Christmas Cooking

[Aliantha]

Here's my afternoons work.



Not quite finished yet, but they probably wont all be on the bench together again after tonight.

I baked the cakes last week and iced them all today.

There's a few dodgy bits, but just try not to look too close.

[Trilby]

Really beautiful, Ali. Nice work. The frosting looks sooooooo smooooooth!!

Do you freeze them?

[Sundae]

Lovely, Ali. Quite exceptional.

Down in Reception, they have been making mini-Christmas cakes for the last two weeks.
The children help to weigh and stir, then they are put into small baked bean tins to cook. As long as the lip of the tin is removed they work as perfect moulds. Who removes the lips? Yup, we spent more than a few playtimes with can openers in the staffroom.

Being heavy fruitcakes, they will last without freezing, as I am sure Ali's will.
Marzipan (bleurgh) and icing are next, and they get to cut out a shape for decoration.

It's hugely labour-intensive, but wonderful for the parents. I imagine many photos of a child's first Christmas cake make their way onto social media. Or into albums, if they are old-fashioned like me.

[Aliantha]

Thanks Bri. It's actually what they call plastic icing. It's like what they put on formal wedding cakes and so on. Goes pretty hard after a while. It comes in a lump and you kneed it for a short while to soften it, then roll it out like pastry and apply it to the cake.

I don't use marzipan Sundae. I don't like it.

[Sundae]

Originally Posted by Aliantha

It's actually what they call plastic icing.

Our traditional Christmas cakes are covered with Royal Icing - which sets hard as ice. And for wedding cakes too.

Although the draped effect makes me wonder if you have used fondant icing. Which you roll out with a rolling pin? You know your icing far better than I do, I'm only trying to get the translation right

Originally Posted by Aliantha

I don't use marzipan Sundae. I don't like it.

Pleased to hear it. I was gutted when I visited Italy and saw all the beautiful tiny works of art made of marzipan. Tiny, exquisite, hand painted... oh, but they are marzipan. Yucky.

ETA - I keep thinking the crimson one is a cheese.
Sorry.
It would be a yummy cheese.

[zippyt]

EGGGGSALANT Ali !!

[Aliantha]

You're right Sundae. It is a type of fondant. I'm using a different brand this year, which is smoother and should set a lot harder than the stuff I've used previously. I have found that in some ways it's better and easier to use, but on one of the little cakes, the icing has gone sort of wrinkly over night. I'm not really sure what's caused that. It's just surface wrinkles on the sides, so I'm wondering if I was smoothing it with my hands for too long and it heated underneath the surface (which while smoothing is coated in cornflour to stop sticking) and just kind of slid down a bit or something. Anyway, I think that cake is getting a nice fat ribbon around the sides later on today. lol

I did the red cake to take up to Dad's place. They're hosting Christmas lunch this year, and Ma loves the colour red, so I thought I'd do something a bit different to thank her for the effort she'll be putting in for us. Now that you mention it, it does look like a big cheese. lol I hadn't noticed that before though.

[Aliantha]

Thanks Zippy.

Oh and Bri, Sundae is right again. They'll keep for yonks because of the rum in the cake and the icing being just sugar. The only issue can be humidity up here. Occasionally I've had the icing go a bit dodgy because it can sweat a bit, and the moisture can cause mildew which of course we prefer not to eat.

[sandypossum]

In one afternoon - that's pretty impressive, Aliantha! I remember doing Christmas cake decorating in high school home ec class, but I was pretty crap at it. Not smooth at all.

[Lola Bunny]

Nice, Ali! Didn't want to attempt fondant, too time-consuming. But then again, I was going to make it from scratch. Perhaps one day I'll buy the pre-made one.

[Aliantha]

Originally Posted by sandypossum

In one afternoon - that's pretty impressive, Aliantha! I remember doing Christmas cake decorating in high school home ec class, but I was pretty crap at it. Not smooth at all.

It's really the prep that takes the time. Once you get started on the actual icing it doesn't take too long at all.

My back was sore by the end of it though just from leaning over slightly for about 6 hours (around about I think). Now I'm just trying to find places to put them all so the cats don't make a mess of them.


Lola, I didn't make the icing. I bought it in a 2.5kg tub. Two of them although I only used about a third of the second one. It'll last though. I'm sure I'll have another cake to do sooner or later. lol

It takes most arm strength than I have to make that icing, and I don't have a mixer that'd cope with it. The one i have used to be my Mum's and it's nearly as old as I am, and I KNOW the motor would overheat if I tried a trick like that with it. lol I'm scared to even try to make marshmallow with it.

[Sundae]

I didn't even know you could make marshmallow.
I thought it just grew

Mum's mixer is a Kenwood Chef - nearly as old as me.
I over excited it one afternoon and dirty grey smoke came out of the back and set off the smoke alarm.
In alarm myself (do you know how much those things cost these days?!) I switched it off and put it back nonchalently in the cupboard. COWARD.
It worked though. In that it still works and no-one is aware I nearly killed it.
I've just handled it a bit more gently since.

My bro's wedding present to me was a food processor with all the whistles and bells. I left it when I left my husband. Shame. It wouldn't have survived all my running away it's true, but I do occasionally mourn the loss.

[Aliantha]

Yes I know how much they cost. lol The new one I want is over $500 retail. You have to do a lot of baking to justify that I can tell you.

Some friends of mine are urging me to start having a big baking day on Fridays and taking my cakes to the market on Saturday mornings. They seem pretty convinced I could make a decent amount of money. If I did decide to start doing that I might be convinced to fork out the money. Or I might actually need to spend the money once the old one blows up. lol

[Sundae]

People have suggested that to me too, Ali.
I simply don't have enough self-belief to seriously contemplate it.

The most I will do is make a bunch of cakes for the next May Fayre and put a sticker on them - I might get a commission for a birthday cake. Although me being me, I would probably be too embarrassed to charge any more that the actual cost of the ingredients, if not less.

[DucksNuts]

I have a really good Krupps machine, but I want a new shiny Kenwood or Sunbeam...I cant justify it at the moment, but one day....

Beautiful work, Ali.