Bought at: The Cookery Book, Northbridge (Sydney), many years ago.
Recipes Made: Cranberry and White Chocolate Cookies p.208 and Spruced Up Vanilla Cake p.198.
The Cranberry and White Chocolate Cookies (or biscuits as us Aussies usually call them), have been quite a Christmas baking staple at our house since we got this book. They are quick to make, very satisfying and lend themselves to lots of adaptations. This recipe also uses pecans, which we usually leave out as we never have any.
I made a version of the Spruced Up Vanilla Cake a few years ago, and posted it here on the blog. I added fresh raspberries to the cake, and served it with a rose syrup. I do however very much like the idea of a good vanilla cake, and this one is one of those. Its quite easy to make, and when cooked in a bundt tin, looks immediately spectacular despite the little effort the cake takes to make!
Raspberry and Rose Bundt Cake
Favourite Things About the Book: Cookbooks that are dedicated to Christmas are always a joy to read and cook from, even if our hot Australian Christmas doesn’t lend itself to all the recipes. I especially like the way Nigella has organised this book, with chapters dedicated to ‘manageable mass catering’, ‘serve later sides’ and ‘stress free suppers’. Christmas can feel like quite a stressful time of year, but with the calmness of Nigella on your side, the Christmas food preparation can be made much more manageable.
This is also one of those books that needs to be perused during the year as well, not just at Christmas. As some of the more English Christmas fare doesn’t suit our warm climate, it would be great to go back to some of these recipes mid-year when we are enjoying Winter.
Bookmarked Recipes (to make later!): Pumpkin and Goat’s Cheese Lasagne p.34-6, Chargrilled Peppers with Pomegranate p.58-9, Festive Couscous p.97, Beetroot Orzotto and Scarlet-Speckled Loaf Cake p.202.
