Best way to wake up christmas morning...

is with some freshly baked chocolate croissants! Reserved only for special occasions, I like to make these for Easter too. They are so easy and you can prepare them the night before and bake in the morning. This is a Nigella Lawson recipe so we know its yummy and decedent!

Ingredients

• 1 packet ready rolled butter puff pastry
• 1 100-gram chocolate bar, milk or dark depending on taste
• 1 egg beaten

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Unfurl the sheet of pastry and then cut it into 6 squares.

Cut each square diagonally to give 2 triangles (they will appear quite small). Put the triangle with the wider part facing you and the point away from you.

Break off small pieces of chocolate (approx.1cm/half inch) to place about 2cm/3/4-inch up from the wide end nearest you.

Then carefully roll from that chocolate loaded end towards the point of the triangle.

You should now have something resembling a straight croissant, seal it slightly with your fingertips and curl it around into a crescent.

Place the chocolate croissants on a lined baking tray and paint with the beaten egg. Bake for 15 minutes until golden and puffy and exuberantly, if miniaturely, croissant-like.

White Christmas!

Is White Christmas too kitsch these days? In the time of fancy truffles and cake pops? Well I don't think so, although its not something I see too often anymore at this time of year. This is my recipe and I use lollies but you can of course use the traditional fruit. Again this makes the perfect gift!

Ingredients

1 cup powdered milk

1 cup of icing sugar

1 cup coconut

3 cups rice bubbles

1 cup of chopped snake lollies

250g copha

Method

1. Place dry ingredients into a bowl.

2. Melt copha in a saucepan.

3. Pour melted copha over dry ingredients and mix until well combined.

4. Press into a baking try lined with baking paper.Make sure the paper hangs over the edge so you can easily remove when set.

5. Put in fridge until set, then remove and cut into squares.

What's Christmas without RUM BALLS!

Seriously? It's just not a Christmas celebration without them! I like the traditional way but of course you can experiment and add different liquors like baileys, Kahlua or peppermint schnapps. Or if you prefer no alcohol at all (or just use flavoured essences) Anyway this is how we like our rumballs in the Cupkates household...

Rum Ball Recipe

1- 1.5 packets of milk arrowroot biscuits

2 tablespoons cocoa

1/4 cup dessicated coconut + extra for rolling (you can also use chocolate sprinkles)

1 tin condensed milk

3 tablespoons of rum 0r flavouring of choice (of course you can add more or less to taste, usually more for Mr Cupkates taste!)

Optional* Sultanas and/or crushed nuts

1. Crush biscuits in a freezer bag with a rolling pin, or in a blender or food processor.

2. Place crushed biscuits in a bowl and add all remaining ingredients (except for extra coconut!) , mix until well combined.

3. Place in fridge to firm up a little, this makes them easier to roll.

4. Roll into balls whatever size you prefer and then roll in coconut.

5. Keep in fridge for up to one week in an airtight container, perfect with coffee when unexpected guests pop in!

Photo from exclusively food

On the fourth day of Christmas Cupkates gave to me: The Night Before Christmas Cake Recipe

(cross section of this yummy fruit cake!)

I love this recipe! I have made it quite a few times even when its not Christmas and I just feel like it. You can do it the usual way and let the fruit steep, I usually leave it overnight if I can but that's just because I love the smell that permeates the house. Using the fruit mince and microwave helps to speed up the process and because of this you can literally make it The Night Before Christmas! Of course you can prepare it up to 3 months in advance like a usual fruit cake, if you have time.

Night Before Christmas Cake

475g jar of fruit mince

750g dried mixed fruit

1/2 cup (125ml) of rum or sweet sherry

250g butter, melted and cooled

1 cup (200g) dark brown sugar

4 eggs, beaten lightly

2 cups (300g) plain flour

1 cup (150g) self raising flour

2 teaspoons mixed spice

Optional for top of cake: blanched whole almonds, whole pecans, macadamias and walnuts to decorate.

1/4 cup (60ml) rum or sweet sherry, extra

Method

1. Line a deep 22cm round cake pan with 2 layers of brown paper and 2 layers of baking paper, extending the paper 5cm above edge of pan. Pre heat oven to slow 140' or 120' fan forced.

2. Combine fruit mince, dried fruit and rum/sherry in a large microwave safe bowl. Heat fruit , covered on HIGH (100%) for 4 minutes, stirring once. Cool, uncovered for 30 minutes.

3. Stir in butter and sugar until combined. Stir in eggs and sifted dry ingredients . Spread mixture into pan, smooth top. Decorate with nuts, if desired.

4. Bake, uncovered for 3.5 hours or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Brush hot cake with extra rum/sherry and cover immediately with foil. Wrap in a large towel and cool in pan overnight.

On the second day of Christmas Cupkates gave to me: Baileys Rocky Road Recipe!

Ok so I admit this isn't MY recipe, but golly gosh it's good! I made this one St Patrick's day (because of the bailey's) and it has been a favourite of mine ever since. I usually do a double batch as it lasts really well and makes fantastic gifts. This one is definitely on my Christmas baking list this year!

Ingredients

• 50ml Baileys Irish Cream liqueur
• 200g good-quality dark chocolate, roughly chopped
• 20g unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup (100g) sweetened condensed milk
• 50g chopped unsalted pistachio kernels
• 75g roughly crushed shortbread biscuits
• 200g mini marshmallows (or regular marshmallows, chopped)
• 150g white chocolate, roughly chopped

Method

1. Grease an 8cm x 20cm bar pan. Line with baking paper, leaving some overhanging.

2. Place Baileys, dark chocolate, butter and milk in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water (don't let the bowl touch the water). Allow to melt, then stir gently until smooth. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Stir in nuts, biscuit, marshmallow and 100g white chocolate. Spread mixture into pan, then chill for 2-3 hours until firm.

3. Melt remaining 50g white chocolate as before. Drizzle over fudge, leave for 3-4 minutes to set, then cut into squares. The fudge will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Original recipe from www.taste.com.au

On the first day of Christmas Cupkates gave to me: Aunty Nita’s Biscuit Recipe!

OK so many of you may have heard of these before or make them yourself and have your own name for them but for me this recipe was given to me by my Aunty Nita, hence the name!

This recipe is cheap, easy and makes a huge quantity so it’s fantastic for Christmas gifts! I have been making these for 15 years and started giving them as gifts at highschool, and have done for my friends and family for the last 15 Christmas’s. I would hate to think what might happen if one year I didn’t, particularly where my husband’s family is concerned especially my nephews!

I always wrap them in pretty bags with ribbon. I like to use Jaffa’s, Freckles, Caramel buds and Christmas M&M’s but you can add almost anything you like. Choc chips, nuts, jam on top for jam drops, crushed up maltesers, smarties, any of your favourite lollies!

Ingredients

500g butter
8 tablespoons of sugar
1 tin of condensed milk

5 cups self-raising flour (possibly more if the mixture is too wet)
Lollies of choice

Method

1.Preheat oven to 180 degrees, line baking trays with baking paper.
2. In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar.
3. Add condensed milk and beat well.
4. Add self-raising flour. Mix well using a wooden spoon.
5. Roll tablespoons of mixture into balls and place on trays, pop your lollies on top. If doing M&M’s flatten slightly before adding. If adding choc chips mix into batter before rolling in balls and flatten with a fork.

6. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden. Place on cake racks after cooling slightly.
7. Package up your beautiful handmade gifts, people will be begging for them every Christmas!

Last order of 2010 and some exciting news!

Well finally after this post I will be back up to date!

The first is a Christmas pudding cake, but instead of pudding it's delish chocolate mud cake. A few people have asked how I got this shape and all I did was bake it in a pudding basin :P But you could also quite easily sculpt it out of a round cake too. This was quite a rushed cake and I wish I had a little more time to work on the details but overall Im happy with it and think it's quite cute.

Along with the cake went these christmas cupcakes. The snowman is my favourite and inspired by Sweet! Cupcakes and treats, mind you I had an extreamly hard time keeping the glitter off the actual snowman.

And now for the big news! (which some of you may already know about). In about 2 week I will be heading back down to Sydney to be apart of a very exciting cake project to replicate the Opera House which is then to be presented on Australia day. I was one out of 20 people selected from around the country and to say I am proud to be one of the ones with a golden ticket is an understatement! I would love to tell you more about it but quite frankly thats all we have been told! So stay tuned on here and my Facebook page and I will surly update you with all the juicy details.

Lastly I want to say HAPPY NEW YEAR to all my beautiful supporters, friends and family you have truly made 2010 an amazing year for Cupkates. I can hardly believe when I am back down in Sydney for Australia day it would be 12 months since I went to do my 1st cupcake course at PC!

Love to you all,