Gingerbread Cakes

There's nothing quite like the delicious smell of gingerbread baking. And I have to say the taste is one of my absolute favourites. There is something old-fashioned and so cozy and comforting about the smell and taste of deep and rich spicy gingerbread.

I had decided that this year I was not only going to make gingerbread in a loaf pan but that I was going to make some mini gingerbread in small fluted tins.

While the large of the tins was non-stick, the smaller ones were old vintage tins. Instead of coating with oil and flour I oiled them and then sprinkled cocoa in them, so that I wouldn't end up with big white flour lumps when I turned them out. The oil and cocoa powder, worked like a charm, they slid out easily once baked.

The small tins are just two inches across, making them two-bite size. The "larger" tins are also quite small, only three inches across. Just enough for two servings. Either size is perfect for giving as gifts, especially if you like to give an assortment of baking and want things to be sampling size.

They look lovely straight from the pan, but I also like to sprinkle them with icing sugar as if they had just had a light dusting of snow.


The recipe I use makes a truly delicious moist gingerbread with rich flavour and comes from the Crabtree & Evelyn Cook Book, c1989. Here, with a few changes of my own, is the recipe.

English Gingerbread

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves (I use allspice)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon ground gingerroot (optional)
2 eggs
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup boiling water
3 tablespoons icing sugar (to dust with once baked and cooled)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In saucepan, melt and mix in brown sugar, molasses, and corn syrup. Stir over low heat until well dissolved and mixed. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

In mixing bowl, combine flour, spices, lemon zest and salt. Add butter mixture and eggs in center of dry ingredients. Stir well until mixture is smoothly blended.

Add baking soda to boiling water, stir and add to mixing bowl. Pour over batter and stir slowly until batter is well blended.

Pour batter into a 9-inch square pan or a loaf pan (buttered and floured), or a series of smaller pans or tins. Bake in 350 degree F. oven for 30 - 40 minutes (less perhaps for smaller tins or pans). Test with a toothpick or skewer to see if done. Toothpick will come out clean when inserted into the middle of baking

Remove from oven and let cool in pan. Turn out and dust with icing sugar before cutting.

Enjoy!

Amaryllis Blooms

What could be a better gift at this time of year than the promise of life and colour? Amaryllis bulbs come in an assortment of pretty colours and the size of the blooms never fail to amaze. It is such an easy gift to put together for someone. All you need is an amaryllis bulb, some potting soil and a container.


If you have ever had the disappointment of growing an amaryllis bulb that put forth luscious green leaves but never developed a bloom, do not despair. I have a small "tip" that will ensure that this never happens again. When you buy a bulb, take a close look at it. If this means opening the box that the amaryllis comes in, then don't be shy, open that box up and have a look inside.

After several large disappointments, I will never buy another amaryllis bulb without first performing this simple inspection:

Look around the top of the bulb for new growth. If there are no tips showing, then put that box back and keep trying until you find a bulb with at least the beginnings of white or green tips showing. (Don't worry that the new growth is white, it will turn green once it has been exposed to the light for a short period.)

You will notice that one tip may look a little different from the other. One tip has a little indent, or notch, at the top (the lower tip in the photo above). This is a flower bud. The tip without an indent (the upper tip in the photo) is a leaf. If you are lucky or willing to check enough bulbs, you will be rewarded by finding bulbs that have not only one flower bud tip, but two!


This amaryllis has two flower buds and several leaves coming up through the middle. Now, here's the next important point. If you buy a kit, your amaryllis bulb will come with a plastic pot of some description. While the plastic pot will do the job and certainly you can use it, why not make your gift a little more pleasing to the eye and to the delight of the recipient by using a lovely pot instead? That doesn't mean that you have to spend a lot of money on an expensive pot. It doesn't even mean that it has to be a new pot! The ceramic pot here was a $1.99 thrift shop find.



Just fill up your pot with some potting soil and place your bulb firmly on top, pressing down gently until it is securely nestled in the soil. (These bulbs like to be exposed at the top.) If you like you can cover the soil with some moss, or pebbles, or anything else you can dream up. Give it a little water and set it in a well-lit spot.


After several weeks, the stems will grow quite tall and the bud or buds will begin to open. Add a festive ribbon and it will be ready to give away. Or, give it to someone as soon as you've potted it and allow the recipient to watch it grow day by day. Once those gigantic trumpet-like flowers appear, it will seem like a little magic has occurred. A burst of colour to brighten a winter's day.

Bittersweet Chandelier

This is such a simple idea but gives such a lovely effect.


Just wind branches of bittersweet or some other berry, through your light fixture for a modern chandelier-like look. If they dangle down a little, so much the better.

Candle Thrift

If you're the thrifty sort, as I am, then you too probably get frustrated when a candle's flame keeps going out and there is still a lot of candle left to burn. Such a waste!

This sad fact of life led me to think up this solution. With a heated knife, hollow out the top of your pillar candle until a tealight can fit inside. this is much easier to do if the pillar candle is quite wide at the top as you don't have to worry about getting too close to the candle edge as you carve. And if you sink the tealight a little deeper than I have here, you won't even notice that it is there.

Carve, pop in your tea light, light it up, and you're back in business. Once the tealight has burned out, you can simply replace it with another. In fact, I think this is such a good idea, I might just carve all my new pillar candles and fit them with tealights before I ever use them at all.


Just think, no more throwing away perfectly good large candles after only a short use.

Garnishes for Gifts

What could be prettier atop small gifts than vintage earrings or broochs? Scour vintage sales, church bazaars or thrift shops for charming possibilities. And if you've lost an earring of your own, save it to use as a gift garnish.

By choosing carefully, you can use a piece of jewellery that the recipient will want to wear, doubling your gift. If you use an earring as a garnish, consider including the other earring with the gift so the receipient can wear them later on.



Consider your giftwrap and select the perfect embellishment to coordinate or contrast beautifully.

The same set of earrings, used with different paper and ribbon creates a different style.




A little bit of sparkle never hurts, and pearls are always soft and elegant.



This informal trio has light-hearted touches. The child's gift is festooned with a tangle of paper streamers (traditionally used to ring in the New Year).




The other gifts look festive with the addition of tiny dollar-store evergreen trees, pinecones and tied with bits of jute.

Shabbily Chic Wreath

This was a really quick project that came about because I wanted a small decoration to hang at the entrance to my office cubicle at work. Just a passing nod to the season, something understated but pretty. Naturally shabby chic came to mind.

The wreath is quite small, measuring less than six inches across. I began by digging out the smallest vintage Christmas balls I could find from my stash. Using a small bowl to trace around, I drew a circle on a piece of thick carboard. I cut the circle out and then cut a smaller circle from the middle to create the foundation for my wreath. I then punched holes in the cardboard and inserted the neck of a ball through each hole, holding the ball in place with a little glue. Once the carboard was completely covered I tied an old bit of pink ribbon at the top. Presto, my shabbily chic wreath was ready to hang, using straight pins through the ribbon and into the fabric of my cubicle screen.

Handy Hankies

No one seems to use handkerchiefs anymore so they're easy to find at vintage sales and can be picked up for $1 or less each.

Why not use them to wrap a small gift by gathering one around a gift box and tying it off with ribbon.


They can be used inside to cushion a delicate gift instead of tissue paper.


For larger gifts, use a silk scarf. Just tie opposite corners to create a big soft bow, tucking the pointy ends into the knot. Once unwrapped, the wrap becomes a gift in itself.

Or, as in the gift below, simply tie the ends and let them dangle.


A thrift shop scarf is less expensive than a sheet of wrapping paper and best of all doesn't get used only once before it is thrown out.