Christmas Treats with @Cake_Away_Cancer

Chloe's Gingerbread Cookie Recipe 

Who doesn’t love a bit of gingerbread at Christmas? Well we love it, and the talented Chloe Dixon from Cake_away_cancer has shared her delicious gingerbread cookie recipe with us. Whether you’re making them to leave for Santa on Christmas Eve, a festive snack to keep your cup of tea company, or want to get the kids involved in the kitchen, these bitesize pieces of Christmas goodness are just a few steps away.

What you need

For the biscuits

• 350g plain flour

• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 2 tsp ginger

• 125g butter

• 175g light brown sugar

• 1 egg

• 4 tbsp golden syrup

For the Royal Icing

• 300g icing sugar

• 50ml water

• 1 tbsp Meri-white powder

Biscuit method

• Mix together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, ginger, butter and sugar. It should end up looking like breadcrumbs.

• In a separate bowl, mix the egg and golden syrup together before adding to the breadcrumb mixture from the last step and mixing to create a dough.

• Dust a hard surface down with flour and knead the dough for a few minutes before wrapping it in cling film and refrigerating for 3 hours to get it nice and cool.

• Once chilled, roll your dough out on a floured surface and cut out your 0.5cm thick biscuit shapes.

• Place onto a baking tray and cook at 180°C/ 160° Fan/ Gas 4 for 12 minutes.

• We know it’s hard but leave them to cool!

Royal icing method

• Mix icing sugar, water and Meri-white powder together.

• Place into a piping bag.

• Have fun decorating your desired patterns.

• Leave the icing to harden.

• Enjoy!

Chloe's Christmas Tree Cupcake Recipe

Vanilla sponge with fluffy buttercream and sprinkles? Yes please! If your mouth is already watering at the thought of these sugary treats, then you’ll be pleased to know they’ll be yours in just a few simple steps. from Cakeawaycancer’s recipe is simple perfection, and use a few ingredients that are probably already in your kitchen cupboard. The decorating at the end is completely customisable so you can have fun with it and get the kids involved . Go on, get baking! Just save us one…

What you need (makes 6)

For the sponge

• Two eggs

• Self-raising flour

• Caster sugar

• Butter (Stork is a fab option but isn’t a must!)

• Vanilla essence

For the buttercream

• 150g unsalted butter

• 300g icing sugar

• Vanilla essence

• Dash of milk

• Green food colouring

For decorating

• Piping bag (for the buttercream)

• Chocolate and sprinkles

Sponge method

• Weigh both eggs together (keep the shells on for this bit)

• Once you have the weight of your eggs, weigh out the same amount of self-raising flour, caster sugar and butter.

• Now pop it all in a bowl and give it all a good mix either by hand or with an electric mixer.

• Add a few drops of vanilla essence to add to the flavour!

• Place into muffin cases and cook for 15-20 minutes at 190C/fan 170C/gas 5.

• Keep an eye on them, as the time may vary depending on your oven.

• Leave them to cool on a rack.

Buttercream method

• Pop the butter, icing sugar and vanilla essence (do this to taste) in a bowl.

• Add a couple of drops of green food colouring. You can add more during mixing to get the shade you want.

• Mix it all together and use a dash of milk to loosen up the buttercream if needed.

• Pipe the buttercream onto the cool cupcakes (you could even try swirling it up to look like a Christmas tree)

• Get creative with chocolate and sprinkles.

Chloe’s Chocolate Bundt Cake Recipe

Chloe Dixon from Cakeawaycancer has gifted us with the ultimate chocolatey treat in the form of a Bundt cake recipe. This classic wreath-shaped cake uses lots of kitchen staples, making it the perfect treat to quickly whip up in the lead up to Christmas. Topped with luxuriously rich chocolate ganache, you might even find yourself sneaking away a second slice. Don’t worry, it’ll be our little secret!

What you will need

Main cake:

• 1 cup brewed coffee

• 225g unsalted butter

• 60g unsweetened cocoa

• 400g caster sugar

• 3/4 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

• 240g plain flour

• 2tsp vanilla essence

• 2 large eggs

• 110g sour cream

Chocolate ganache

• 150ml double cream

• 100g dark chocolate

• 1 tbsp caster sugar

Main cake method

• Preheat your oven to 190° degrees/175° fan oven/gas mark 5.

• Place butter, coffee and cocoa into a saucepan and melt together. Remove from heat, give it a good whisk and then leave it to cool.

• Mix your dry ingredients together before slowly adding cooled, cocoa mixture.

• Add in the eggs, sour cream and vanilla essence before whisking together.

• Put mixture into a greased Bundt tin and cook for 40-45 mins. Test with a skewer to ensure it is cooked through.

• Leave to cool in tin for 15 minutes, before transferring to a cool rack.

About @Cake_Away_Cancer

Meet Chloe Dixon, a blogger, mum of one and cake baking extraordinaire who started writing as a form of therapy after being diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia in 2018. Having gained her love for baking from her Grandma as a child, she has recently turned her passion for all things sweet into an Instagram account. Her aim is to inspire and inform others, and Chloe has been raising awareness for Macmillan Cancer Support by working with them along the way.