Baking

No going out today; the weather’s miserable and G’s tired after last night’s concert - one I’m afraid I missed. 

I press on with my photobooks, but also manage some baking - something I’ve not felt up to for some time. I know it’s only November, but I’m afraid I’m already on the mince pie conveyor belt! 

I don’t tend to make a traditional Christmas cake, but my mince pies have developed something of a reputation, and I always make dozens of them - for us, and for friends and family. It starts with making mincemeat - rich, fruity - including bananas and apples, oozing with butter rather than suet and liberally laced with brandy. This i made last week, so it’s been maturing nicely. 

Then there’s the pastry - made with copious butter, egg yolk, orange zest and juice and ground almonds. The recipe comes from a Christmas Cookbook I’ve been using since the early days of marriage, the relevant pages bearing the marks of messy baking over the years. 

And so my blip today shows the fruit of my labours, with a little help from G who sifts the icing sugar from above, several attempts resulting in sugar snow drifts! And then, of course, we have to eat them - well some of them at least!