Christmas Cake Fun

This is a picture of our fun Christmas cake that we made for dessert yesterday. You don't need a fancy cake pan to do this, just make a Christmas tree pattern and use a serrated knife to cut it out. To make it easy, we folded our paper in half and drew the design on one side, so it would be symmetrical.

If you have time, the cake is easier to cut and holds up better, if you freeze it first. I think a few hours would do it. Just wrap it in plastic wrap first. If not, you can do like we did and just put icing on the top (the sides were too crumbly to hold the icing and were trying to fall apart).

Anyway, to make this, you need:

• a boxed cake (we used white), and eggs & oil to make it
• a 13 x 9 baking dish
• homemade icing (recipe follows)
• mint extract
• sugar cubes (we found them at Food Lion)
• matches
• dropper or pipette

Homemade Icing

Ingredients:

• 1 lb powdered sugar
• 1 cup cream cheese (I used the 1/3 less fat in the little tub, which incorporates easier without being room temp)
• 1/4 cup butter spread (I used smart balance)
• tablespoons of milk, as needed
• dash of salt
• 2 teaspoons pure orange extract (or whatever you like, but this is great)
• food coloring

Directions:

Dump everything in the mixer, except the milk and food coloring, and mix on low, adding tablespoons of milk until it gets to spreading consistency. Do this carefully, so your icing doesn't get runny. Mix on medium to get everything incorporated well. If making the presents, scoop out several half cups of icing into bowls for tinting various colors, then color the remaining bulk of your icing green.

After we iced the cake and presents, then came the fun part!


When you are ready to eat your cake, arrange a few sugar cubes (not many--we used six) on your cake, as though they are lights. Put a few drops of mint extract on each cube and then light them with a match.

Quickly turn off the lights and ooh and ahh for a few seconds while they burn a pretty blue!  Fun times. :-)

Please note:  If you put too many cubes on your cake, some will go out before the others are lit--they burn quickly. And my kids said the post-burn cubes don't taste good, although our dog begged to differ.

(We got this idea from a Christmas book called The ADVENTure of Christmas.)

King Trifle

We ate this in celebration of Epiphany, or Three Kings Day (which is January 6th). It is traditional to eat a King Cake (which is a yeasted sweet bread), but I made this since my time that day was limited.

Ingredients

1 pre-made angel food cake
1/4 cup simple syrup*
1 small carton of heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of almond extract
1/4 cup of mixed candied fruit, finely chopped
1-2 tablespoons of toasted, slivered almonds
salt

Directions

Slice the angel food cake into several 3 inch slices.

Whip the cream with the powdered sugar, almond extract, and a dash of salt.

In a trifle dish (a footed glass dish) or deep bowl, tear small pieces of the cake and cover the bottom of the dish. Drizzle the cake with simple syrup, then spoon several dollops of whipped cream over the top. Sprinkle some candied fruit, then begin the layers again.

Note: You can make this as sweet as you like by controlling the amount of simple syrup you use (or leaving it out altogether).

When you reach the top, complete the cake by finishing with whipped cream, candied fruit, and a sprinkle of toasted almonds.

This is best served after it has been lightly covered with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for a few hours (or in the freezer for 30-60 minutes).

Enjoy!

* Simple syrup is just equal parts of granulated sugar and water, simmered in a small pot until the sugar is dissolved and the liquid is clear again. Once cooled, it must be refrigerated. You can use it to sweeten cold drinks (such as iced tea), and you can flavor the syrup with extracts or mint leaves, if desired.

Easy Wassail

Tis the season for warm spiced punch, and this one is a hit! I've made wassail a few times now, and though I love its great smell, I haven't liked to drink it. Well, that has changed now that I've perfected my recipe! I hope you enjoy it as well!

It is very easy to double or triple the amount. This makes around ten 4 oz servings.



Ingredients

1 64 oz bottle of White House Premium Apple Juice (not cider)
1 cup of pulp-free orange juice
1 cup of water
Juice of one fresh lemon
3 cinnamon sticks
12 cloves
1 orange
nutmeg
allspice
1/4 cup candied ginger (or substitute 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger)

Directions

Into a medium to large pot (I used my red-coated cast iron dutch oven), pour in all the liquid, and add the cinnamon sticks, candied ginger, and all the spices except the cloves. Turn heat to medium high, until it begins to bubble some, then turn to low.

Wash and dry the orange, then push the 12 cloves into the skin in a decorative pattern. I did mine in even rows from end to end. Then, in the spaces between the rows, I used a sharp knife to score the orange, so it could release its orangey goodness into the mix.

Simmer for at least 45 minutes, but as long as you want. It concentrates as it cooks, so you can add some water, if it gets too strong.

This wassail is great tasting--plenty sweet without any added sugar, and the right level of spiciness. Everyone who drank it at our church home group last Sunday said it was great. I hope you think so too!

Blessings!