Gingerbread Melting Moments

These are a cross between a melting moment and a gingerbread biscuit and if I do say so myself, they are very good!

Like regular gingerbread biscuit the flavour improves over a day or two. You can mix up the spices if you like, but I highly recommend having a variety of spices like those in the ingredients list.

These would make a nice gift, however they are equally nice just to have in the biscuit jar at home for something to nibble on in the lead up to Christmas.

Gingerbread Melting Moments

Ingredients:                                       

300g unsalted butter, softened

100g icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

450g plain flour

1.5 tsp ground ginger

1.5 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp ground cardamom

Ingredients for the filling:

80g unsalted butter, softened

200g icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp mixed spice

1/2 tsp ground cardamom 

Method: 

Preheat oven to 145 degrees Celsius, and line three large baking trays with baking paper. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla  until creamy.

Add the flour and spices to the creamed butter, and mix on low speed until a dough forms. 

Roll teaspoonfuls of the dough into balls and place on the prepared trays (you should end up with 40-44 individual dough balls/biscuits) leaving a little space in between each. Then lightly press down each ball with the back of a fork so they flatten out a little. Dip your fork in flour if it is sticking to the dough.

Bake for 25 minutes. They will be cooked when the undersides of the biscuits are lightly golden. To ensure a even bake, rotate the baking trays in the oven around half way through. 

Allow to cool on their trays.

Once the biscuits have cooled make the filling by beating all the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment or by using a hand held mixer. Mix until light and fluffy and everything is well combined. 

Pair up the cooked biscuits, and turn one from each pair over so the underside is facing up. Spread or pipe the filling on to the underside of one biscuit in each biscuit pair, then gently sandwich the paired biscuits together.

Leave the biscuits for half an hour or so for the filling to firm up a bit (you can do this in the fridge in warmer weather). Biscuits will store well in an airtight container for a few days. 

Makes about 46 individual biscuits and 23 sandwiched biscuits. 

Raspberry & Rose Pavlova (Gluten Free) + Christmas 2014

This year for Christmas I baked a lot! We don’t have a big family, so we decided to make food the focus for Christmas Day. While the heat and humidity of our Sydney Summer provided a few challenges to my baking efforts, I really enjoyed having the time to bake and cook whatever I wanted, with Christmas being the ‘excuse.’ 

I made four batches of gingerbread, using this recipe, which remains my favourite. A made a gingerbread house, with varying levels of success. I was concerned about is structural soundness, however after just over a week of standing upright and remaining standing once a meat mallet was taken to it, I feel these concerns were slightly unfounded! Mostly, I would have liked it to look prettier, however for my first ever attempt, it’s probably not so bad. 

A few tarts were made as well. All of them stemmed from using up lovely summer fruits that we had bought. Using the same case and filling recipe as the white cherry tart I made in my last post, I used raspberries and peaches, which was so good, then just plain raspberry, then I used up the last of the Christmas cherries to make a cherry tart for New Years Eve. I also just made a plum upside-down cake to use up the last of the plums. It’s safe to say that this holiday season has not been short of cake and sweet treats! 

Peach & Raspberry Tart

Cherry Tart for New Years Eve

On Christmas morning I had prepared some of Sophie Hansen’s Buttermilk Jam Scrolls, which we ate with tea and some lovely fresh fruits. For Christmas Day lunch my Mum made a glazed ham, turkey wellington and a pear and goats curd salad. I made my favourite Summer Iced Tea. For dessert I created an Epic Pavlova. I call it epic as it was just something I thought I would try and see if it worked. And it ended up being the best pavlova I have ever made! I changed some of the ingredients from my Grandma’s original recipe, after looking at lots of other pavlova recipes. I wanted it to look a little festive, so I decided to decorate it with mostly red berries, and was particularly excited when I found red currants in the green grocer (first time I had ever seen them!). 

Breakfast

Christmas Lunch

Dessert!

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to take many photos of the pavlova, as when I was assembling it, the Christmas Day weather began to turn bad. Thus there was no good light to shoot in. The shots I got were taken at a doorway to the balcony, door open to get as much natural light in as possible, rain coming down just beyond where the pavlova sat! 

Here is the recipe for my pavlova. I used up some of the remaining egg yolks to make the frangipane fruit tarts (substitute one whole egg for two yolks), otherwise you could make some gingerbread or maybe some custard. The quantities for the fruit to decorate are just guides, as you can put as little or as much as you would like, there are no rules! Lots of different fruits are great for pavlova, however I would stick to things that complement rosewater for this recipe. 

I made the pavlova layers on Christmas Eve and left them to cool in the oven overnight, and assembled just before serving on Christmas Day. 

Raspberry & Rose Pavlova

Ingredients for the Pavlova: 

8 egg whites 

500 g caster sugar

2 tsp raspberry vinegar 

1 tsp rosewater 

40g cornflour

To Decorate: 

450 ml cream 

1 tbsp rosewater 

1-2 punnet raspberries

1 punnet blueberries

seeds from 1-2 pomegranates

1 punnet red currants 

Method: 

Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Line two large baking trays with baking paper, and trace a circle on each, approx. 26 cm in diameter (I used a dinner plate). 

In a clean dry bowl, beat the egg whites for 5-6 minutes, whilst gradually adding the sugar. Add the raspberry vinegar and rosewater and beat until the mixture is stiff and glossy. 

Sift cornflour over the mixture, and gently fold to combine. 

Place half the mixture on one tray, using the circle as a guide. Push the mixture around to form a circle, leaving a small border around the edges. Repeat with the remaining mixture on the other tray. 

Turn the oven down to 125 degrees Celsius, and cook undisturbed for 1.5 hours. 

After 1.5 hours, turn the oven off and leave the pavlova layers to cool completely in the oven. 

When ready to assemble the pavlova, whip the cream and rosewater together. Spread half over one of the pavlovas and sprinkle with half the pomegranate seeds, half the raspberries and half the blueberries. Place the remaining pavlova shell on top. Fill the top layer with the remaining cream, and berries, using the red currants to form a border around the fruit on the top layer. 

What did you make during the festive season? Let me know in the comments below!

For more recipes showcasing the best of rose, check out my eBook Baking with Rose by clicking the link below!

A Little More from the Local is Lovely Workshop

Here are a few more photos from the Local is Lovely Workshop. I really tried not to post too many last time, but I just wanted to share a few more! 

I have also made a couple of Sophie’s recipes since the Workshop, all of which have been successful and enjoyed by all (except that attempt at pasta… don’t try make pasta from scratch with bread flour and no pasta machine… it won’t work!). 

Sophie's Zucchini Tart - Recipe Here

Sophie's Buttermilk Scrolls - Recipe Here

Mum also stopped by Willa’s bakery, Racine Bakery in Orange, as she was passing through. We all met Willa at the Local is Lovely Workshop, as she was helping Sophie with the food. Willa brought with her some breads and croissants from the bakery, and they were all so delicious! Mum bought some croissants, olive oil bread and an apple pie. All were lovely. The croissants were particularly good heated up in the oven and served with jam! If you are ever passing by Orange or staying there a while, Racine Bakery is definitely worth going to. 

Goodies from Racine Bakery, Orange

I have a few things in the works at the moment, and with Christmas fast approaching I am hoping everything gets completed in time for me to do some Christmas baking. This year will be the first that I haven’t been studying or working over the Christmas break, so I am looking forward to enjoying the time and actually being able to bake for us for once! 

Hopefully I will have a couple of things to show you soon! In the mean time, this is the gingerbread recipe I will be using this Christmas. I discovered it last year and it is one of the best, and easiest I have made. One batch makes quite a few biscuits, and they are nice on their own or with icing.