Michelle Darmody: The sweetest edible gifts to make for loved ones this year
Make this incredible edible wreath for someone you love
Having a few edible gifts to give to friends and family is always nice at this time of year. It is also perfectly acceptable to make these treats and eat them yourself. It is Christmas after all.
The hot chocolate candy canes just need a mug of warm milk and a stir to make a warm comforting drink. If you do not have access to candy canes, you can use lollipop sticks in their place. The chocolate can also be flavoured with a sprinkling of powdered ginger, or some cinnamon. A drop of peppermint oil would also work well.
To set the chocolate, you can use the tubs from popular children’s fromage frais instead of the silicone ice cube trays, which may be hard to come by. You can then cut the small yogurt tubs with a scissors to remove them from the hardened chocolate.
When making gingerbread dough, it is important to work it very quickly as it becomes tacky and seizes up soon after it is made. Keep a close eye on the cookies as they bake: the aim is for them to have a rich biscuity colour but not brown at the edges. The background ring will need a little longer in the oven than the stars — but only by a few minutes. Gingerbread keeps very well but it is best to assemble the wreath the day you are displaying it as the icing may come undone over a few days.
Chocolate candy canes are easy to make and a delicious gift Servings Preparation Time Cooking Time Total Time Course Ingredients 300g chocolate broken into small even-sized pieces cut out six cardboard discs that fit on top of each of the moulds, cut a hole in the centre of each 6 candy canes 6 small sheets of food-grade cellophane 6 short pieces of twine 6 small gift tags Method You will need silicone ice cube moulds approximately 50g in volume. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl balanced over a saucepan of simmering water. Take care not to let any steam from the water into the chocolate or it may not melt properly. Once it has melted, pour into the silicone moulds. Place a cardboard disc on top of each one and push the candy cane through the hole in the centre. The cardboard should allow the candy cane to stand up while the chocolate is hardening. Allow the chocolate to harden in a cool place. Once it has set, gently remove each one from the mould and throw away the cardboard. It should look like a lollipop with a candy cane stick. If you are giving them as gifts, wrap each one with food-grade cellophane and tie your gift tag onto it, instructing the recipient to stir into a mug of hot milk and allow the chocolate to melt.Hot chocolate candy canes
This wreath looks like it takes ages to make - but it really doesn't. Servings Preparation Time Cooking Time Total Time Course Ingredients 2 egg yolks 450g plain flour 10g bread soda, sieved 15g ground ginger 15g cake spice 50g treacle 150g golden syrup 80g butter, cubed 80g light brown sugar a white icing pen to decorate Method Preheat your oven to 190°C and line three large flat baking trays with parchment. Mix the egg yolks, flour, bread soda, ginger, and spices together and set aside. Melt the treacle, golden syrup, butter, and brown sugar over a low heat. Pour the egg mixture over the treacle mixture and beat until it forms a smooth ball. Roll the dough on a large clean surface to about 4 ml in thickness. Use a plate of cake tin to cut an 8-inch circle. Slide this onto one of your prepared trays and cut a 7-inch circle from the center and remove it. Cut a variety of stars from the rest of the dough. You will need at least 18 stars. Bake the circle for about 12 minutes and the stars for a little less. Once cool enough to handle and firmed up transfer them all onto a wire rack to cool completely. Decorate the biscuits with the white piping pen, using a little edible glitter, if you like. Leave the icing to dry for about two hours then use a little more icing to stick the biscuits to the wreath.Gingerbread wreath
