Christmas baking

Trollydolly_2

Im doing my baking tomorrow however its not exactly human baking

I run a dog walking business and am baking Cheesy sausage egg and bacon bones!! Basically biscuits with the above in and some flour
Ive bought bone cutters specially

Do you think they will be ok to freeze? and when i take them out of the freezer will they be soggy or can i just put them back in the oven for a bit to harden?

Thanks for any help!

kethry

I've done our christmas cake, and its being fed every week, but i need to do another one now. My gran's just commissioned me to do a christmas cake for her - she's throwing a little tea party for the ladies in the village WI after she gets back from staying with Mom and Dad over christmas, and has asked me to do one for that. The WI?! *ulp*. I have a lot to live up to!

i've also done mincemeat (delia's), lots of jams and pickles and preserves, although i need to do some more bread and butter pickles. We both adore them and somehow chomped through all the ones i had done for christmas. oops. fortunately they're not expensive (especially if you shop around for the cucumbers).

I'm not doing a christmas pudding this year though. I've still got half of last year's in the fridge for christmas day, and mom is bringing her christmas pudding up on 27th (when i do a second xmas lunch for her, dad and gran), which i made for them. So no point.

Most of my efforts at the moment are geared towards christmas cards: there's a charity fair at mom's workplace on 30th November which i am making cards for, and family history research (which i am frantically working to get done before christmas as a present for my grandmother). I'll think about baking nearer the time, although i may have to go to Birmingham to my Mom's to marzipan and ice her christmas cake. Fun, fun, fun!!

keth
xx

msflowerfairy

Here are a few freezing tips:

I tend to freeze most things, and i have never had an accident, so to speak.

Don't Freeze Well:

• Greasy foods (they just become greasier)
• Cake icings made with egg whites
• Cream fillings and soft frostings
• Pies made with custard or cream fillings
• Fried foods (they tend to lose their crispness and become soggy)
• Fruit jam on sandwiches may soak into the bread
• Soft cheese, such as cream cheese (can become watery)
• Mayonnaise (it separates; use salad dressing instead)
• Sour cream (it becomes thin and watery)
• Potatoes cooked in soups and stews (they become mushy and may darken. If using potatoes, cook until barely soft and still firm; then freeze quickly.)

Change During Freezing:

• Gravies and other fat-based sauces may separate and need to be recombined by stirring or processing in the blender
• Thickened sauces may need thinning after freezing; thin with broth or milk
• Seasonings such as onions, herbs and flavorings used in recipes can change during freezing. These are best added during reheating to obtain accurate flavors
• Vegetables, pastas and grains used in cooked recipes usually are softer after freezing and reheating (Undercook before freezing, or add when dish is reheated)
• Heavy cream can be frozen if used for cooking, but will not whip
• Some yogurts may suffer texture changes
• Raw vegetables lose their crispness, but can be used for cooking, stews, etc.
• Many cheeses change texture in the freezer. Most hard cheeses turn crumbly (which makes them okay for grating, but not for slicing)

msflowerfairy

I also found this link:

http://www.emd.saccounty.net/Documents/Info/Coop-ext/FreezingAndFoodSafety-%20Jan07.pdf

Oh and this:

Can I freeze cakes?
Cakes made with standard recipes freeze well, especially if baked before freezing. Prebaked cakes containing fat may dry out slightly after 2 months; flavor changes may be expected after 4 months. Use pure extracts because imitation extracts may produce off flavors. Cakes keep: egg white cakes - 6 months; whole egg cakes - 4 to 6 months; egg yolk cakes - 2 months; shortened cakes 2-4 months. Bake cake; cool; freeze before packaging for ease in handling; wrap in moisture-vapor-proof material. Since cakes do not freeze freeze solid, place in a metal container or heavy carton to prevent crushing. Thaw baked cakes in their original wrappings to prevent formation of moisture in the cake's surface. A large cake will thaw in about 2 hours at room temperature. Frostings and fillings: Uncooked confectioner's sugar frostings freeze best. Fat in a frosting helps keep it from drying and forming crystals. Candy type frostings such as fudge and penuche are satisfactory if stored no longer than 4 weeks. Boiled and other soft frostings containing egg whites or cream fillings are not suitable for cakes that will be frozen. It is better to put on icing just before the cake is to be served. The exception is the butter-confectioner's sugar type which does freeze well.

SugarSpun

I'm inspired now and will be baking up a storm this weekend!

I had made lebkuchen for Christmas, but someone got into them and now the box is empty :mad:

this time I'll hide them better.

sticher

msflowerfairy - Chocolate Christmas cake sounds fab - would you post the recipe for me please? Or is it already on here somewhere?

Thanks.

luby-lou

Was super organised and made hundreds (ok not quite hundreds) of fairy cakes for a halloween party so saved half and froze them ready to ice for school xmas fair.

Just panicking now as need to make birthday cake for my little girl for friday and the baby's been poorly all week so haven't even got the ingredients yet. She's a bit brighter today so if she wakes up happy after her morning sleep can probably go out in a bit but will be working tonight, she's got hospital appointment tomorrow and working tomorrow night - HELP!

msflowerfairy

Recipe for moist chocolate cake:

170g (6oz) Margarine
170g (6oz) Caster Sugar
110g (4oz) Self Raising flour
85g (3oz) Drinking Chocolate
3 Eggs, well beaten
1 tbsp Hot Water
Buttercream Filling
110g (4oz) Icing Sugar
50g (2oz) Margarine
50g (2oz) Drinking Chocolate
Water or Milk, if required
Glace Icing
170g (6oz) Icing Sugar
50g (2oz) Drinking Chocolate
2 tbsp Hot Water to mix (approximately)
Pre-heat oven to 180°C: 350°F: Gas 4
Grease and line two 8 inch sandwich tins.
Sieve together the flour and drinking chocolate.
Cream the margarine and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs, a little at a time, adding a tablespoon of the flour mixture to prevent curdling.
Fold in the remaining flour and chocolate mixture and stir in the hot water.
Place the mixture into the tins and smooth the tops.
Bake for 25 minutes or until the surface springs back when pressed lightly.
Remove the cakes from the tins.
Allow to cool on a wire rack.
Buttercream Filling
Mix all the ingredients together until smooth and light.
Spread on one of the cakes and sandwich together.
Glace Icing
Add the hot water to the sugar and the drinking chocolate to form a thick paste and coat the top of the cake before serving.
Use a knife dipped in boiling water hot to spread the icing.
Serves 4-6

msflowerfairy

I found the lemon muffins on this website:

http://www.muffinrecipes.co.uk/page15.html

and in case you don't measure in cups, a conversion table:

http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Cup-to-Gram-Conversions/Detail.aspx

nikib_3

thanks for the lemon muffins, and I am going to give them a go, you never know, the family may even eat them