Auntie Marlene's Christmas Bundt Cake

This is a recipe my Auntie Marlene gave me when we lived in Canada.  She always makes at least two cakes for herself and Uncle M (i.e. for entertaining) and more to give as gifts.  Ever since, it has been our favourite too - my husband loves it (shhh! and so do I) so I've ended up making more than one batch myself.  For those of you who do not like the traditional rich Christmas fruit cake or if you'd like to try something different this year, this is a sure winner.

CHRISTMAS BUNDT CAKE  

~ AUNTIE MARLENE'S RECIPE ~

Utensils to be used:       10"Bundt pan or tube pan. Two large bowls, one for the batter and one for the dry ingredients.

Time to prepare:               2 hours

Number of servings:       12

                    Measurements:                  1 cup is equal to 8 oz. or 250g

Ingredients

1 cup                   Butter

1 (200g) Pkt.      Cream cheese

1.5 cups              Granulated sugar

1 teaspoons       Vanilla essence

2 teaspoons        Grated lemon rind

4                            Eggs

1.75 cups             Self-raising flour

1.5 teaspoons      Baking powder

0.5 cup                  Seedless raisins

0.5 cup                  Golden raisins

0.5 cup                   Mixed candied fruit or peel

0.5 cup                   Maraschino cherries, drained /chopped candied cherries  

0.5 cup                   Chopped nuts (pref. walnuts)

0.5 cup                    All purpose flour to toss fruit in

1 tub or less            Betty Crocker icing to cover (Optional)

OR  some icing sugar to dust cake.

Method

With electric mixer cream butter and cream cheese.  Add sugar and cream well.  Beat in vanilla and lemon rind. 

Add eggs one at a time beating well after each one.

Sift flour with baking powder and blend in.

In a separate bowl combine fruit and nuts and toss with 1/2 cup flour.  Stir these dry ingredients into batter.

Pour into greased and floured 10" bundt pan or tube pan.

Bake in 300F oven (Gas mark 2) for 70 to 80 minutes or until toothpick in centre comes out clean. 

Cool in pan for about 20 mins.  Turn out on a wire rack to cool completely.

Dust the cake with icing sugar or cover with Betty Crocker icing.

                                        ENJOY!

The picture is one I took of an actual cake we made.

Coconut Macaroons

Yesterday my daughter and I baked three and a half dozen coconut macaroons which came out so delicious...yes we made a couple extra to taste : )

We baked these to take to our Church Fair which is a fund raising occasion, kind of a Christmas Sale.  If you are in the vicinity the Centre is in Bwieraq Street, B'Kara. The Sale starts the 22nd November until the end of this month.

For those of you who'd like to try these we used Ms Ina Garten's recipe on the Food Network site...
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/coconut-macaroons-recipe3.html

Thanks Ina!

As an added note we used two medium egg whites since we did not have the extra large eggs.  Also to help you out with measuring, 14 ounces is equivalent to 400 grams. We used a tablespoon and teaspoon to shape into smaller shapes than the ones on the site. We baked the macaroons on Rice paper.

Do write in the comments section if you make these.

 Enjoy!

Another Success story with Figolli Recipe

I was so absolutely pleased and happy to hear from one of my followers who used the Figolli recipe I posted some years back and she even sent me pictures of her lovely Figolli.  Here are the pictures.

Thanks so much Stephanie for sharing your 

success story with me.  

I hope you had a lovely Easter!

I am so honoured to post your pictures.  

Well done!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Almond and Chocolate Pie (Torta tal-Marmurat)

This is a traditional sweet/cake made mostly around Christmas time in Malta. Click on the recipe for a sharper image.

Treacle Rings Recipe

This is a traditional sweet enjoyed throughout the year in Malta but mostly at Christmas time. This Maltese speciality dates back to the 15th Century and may be enjoyed with wine or as a dessert or even at tea time. Some people also like to call this sweet 'Honey Rings'.  I made this recipe a few years ago and I was very pleased with the result...maybe I'll give it a go again this year : )
                                                                                  

Ingredients

For the filling*:                                                         

900g (2 lb) treacle                                                       

An equal amount of water                                            

Zest of tangerine, orange and lemon                             

A small amount of candied peel (optional)                    

A pinch of cloves

2 tablespoonfuls jam

400g semolina

For the pastry*:

800g flour

2 egg yolks

1 tablespoon butter

Water to bind

* You can use half the amount if you only plan to make 3 rings.  Adjust amount of all ingredients accordingly.

Method

Sprinkle the baking trays with semolina. Put aside.

For the filling

Place all the filling ingredients, except for the semolina, into a saucepan.

Bring to boil and thicken with semolina.  Add half the amount at a time and stir, then add the remainder ingredients.  Cook for a few minutes.  Let cool for several hours, preferably overnight.

To make the pastry

Sieve the flour, rub in the butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.  Bind with egg yolks and water.  This pastry will keep well, wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator.

Divide the pastry into six pieces, and roll out one piece at a time into rectangles. Again out of each rectangle cut out rectangles,  10cm(4") wide x  18cm(7") long.  Depending on how thin you roll out the pastry you will have several strips now ready for the filling.

To make the treacle rings

Take a dessertspoonful of the stuffing and place it on the cut rectangle, shaping it into a sausage shape 3-4cm (ab.1 1/2") thick and as long as the pastry rectangle.  Dip your fingers into semolina, sprinkled on the board to help you shape it.  Fold the pastry over - there's no need to dampen the edges.

Bring the two ends of  the folded pastry roll together in order to form a ring.

As each ring is ready place on the prepared baking sheets. Do not let the rings touch each other.  When they have all been prepared, cut five or six slashes on top of each ring with a sharp knife, lifting the pastry gently so as to let the stuffing show through.

Bake in a moderate oven for about 20 minutes or until the pastry is only slightly coloured. Let cool.  You can wrap these in cellophane to give as gifts.  The fresher they are the tastier of course!  Enjoy!

Roasted and Spiced Almonds *

I wanted to make a low fat, no cholesterol, sugar-free snack/appetizer with the bag of almonds I bought this week and found some healthy recipes on line which I adjusted since we are on a low sodium diet so here I am sharing my 'adjusted' recipe with you...

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 350 °
  
• In a medium baking dish place 200 grms almonds spread evenly and bake for 8-10 minutes until almonds are toasted, stirring twice.
  
• Let cool.
• In a skillet over a medium to high heat, pour 1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, coriander and cinnamon powders, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper and a dash of salt (I put very little salt),
• Stir over high heat until well blended, then add the roasted almonds tossing to coat well. Stir for a few minutes. Take off heat. Let cool for a few minutes. Then scoop up the almonds and place on a tray lined with paper towels to absorb the extra oil. Pat the almonds, replacing the towels if necessary.
  
• Place in a bowl and when totally cool, store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

You could, if you like, prepare the almonds by coating in the combined spice mixture and olive oil and bake directly in the oven for about 10-12 minutes but I prefer to pre-roast the almonds and then toss them over into the skillet as I think this gives them a better cooking time and a richer flavour and lovely crunch!

* 1 Tablespoon serving (about 15 almonds) contains about 80 calories.

So if you're nuts about nuts and want to make sure you are getting your "handful" this is one way to do it! It is recommended that we eat up to 1.5 ounces of nuts daily or one and a half times a "handful" unless, of course, you are allergic to nuts!

This is also a lovely Easter treat especially for adults while the kids are enjoying their Easter Hunt!

Enjoy!