68 December 2014 www.womanthismonth.com Festive Feedings LIFESTYLE | food Traditions and memories go hand in hand. All you need is a whiff of a traditional festive feast and the memories will flood through. James Claire whips up a selection of festive foods this month. 250g unsalted butter 2 lemons, finely grated zest only 250g sugar 250g plain (all-purpose) flour 2 tspns baking powder 80g almond powder 4 eggs For the topping 300ml cream 400g dark chocolate, broken into small pieces • Preheat the oven to 180˚ Celsius. • Grease and line the loaf tin with baking parchment. • In an electric mixer bowl, cream together the butter, lemon zest and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs slowly followed by the flour and almond powder. Spoon the batter into the prepared cake tin. • Bake for 45 minutes, then cover with foil to prevent the top from browning and cook for a further 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin on a wire rack. • For the topping, pour the cream into a small pan and bring almost to the boil. Remove from the heat, add the chocolate and stir until melted. • Refrigerate and cool until the mixture begins to thicken but not too hard. Pour the chocolate mixture in an even coat over the cooled cake (still in the tin) and put aside to set. • To serve, remove the cake from the tin and carefully peel off the parchment paper so that you get a clean line between the cake and the chocolate layer. Decorate with chocolate curls and holly leaves. TUNIS CAKE Why change things that work so well? Why corrupt food that tastes divine? And why create something new out of something so perfect in its pure state? This year my household has grown by one and it’s time to start teaching the traditions that make a perfect Christmas. While turkey is traditional, so too are chicken terrine, gingerbread men and Tunis cake. Different countries, cultures and ways of celebrating the festive season have created traditions from all corners of the globe. People like us celebrate the season in the heat, while others celebrate in the depths of a winter chill. However and wherever you celebrate this ebbing phase of the year, enjoy, eat well and develop your own traditions and create treasured memories for yourself and those near and dear.
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