Create Christmas Magic

Create Christmas Magic Decorations for indoors and out ★ Gifts to make and bake for all the family ★ Festive food for the holidays Christmas 2017
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MAKING ✩ BAKING ✩ DECORATING
WOMEN’S SPECIAL SERIES
✩ from
★
Your
perfect
HOMEMADE
CHRISTMAS
★
On sale 2 November - 30 November
Christmas 2017 | £4.50
Knit
me!
Christmas 2017 £4.50
✩ INSPIRING MAKES
✩ enchanting GIFTS
✩ FESTIVE FAMILY FOOD
Simple projects
& delicious
recipes

✩
Tip
Blue cheeses vary from very strong
to surprisingly mild. As a general rule,
the soft and creamy blue cheeses have
less of a strong punch than the firmer
cheeses. The crumbly cheeses are
the strongest and the hard
cheeses somewhere in
the middle.

✩ FESTIVE FOOD
Blue cheese
The complementary flavours of blue cheese and fruit
form a perfect harmony of rich and sweet
Figs with Stilton
and honey
Serves 8
8 figs, halved
125g Stilton cheese
50g toasted hazelnuts
4 tbsp orange
blossom honey
Arrange two fig halves on each
serving plate. Place the Stilton
on top of each piece of fig.
Coarsely chop the hazelnuts and
scatter over the top. Drizzle with
honey and serve.
Pear, blue cheese and roasted walnut salad
Serves 8
2 pears
175g blue cheese
50g walnuts
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp sherry vinegar
4 tbsp cold pressed rapeseed oil
2 tbsp roughly chopped fresh parsley
2 heads chicory
Separate the leaves of the chicory and
arrange on a shared serving platter, points
to the centre. Core and quarter the pears.
Toss them in the lemon juice and arrange
on top of the leaves. Crumble the cheese
over the pears. Roast the walnuts in a
preheated oven at 180°C/gas mark 4 for
5 mins. Roughly chop and scatter over the
leaves. Whisk the vinegar, oil and parsley
together and drizzle over the salad.
✩
89

✩ GIFTS TO MAKE
Early cheer
These simple Santa hat egg cosies and matching napkin rings
will brighten up breakfast time
the pattern
Tension
4in (10cm) square = 22 st x 30 rows
Abbreviations
K Knit
P Purl
K2tog Knit two stitches together
Garter stitch Knit every row
St st Stocking stitch (knit one row, purl the next)
Materials
• Rowan Pure Wool DK 50g
• 1 ball in Snow (yarn A)
• 2 balls in Kiss (yarn B)
• 1 pair x 4mm needles
• Sewing-up needle for yarn
The egg cosy
Cast on 32 stitches in yarn A
Rows 1-20: (K2 p2) repeat to end
Break yarn A, and join yarn B
Row 21: K
Row 22: P
Row 23: K
Row 24: P
Row 25: (K4, k2tog) repeat to last 2 stitches k2 (27 stitches)
Row 26 and every alt row – purl
Row 27: (K3, k2tog) repeat to last 2 stitches k2 (22 stitches)
Row 29: (K2, k2tog) repeat to last 2 stitches k2 (17 stitches)
Row 31: (K1, k2tog) repeat to last 2 stitches k2 (12 stitches)
Row 33: (K2tog) repeat to end of row (6 stitches)
Purl one row.
Break off yarn and thread through stitches then fasten off.
Make small pompom in yarn A.
To complete, join seam up the side of the cosy with the appropriate
yarn. Attach the pompom firmly, then trim it to the desired size.
Napkin ring
Cast on 15 stitches in yarn B.
Knit sufficient rows in garter stitch to circle the folded napkin. For a
smoother edge, slip the first stitch on each row, if desired.
Cast off.
Make a small pompom in yarn A.
To complete, join the cast on end to the cast off end. Attach the
pompom firmly to the centre of the napkin ring, then trim it to the
desired size.
50

✩
Tip
Small pompoms can be made
by wrapping yarn round the
tines of a fork. Slightly larger
ones can be made by wrapping
yarn around two or three
fingers. The more times the
yarn is wound, the fuller
the pompom.

✩ GIFTS TO BAKE
Mince pie trees
Home-made mincemeat adds to the richness of
these mince pies with a difference
To complete
the gift
Scrunched wire and newspaper
are used to fill plant pots. Moss is
placed on the top of the wire and
paper, and the lolly stick pushed
into it. A ribbon tied round adds
the final touch.
For the mince pie trees
Makes approximately 12
150g plain flour
150g self raising flour
2 tbsp icing sugar
150g butter, cubed
150g home-made
mincemeat
1 egg
caster sugar, to sprinkle
Sieve the flours and icing sugar into a large bowl, add the butter and rub
the mixture with the fingers until it forms fine breadcrumbs. Separate the
egg and add the yolk to the bowl with enough water to mix to a dough.
Allow to rest in the refrigerator for 15 mins. Roll out half the pastry and cut
out Christmas tree shapes with a large cookie cutter and place, well
spaced, on lightly greased baking sheets. Roll out the remaining pastry and
cut the same amount of shapes.
Beat the egg white and use it to brush the pastry shapes on the tray all
over. Place a lolly stick on top of the pastry at the base of the tree. Press
down lightly. Put a spoonful of mincemeat into the centre of each and cover
with another piece of pastry. Gently ease the shape over the filling and
press down the edges well to seal in the mincemeat. Press the top pastry
down gently over the lolly stick so that it is secured in place.
Prick the pastry with a fork. Brush the tops with beaten egg white and
sprinkle with caster sugar. Bake in a preheated oven 200°C/gas mark 6 for
12–15 mins until golden. Transfer to a wire rack and cool.
For the mincemeat
Makes approximately 1.5kg
125g carrots
200g cooking apples
600g mixed dried fruit
350g light muscovado sugar
175g beef or vegetable suet
2 tsp ground mixed spice
Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
100ml rum or brandy
Peel and coarsely grate the carrot, place in a large
mixing bowl. Peel, core and grate the apple and add
to the bowl with the dried fruit, and stir until well
combined. Add the remaining ingredients and mix
together well. Cover and allow to stand in a cool
place for 48 hrs, stirring occasionally. Spoon into
clean jars, packing down well to exclude any air
bubbles. Seal, label and store the jars in a cool dry
place until required.
68

✩
Tip
As an alternative to the trees,
the pastry can be cut into
star shapes and filled with
mincemeat in the same way.

✩ DECORATIONS TO MAKE
Snowy landscapes
As darkness falls, these white street scenes stand out
in a window pane to create a charming picture
To make one picture, a silhouette of a street scene is
drawn on white paper. The simple outline image can be
cut out with scissors. If windows and doors are wanted on
the buildings, the paper is first taped to a backing board
and the silhouette drawn on it. The apertures are then cut
out with a craft knife, to give a cleaner edge. Finally the
silhouette outline is cut out.
The silhouette is stuck onto a window with a
repositional glue that allows it to be moved into place,
then taken down after the holidays. Red candles standing
in balls of twine light the scene.
“The candle shines to make another see,
A saint unto his neighbour light should be.”
Materials
• Stiff white paper
• Scissors
• Craft knife
• Backing board
• Scotch tape
• Repositional glue
John Bunyan, ‘Meditations Upon a Candle’
This is the template
used for the bottom
right hand window
pane. It can be
enlarged to fit the
required size of
window.
• Lighted candles should never be left unattended
22

✩
Tip
Scenes on Christmas cards
can be traced to provide
festive silhouettes. Designs
with a simple outline work
best, and there should be
no floating pieces that are
unattached to the main
image.

✩
Tip
The quality of chocolate affects
the taste of the final dish. The
higher the cocoa content,
the greater the depth of
flavour it will create.

✩ FESTIVE FOOD
Chocolate yule log
Cranberries, cream and chocolate combine in
this rich Christmas dessert
✩
Serves 8
100g chocolate drops
375g dark cooking
chocolate
12 eggs
300g caster sugar, plus 2
tbsp extra
100g cocoa powder
3 tbsp brandy
100g cranberries
300g double cream
150g butter
200g icing sugar, plus
extra to dust
2 tbsp single cream
7-8 holly leaves, washed
and dried
“Come, bring with a noise,
My merry, merry boys,
The Christmas log to the firing;
While my good dame, she
Bids ye all be free,
And drink to your heart’s desiring.”
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. Separate the egg yolks from the
whites and place into separate large mixing bowls. Set the whites aside.
Whisk the yolks with an electric whisk until creamy and fluffy, then whisk
in the sugar for 1 min. Sieve the cocoa gradually into the mixture, mixing
it in thoroughly with a wooden spoon each time.
Whisk the egg whites for 3 mins, until standing in soft peaks. Add a
third of the whites to the chocolate mixture and fold in. Repeat until all
the egg whites are folded in. Stir in the chocolate drops.
Pour the mixture into a 25cm x 35cm rectangular baking tray, lined
with baking paper. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 mins, until the
mixture bounces back when lightly pressed. Allow to cool then remove
from the tray and place on a wire rack. Once completely cool, sprinkle 2
tbsp of the brandy over the risen side of the cake and leave to soak.
In a small saucepan, cover the cranberries with water and add 2 tbsp
caster sugar. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 mins, until soft.
Drain and refresh in cold water until cool. Drain again.
Whip the double cream in a bowl until thick. Mix in the cranberries
with just two whirls, to create a swirl effect. Layer the cake with the
cream, leaving a border of 2cm. Using the baking paper to manoeuvre,
roll the cake together into a roll lengthways.
In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and icing sugar together until
smooth and fluffy. Break 300g of the chocolate into a heat-proof bowl,
and place over a pan of gently simmering water. Make sure the bowl
does not touch the water. Stir occasionally until the chocolate is melted.
Remove from the heat then stir until smooth. Mix into the butter mixture,
along with the single cream and remaining brandy. Smooth onto the log
with a spatula, filling the gaps to fix. Chill for 30 mins, then run a fork
over the icing to make bark-like lines. Chill until needed.
While the yule log is chilling, place the holly leaves on a plate and
melt the remaining chocolate as above. Paint the top of the leaves with
the chocolate and then chill for 20 mins. Repaint with the chocolate (the
chocolate should still be malleable) and then chill the leaves for 1 hr.
Carefully peel the chocolate leaves from the holly and position on the
log. Dust with icing sugar and serve.
Robert Herrick, ‘The Yule Log’
109

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