Chocolate snowflake mousse

A few weeks back my sister and I made some delicious chocolate mousse that went down a treat! To fit in with my colour scheme on my Winter Wonderland dessert table I made aqua chocolate snowflakes filled with a rich, velvety chocolate mousse. I will definitely have to make these again, maybe in pretty egg form for Easter!

Chocolate snowflake mousse (makes 6 snowflakes)

Ingredients

• 300g double cream
• Pinch of caster sugar
• 300g 70% dark chocolate drops
• 100g white chocolate drops
• Aqua chocolate colouring (must be chocolate colouring as regular food colouring will cause chocolate to seize and ruin)

Snowflake mould from Target

Cooking instructions

• Melt white chocolate and stir in food colouring.
• Pour coloured white chocolate into moulds and, using a brush, coat sides of moulds in chocolate and leave to set.
• Place cream in a bowl with a pinch of caster sugar and whip until soft peaks form.
• Melt 200g of dark chocolate in the microwave on a low heat or in a double boiler on the hob, continuously stirring so as not to overheat.
• Stir melted chocolate into whipped cream until you have an even coloured mousse.
• Spoon mousse into chocolate coated snowflake moulds and place in fridge to firm.
• Melt remaining 100g of dark chocolate and coat the top of the mousse with dark chocolate to seal in mousse.
• Place in fridge to set.
• Turn out snowflake filled moulds just before serving.

On my Winter Wonderland Dessert table

Have a sweet day!

My Winter Woodland dessert table

Felted snowflake table mats

Winter Woodland Christmas Cake

Winter Woodland Gingerbread House

Christmas Cookie Tree

Small candy filled Christmas tree jar

Just a quick post to share with you my Winter Woodland Candy table.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday.

Best Wishes

Torie Jayne

Gluten free maple cakelets

Maple Cakelets (makes 48 halves for 24 cakes) - recipe adapted from Williams Sonoma

Ingredients
280g (1 3/4 cups) gluten-free plain white flour
1 tsp Xanthan Gum
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
180 ml (3/4 cup) milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
185g (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
237g (1 cup) granulated sugar
1 tbsp maple syrup
3 eggs, lightly beaten

Cooking instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180 deg C (350 deg F).
2. Grease and flour the cakelet pan, tap out any excess.
3. Beat butter and sugar with an electric whisk until the mixture is light and fluffy.
4. Gradually beat in eggs.
5. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add flour and milk, alternating between the two.
6. Spoon a generous tbsp of batter into each well on prepared tin.
7. Tap pan on work surface to remove air bubbles.
8. Cook for 12 mins or until inserting a cocktail stick into each cake comes out clean.
9. Leave to cool for 15 mins.
10. Using a serrated knife carefully saw off any cake that rose above the edge of the pan.
11. Carefully turn out onto wire rack and leave to cool.
12. Wash and dry pan and repeat with remaining batter.

Fall Icon cakelet pan

Cream cheese maple frosting

Ingredients
2 tbsp unsalted butter
60g (2 oz) cream cheese
3 tbsp maple syrup
185g (1 1/2 cups) Icing sugar (confectioner's sugar)

Instructions

1. Beat the cream cheese and butter on full power until light and fluffy.
2. Reduce speed and gradually add maple syrup and icing sugar until well combined.

To assemble

Ingredients

48 maple cakelets
Cream cheese maple frosting
Icing sugar (confectioner's sugar)

Instructions

1. Spread 1 tsp of frosting onto flat side of cakelet.
2. Place flat side of matching cakelet on top.
3. Repeat with remaining cakelets.
4. Refrigerate until frosting is set.
5. Dust with sieved icing sugar.

Winter Woodland treat boxes

I packaged mine up for gifts, and will be making a second batch for my "Winter Woodland dessert table".

Have a sweet day!

Small candy filled Christmas tree jar

Last year I filled my small candy jar with white pink and green M&M's. This year I have filled it with white, cream and jade M&M's to fit in with my "Winter Woodland" themed dessert table.




Have a sweet day!

Winter Woodland Christmas cake

I made my Christmas cake a few weeks ago, and have been feeding it with brandy to keep it moist and taste even lovelier! Then came the fun part: decorating it. I want it to be the centrepiece of my Winter Woodland dessert table so I went for a sugar paste reindeer sitting amongst a snowy woodland. Here's how I did it:

Winter Woodland Christmas Cake

Ingredients
Christmas cake (gluten free recipe)
Marzipan
Apricot baking glaze
Roll on white icing
Royal icing
Sugar paste reindeer x 1
Sugar paste acorns x 5
Iced leaves x 35
Meiji mushroom cookies x 2
White hologram glitter
Brush on dust in Ivory Shimmer
White petal paste
Icing sugar
Sugar pearls
Chocolate orange Matchmakers broken into pieces 3-5 cm long

Equipment
Cake stand or board
Rolling pin
Cake smoother (optional)
Sieve
Ribbon
2 pins
Icing bag fitted with star nozzle

Decorating instructions

1. Place cake on cake stand upside down so top is completely flat.
2. Knead marzipan into a ball.
3. Dust icing sugar onto a hard clean surface and roll out marzipan to 5mm thick.
4. Melt the apricot jam.
5. Brush cake with apricot jam.
6. Lift up marzipan using rolling pin.
7. Place on cake and smooth out so entire cake is covered in marzipan.
8. Cut off any excess, leave to dry for 24 hours.
9. Knead roll on icing into a ball.
10. Dust icing sugar onto a hard clean surface and roll out roll-on icing to 5mm thick.
11. Lift up icing using rolling pin.
12. Place on cake and smooth out so entire cake is covered in icing. (I use a cake smoother to give it a polish and professional finish)
13. Push sugar pearls into side of cake where cake meets cake stand.
14. Wrap ribbon around side of cake and secure with 2 pins.
15. Make up royal icing as per instructions on packet.
16. Spoon some royal icing in a large circle on top of the cake, using a fork to lift it into snowy peaks.
17. Lightly push sugar paste reindeer into royal icing in centre of cake.
18. Lightly push leaves and chocolate Matchsticks into royal icing around outside edge of circle.
19. Lightly push mushroom cookies and acorns into royal icing around reindeer.
20. Spoon remainder of royal icing into piping bag with a small star nozzle at the end.
21. Pipe a small amount of icing onto back of leaves and press into centre of ribbon around cake.
22. Dust cake in sieved icing sugar.
23. Sprinkle cake in white glitter.

Have a sweet day!

My Winter Woodland Gingerbread House

As some of you may remember, last year I made a gingerbread bird house as a Secret Santa gift (you can read more about it here) and another woodland themed gingerbread house for a friend's baby shower. So, this year I have made a gluten free one for my family and I; perfect to sit on my "Winter Woodland Christmas" themed dessert table.

Gingerbread bird house

Ingredients
250g unsalted butter
200g dark muscovado sugar
600g gluten free plain flour
3 tsp Xanthan Gum
7 tbsp golden syrup
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
4 tsp ground ginger

Cooking instructions

1. Heat oven to 180 deg C.
2. Melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a pan.
3. Mix the flour, xantham gum, ground ginger and bicarbonate of soda in a bowl.
4. Slowly add the melted butter mix to the flour mix to form a dough.
5. Roll dough out to about 8mm thick on to baking paper.
6. Cut out front, then cut small circle out of front.
7. Cut out back.
8. Cut out two roofs.
9. Cut out two sides.
10. Slide cut pieces still on the baking paper on to baking trays.
11. Bake in the oven for 12 minutes or until firm to the touch.
12. Leave to cool for a few minutes, then re-cut around edges to neaten.
13. Press chocolate matchsticks into roof, so they melt slightly on underside.
14. Leave to completely cool.

Decorating the Bird House

Ingredients
Roll on icing
Icing sugar (powdered sugar)
Royal icing
M&M's in cream
Food colouring
White hologram glitter
Brush on dust in Ivory Shimmer
Chocolate orange matchmakers
Meiji mushroom cookies x 2

Meiji almond crunch mushroom cookies x 3
Petal paste owl x2
Petal paste squirrel x2
Iced Leaves, Acorns & Robin


Equipment
Rolling pin
Sieve
Textured wood impression mat
Icing bag fitted with small star nozzle
paint brush

To decorate

1. Dust icing sugar onto a hard clean surface and roll out icing to 3mm thick.
2. Cut out base of house components in icing.
3. Press bark impression mat into icing.
4. Brush water onto back of cut-out icing component and place on top of corresponding gingerbread piece. Repeat until all gingerbread pieces are iced.
5. Sprinkle white glitter over each piece.
6. Make up royal icing as per instructions on packet, and spoon into piping bag with a small nozzle at the end.
7. Pipe a small amount of icing on back of owl and place on front of house. Leave to dry.
8. To build the base, hold the front and one of the sides of the house upright together in one hand to form a corner and with the other hand pipe icing down the inside of the corner and hold together until icing starts to set. Repeat until you have formed a box and leave to set.
9. Pipe small star shapes around the bottom of the house between the cake board and the house.
10. Push M&M's on top of the piped stars.
11. Continue piping star shapes along all of the outside joins of the house, pushing M&M's into them as you go.
12. Leave to set.
13. On the back of one iced roof, pipe icing in a small line around the outside edge. Place on top of gingerbread iced box and hold until icing starts to set. Repeat with second roof piece. Leave to dry.
14. Pipe small star shapes around the edge of roof, and joint at top.
15. Push M&M's into piped stars along front and back edge and joint at top.
16. Push iced birds on cocktail sticks into iced roof joint.
17. Pipe small stars on back of squirrels, owl & leaves, and push onto sides and roof of house in desired position.
18. Pipe small stars onto cake stand and push in cookie mushrooms & acorns.
19. Dust house in sieved icing sugar.
20. Sprinkle house in white glitter
21. Leave to set.

Have a sweet day!