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out again. Use the star-shaped cutter to stamp out stars for the pie tops.


7 Lightly brush the edges of each pie with milk and top with a pastry star. Brush the top of each star with milk and dust with caster sugar.


8 Bake for about 25 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and the fruit filling is bubbling.


Remove the tin from the oven. Leave to cool, then dust with icing sugar, if you like.


APPLE & CRANBERRY PIES


Topped with a pastry star and filled with cinnamon-spiced apples and cranberries, these little pies are a delicious alternative to mince pies. Use pre-made sweet pastry to make them in no time at all or make your own if you are feeling more adventurous! Easily adapted to classic mince pies with mincemeat filling!


 2 cooking apples  2 red eating apples  375g ready-made sweet pastry  50g caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling  1


/2  Juice of 1


tsp ground cinnamon /2


lemon


 50g dried cranberries  1 tbsp milk  Icing sugar, to dust (optional)


1 Peel both varieties of apple, cut into quarters and remove the cores. Chop the apples into small pieces and tip into a medium saucepan. Add the sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice and cranberries. Ask an adult to help you put the pan over low-medium heat, stirring from time to time until the apples are tender.


2 Remove the pan from the heat. Taste and add a little more sugar if needed. Set aside until cold.


Fun Christmas Crafts to Make and Bake by Annie Rigg and Catherine Woram Published by Ryland Peters & Small photography by Lisa Linda and Polly Wreford


TUNISIAN ORANGE AND PISTACHIO CAKE


This rich full flavoured treat has a course texture and a deep nutty flavour. It is delicious as a plain cake or can be seeped with the juice of more oranges and a little sugar, then warmed up and served with something like a tahini and orange cream or lashings of clotted cream! Like all good cakes, bake at a “slow and low” temperature; strictly at 150o


C for as long as


necessary. Serves 10


Equipment : a 20cm spring form cake tin


 4 medium eggs  250g caster sugar


MINCE PIE FACT


Mince Pies traditionally have a star on top to represent the Christmas Star which some believe led the shepherds to the baby Jesus in Bethlehem.


3 Preheat the oven to 180˚C/Gas 4.


4 Sprinkle a little flour on a clean work surface. Roll out the dough to a thickness of about 2 mm. Use the fluted cookie cutter to stamp out rounds. Gently press the pastry rounds into the tin holes.


5 Divide the cooled fruit mixture between the pies, filling them almost to the top.


6 Gather up any scraps of dough, knead very lightly to bring together into a ball and roll


26 | THE WESTCOUNTRY FOODLOVER


 125g melted unsalted butter  125g virgin olive oil  2 oranges (finely zested)  250g ground pistachio  70g polenta  125g plain flour  1 1


/2


Optional to seep over cake:  Juice of 2 oranges  50g of caster sugar


1 Preheat to 150°C


2 Grease and line a 20cm spring form cake tin with baking parchment.


3 First beat together the eggs and caster sugar until beginning to expand. Then slowly add the melted butter and olive oil until smooth. Then add the orange zest.


4 Mix together the ground pistachio, polenta, plain flour and baking powder; slowly fold into the wet ingredients.


5 Transfer the mix to the prepared cake tin and bake for 50-60 minutes at 150°C. The cake should have doubled in size and be firm to touch.


6 Cool cake for 30 minutes after baking.


Orange drizzle (optional) Place the orange juice and 50gm sugar in a small pan. Heat on a gentle heat and reduce the liquid by one third until just thickening to a syrup.


Using a skewer make 100 or so fine holes into the cake. Slowly and evenly spoon on the orange syrup so the cake absorbs it all.


Mark Evans, Tierra Kitchen F


heaped tsp baking powder


j


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