Celluloid Diaries: Christmas Blogfest

Monday, December 20, 2010

Christmas Blogfest

Unedited and Through the Looking Glass are hosting the Be Jolly by Golly Christmas Blogfest today. Participating writers will be posting recipes of their favorite Christmas treats and drinks as well as pictures of their favorite Christmas decorations. Click here to see the official description and to find out who's participating.

Candycane

 Favorite Christmas Treat - Christmas Cake with Chocolate Cream Frosting

It's an ancient pagan practice during the Winter Solstice to burn a log in the fireplace to bring luck in the coming year. This tradition has now been replaced by eating Christmas cake. The cake comes in many varieties, ranging from an ice cream cake to cake with chocolate cream and marzipan, but they alway have that typical trunk pattern and brown color that reminds us of the old tradition. The following Christmas cake recipe comes from my grandmother. She has been making this Christmas cake for almost 20 years now and it's my favorite cake ever.

Christmas cake

Ingredients for the cake

  • 4 eggs
  • 100 grams of sugar
  • 100 grams of flour
Ingredients for the chocolate cream frosting

  • 3 eggs
  • 150 grams of powdered sugar
  • 250 grams of butter
  • 100 grams of black chocolate
Preparation of the cake

  • Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until soft and foamy
  • Beat in the flour and whipped egg whites
  • Pour the dough into a rectangular shape
  • Bake in a preheated oven (180) for about 10 minutes
  • Remove the cake from its shape and cut into three layers
  • Wrap in a damp cloth so that the cake remains soft
Preparation of the chocolate cream frosting

  • Heat the sugar and egg yolk until foamy
  • Add butter lumps when cooled
  • Stir in the melted chocolate and egg whites
  • Add a little almond flavor
Decoration

  • Cover each layer of cake with a thick layer of chocolate cream frosting and make sure that all sides are covered
  • Use a fork to make grooves in the top layer of the chocolate cream frosting so that the cake looks like the trunk of a tree
  • Decorate with Christmas figures such as marzipan

Favorite Christmas Drink - Hot Almond, Coconut and Cocoa Drink

This hot cocoa drink differs from the original one in that it is made with almond milk and coconut oil... and it tastes so much better. An ideal drink to start the day with a smile or to add warmth and atmosphere to the cold evenings leading up to Christmas.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup almond milk
  • 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
Preparation

  • Heat the almond milk to warm temperature
  • Add the coconut oil and the unsweetened cocoa powder 

Favorite Christmas Decorations - Christmas in Colmar, France

Colmar France

31 comments:

  1. Hey you ... nice post for the blog fest :-) Don't forget the egg nog!

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  2. Happy holidays! That cake looks amazing.

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  3. Yum! That cake looks unbelievable! Thanks for stopping by. Have a Merry Christmas, dear.

    ~ Bess

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  4. I love me some cake! And I never think of it at holiday time - somehow that's always pie - but I think I should change that! :) Merry Christmas!

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  5. Christmas purrrs and blogfest headbonks from Avalon the cat!

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  6. Wow! That cake looks awesome. *wipes drool from chin*

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  7. awesome looking cake! And almond, coconut and cocoa! Three of my faves!!!

    Merry Christmas~ :o)

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  8. Mmmmm...Your cake and drink recipes sound sooooo yummy! And I would LOVE to spend Christmas in that picture! :-)

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  9. I love cake and this one sounds absolutely scrumptious.

    Merry Christmas!

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  10. Cake made me hungry.
    The Colmar scene is breathtaking.

    Merry Christmas!

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  11. Thanks for stopping by my blog, and Avalon too! Nope, he's not bothering me in the least. LOL We can overlook the ego thing, since he's a star. Have a great week!

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  12. What a cute town! And that chocolate cake looks yummy! Hope you have a Merry Christmas!

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  13. Fantastic looking cake. Christmas in France looks amazing. What a gorgeous town!

    I love the custom of burning a log, and then changing it to eating cake. Can you do both for extra luck?lol

    Happy Christmas, Vanessa.

    Michael

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  14. What a lovely idea! That cake looks fantastic - the decorations in France, too.

    Happy Christmas
    Helen

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  15. Oh, I LOVE that picture of France!

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  16. That Christmas cake looks awesome! My fave is the Christmas decorations. Lovely!

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  17. That drink sounds so delish!! And so does the cake!
    Merry Christmas,
    Lyn

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  18. That cake looks and sounds absolutely AMAZING! Love the picture too. It's awesome.

    Thank you so much for participating in our blog fest!

    Merry Christmas!

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  19. Hi! Thanks so much for your comment on my non-existent blogfest post ... :-) I did get to London in time for Christmas Eve though, so phew! That cake looks amazing! Merry Christmas!

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  20. Those buildings are so beautiful! I really enjoyed the Christmas blogfest and wanted to say Happy New Year! And thanks for RSVP-ing to the New Year's Revisions Blog Party. I'm excited to see what an experienced author such as yourself does during the revisions stage. See you tomorrow!

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  21. That cake looks delicious. Thanks for joining my blog hop. The photo reminds me of the Christmas we had a few years ago in Europe. It feels so much more Christmassy than in Australia.

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  24. I love your favourite Christmas decorations - Colmar is a beautiful little town :) I haven't been there at Christmas time but I've been to the Strasbourg Christmas markets which look very similar. Stopping by from the Favourite Thing Friday blog hop :) http://www.lapetitelulu.com/

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  25. Thank you for linking this up to our 12 Days of Christmas {Goodies} link-up! That cake looks DELISH!

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