

Followed by top tip no. 3:

 A large cup of coffee & a couple of digestives :o)

Well, I think I deserved them after all that creaming & mixing !! :o)

 

 

Four hours later, here they are, all cooked to perfection. Well, almost :o)  The one at the back, on the left hand side seems to have done its own thing & risen a bit more on one side. But, not to worry :o)  When it comes to marzipanning, I'll just take a big knife & slice it level. However, before that can happen,  I need to make a few skewer holes in the bottom of each cake &  over the next week or 2, feed them some more brandy :o)

 

I must remember to tell the recipients to go easy on their medication for a few days before Christmas - I can't have them all high as a kite, can I ?!! :o)

 

Or can I ?? :o)  <cue evil cackle !!>

 

Part 2 when it's marzipan time :o) 

 

Sun a-rise . . early in the morning . . .

 

 

A short blog today - no words needed, really :o)

 

This was the view from my kitchen door at 6am this morning.

 

 

 

If only we could paint as beautifully as Mother Nature :o)

 

When Autumn Leaves Begin To Fall

The nights are drawing in, the early mornings & late afternoons are getting colder & this year, Autumn has arrived before Summer  :o)  If nothing else, it's reinforced that good old British tradition - moaning about the weather :o) It's all part of our charm &, like queueing, it's *what we do* :o)

 

There is beauty to be seen in every season, but Autumn is my favourite time of year. I love the rich, deep colours of the trees & bushes, that *nip* in the air when you first step out of the house in the morning & lazy Saturday afternoons when the rain is pouring down & you can snuggle up on the sofa to watch a good film :o)

 

Because it's now Autumn, I thought I'd change the pic for my blog header-doobery-wotsit & the photo I chose is one of my favourites. I took it about 3 years ago in Russell Gardens, opposite Kearsney Abbey, on a wet Sunday morning :o) It just sums up Autumn for me :o)

 

However . . .

 

With Autumn, comes that slightly uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. The feeling that Christmas is just along the road & round the corner. The feeling that, no matter how organised I am,  I am STILL going to fall headlong into a STATE OF PANIC !!!  Where will I find the time to make Christmas cakes, puddings, cards & presents ? What if I've forgotten someone ? Where can I hide things from the eagle eyes of a 4 year old who has already spotted Christmas bags on top of my wardrobe ?

 

 *Why are there Christmas bags up there, Grandma ? Is there anything for me up there ? Is there, Grandma ? Is there ? I'm REALLY trying to be a good boy, but it's hard . . * :o) 

 

I suspect  having a 2 year old brother doesn't help in the being-good-ALL-the-time stakes :o)

 

Knowing how I go so easily into full on panic mode, I've tried this year to do bits & pieces each month in preparation for Christmas. I've even resorted to taking my knitting with me to hospital appointments - I spend so much time in waiting rooms with himself, it seems a shame to sit & do nothing :o) I've made a few cards & next week, the cakes will be made. I don't like rich fruit cake, but the smell in the kitchen as the fruit is drowning soaking in brandy & then the cakes themselves being cooked, is just gorgeous :o)  Maybe I'll change the habits of a lifetime & try a slice. You never know, my taste buds may have altered since the last time I tried it :o)

 

My youngest grandson is probably the biggest Thomas the Tank Engine fan I've ever known :o) He can tell you which train is which, what the helicopter is called & all manner of other things about Thomas & his friends. So, with his train obsession in mind, this is the Christmas card I made for him the other day. Not Thomas, but I expect that's what he'll say when  he sees it :o)

 

 

So.

 

I may be in a slight panic, but my list of things to do is getting shorter :o)

 

Below are some other Christmas cards I've made. As usual, some are rubbish but there is the odd one or two that I'm pleased with :o) I told myself that I had to practice my stamping & every Christmas card I've made so far has a stamped image.

 

I love this sleepy little mouse :o)

 

 

 



 

I made this card today when we were waiting for the District Nurse to come to see himself :o)

 

 

 

Choir Boy or Angel ?  I really like this stamp. It's clean & simple & came with a magazine last year, along with a fair few others.

 

 

 

 This stamp is from one of the Penny Black collection. I LOVE those stamps :o)

 

 

 

This snowman was in the same collection as the Choir Boy, I just stamped him 3 times :o)

 

 

 

From the same stamp collection, this lovely tree was stamped with clear embossing ink, sprinkled with gold embossing powder & heated with my heat gun. In *real* life, it looks pretty impressive.

 

 

 

 Another Penny Black stamp. I just love those little mice & hedgehogs :o)

 

 

 

 

This little bear was a stamp I got on a magazine a year or 2 ago.

 

 

 

 

 The little mouse & robin again.

 

 *Is that a Penny Black stamp ?* I hear you cry !! Well, yes. How did you know ??!! :o)

 

 

 

 

 Yes, another Penny Black stamp :o)

 

 

 

And lastly, the lovely Penny Black snowman again :o)

 

 

That's the beauty of stamps, you can use them time & again. Other people have a better imagination that I do & when they use the same stamp, they somehow manage to come up with something totally different each time, whereas I just get one idea lodged in my head & it's there for the duration :o)

 

BUT . . .

 

While I wait for inspiration to strike, I suppose I'd better get on with knitting the hoodie grandson 1a requested. Once I've done that, it's on to hoodie no. 2 for grandson no. 1b & a Christmas card for grandson 1a. Because, after all, that's what Grandma's - even those who, like me, are FAR too young to be this old - do, isn't it ? :o)