Christmas Yule Log (kids vlog edition)

I first posted a recipe for a chocolate yule log over a decade ago. Since then it has become an annual staple of our Christmas baking traditions. I've experimented over the years with various tweaks and permutations (one year we made little chocolate pine cones from chocolate icing studded with chocolate cereal crescents - see below).

We've all decided the best version of it is to lean in to the Black Forest theme by including a layer of morello cherries scattered over the cream (which is sweetened with their juice). This year, Frankie made it almost completely by herself - here's how...

The icing on the Christmas cake (kids vlog edition)

After 'feeding' the Christmas cake every week since Stir-Up Sunday, we're finally ready to ice it on Christmas Eve. Here's how we did it...

Christmas cake (kids vlog edition!)

It's Stir Up Sunday and the little star bakers have made their first ever vlog! This is a Christmas cake recipe packed with figs, cranberries, pecans and soaked in hot buttered rum and maple syrup...

Almost a decade of baking with kids

It's been a while! My last post was 10 years ago, at the end of 2014, when we'd embarked on an IVF journey and life was just about to change forever! I stopped blogging while I baked up twin babies, who we welcomed to the world in autumn 2015. I didn't stop baking though... just found myself a couple of sous chefs! 

Ricotta, lemon, almond and blueberry cake with blackberry cream

I made this as a gluten-free dessert for a Boxing Day lunch with my mum and sister.  It's so light and seems to get even better after a day or so in the fridge.

Rhubarb and cherry upside down cake

Upside down cake is one of my favourite kinds of cake.  This one is made with fresh rhubarb and glacé cherries that have been soaked in amaretto (although fresh cherries would work nicely).  Perfect for a wintery Sunday evening in front of the fire.

Lavender, honey and sea salt shortbread

This is quite an unusual flavour combination but I think it's delicious.

Stollen

I had a really lovely day on a Christmas baking course at Angela Gray’s Cookery School at Llanerch Vineyard.  I’d never made stollen before but it was really easy and so delicious and Christmassy!  The recipe made one big stollen load but it could be halved for a littler one or made into lots of baby loaves.

Apricot and pistachio flapjacks

These are yummy, moist flapjacks that are really quick to make.

Applesauce cake with cinnamon cream cheese icing

This year we had another lovely autumn weekend away in a big Cornish farmhouse with a bunch of old friends from art college.  I made this cake using up a bowl of homemade applesauce from last weekend’s roast pork Sunday lunch.  It was great as a dessert after a big meal of Lu’s beef brisket chilli, but was still a lovely and moist cake for eating the next day, sitting around in pyjamams in front of a big fire with good company and lots of pots of tea!