Simple Recipes and Holiday Accents

By Giulia Doyle

Plum Cake

• Butter or spray for greasing pan

• 12 large pitted prune plums

• 3 large eggs

• 200 gr granulated sugar

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 125 gr all-purpose flour*

• icing sugar

RECIPE

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of a 9-inch spring form pan with parchment paper. Butter the paper and the sides of the pan. Pit your plums, then cut the plums into quarters. (The nicer you cut the pieces the nicer the slices will look.) Pile the fruit directly in the prepared pan.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, using whisk, beat eggs with sugar until thick and ribbons form on the surface of the beaten eggs. Beat in vanilla, and then stir in flour with a spoon until just combined. The batter will be very thick.

Pour over fruit in pan, using a spoon or spatula to spread the batter so that it covers all exposed fruit. Make sure to push the batter all the way down or else the plums will get too wet once heated.

Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a tester comes out free of batter. Cool in pan for 10 minutes on rack, then flip out onto another rack, peel off the parchment paper, and flip it back onto a serving platter.

Serve warm or cooled, dusted with powdered sugar.

Tangerine Cardamom Cranberry Sauce

• 200 gr fresh cranberries

• 100 gr sugar

• 120 ml water

• 3 pods cardamom

• 1 large tangerine (wash well)

RECIPE

In a small sauce pan combine cranberries, sugar, water and cardamom pods. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook berries a couple of minutes until they burst when poked with a spatula. Turn off heat and add zest and juice from tangerine. Combine well and remove cardamom pods.

Can be stored in fridge for a week or more. Use it on turkey, chicken or pork dishes.

GIFT TAGS

Selbstgekochte Geschenke machen sich am besten in schönen Gläsern. Eine extra Portion Weihnachtszauber verleiht man ihnen durch einen einfachen Anhänger, den man mit einem goldenen Stempeln durch Buchstaben, Sterne oder andere Motive individuell gestaltet.

Sparkling Wine with Pomegranate

• 1 bottle pink sparkling wine or champagne

• 1/2 pomegranate

RECIPE

Add a bit of prettiness to your sparkling wine this season by adding a tablespoon of pomegranate seeds to each glass before pouring. Looks especially pretty with pink sparkling wine.

DRINK STIRRERS

Add holiday glamour to your drinks with these sparkly drink stirrers that can be made in minutes.

Use skewers and add glittery foam balls found at your craft store to the pointy side of each skewers. For added pizazz add tassels made from embroidery floss to each foam ball. I attached the tassels with a simple office pin.

Roasted Beets Lemon Tahini Dressing

• 6 beets

• 2 tbs lemon juice

• 2 tbs tahini

• 1 tbs maple syrup

• 2-4 tbs water or olive oil

• handful of sunflower seeds

• handful of feta cheese

• salt & pepper

RECIPE

Preheat oven to 400F. Peel beets and wrap in aluminum foil. Arrange foil packets in a roasting pan and roast vegetables for 1 hour or until soft enough for fork to pierce easily. Remove from oven and cool slightly. Unwrap beets and slice into bite size pieces.

Combine lemon juice, tahini and maple syrup. Adjust with water and olive oil until you get the consistency you like. Salt and pepper to taste. Toss roasted beets with dressing, sprinkle with sunflower seeds and crumbled feta and serve at room temperature.

Serve with roast chicken or with salad greens.

PINECONES

Create instant holiday decorations with gold pinecones. Simply use pinecones you found in the woods or bought at the craft store and cover them with two thin coats of gold spray paint. Let dry completely.

Gold pinecones can be added to your mantel, your table setting or you can hang them in your tree with a small loop of thread. They last many seasons.

Baked Brie with Walnuts & Honey

• 1 brie

• 60 gr toasted walnuts

• honey

• pepper

RECIPE

Heat oven on broil. While oven is heating, toast your walnuts in a large dry frying pan. Put them in a small bowl.

Unpack brie and place on parchment on a rimmed cookie sheet. Place in oven for a couple of minutes until cheese softens but doesn’t collapse. This depends on the size of the cheese you choose and can go very quickly. Remove from oven and carefully transfer brie to platter with a spatula. Sprinkle with pepper and serve immediately.

Serve baked brie with walnuts, honey and, if desired, the cranberry sauce from rthe first recipe on the side or piled on top of the cheese. Serve with crackers or slices of baguette.

Iced Sugar Cookie Stars

• 480 gr all-purpose flour

• 1 tbs baking soda

• 1/2 tbs salt

• 225 gr unsalted, softened butter

• 450 gr sugar

• 2 eggs

• 1 tube cookie icing

• 2 tbs vanilla extract

RECIPE

Mehl, Backpulver und Salz Combine flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until butter turns fluffy. Mix in eggs and vanilla. On low-speed carefully add flour, one cup at a time and mix well. Divide dough in half, shape into disks. Cover in plastic and cool in fridge for at least 1 hour and up to a day.

Preheat oven to 325F. On a lightly floured works surface, roll out dough to about ¼ inch thickness. Cut stars and transfer to parchment lined cookie sheet. Reroll scraps and keep cutting. Chill until very firm, about 30 minutes.

Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges turn golden, about 13-15 minutes. Let cool completely.

Decorate cooled cookies with icing and sprinkle with edible glitter stars.

Jam Thumbprints

• 340 g unsalted, softened butter

• 230 g sugar

• 1 egg

• 390 g all-purpose flour

• 170 g raspberry jam

RECIPE

Preheat oven to 350F. In a bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high until butter is fluffy. Add egg and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low and add flour. Mix until just incorporated.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Place on parchment lined cookie sheet – at least 3 inches apart.

Moisten thumb with water and gently press center of each ball to make an indentation. Add about ½ teaspoon of jam into each indentation. If the jam is too solid, heat it up a bit for easier handling.

Bake cookies until golden brown, 18-20 minutes, rotating pans half way through. Let cool on wire rack.