Chocolate Orange Shortbread with Candied Orange Peel

A delicious buttery biscuit, spiked with fragrant orange zest, generously dipped in dark chocolate. Perfect to give as a homemade gift!

There's something about baking and Christmas. I wish I could say it was because of the weather, that the snow and dropping mercury drives one in to the kitchen for baking and comfort by the oven but in Australia, this is quite the opposite. It's hotter the devil's bumhole after curry night. I can barely function in this heat. And yet when the tree goes up and the shop fronts put their little animatronic scenes up, I get the hankering for some bakering.

Mr. Cakes has always been a fan of choc orange. Not to say that he came out of the womb sucking on a Jaffa but for as long as I've known him, he's been a fan of this classic combination. It wasn't a flavour I've previously been inclined to choose. However, in the last few years, I've certainly come around. Maybe I'm a mature person now who likes to munch on a Terry's Chocolate Orange while I'm watching a bit of Miss Marple.

I have never had a Terry's Chocolate Orange and I have never seen Miss Marple. Both are awesome, I'm sure.

I have had chocolate orange shortbread with candied orange peel. These smell so good, you can out your Christmas candle back in the cabinet for the afternoon while these are baking. Ain't no party like an olfactory party cos an olfactory party is in your nose...and you know...what other party is in your nose? Cocaine.

These cookies have a wonderful orange flavour from both some orange zest and a few tablespoons of freshly squeezed juice. But because the juice does thin the batter out, the cookies do spread when baked. To counter this, make sure to refrigerate the cookies for 30 minutes.

I choose to make these in half moon shapes, like orange slices. I tried cutting them before they were put in to the oven, but I found I could get a crisper line on the sliced side if I carefully cut them with a very sharp knife the second they came out of the oven.

You may be tempted to skip making the candied orange peel and who am I to discourage cutting corners. But I must tell you, the candied orange peel not only look darling and take presentation of the cookies to the next level, but they taste divine. And if giving these as gifts, then I'm afraid the candied peel is really not optional. It just looks (and tastes) too good.

Chocolate Orange Shortbread with Candied Orange Peel

Prep time: 40 mins

Cooking time: 25 mins

Total time:  1 hr 5 mins

Servings: 24 cut-out biscuits

230g butter, softened

120g caster sugar

2T fresh orange juice

Zest of 2 oranges

260g plain flour

80g rice flour

375 dark chocolate

1.      Preheat oven to 150°C and line two cookie sheets with baking paper

2.      In a large bowl, beat the butter with a wooden spoon until soft then add the sugar and mix thoroughly.

3.      Add orange juice, orange zest then mix.

4.      Sift in both flours and mix to a smooth dough.

5.      Roll out dough to 1cm thickness and cut using a round cookie cutter.

6.      Place on the prepared cookie sheets, at least 2cm apart and place in the fridge to chill for at 30 minutes.

7.      Meanwhile, make the candied orange peel - see below for 

8.      Bake each tray on the middle shelf of the oven for 25 minutes, or until cookies are just cooked.

9.      When the cookies have come straight out of the oven, cut the circles, with a very sharp knife, to form half-moons.

10.  Allow to cool.

11.  Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl, in the microwave in 30 second intervals.

12.  Dip each cookie in the melted chocolate and top with a piece of candied orange peel while chocolate is wet and then place on a rack to allow to dry.

13.  Enjoy!

Candied Orange Peel

1/3 cup caster sugar

1/3 cup water

2 oranges

Extra caster sugar for coating peels (1/2 cup to a cup)

1.      Use a vegetable peeler to cut the peel off the oranges in long strips, then use a sharp knife to cut the peel into pieces 3 - 5 cm long.

2.      Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves.

3.      Add the orange peel and cook over a low-medium heat for 20 or so mins until the peel is tender and the syrup thickens.

4.      Transfer the peel and syrup to a small bowl and refrigerate until cool enough to handle.

5.      To sugar the candied orange peel, drain the syrup from the orange peel and toss the peel with the extra caster sugar in a small bowl, then place on a baking sheet lined with non-stick paper.

6.      Allow to stand until required.               

Reindeer Cupcakes

These sweet little faces are almost too cute to eat. A carrot cupcake topped with cute decorations to make a festive party treat!

My Christmas baking is running a little behind due to the celebrating starting early. Hangovers make baking seem like a mammoth task...or a reindeer task? But Christmas is important and Santa waits for no one.

And these are cute as hell. You know I can't stop saying "as hell". I finish every sentence where I want to be emphatic with it. "That's rude as hell!", "That's pretty as hell!",  "I'm confused as hell!" And my favourite, "That's DUMB as HELL!" Try it. You won't be able to stop.

But do you know what, these are as cute as hell. Of course they're perfect for Christmas but...okay I can't think of any other time of year they'd suit. But that doesn't mean they're any less cute! Perhaps somehow they could be made in to bunnies for Easter. Bunnies like carrots too.

So anyway. These darling little cupcakes are carrot cupcakes! Do you know why? Cos what do you leave out for Santa and his reindeer? Carrots, that's what! How twee is that! Carrot cupcakes with reindeer faces! Cute central. If you put 'cute central' into Google Maps, your address will come up with these guys in your kitchen.

Here are some step by step photos for the fondant work.

Select a round cutter a little larger than your cupcake.
Knead together white and pre-coloured brown fondant to make a darker shade and lighter shade of brown. Keep the fondant tightly wrapped when not working with the fondant.

Ice the cupcake with buttercream to a slightly domed shape.

Cut a round of darker brown fondant.

Lightly press the large over the buttercream.

Using the back of a piping tip, cut a smaller circle from the lighter brown fondant and attach to the darker brown with a tiny dab of buttercream.

Lightly press the edge of the piping tip in to the light brown circle to make the mouth of the deer.

Attach a dark brown M&M to the light brown circle to make the nose of the deer, then add the premade eyes.

There is a bit of fondant work with this but it's basically the easiest fondant use ever. Rolling and cutting circles. You'll need two shades of brown for these cupcakes. I purchased pre-coloured brown fondant the colour I wanted to the head of the reindeer to be and then I created the lighter brown by rolling some white fondant in to a bit of the darker fondant. This was easier than buying only white and colouring it. Less mess, less fuss and more consistent results.

I used my old standby cupcake recipe and altered it a bit by adding carrots, vegetable oil and some pulverized walnuts. A lot of carrot cupcake recipes out in the great big world seemed more like muffins. They were dense and didn't have the height of a light and fluffy traditional cupcake. Being the Dr. Frankenstein that I am, I simply altered a vanilla cupcake. And it worked.

The reindeer also have cute little eye which I made by piping royal icing. I can't tell you how sick of piping icing I was by the end of this, this made far more than I needed. However, once the discs are well dried, you can store them in an airtight container for other projects. To create the pupils, I dotted the discs with a food safe pen. I purchased a specific food pen for this but since making them, I've read that you can use a non-toxic pen purchased from the supermarket, the type kids use for their colouring books.

Finally, you will just need to pipe the antlers with some melted chocolate. You can use this template or freestyle it if you've got a steady hand. Make sure you pipe the base of the antlers nice and thick, I found the thinner ones broke easily. To make the chocolate antlers easier to use, make sure they're cold from the fridge and use a small knife to make an incision in the fondant first, then stick the chocolate antlers in.

Also, cos it's Christmas, enjoy these photos of my own little reindeer.

Reindeer Face Carrot Cupcakes
*Royal icing eyes need time to set so make at least 24 hours in advance. Royal icing eyes can be made well in advance and kept in an airtight container once completely dried.

Prep time: 60 mins, not including drying time

Cooking time: 20 mins

Total time:  1 hr and 20 mins

Servings: 18 cupcakes

Royal Icing Eyes

2 egg whites

1 1/3 cups confectioners sugar, sifted

Black food safe pen

1. Combine the egg white and sugar in a medium bowl and beat on medium speed for 4-5 minutes, scraping down sides as necessary.
2. Beat til icing is a thick but pipeable consistency, like molten lava. Add water if the icing is too thick or more sifted icing sugar if too thin
3. Add the frosting to a piping bag with a small round tip
4. Lay a large piece of baking paper on to a baking sheet and pipe small circles to make an eye shape.
5. Allow to dry at room temperature for at least 24 hours before removing from baking sheet. Once dry, dot each eye with the black pen to make an pupil.

Chocolate Antlers

150g chocolate melts

1. Print out the template and place on a baking sheet. Lay a piece of baking paper over the top.
2. Melt the chocolate in 30 second intervals until completely melted.
3. Add melted chocolate into a piping bag fitted with a fine piping tip and pipe antlers on to baking paper, following pattern as on the template. Use a skewer or toothpick to move chocolate in to the gaps as required.
4. Allow to dry and chill in fridge.

Carrot Cupcakes
110g softened butter
230g caster sugar
2 eggs, free range
150g plain cake flour
125g self-raising cake flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk
1 cup freshly grated carrots
125g crumbled walnuts

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C and line a 12-hole cupcake tin.
2. Beat the sugar and butter together until lighter in colour.
3. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. Sift the flours into one bowl and stir the cinnamon and nutmeg into the flour.
5. Add the vanilla extract and vegetable oil into the milk.
6. Add to the creamed mixture alternately with the milk, in three lots, starting and finishing with the flour.
7. Gently fold the grated carrot and walnuts into the batter until combined.
8. Fill each cupcake liner two-thirds full, or about 50g on scales.
9. Bake for 20 to 23 minutes, leave in the tin for 5 minutes then turn on to a rack to cool. 

Vanilla Buttercream

1 cup butter, at room temperature

2 cups icing sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons milk

1. Using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as required.
2. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the icing sugar. Once all of the sugar is incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and add the vanilla and milk, mixing until incorporated. Whip at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed.

Assembly
Pre-coloured brown and white fondant
Colours will vary, use as much fondant as required.
Brown and red M&M's

1. Ice each cupcake with vanilla buttercream and set aside.
2. Dust a rolling mat or benchtop with icing sugar.
3. Knead white fondant into pre-coloured brown fondant to create a dark brown colour for the reindeers face.
4. Using a little more white fondant, make a lighter brown colour for the reindeers muzzle.
5. Dust more icing sugar onto bench as required and roll out the dark brown fondant.
6. Use a circle cutter to cut a circle at a time. Cover remaining fondant with plastic wrap when not in use.
7. Gently work the circle on to a cupcake. Repeat until all cupcakes have fondant applied.
8. Roll out the lighter brown colour and use the larger end of a piping tip to cut smaller circles.
9. Use a dab of buttercream to attach the lighter brown circle to the face of the reindeer, then use the piping tip to lightly indent a mouth into the lighter brown circle. Repeat for all cupcakes.
10. Using a tiny dab of buttercream, attach an M&M to each reindeers face and a pair of royal icing eyes.
11. Finally, push a pair of chocolate antlers into each of the cupcakes.

Visit my other Christmas Baking Posts:
Christmas Star Cherry Tart with Cinnamon Honey Roasted Macadamia Ice Cream
Raspberry Jam Drops
Rum Ball Trifle
Eggnog Cake
Chocolate Dipped Vanilla Shortbread
Bauble Macarons

Mothers Day Pound Cake

Warm and comforting, this is a dense and moist cake that is easy to make and even easier to eat - whip one up to impress your mum with your baking skills or just make one to have with ice cream all for yourself!

Perhaps it is my Alabamian ancestry - my mother moved from Alabama to Australia when she was a teen - but every now and then, I get a hankering for some real down-home Southern cooking. Sometimes I'll need to brew up some iced tea (the stuff you get in the plastic bottles is NOT iced tea), other times the air will be aromatic with spices of proper buttermilk fried chicken but today, it was pound cake.

Traditionally, a pound cake was made with a pound each of four ingredients: Butter, sugar, flour and eggs in a ratio of 1:1:1:1. Four pounds of ingredients is 1.8 kilos...that's a big cake! And this version doesn't shy away from those epic proportions.

The eggs must be beaten well after each addition as there is no rising agents in the recipe. The air whipped in to the cake act as a natural leavening. So make sure the butter is whipped til the butter turns a lighter shade of yellow and each eggs is beaten in well before the next is added.

This cake is a dream to make, it's so easy! It's perfect for those of us who want to whip up a cake for their mum. This cake looks great with a generous sprinkle of icing sugar or a simple glaze. I actually can not tell you which version I like better, with icing sugar or glaze. I think the simplicity of the icing sugar is appealing and of course, so easy but I also like the look of glaze dripping through the channels created by a bundt tin. Either option MUST be served with ice cream though - not negotiable.

Oh and that's the other thing I love about this cake. Cracking out the old bundt tin! I love a cake that can be made ornate and decorated by the shape of the pan! My tin is pretty boring, I should upgrade it.

Not least influenced by the scene in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the bundt also allows for a little creativity with decorations. Some pretty flowers in the centre certainly adds to the prettiness that is Mothers Day.  

At any rate, this is the perfect mothers day cake. And as a bonus, if you have a standard sized cake, there is going to be a touch of batter left over which can be made in to cupcakes! A cake for mum and a treat for you too!

Mothers Day Pound Cake
Adapted from The Complete Southern Cookbook recipe

Prep time: 15 mins

Cooking time: 1 hr 30 mins

Total time:  1 hr 45 mins

Servings: 12 servings

Vanilla Pound Cake

450g butter, softened

3 cups caster sugar

6 eggs, free range

4 cups plain flour, sifted

3/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Lemon Glaze - Optional

1 1/2 cups sifted icing sugar

1 tablespoon milk

1 tablespoon melted butter

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 150°C
2. Generously grease a bundt tin and dust with flour.
3. Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium speed for 5 minutes, or until butter has turned pale.
4. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add sugar.
5. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition with the mixer on medium speed.
6. Add the flour alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour.
7. Add vanilla and mix until combined.
8. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, until the mix reaches half an inch or so from the top.
9. Bake for 1 hour and 30 mins or until the cake is golden and a wooden skewer inserted in to the centre of the cake comes out clean.
10. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn on to a wire rack to cool.
11. Top with icing sugar or with lemon glaze.
12. To make glaze, place icing sugar, milk and butter in a bowl and whisk vigorously. Add lemon juice and whisk until combined. Drizzle over cooled cake as desired.
13. Serve with ice cream.

Food Gifts Three Ways

Food gifts to giveaway but make sure you keep some for yourself!

My goodness, we just seem to be hurtling towards the big day now aren't we! With less than 10 days to go, you may be well in to your Christmas shopping with hardly anything left to get or maybe you haven't even started! In either case, these three food gifts may be just the thing for gifting to friends and family. And since they are all mail-friendly, they might be just the thing for those a little further away.

Last Christmas, I was scrolling through my Instagram feed and came upon the hashtag '#foodiesecretsanta' - a fantastic food swapped organised by the Brisbane based blogger Claire from Claire K Creations. I signed up at the first chance I got! And I am so glad I did! There is few things more fun in the world than coming home to find a surprise package waiting for you. And it's even more fun when you can eat it! I've received two of my three gifts from my Foodie Secret Santa's, check out my Instagram for the photos. I haven't seen my reciepents get theirs yet but I'm so excited to hear how they like them.

So here are the three foodie gifts that I sent...

Sweet, creamy eggnog fudge.

Fudge with big eggnog flavours! Cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and creamy, sweet eggnog. This fudge is easy, made easier with the help of marshmallows to stabilize it. Because of the high proportion of sugar, fudge will withstand being mailed and will keep for two weeks in the fridge.

Eggnog Fudge

Prep time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 15 mins

Total time:  25 mins

Servings: 50 pieces of fudge 

2 cups caster sugar
150ml thickened cream
125g butter, cut in to pieces
¾ cup eggnog
200g white chocolate melts
200g white marshmallows
1 tablespoon spiced rum
1 teaspoon nutmeg - approximately 1/2 a fresh nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Line a 30cm x 20cm tin with baking paper
2. In a large, heavy based pan, place the sugar, cream, butter and eggnog and melt over a medium-high heat until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved.
3. Use a sugar thermometer, bring the sugar mixture to the soft ball stage - 118°C-120°C/235° F-240° F. This can take some time, stay with it and wait patiently.
4. Once it has reached soft ball stage, turn the heat down to low.
5. Add the white chocolate and marshmallows and stir with a wooden spoon. The marshmallows will take some time to melt down.
6. When the marshmallows have begun to melt, turn heat off.
7. Add the rum, nutmeg and cinnamon and continue to stir until the marshmallows have completely melted.
8. Pour mixture in to prepared pan and grate over extra nutmeg and sprinkle with extra cinnamon.
9. Refrigerate overnight.
10. Cut fudge into small pieces and wrap with vellum or baking paper.

Homemade Nutella

Who can resist the combination of hazelnuts and chocolate! This is a chocolate lovers dream. You will be on the top of your friends nice list when you give them a jar full of delicious Chocolate Hazelnut spread!

Chocolate Hazelnut Spread - Homemade Nutella
Prep time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 10 mins

Total time:  20 mins

Servings: 2 cups

250g whole hazelnuts

400g milk chocolate melts

3 - 4 tablespoons vegetable oil

50g icing sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 160°C and line a cookie sheet with baking paper
2. Add hazelnuts to tray and bake for 10 minutes until skins have blistered.
3. Place the hazelnuts in a tea towel and roll gently to remove the hazelnut skins. Allow to cool.
4. Melt the chocolate in short intervals in the microwave, or over a double boiler, until completely melted and smooth.
5. Place the cooled, skinned hazelnuts in to the bowl of a food processor and process until they form a paste.
6. Add vegetable oil, icing sugar, cocoa and vanilla and pulse until thoroughly mixed.
7. Add the melted chocolate and process until desired smoothness is achieved. Add more oil if necessary.
8. Add hazelnut spread to jars and seal.

Crunchy and delicious!

The American treat gets an Australian makeover with Macadamia brittle. Ludicrously simple and ridiculously delicious, add to ice cream for a taste sensation or enjoy on it's own!

Macadamia Brittle
Prep time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 20 mins

Total time:  30 mins

Servings: 2 large trays

500g raw whole macadamia nuts

500g caster sugar

125ml water

100g butter, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 160°C and line 2 cookie sheets with baking paper 
2. Add macadamia nuts to one tray and bake in the over until nuts are just turning golden.
3. Allow nuts to cool and roughly chop. Divide the nuts between the two prepared trays and spread evenly.
4. Place sugar and water in a large, heavy based pan and melt over a medium high heat until the sugar is dissolved.
5. Cook the mix without stirring for 5 - 10 minutes until the sugar has turned golden.
6. Turn off the heat and add butter, swirling pan to melt.
7. Pour half the sugar mix over the macadamias on one tray then the other half over the nuts on the second tray.
8. Allow to set, then break into portions.

Merry Christmas!

Visit Four Weeks of Christmas Baking past!:2015
Week 1: Chocolate Dipped Vanilla Shortbread

Week 2: Bauble Macarons

2014
Week 1: Christmas Star Cherry Tart with Cinnamon Honey Roasted Macadamia Ice Cream
Week 2: Raspberry Jam Drops
Week 3: Rum Ball Trifle
Week 4: Eggnog Cake