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Maison Travers

~ Living & Cooking in France

Maison Travers

Tag Archives: christmas

Melomakarona – Greek walnut, syrup cookies

19 Sunday Apr 2020

Posted by Nadia in Biscuits/cookies and cakes, General

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

biscuits, christmas, cookies, greek, honey, syrup, traditional, walnuts

These sweet little Greek honey cookies are super quick to bake, so much fun to make and highly addictive! These cookies are incredibly soft, moist, flavorsome and soaked in a delicious honey syrup.

Melomakarona (μελομακάρονα) are traditional Greek Christmas cookies, that are served during Christmas time throughout Greece. The word “melomakarona” is a combination of the two words “meli”, which means honey and “makarona” that comes from the ancient word “makaria” and means blessed. Now, I do realise that we are only April and nowhere near Christmas yet but really…. does it matter? Who needs an excuse to make some delicious bites of goodness?

Serve them over a hot cup of coffee and you will have a match made in heaven!

note:To syrup the melomakarona, the syrup must be cold and the melomakarona hot. This will help the cookies to absorb the syrup and become moist on the inside. So, start by making the syrup first and then the dough. If you are in a hurry you can place the syrup in the refrigerator to cool down, while preparing the dough for the melomakarona.

Makes about 30

Ingredients:

Vegetable oil, 1 cup
Sugar, 1/2 cup
Oranges, 2 juiced
Lemon, 1 juiced
Egg yolk, 1
Ouzo liqueur, 1 tablespoon
Self raising flour, 3 cups
Cinnamon, ground 3/4 teaspoon
Walnuts, finely chopped, 1 1/3 cups
Syrup:
Sugar, 1 cup
Honey, 1/2 cup
Water, boiling, 1/2 cup
Cinnamon stick, 1
Cloves, whole, 4
Lemon, juice of 1/2

Method:

Preheat oven to 180°C/360°F
Line 2 baking trays with baking paper
Using an electric mixer, beat oil, sugar, 1/2 cup orange juice and 2 tablespoons lemon juice on high speed for 10 minutes or until thick and creamy (Start electric mixer on low speed and increase speed as mixture thickens)
Add egg yolk and ouzo Beat for 5 minutes
Sift flour and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon over oil mixture
Fold gently to combine (mixture should be a light, doughy texture)
Using hands, roll tablespoons mixture into oval shapes
Place on prepared trays
Bake for 25 minutes or until firm to touch
Allow to cool on trays

Make syrup
Combine ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat
Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until sugar has dissolved
Bring to the boil then reduce heat to medium-low
Simmer for 4 minutes or until syrup thickens slightly

Using a slotted spoon, dip cooled biscuits, 1 at a time, into hot syrup for about 30 seconds, turning over often until well coated
Return to trays
Combine walnuts and remaining ground cinnamon
Sprinkle over biscuits
Allow to cool before eating

Bon Appétit!

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Cranberry sauce with red wine and figs

18 Monday Dec 2017

Posted by Nadia in General, Sauces

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

christmas, cranberries, cranberry sauce, figs, red wine, sauce, Thanksgiving, Turkey

IMG_9440Cranberry sauce is a very American accompaniment to Thanksgiving turkey. In fact, I had never eaten it until we moved to the US and then my first experience was at a dinner where the host served the jellied kind that comes straight out of a can, I hated it and could not imagine how an entire nation loved this vile tasting “sauce”. My ex-husband asked to have cranberry sauce with the turkey the following year and so I started searching out a recipe. Low and behold, I discovered that you can actually make your own, from fresh or frozen berries and you did not have to resort to eating jellied cylindrical shaped sauce – and to top it all, it is actually very easy and tastes far superior to any store bought variation. It is a great accompaniment to turkey and and I discovered with my leftovers this year, superb with foie gras. So make some for Christmas lunch and have the rest with your foie gras for New Year!
Ingredients:
1 cup (250ml) fruity red wine
1 cup (170g) diced dried figs, hard stems removed
12 ounces (340g) fresh or frozen cranberries
Zest of 2 oranges
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
Preparation:
In a medium saucepan, heat the red wine and diced figs together 

Cover, remove from heat, and let stand 30 minutes
Drain the figs (keep the wine)
Return the wine to the saucepan
Add the cranberries, orange zest, sugar, and cinnamon and cook, covered, over medium heat until the cranberries have burst and are softened, about 10 minutes
Remove from heat
Add the figs and the vinegar to the cranberries

The sauce can be made up to one week ahead and refrigerated
Allow to return to room temperature before serving
Enjoy!

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Christmas cake – Part 2, the icing

25 Sunday Dec 2016

Posted by Nadia in General

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

christmas, christmas cake, fruit cake, icing, marzipan, royal icing

img_8844

Joyeux Noël!  Merry Christmas! Geseënde Kersfees!

So much time and effort go into making a traditional fruit Christmas cake, soaking the fruit, baking the cake and the nurturing as you feed your cake lovingly, over several weeks, with your favourite alcohol. That love and attention all come through in the taste when you finally slice a piece and put that first forkful in your mouth. But, for many, though, what makes a Christmas cake really special is the marzipan, icing and decorations. It takes about 2 to 3 days of drying so start on the covering about 5 days before the big day – Christmas, of course.

Tips:
Turn the cake upside down before covering it in marzipan – the sharper edges of what was the base will give the finished cake a neater appearance.
I posted the actual cake recipe on November 12. Click here to see that recipe.  Cake part 1
Now, lets get started on the covering.

img_8797img_8798img_8801img_8802img_8803img_8806img_8808img_8843Ingredients:

6 tablespoons smooth apricot jam, warmed
300g white marzipan
500 g / 1 lb icing sugar (powdered sugar) sifted
3 egg whites

Preparation:

  1. Place the cake on a foil board or cake plate

  2. Dust your hands and the work surface with a little icing sugar and knead the marzipan until soft

  3. Roll out the marzipan to fit the cake

  4. Brush the cake all over with the warmed apricot jam and then place the marzipan on top and around the cake

  5. Roll the marzipan onto the rolling pin, then unroll it onto the centre of the cake, smooth it with your hands and trim the excess
  6. Cover the cake with a clean tea towel and then leave in a cool place for at least one day

  7. To make the icing, place the egg whites in a bowl, then stir in the icing sugar, a spoonful at a time, until the icing falls thickly from the spoon

  8. At this stage whisk with an electric whisk for 10 minutes or until the icing stands up in stiff peaks

  9. Now spread the icing all over the top and sides of the cake as evenly as possible using a palette knife

  10. Switch to a broad-bladed knife (or smaller palette knife) to ‘spike’ the icing all over to give a snow-scene effect

  11. Leave the cake overnight in a cool place for the icing to dry out before placing it in a container till needed

  12. Decorate with Christmas ornaments

  13. Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

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