A Christmas Party

I love Christmas, and since I now have my own flat, I thought I would use the opportunity to have a little get-together with some of my favourite people to catch-up, listen to Christmas songs, and eat - of course!

I made most of the food myself, so thought a blog post on it was in order incase anyone is throwing a party and looking for ideas.

I of course started the prep with mulled wine. I use my slow cooker for this (only thing I use it for currently - must go on the New Years Resolutions list!) as you can put it on in the morning and let it warm away. It creates the most amazing smell, and I think the slow cooker really lets the flavours work their magic. I was a bit lazy and bought bottled mulled wine, but then added sliced fresh oranges and lemons, cinnamon sticks and star anise to make sure it looked and tasted amazing. The other benefit of putting this on first is that you can help yourself to some while you work on the rest...

In terms of food, in addition to the usual crisps, dips, nuts etc, I decided to try my hand at some blinis. I would highly recommend these as they went down a storm, were really easy and cheap to assemble and I think they look pretty impressive too. You can top them with whatever you want - I went for smoked salmon and cream cheese, tomato and soured cream, and olives and guacamole. They were all delicious and every single one was eaten.

As you all know though, baking is my thing. I decided to do chocolate cupcakes with vanilla icing and a good old-fashioned Christmas cake. For the cupcakes I used the Primrose Bakery recipe which I thought worked pretty well, and tried to put to use my knew icing skills!

I personally don't really like fruit cake, but I baked three huge Christmas cakes this year to give as presents, which worked out really well. I made them back in October and have been 'feeding' them with brandy ever since. I also iced them using brandy marzipan, so it was quite a boozy affair but the recipients seemed rather pleased!

And here are some mince pies, but I didn't bake them (shhhh - it's on my list for next year!)

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and filled yourself to the brim with delicious food and drink - I know I did!

Primrose Bakery Cupcake Decorating Class

A few weekends ago I went along to a Primrose Bakery Cupcake Decorating Masterclass. My boyfriend bought me a voucher for the class as part of my birthday present - he knows how much I love baking!

So one Sunday afternoon I pottered along to the Primrose Bakery store in Covent Garden. As you can see above, everything is pretty and pastel, and let's be honest, really easy to photograph!

During the class, the Head Chef teaches you how to make really good icing that is exactly the right consistency (the key is in beating the butter and sugar for a good 10-15 minutes - don't give up before then, which is what I usually do), how to do the Primrose signature swirl design, how to decorate cupcakes, and also how to ice a big layer cake.

When you go in, to start with you'll be given two big and two mini vanilla cupcakes, a selection of coloured vanilla icing and an array of colourful toppings. After the Head Chef has shown you how to do the signature swirl (it's much tricker that it sounds!) you'll then practice this on your own. You're given as many hot drinks as you want during the class, and encouraged to ask whatever questions you have about baking.

Once you've mastered the swirl, you'll then be taught about the flat top design, which is best when you want to then ice with a name and put sprinkles around the edge.

And here are the finished products!

(Just look at that swirl!)

I think they came out pretty well - and you get to take them home with you afterwards. Needless to say, they didn't last long in my house. 

All in all, I thought it was a really nice thing to do, and an especially good present idea for people that love baking. It's relaxing, really satisfying, obviously delicious, and I learnt some new skills and met some really nice people too!

www.primrose-bakery.co.uk/shop/standard-classes

Recipe book review: Tanya Bakes

So I thought I would try out a new type of blog post here on FeasToWest: where I give you my first impressions on recipe books and my experience of a few of the recipes. I thought I would start with 'Tanya Bakes'. As a big Tanya Burr fan, I pre-ordered this when I heard she was releasing a baking book, and it arrived on my doorstep a couple of months ago. I didn't waste any time in trying out a few of the recipes!

The book itself is honestly absolutely beautiful. The recipes are laid out so that they are really easy to navigate and very relatable. The book is split into a number of sections: Cookies & Biscuits; Muffins, Cupcakes & Traybakes; Cakes & Loaves; Puddings; Pastry; Bread; Brunch and Special Occasions - so there is definitely something for everyone. What struck me straight away is the stunning photography throughout the book: each recipe has a picture next to it, and I can promise you that every single one makes the bake look irresistible. Tanya has also added a personal touch to each recipe: there is a little paragraph at the top of each recipe explaining how it relates to her life, which I think makes the book unique.

A Chocoholic's Dream

I am a self-proclaimed chocoholic. I am also a cake-lover. When it comes to combining the two, I've got a fair bit of experience. So I thought I'd share my pretty fail-safe recipe with you - and a quick and easy way of making it a bit of a showstopper.

Dark Chocolate Brownies

They are delicious and fun to make - your kitchen will turn into a chocolate factory for at least an hour so it's worth making two batches and sharing the surplus with friends. If you've been thinking about bringing something homemade to the office but haven't had the chance to run a SurveyMonkey and figure out what your boss and colleagues like, look no further than this recipe which has been successfully tested (across all sectors and industries!). In fact, many brownies recipes trace their origin to that special place in every office
where people leave birthday and holiday treats. 

Hannah's Christmas Cake

I love Christmas.  It's as simple as that.  Mince pies, carols, sparkly trees - what more could anyone want?!  

Well, one integral aspect of the celebrations in my household is Christmas cake.  And I know lots of people say they don't like it (too dense, too fruity, too whatever else) but it really does capture the essence of Christmas, so I thought I'd share my version with you.  It''s originally a Nigella recipe, but I've made quite a lot of changes, creating what I think is the perfect Christmas cake.  Hope you like it too!

The Ultimate Chocolate Cookies

These are a firm favourite of my brother's, and I've made them more times than I can count. I started off on my cookie journey years ago (I know, I need to get a life!) and just followed lots of different recipes. But now, at the grand old age of 22, I can proudly present my very own, tried and tested (times a million) chocolate cookie recipe. It makes REALLY chocolate-y, gooey-but-crunchy-on-the-outside, melt-in-your-mouth cookies, and I think it's pretty foolproof.

Creme Caramel - A Healthy(ish) Version

Last Sunday I was, as always, tasked with making the pudding. I usually do some variant on chocolate, but as my brother wasn't home, I decided to branch out a little bit with creme caramel! This is a really quick, easy recipe that can be made in advance - great for Sunday roasts when the oven/hob are full anyway.

To make 4 individual creme caramels, you will need:

• 2 large eggs (to be even healthier, you could use 3 egg whites and one yolk, but I didn't want to have yolks left over)
• 400ml skimmed milk
• 100g caster sugar
• A vanilla pod, halved
• 4 ovenproof ramekins