Things to help with your Christmas Baking from Tala

 

I was recently send some really nice Tala Baking things to help with my Christmas Baking.  Normally I like to put these things to use before I show them to you so that you can see how well they work, but I am running out of time and I do want you all to have the opportunity to go out and get some of these products to help you with your own Christmas baking if you can and so I am going to tell you about them now.  I can say with authority however that I have never had a Tala Utensil yet that I did not like, or that did not perform impeccably or live up to it's promise!




This is the Tala Letterpress Cookie Set.  With this set you can make personalised cookies with your own message.

 

Set contains three spring loaded cutters.   There are one each of a heart, star and scalloped rectangle, along with a letterpress stamp, 7 pre-set words / phrases and 2 sets of alphabet letters in a bag. Perfect idea for a special gift, placesetting of for fun with children.  The set is also dishwasher proof.



They are brightly coloured and look to be very durable.

 

You can slide an assortment of already put together phrases into the handy letterpress stamp, or use the individual letters included to create your own personal message.



You can cut the cookies out and stamp them separately, or you can slide the prepared stamp into a handy slot on the bottom of the cookie cutter which conveniently places it in the proper position on your cut out cookie.   You can purchase these in a variety of places.

My search found them at:

The Craft Company for £8.14
Captain Cooks for £9.99
Amazon UK for £11.99

As you can see the price can vary a lot so do shop around.



Next is this handy set 3 Holly Leaf Plunger Cutters. Perfect for cutting out fondant icings etc. to help to decorate your Christmas Cakes or pies.   There are three different sizes ranging from  a very about 3/4 inch in length to about 1 12 inches in length.



These handy cutters feature a three holly leaf design with a veined effect.



Simply press into icing and use plunger to place the shape onto your cake without handling.  They would be ideal for use with sugarpaste and flowerpaste.  Easy to clean.  Hand wash only.



These cutters are what I used to help decorate my Christmas Tortiere this year.  (Tune in tomorrow for that recipe!)  They worked really well as you can see.

You can also buy these in a variety of places in prices ranging from as little as £2.98 and as much as £5.99, so do shop around.

 

Finally there was this Spoon Shape Silicone Chocolate Mould.    It has been my experience that silicone is always quite easy to use.  This mould creates six chocolate spoons and has detailed instructions for making them printed on the back of the box.



They are also dishwasher safe, which is a bonus when it comes to using something as fiddly to clean as this might be.   You can find them priced from between £2 to £3.95, so once again do shop around!  Wouldn't a set of chocolate spoons be a great addition to a pot of homemade hot chocolate as a holiday gift?   I think so too!

In any case I think they are all super!   For baking ideas and tips, do visit the Tala page at  Happy Baking Days.

Festive Apple Dumplings with a Spiced Creme Anglaise

 

 Yay, its the first of December and do you know what that means????   The Mincemeat Fest can begin!  I refuse to eat a mince pie until the first of December, even though the shops have been full of them for at least 2 months already.  Mince pies are a Christmas thing and I will not entertain anything Christmas until at least the first of December! 

When I was a child I did not like mincemeat at all.   They actually put meat in mincemeat back in Canada you know, and I did not like it one little bit . . . the mincemeat over here doesn't have any meat in it at all and is a lot tastier to my way of thinking.  Mince pies are like tasty little spiced raisin and currant pies, with some mixed peel and candied cherries thrown in for good measure.  I quite like ADORE it now.

Of course you can make your own and I often do.  The recipe I like to use is Delia Smith's, which you can find here.  It's the best in my opinion.  She is one of the best of the female cook's here in the UK, next to Mary Berry.  You can trust her recipes 100%!

If I haven't made my own mincemeat, I like to buy in a couple of jars of really good quality mincemeat.  I quite like the one Marks and Spencer's puts out myself.  It's got a nice lot of fruit in it.  The best part of it is . . . you don't have to just use it for making mince pies! 



I am quite adept at doing all sorts with the stuff . . . tasty delights such as a yummy Mincemeat Jalousie, or a Spiced Cranberry, Mincemeat and Almond Eve's Pudding.  Then there is my scrummy Marzipan and Mincemeat Tea Loaf, and my Pear and Mincemeat Dumplings.  I have rolled it up into Croissants, and added it to my Holiday Split Second Biscuits.  And . . . lets not forget my Baked Holiday Custards, or my Christmas Morning Do-nut Muffins.  Yeppers, I am a mincemeat aficionado!  And I make mince pies as well, and in two different ways!  (Yes, those are all links to the recipes!)

Today I decided to make some apple dumplings and stuff them with mincemeat to help kick off this years Mincemeat Fest!  I used tart cooking apples, which I cored, peeled and rolled in cinnamon sugar.   I then stuffed them with some mincemeat and wrapped them up in crisp puff pastry.



But that's not all, nope . . . that's not all.  I created a spiced Creme Anglaise (custard by any other name) to serve with them.  Deliddle-ee-icious! I have surpassed even myself with these.  I do hope you will give them a try.   They're not hard to do at all, and oh so scrumptious if I don't say so myself!!   Go on . . . bake them.   You know you want to!

 

*Festive Apple Dumplings with a Spiced Creme Anglaise*

Serves 4

Printable Recipe

Not only are these pretty to look at, but each bite brings you a combination of crunch from the puff pastry, the fluffiness of tart apple, the spicy sweetness of mincemeat and of course that sultry rich creme anglaise.  You can skip the creme anglaise if you wish and just serve them with vanilla ice cream, but the creme anglaise is a really nice touch. 

For the dumplings:

4 medium sized cooking apples

4 TBS sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 sheets of ready roll puff pastry.

4 dessertspoons of prepared mincemeat

1 small free range egg, beaten with 1 tsp of water

demerara sugar 

For the creme Anglaise:

235ml of half milk and half cream (scant cup)

1/2 tsp vanilla paste

4 medium free range egg yolks

5 1/2 TBS caster sugar

pinch each cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom 

First make the dumplings.   Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.  Line a baking tray with some baking parchment.

Unroll your puff pastry.  Cut out 4 3-inch squares and place them each on the baking tray, leaving plenty of space in between.  Cut out 9 to 12 small pastry leaves.  (You can just cut another 3-inch squares into four triangles each and score lightly to resemble the veins in leaves.)  Cut the remainder of the pastry into 1/2 inch wide long strips.  

Core the apples and peel.   Mix the sugar with the cinnamon and roll each apple in this mixture to coat. Brush the squares on the baking sheeet with some of the beaten egg.  Place each cored apple on the centre of a pastry square and fold the pastry up to fit around the apple base snuggly.   Fill each core with an equal quantity of mincemeat.   Brush the pastry strips lightly with some of the beaten egg and apply them to the apples, covering them all the way around, working your way up from the bottom and slightly overlapping them over each other, egg wash side in so that they stick to each other.  Do this until the apples are all covered with the exception of the mincemeat hole in the middle.   Brush the leaves with some egg wash, and apply around the holes, again leaving the hole open.   Brush the outsides of the pastry covered apples with some more egg wash and then sprinkle with demerara sugar.

Bake in the heated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until the pasty is golden brown and crisp and the mincemeat is bubbling and the apples are cooked.  Remove from the oven and allow to stand while you make the creme anglaise.

Heat the cream with the vanilla in a saucepan until you see bubbles around the edges.  Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until smooth.  Slowly pour half of the cream into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly.   Return this mixture to the remainder of the hot cream, again whisking constantly.  Return the pan to the heat and cook, whisking, until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a metal spoon.  Remove from the heat and whisk in the spices. 

Place one fourth of the cream anglaise in each of four dessert bowls.  Top each with one of the baked apples and serve immediately.  Delicious!