Recipe: Christmas Scones, rum cream and jam

Happy golden days scone by

We had an idea a couple of weeks ago to create a Christmas scone.  The scone would have all the Christmas goodness you may expect; ginger, cinnamon and raisins.  Then we would add a dab of mincemeat in the centre and seal.  We would serve with a good dollop of rum cream and an amazing Christmas homemade jam from my mother's neighbour. 

As it turns out, it worked!  Here is our English Christmas Scone.

Ingredients:

• For the Christmas Scone
• 15g Unsalted butter, softened
• 25g Brown sugar
• 1 Egg yolk
• 2 Level tsps Ground ginger, sifted
• 1 Level tsps Ground cinnamon, sifted
• 1/4 tsp Ground clove
• 120ml Butter Milk
• 2 tbsp Créme fraiche
• 1 tbsp Treacle
• A small jar of mincemeat
• 175g Self-raising flour, sifted
• 1/4 tsp Baking powder, sifted

For the Rum Cream:

• 100ml whipping cream
• 1 tbsp of rum
• 1 tbsp of caster sugar

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C / 400 F, Gas Mark 5.
2. Beat butter, sugar and egg with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
3. Heat buttermilk and treacle until warm.
4. Add the dry ingredients and wet ingredients to the egg mix. Knead into a soft, smooth dough. Add extra flour if needed.
5. Press dough out to 1cm thickness, using a 5cm pastry cutter.
6. Place half the cut shapes on a greased tray.
7. Add a teaspoon of mincemeat on each.
8. Place the other half on top "gluing" with a dab of milk.
9. Glaze with milk and then place in the oven.
10. Bake for 20 minutes.

For the Whipped Cream

1. Whip the cream, using a hand whisk
2. Add the sugar and rum
3. Whisk for further 10 seconds

Serve immediately with the cream and jam.  Enjoy with tea or a glass of port. 

We find regular scones quite heavy, but these are much lighter and not so rich.  You can buy Christmas jams from Harrods, Whittards and Lewis & Copper.

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Recipe: Parmesan Shortbread Canapes With a Selection of Cheese Toppings

Long bread to the short bread, word is bond

Three varieties of toppings from left to right: Pesto gouda with piece of tomato, goats cheese and onion marmalade, mozzarella , tomato and basil

Yummy cheesy bite-sized parmesan biscuits.  We made these mozzarella and cherry tomato shortbread biscuits about five years ago for one of our dinner parties and thought we would resurrect them tonight and add a a few more varieties of topping.  If you are intrigued by the leafy green cheese, it is pesto gouda from Amsterdam.  It was amazing and perfect with the parmesan.  The caramelised red onion jam was adapted from a recipe on The Complete Cook Book Blog by Mandy Frielinghaus.  Thanks Mandy it was great! 

These little mouthfuls of joy are great as the dough can be prepared up to twenty-four hours in advance of your gathering.  You can also let your imagination run wild on toppings.  These pair well with champagne, especially the mozzarella.

Shortbread ingredients (makes about 40)

• 115g plain white flour
• 100g unsalted butter, diced
• 85g grated parmesan cheese
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• Extra flour for dusting

To make the shortbread

1. Sift the flour into a bowl with the butter and mix with your hands
2. When the mixture gets to a bread crumb consistency, add the cheese, salt and cayenne and continue mixing with your hands
3. When the mixture has combined, dust a surface with flour and roll the dough into a ball.
4. Cover the dough with cling film and leave in the fridge for at least an hour
5. Remove the dough and roll into a sheet about 1/2cm thick
6. Use a small cookie cutter to cut out the individual short breads and place onto a baking sheet lined with grease proof paper
7. Return the uncooked shortbread into the fridge for a further 30 minutes to an hour.
8. Preheat the oven to 170C or gas mark 5 and place the biscuits in to cook for 10 to 12 minutes until they are an even golden colour

Onion marmalade ingredients

• 2 medium red onions
• 1 bay leaf
• 2/3 cup of sherry vinegar
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 125g soft brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• A dash of Worcester sauce

To make the Onion Marmalade

1. Peel and thinly slice the onions.
2. Combine all the ingredients into a sauce pan, stir together and heat until it starts to boil.
3. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated.
4. Leave to cool, transfer to a jar and keep in the fridge.

Recipe: Latvian Traditional Christmas Cookies

Have a cookie, have a few!

Today is Latvian Independence Day.  We did not know this when we decided to bake our Latvian Christmas Cookies.  This is a pure coincidence, which makes us think that mystic, spooky forces are at work here (Cue “The Twilight Zone” theme tune).  Thank-you Latvia for your contribution to society- namely creating this wonderful golden biscuity goodness. 

These yummy cookies are a wonderful nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon Christmas treat; a perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea after some hectic holiday non-sense (shopping, cooking, wrapping presents). I heard about Latvian Christmas cookies from a German colleague who I am pretty sure had no connection to Latvia at all. When I made these for the second time four years ago, I completely messed up the proportions and ended up with literally one hundred cookies! I am ashamed to say it had scared me off baking them ever since. Poor Keith had to consume them all (as well as my family). Just as well they were deliciously soft, gingery and spicy.

Ingredients:

• 400g Plain flour
• 180g Brown Sugar
• 190g Low Fat Butter
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 3 tsp Ginger powder
• 2 tbsp Ginger Syrup (optional)
• 1 Black clove, crushed
• ¼ tsp Nutmeg powder
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
• 1 ½ Baking powder
• 1 tbsp Treacle
• 2 Eggs, beaten
• 2 Serving spoons of Honey

Method:

1. Sift the flour, cinnamon, ginger, crushed clove, nutmeg, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and cayenne pepper into a mixing bowl.
2. Heat in a medium pan the treacle, sugar, butter and honey until melted.  Do not let it burn.
3. Add 2 cups of the dry mix to the treacle mix.  Allow to cool slightly.
4. Gradually stir in a further cup of the flour and then the beaten eggs a bit at a time.
5. Transfer back to the mixing bowl.  Add extra flour gradually if the mixture is too gloopy.
6. Knead in the bowl until smooth, silky but thick.
7. Transfer onto a floured surface and knead slightly.
8. Roll out to a medium thickness and use a cookie cutter to create your desired shape (be it Christmas or not).
9. Bake for about 8 minutes at 180C (Gas mark 4) until golden brown.
10. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool.

Ice if desired.  We have opted for a lemon glaze.

Happy Independence Day Latvia, we laud the freedom of this cookie!