Christmas baking.

I absolutely love to cook and bake and my favourite type of baking is Christmas baking. There is so much fun that you can have when you are baking for Christmas and it really gives you an excuse to step it up a gear which I love.

It is also a great activity to do with your children as they love cooking and then getting to eat what they have made! Now some people say that they can not cook but I do not believe them. Anyone can cook! Now I understand that some people may be better at it than others but that is mainly down to a persons personality and how much they practice. To cook well you simply need to be able to follow instructions and have patience and persistence. If you try to make a cake and it sinks in the middle and then you never again try to cook anything, then the fact is not that you can not cook, it is that you choose not to cook. Some people say they can make the food taste nice but lack presentation skills. I do not think that it is important how your food looks if it is made with love for you and your family to enjoy then that is the most important thing.

All three of my kids love to bake and I believe that is because it is something that I have done with them since they were old enough to hold a spoon. It's a great bonding activity as you get a lot of time to chat while you mix and whisk together and at the end, you have something to feel proud of. I would also like to point out that I am no master chef myself, I just enjoy what I do and my family always like what I make and that is good enough for me.

There are so many great decorations available in shops and even in supermarkets which make cooking so much easier than before. All you need to do if you are a novice is make a basic sponge recipe to make some buns and then buy some Christmas themed edible decorations and let the kids go wild. Here are some photos of past Christmas bakes that I have done with my children to hopefully inspire you to have a go this Christmas.

These were made with store brought decorations. When I was in Asda the other day I noticed that they were selling Santa sugar paper decorations for just 50p which I think is very good value.

This is my mince pie recipe that I make every year with the kids as they are a big hit with my family and friends. I make the pastry from scratch but use a store brought jar of mincemeat.

This was a failed attempt at a Christmas tree! I found a silicone tree shaped tin in a pound store so we made a vanilla sponge and then made green buttercream icing and little-coloured chocolates to decorate. It might not look very professional but my little one loved making this last year and it tasted great so I was still very pleased with the results.

These are snow-capped fairy cakes which are orange sponge cakes and iced with meringue. Very yummy!

These are snowmen buns and they are decorated with marshmallows, strawberry laces and writing icing.



Gingerbread cookies cut into Christmas shapes and then decorated with writing icing pens.

I hope that I have given you some Christmas baking inspiration!