Xmas extravaganza: Nigella Lawson

In her new three-part seasonal series, Nigella’s Christmas Kitchen, to air on Discovery Travel & Living every Friday from December 5 to 19 at 10pm, Nigella Lawson, writer and cook, will lay out her philosophy for not only coping with but actively enjoying cooking during the festive season. She will help viewers deal with pre-Christmas entertaining, make them do some Christmas baking, including the recipes that have dropped off the Christmas list and the traditional Christmas dinner.

In the series, Nigella will deliver her method of cooking a turkey. She will give tips on how to reduce stress levels and increase pleasure over the Christmas period. Viewers will take a trip to a Salzburg Christmas market, an inspiration for cinnamon biscuits and brandy-infused hot chocolate. She will show how the mouth-watering Rudolph Pie can be frozen and provides a stress-free meal for those lazy days between Christmas and New Year. Finally, Nigella will detail the perfect Christmas Eve dinner with friends.

Here are two recipes straight out of her kitchen. Try them. Nigella wishes you mouth-watering success....

CUPCAKES

Ingredients:

Plain flour: 150 g

Green icing: 1 pack

Boiling water: 125 ml

Unsalted butter: 100 g

Baking powder: 1 tsp

Brown sugar: 60 g

Dark chocolate: 75 g

Egg: 2

Bicarbonate soda: Half tsp

Sour cream: 3 tbsp

Instant coffee: 1 tsp

Cranberries: 30

Ground mixed spice: 1 tsp

Muffin tins: 12

Instant royal icing: 250 g

Salt: Half tsp

Method:

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, bicarb, mixed spice and salt.

In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition, and then beat in a third of the flour mixture followed by a tablespoon of the sour cream, repeating till each is used up.

Put the water, chocolate and instant coffee in a pan and heat gently, just till the chocolate has melted.

Fold this into the cake batter, but don’t over beat. The mixture will be very thin, but don’t worry about that: just pour carefully into the waiting muffin cases and put in the oven for about 20 minutes, till each little cake is cooked through but still dense and damp.

Let cool in the tin for five minutes, then slip out the cakes in their papers and sit on a wire rack till completely cooked.

To ice them, make up the royal icing and cover the tops of the cupcakes thickly.

Cut out holly leaves and sit two on each cake, and then press on your berries, perhaps putting two on some, three on others.

GINGER GLAZED HAM

Ingredients:

Joint ham: 5.4 kg

Dry ginger ale: 7 lt

Ginger preserve: 350 g

English mustard: 2 tbsp

Brown sugar: 100 g

Ground clove: Half tsp

Method:

Place the joint in a large pan over the hob and pour in the dry ginger ale. Top up with some water if the ham is not just about covered with liquid. Bring the pan to the boil then lower the heat slightly so that it keeps bubbling gently for four-and-a-half hours.

Towards the end of the time, pre-heat the oven to 220 C/425 F and begin glaze.

In a bowl, add the chunky ginger preserve. Stir in 2 tablespoons of hot English mustard. Add the soft, dark brown sugar and sprinkle in the ground cloves and stir to mix.

After the ham has had its four-and-a-half hours, gently lift the ham out of the pan and place on a foil-lined baking tray. Carefully cut away the skin, leaving a thin layer of fat. There is no need to score the surface, simply slap on the glaze and place the tray with the ham into the hot oven for 20 minutes. Serve hot or cold.