Gardening phone-in and alternative Christmas cakes
Sue McNally joins Phil to offer up some top winter gardening advice and to answer your horticultural questions, then after 1pm, with Christmas rapidly approaching, Christine Wallace will be getting the ball rolling with some alternative Christmas cake suggestions.
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Plants 400 - Carolina silver bell
Duration: 01:29
Recipe: Christines Cupcake Christmas Tree
You will need 12" high oasis cone (you can get them at craft shops or online)
1 sheet of green tissue paper
A stabilising round board with a spike in the centre (A cake board with a large nail fixed in place will do the trick)
8 Green or red mini cake cases
25 Green or red bun cake cases
7 Green or red muffin cake cases
Wooden skewers
Edible decorations of your choice
Star on a wire stem (for the top)
I tried to make these little cakes taste of Christmas so added currants, cherries grated orange rind and mixed spice to a basic sponge. I also put almond extract in the icing so the flavours of Christmas Cake were basically there!!
RECIPE
285gms Unsalted Butter - room temperature
285gms Golden Caster Sugar
285gms S.R. Flour
5 Large Eggs - beaten
170gms Currants
100gms Glace Cherries - washed and quartered
1 teasp Mixed Spice
1 Large Orange - zest only, grated.
ICING
340gms Unsalted Butter - room temperature
170gms Full fat Cream Cheese
850gms Sieved Icing Sugar
1½ Teasp Almond Extract
Red and Green Food Colouring
The mixture will need to be divided as follows:
8 x Mini Cakes
25 Bun Cakes
7 Muffin Cakes
METHOD
Set the oven to 180°C Fan.
1. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy
2. Gradually beat in the eggs adding a little flour towards the end to prevent curdling
3. Fold in the flour, spice, orange zest, currants and cherries.
4. Bake for 12 mins mini cakes, 14 - 16 mins bun cakes and 19 - 20 mins muffin cakes.
5. Leave to cool
6. Make the icing by beating all the ingredients together except the colours.
7. Take out a good heaped tablespoonful and colour red, cover and set aside. If you want a third colour for a any design you have in mind, separate off.
8. Colour the rest a strong green cover and set aside.
9. Place your oasis cone on the spike and cover with the tissue paper.
10. Fix your cakes on to the cone using the wooden skewers starting with the 7 muffin sizes, then the bun size, then the minis at the top. Make sure the skewers are place slightly upwards otherwise the cakes will fall off!
11. Place the green icing in a large icing bag with a medium sized rosette nozzle and pipe each cake from top to bottom right across each one as per the photo.
12. Use the red icing in a separate bag with small star or rosette nozzle to place in random places as 'baubles'.
13. Add any other decorations you have and place the star down the middle at the top.
Broadcast
- Sun 22 Nov 2015 12:00Â鶹Éç Radio Oxford