The famous winter bakes

Rich plum cake redolent with rum, sinful, melting chocolate, sticky, sweet marzipan ... If you're drooling already, you'll love these Yuletide recipes. Yumm... Chocolate truffle Ingredients 1 cup heavy cream 400 gm dark chocolate About 200 gm additional dark chocolate 1 and 1/2 cups cocoa powder 3 tbsp butter (optional) How to make it: - Break chocolate into small pieces and put in a large bowl. - Bring cream slowly to a light boil. - Pour boiling cream over chocolate and keep stirring until all the chocolate has melted and the batter is homogenous. - If you want to add butter, do so now, before the batter cools and thickens. - When the batter is warm, it is very creamy. Thicken it by whisking. Rum cake Ingredients: 1 cup chopped walnuts 500 gm yellow cake mix 100 gm banana pudding mix 1/2 cup dark rum 4 eggs 1/2 cup milk 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1/3 cup butter 1/3 cup light rum 3/4 cup sugar 2 tbsp water How to make it: - Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a pan with unsalted butter. Sprinkle nuts into pan and set aside. - In large bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, rum, eggs, milk, and oil and beat until combined. Then beat at medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping sides of bowl. occasionally. Pour batter over nuts in prepared bundt pan. Bake at 325 degrees F for 55-65 minutes, until cake starts to pull away from the sides of the pan. - While the cake is in the oven, in the last 15 minutes, make the syrup. Combine butter, 1/3 cup light rum, sugar, and water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer slowly for 2 minutes. Be careful, because the rum can cause the mixture to ignite. Do not spill any of the glaze on the stovetop. - Remove cake from oven and use a long wooden skewer to poke holes in the cake. Slowly and evenly spoon 3/4 of the hot syrup over the cake. When the syrup has been added, let the cake stand on the wire rack for 30 minutes, then loosen edges with a long thin spatula and turn cake out onto serving plate. If necessary, reheat remaining glaze carefully over very low heat and brush over top and sides of cake. Cool completely, then serve. Serves 12 -14 persons. Enjoy a yum Christmas! Truffle creamy rum custard Ingredients: 4 egg yolks 1/2 cup brown Sugar 1 tsp cornflour 1 cup thickened cream 1 cup milk 2 tsp rum How to make it: - Beat egg yolks and sugar in a saucepan over boiling water. - Stir for 10 minutes, until thick. - Add blended cornflour, cream and milk. Continue stirring until custard thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon. - Cool slightly, add rum. Chocolate fudge Ingredients: 400 gm sweetened Condensed milk 1/4 cup sugar 150 gm mixture of cashew nuts/raisins/almonds 1/2 cup cocoa 50 gm unsalted butter How to make it: - Pour the condensed milk into a thick bottomed pan. - Add butter, sugar, cocoa and nuts. Swirl gently on medium heat till the mixture leaves the sides of the pan. - Pour evenly into a buttered dish and allow cooling and setting. - Cut into desired shape with a cutter and toss in icing sugar. - Using two spoons (or a baking sac), form even and round balls. Place them on parchment or wax paper. - Melt the rest of the chocolate in a bain-marie (double-boiler). - Dip each ball in the melted chocolate and roll in cocoa powder. Ginger wine Ingredients: Water - 4 litres Sugar - 1 kg Ginger - 100 gm, smashed Red chillies - 28 Cloves - 12 Plums - 1 handful per litre water Limes - 8 Cardamoms - 2-3 Vanilla essence Method: Smash ginger and add to water. Drop in cardamom, cloves and red chillies and plums with ginger into water. Boil for 45 minutes. Then keep on a slow flame for 10 minutes. Add 3 tbsp of vanilla essence. Let it cool. When cooled, burn sugar to caramel form and add to the cooled water. Add lime juice. Strain the liquid through a fine cloth. Do not refrigerate. Culculs Ingredients: Maida - 1 cup 1 egg Butter - 1/2 cup Baking powder - pinch Castor sugar - quarter cup Cardamom powder - half tsp, for taste Method: - Mix all the ingredients and knead with melted butter into an atta-like consistency. Make small balls and roll close over a fork for design. Deep fry and leave to cool. - Vanilla essence - Smash ginger and add to water. Drop in cardamom, cloves and red chillies and plums with ginger into water. Boil for 45 minutes. then keep on a slow flame for 10 minutes. Add 3 tbsp of vanilla essence. Let it cool. When cooled, burn sugar to caramel form and add to the cooled water. Add lime juice. Strain the liquid through a fine cloth. Do not refrigerate.