Fiona Cairns stars fairy cakes, £5.50 for six
Available from John Lewis (08456 049049 or www.johnlewis.com)
Kids icing set, £1.50; Christmas cookie cutters, £2.50; wire cooling rack, £1.50; festive fun platter, £3.50; festive fun bowl and plate, £12.50 for a 12-piece set, Christmas cake tin, £4
Available from Woolworths (0870 411 7112 or www.woolworths.co.uk)
Snowflake cookie cutter, £12 for five
Available from notonthehighstreet.com (0845 259 1359 or www.notonthehighstreet.com)
Christmas is the one time of year when you can indulge yourself with all sorts of tasty treats. If you’ve got a morning or afternoon to spare, why not get cooking with the children? Get the aprons and wooden spoons out and don’t worry about the mess, it’s all part of the fun!
Gingerbread is a festive favorite with people of all ages and it makes great decorations for the Christmas tree, too.
You will need:
200g butter
400g plain flour
2tsp baking powder
3tsp ground ginger
1tsp cinnamon
1tsp mixed spice
100g golden syrup
100g muscovado sugar
2 tbsp milk
To make:
- 1) Put the butter, syrup and sugar into a saucepan over a low heat. Stir with a wooden spoon until the butter has melted and the sugar dissolved. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
- 2) Sieve the flour, baking powder, mixed spice and ginger into a bowl then stir in the cooled butter mixture.
- 3) Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead. Place in a covered container and refrigerate for an hour.
- 4) Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4 and remove the dough from the fridge. Roll out to a 5mm thickness then cut out your shapes.
- 5) Place on a greased baking tray and cook for 8-10 minutes until golden.
- 6) Remove from the oven and allow to cool, then decorate with icing.
To make fairy cakes with a difference, why not decorate them with iced stars or Christmas trees
You will need:
1 medium egg
50g caster sugar
50g self-raising flour
50g soft margarine
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
paper cases
To make:
- 1) Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas mark 5 then place the sifted flour, baking powder, caster sugar, egg and margarine into a bowl.
- 2) Mix it all together until you have a smooth and creamy mixture.
- 3) Half fill each paper case with the mixture then bake for 16-18 minutes.
- 4) Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
- 5) Decorate with icing, cherries or chocolate drops.