It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

[H4usuallysitting]

What are we all doing?...... I'm on my annual hunt for a Tunis Cake....

[SP]

Going to Hampton Court ice rink on Sunday, watching only this year I'm afraid.

[H4usuallysitting]

Going to Hampton Court ice rink on Sunday, watching only this year I'm afraid.

Will it include brandy from a hip flask

[HV71]

What are we all doing?...... I'm on my annual hunt for a Tunis Cake....

It's not that difficult - get in the kitchen man !

Ingredients

225g (8oz) softened butter
225g (8oz) caster sugar
225g (8oz) self-raising flour
70g (2½oz) ground almonds
4 large free-range eggs
1 large lemon, finely grated zest only
For the topping
300ml (10fl oz) double cream
400g (14oz) plain chocolate, broken into small pieces
200g (7oz) natural marzipan
gel food coloring, in red and green
Directions

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease and line a 20cm (8in) deep cake tin with baking parchment.
Add the butter, sugar, flour, ground almonds, eggs and lemon zest to the bowl of a freestanding electric mixer (alternatively use a sturdy bowl and a hand-held mixer). Beat on high speed for a minute. Spoon the batter into the prepared cake tin and level the surface with a palette knife or spatula.
Bake for 45 minutes, then cover with foil to prevent the top from browning and cook for a further 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Leave to cool completely in the tin on a wire rack.
For the topping, pour the cream into a small pan and bring almost to the boil. Remove from the heat, add the chocolate and stir until melted. When cool but not setting, pour the chocolate mixture in an even coat over the cooled cake (that is still in the tin) and put aside to set.
To decorate, colour 175g (6oz) of the marzipan with green food coloring to turn it the color of holly leaves. Using a holly leaf shaped cutter, cut out 20 holly leaves. Mark the veins with a knife, lay over a rolling pin and leave to dry (this curls the leaves slightly). Color the remaining marzipan with the red food coloring and roll into 30 'holly berry' size balls. Leave to dry.
To serve, remove the cake from the tin and carefully peel off the parchment paper so that you get a clean line between the cake and the chocolate layer. Arrange the holly leaves and berries in a wreath around the edge of the cake.
Tips/Techniques

Equipment and preparation: you will need a 20cm/8in deep cake tin.


Miss out the fiddly bits for the leaves etc if it seems a tad tricksy - the rest is a cinch

[Fulham Tup North]

 Christmas jumpers are out .... which tbf is a good idea.... it was very cold walking home today...
COYW

[H4usuallysitting]

What are we all doing?...... I'm on my annual hunt for a Tunis Cake....

It's not that difficult - get in the kitchen man !

Ingredients

225g (8oz) softened butter
225g (8oz) caster sugar
225g (8oz) self-raising flour
70g (2½oz) ground almonds
4 large free-range eggs
1 large lemon, finely grated zest only
For the topping
300ml (10fl oz) double cream
400g (14oz) plain chocolate, broken into small pieces
200g (7oz) natural marzipan
gel food coloring, in red and green
Directions

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease and line a 20cm (8in) deep cake tin with baking parchment.
Add the butter, sugar, flour, ground almonds, eggs and lemon zest to the bowl of a freestanding electric mixer (alternatively use a sturdy bowl and a hand-held mixer). Beat on high speed for a minute. Spoon the batter into the prepared cake tin and level the surface with a palette knife or spatula.
Bake for 45 minutes, then cover with foil to prevent the top from browning and cook for a further 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Leave to cool completely in the tin on a wire rack.
For the topping, pour the cream into a small pan and bring almost to the boil. Remove from the heat, add the chocolate and stir until melted. When cool but not setting, pour the chocolate mixture in an even coat over the cooled cake (that is still in the tin) and put aside to set.
To decorate, colour 175g (6oz) of the marzipan with green food coloring to turn it the color of holly leaves. Using a holly leaf shaped cutter, cut out 20 holly leaves. Mark the veins with a knife, lay over a rolling pin and leave to dry (this curls the leaves slightly). Color the remaining marzipan with the red food coloring and roll into 30 'holly berry' size balls. Leave to dry.
To serve, remove the cake from the tin and carefully peel off the parchment paper so that you get a clean line between the cake and the chocolate layer. Arrange the holly leaves and berries in a wreath around the edge of the cake.
Tips/Techniques

Equipment and preparation: you will need a 20cm/8in deep cake tin.


Miss out the fiddly bits for the leaves etc if it seems a tad tricksy - the rest is a cinch

Kitchen.... I've heard of that

[SP]

Going to Hampton Court ice rink on Sunday, watching only this year I'm afraid.

Will it include brandy from a hip flask

Whisky!

[HV71]

Kitchen.... I've heard of that

Try it - seriously much , much easier than driving around town ( and cheaper )

[BestOfBrede]

Oh great, means I have to prepare for my annual bath..
Thanks for reminding me!

[ianthailand]

What are we all doing?...... I'm on my annual hunt for a Tunis Cake....

Go to Tunis mate.

[cookieg]

I've never heard of a Tunis Cake. Had to google it!

[Ronnief]

I've never heard of a Tunis Cake before. I assume its some US abomination for a Christmas cake. So I looked it up. You can keep it. I much prefer the Christmas cake my late Dad used to cook, (He was a baker before the war), also the dinner ladies at St. Mary's junior school in Chessington prepared a decent cake and Christmas pudding back in the 1950's. 092.gif 086.gif

[Twig]

Tunis cake; "a lemony Madeira cake topped with chocolate ganache". A great alternative to a Christmas cake? No, not for me. Give me my wife's homemade Christmas cake regularly fed with brandy up to Christmas Day.

[FFC1987]

Recently got a smoker so going to smoke the turkey this year.....looking forward to the epic failure of it!

[Motspur Park]

Recently got a smoker so going to smoke the turkey this year.....looking forward to the epic failure of it!

Don't know what smoker you have but worth going on YouTube and looking at the Kamado Joe smoked turkey videos. Some of them require a lot of prepping but absolutely worth it. My next door neighbour smokes his turkey every year with the big green egg.

Probably worth trying smoked chickens first before the big day.

[H4usuallysitting]

Tunis cake is originally from Scotland....around 1905

[Twig]

We're having goose this year for Christmas Day. Also cooking a French capon on Christmas Eve to eat cold on Boxing Day along with a smoked ham.

[FFC1987]

Recently got a smoker so going to smoke the turkey this year.....looking forward to the epic failure of it!

Don't know what smoker you have but worth going on YouTube and looking at the Kamado Joe smoked turkey videos. Some of them require a lot of prepping but absolutely worth it. My next door neighbour smokes his turkey every year with the big green egg.

Probably worth trying smoked chickens first before the big day.

I have the ProQ Frontier Elite. So far smoked a Brisket and went well for a first try. I've actually been watching those videos!

[sunburywhite]

Recently got a smoker so going to smoke the turkey this year.....looking forward to the epic failure of it!

I was going to do the same but joing up all those Rizlas is a pain