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Last week, I wrote about the wonderful hospitality in the Cashel Palace Hotel, where we were recording our Christmas specials. This week, we took two additional days to finish the job.
I was fortunate to have a non-food highlight for the programme, which I think people will enjoy. I spent a wonderful few hours in the company of Aidan O’Brien at Ballydoyle Stables, which is located not too far away from Cashel.
To say I was blown away, both by Aidan himself and the training operation he has going on at Ballydoyle, is a massive understatement. He and his staff showed us all around and were very generous with their time. It was easy to see how he has been so successful - our visit was a masterclass in how to treat a team of staff.
He has so much respect for everyone at the stables and everyone enjoys the work they are doing there. There are also plenty of physical results of their success: the many trophies they have won over the years, which I was delighted to be able to see up close. Aidan was kind enough to say he watches my programmes and that he enjoys them. That is a compliment which I will enjoy for quite some time.
A smile for everyone
I was driving home when I turned on the radio and heard Joe Duffy talk about the sad passing of Kathleen Watkins. I had been fortunate to meet Kathleen, and Gay, at events over the years. She was such a warm, welcoming person and always had a smile for everyone. I once had the privilege to cook for them and a group of their friends, and I thoroughly enjoyed the evening.
My sympathies to Crona and Suzy and their families, and to her friends - of whom she had many. She was one of those people I am very glad to have met.
Today, I have some baking recipes for the lead-up to Christmas. With family and friends popping in to the house, it is always good to have something delicious to go with a cup of tea. No one has a lot of time these days for baking, but if you take a day here and there and make some sponges, for example, they can be wrapped and frozen. The same goes for things like Christmas biscuits or pre-mixed crumble toppings. Of course, your Christmas cakes and puddings just get better with age if they are stored in a dark, cool place in the lead up to the festive season.
For me, Christmas baking is a tradition that goes back to my mother, Vera. This was the season where she first got me involved in baking cakes and pies and learning to decorate them. This is a good time of the year for children to learn. They will make a mess, but then they will also learn to clean up after themselves.
For parents or grandparents, it’s good to be patient with the kids and let them go to town with the decorations - let their creativity show through. It will all taste delicious in the end and you’re creating happy Christmas memories in the kitchen together.
Get creative
This snowman cake recipe is a great starting point for any novice cake decorators. This recipe was given to me by Nicki Howard, from Gill Books. Before sharing the recipe, she would often tell me about this cake, which is one of her traditional family recipes which is made each year around the holidays.
The sponge is light and airy and the buttercream together with the desicated coconut is the perfect sweet and nutty flavour combination.
A Victoria sponge is a nice, light alternative to a traditional Christmas cake, and again, this is a great starter recipe for younger cooks or those just learning. It is a great base recipe; you’ll find you will use it repeatedly any time you need a basic sponge cake.
In this wintry Victoria sponge recipe, the mulled winter berries add a festive and tasty twist with some gentle spice and citrus elements.
Ingredients: Serves 8-10
For the sponge
225g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
200g caster sugar
4 medium eggs
225g self-raising flour, sifted
Finely grated rind of 2 oranges
Seeds of ½ vanilla pod or 1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp baking powder
For the mulled berry jam
300g fresh or frozen mixed berries, such as blackberries, blackcurrants, blueberries and raspberries
250g caster sugar
Finely grated rind and juice of 1 orange
4 tbsp red wine
5 cardamom pods, bashed
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick, snapped in half
¼ tsp ground ginger
To decorate
450ml cream
Fresh mint leaves
Method
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease and line 2 x 20cm loose-bottomed cake tins with non-stick baking paper.
2 Using a hand-held electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add two of the eggs and half of the flour and beat until combined. Add the other two eggs and the rest of the flour along with the orange rind, vanilla, cinnamon and baking powder and beat vigorously to get a good amount of air into it.
3 Divide the batter between the prepared tins. Bake in the oven for 25–30 minutes, until the cakes have shrunk slightly from the sides of the tins and spring back when touched in the centre. Remove from the oven and leave the cakes to cool in the tins.
4 Meanwhile, make the mulled berry jam. Put all the ingredients in a heavy-based pan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Put a small plate in the freezer (this is to check the jam later).
5 Raise the heat to medium and bring to the boil. Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly, until the liquid has reduced and the berries are coated in thick syrup. To check that the jam has reached setting consistency, remove the plate from the freezer and put a spoonful of jam on it. After a minute, push your finger through it. If it wrinkles, it’s set. If not, give it another five minutes and check again. Leave to cool in the pan, then remove all the spices and discard.
6 Whisk the cream in a bowl until thickened and holding its shape. Put one sponge upside down on a serving plate or cake stand. Using a palette knife, spread on half of the whipped cream. Spoon over three-quarters of the jam, allowing some to drip over the edges, then cover with the second sponge. Pipe or swirl the rest of the whipped cream on top and dot with the remaining jam. Decorate with the fresh mint.
Ingredients: Serves 8-10
175g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
175g caster sugar
3 eggs
225g self-raising flour
2 tbsp milk
For the buttercream
225g icing sugar, sifted
75g butter, softened
2 tbsp milk
To decorate
75g desiccated coconut
400g marzipan
A few drops of red food colouring
A few drops of black food colouring icing sugar, for dusting
A small handful of sultanas
1 glace cherry
Method
1 Preheat the oven to 160°C. Grease one 200ml metal or Pyrex pudding basin and one 600ml metal or Pyrex pudding basin with butter.
2 Using a hand-held electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until soft and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then fold in the flour. Stir in the milk to make a cake batter with a soft consistency.
3 Put one-quarter of the cake batter into the small greased pudding basin and put the rest into the large one. Put the cakes in the oven and bake the smaller one for 40 minutes, until golden brown and a skewer pushed right into the centre comes out clean. The larger cake will take about 70 minutes.
4 To make the buttercream, whisk all the ingredients together until you have a smooth icing. Cover with cling film and set aside at room temperature until needed.
5 Leave the cakes to cool in the basins, then turn out onto a clean board. Cut a thin slice from the side of each basin cake to make a flat base. Cut a similar slice from the opposite side of the larger cake. If you want to ensure that the cake is going to be really secure while you decorate it, use a 20cm wooden skewer to make a hole in the head and body, then position it so that it holds the body and head together securely.
6 Put a small amount of the buttercream on a 25cm round cake board and use the rest to coat the snowman completely. Gently rough it up with a knife, then dust with the coconut, gently brushing away any excess.
7 Colour one-quarter of the marzipan with the red food colouring and roll it out on a clean work surface lightly dusted with icing sugar. Using a small, sharp knife, cut the marzipan into a scarf that can be tied around the snowman’s neck.
8 Colour the rest of the marzipan with the black food colouring and shape it into a hat and two eyes. Use the glace cherry for a nose. This will keep well for up to two days if stored in a cool, dark place before serving.
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