Christmas at Carrington’s (26 page)

Georgie’s favourite, the red velvet cupcake, mm-mmm …

Makes 12 scrumptious cakes.

Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/gas mark 3. Line a 12-hole cupcake tin with cases.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, bicarbonate of soda and a pinch of salt. In a mug, mix the buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla and red food colouring.

Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg a little at a time. Mix in a third of the flour mixture, followed by half the buttermilk mixture, then another third of the flour, the rest of the buttermilk and finally the last of the flour mixture.

Divide the mixture between the paper cases. Bake for 20 minutes, until risen and springy.

Cool on a rack.

To decorate, pipe on the frosting and sprinkle with edible silver glitter.

Christmas Baileys Biscotti milkshakes

Georgie raved about these after trying them at that cocktail bar in Soho, so I found a recipe. Perfect for Christmas.

Makes four cheeky cocktails.

Scoop all the ingredients (except the chocolate) into a blender and give it a good blitz.

When it’s totally blended, pour the milkshakes into four tall glasses.

Top with whipped cream.

Shave the chocolate over the top, using a grater.

Serve with a straw. And enjoy.

Chocolate orange cupcakes

Another favourite in the café. My customers love them and, although they can be eaten all year round, they remind me of a Terry’s Chocolate Orange, which I always have at Christmas. And I know Georgie does too – fifteen to be exact, if I’m not mistaken. She was very keen to offload them on Christmas Day…

Makes 12 cupcakes.

Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas 3. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.

Mix the flour, sugar and baking powder together in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until combined.

Whisk the melted chocolate, egg and milk together in a jug.

Stir the chocolate mixture into the flour mixture until just combined.

Spoon the mixture into the cases and bake for 15–20 minutes, or until risen and golden-brown and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the orange juice and granulated sugar together in a bowl. Carefully pour the orange juice mixture over the warm cakes and set aside to cool completely.

For the white chocolate and orange buttercream, beat the butter in a bowl until light and fluffy. Carefully stir in the icing sugar and continue to beat for five minutes. Beat in the milk, melted white chocolate and orange zest.

Pipe the buttercream onto the cupcakes. With a sharp knife, make chocolate shavings from the orange chocolate and use them to decorate the cupcakes.

Christmas stollen slice smothered in dusty white icing sugar with an edible sprig of holly on top

Everyone loves a slice of stollen at Christmas, which is handy as this recipe makes about fifteen decent slices. It does take a couple of hours to make, but if you have the time, then it’s well worth it.

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture with the egg, caster sugar, salt, butter, and 260g of the bread flour; beat well. Add the remaining 90g of flour, a little at a time, stirring well after each addition.

When the dough has begun to pull together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead in the currants, sultanas, cherries and mixed peel. Continue kneading until smooth, about 8 minutes.

Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Lightly grease a baking tray. Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the marzipan into a rope and place it in the centre of the dough. Fold the dough over to cover it; pinch the seams together to seal.

Place the loaf, seam side down, on the prepared baking tray. Cover with a clean, damp tea towel and let rise again until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.

Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 150°C/300°F/gas mark 2 and bake for a further 30–40 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow loaf to cool on a wire cooling rack. Dust the cooled loaf with icing sugar, sprinkle with cinnamon and finish with toasted flaked almonds and the sprig of edible holly.

Wishing you all a very merry Christmas xxx