Alcohol White Christmas Cake#AlphabetChallenge

This is rich Alcohol White Christmas Cake, delicious and soft. You will love this cake.

Makes two rectangle cake tins of 10.1/2 x 8 inches.
Ingredients 

500 Grams All Purpose Flour
500 Grams Salted Butter
500 Grams Caster Sugar1/2 Teaspoons Salt  
12 Eggs
2 Tablespoons Baking powder
1 Teaspoon Mixed Fruit Essence
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Essence
825 Grams Mixed Fruits

100 grams Each Cashew & Almonds  - chopped
4 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
3 Tablespoon Alcohol
1 Teaspoon Cake Spice - Homemade

Method
These fruits are soaked in alcohol for year, whatever alcohol - can use what alcohol you wish. I soak 800 grams of mix fruits ( cranberries, cherries, mixed peels, black raisins, sultanas and prunes) in alcohol mix of rum, whisky, beer , vodka , bourbon. Pour this in a jar and cover it with alcohol.  If you can,t soak for a year then it should kept in alcohol for at least a month.

Before using this mix I drain all the alcohol and then add 100 grams each of cashew and almonds chopped. Mix it well.
Grease and line 2 baking tins with parchment paper on all sides.
Mix the drained fruits with 4 tablespoons of flour and mix well keep aside.
Sieve the flour, salt, cake spice and baking powder well . Keep aside.

In a bowl break the eggs and keep aside. Add the essence in it and lightly beat them.

Cream the butter till light and fluffy then add the caster sugar in batches and continue beating till the batter turns creamy, add an egg at a time and continue beating till all the eggs are incorporated. Add the sieved flour again in batches and on low speed continue beating. When all the flour is incorporated, add the 3 tablespoons of alcohol, fruits and fold in with a spatula gently till the fruits are well mixed into the batter. 

Pour this into the prepared tins and bake in a pre heated oven at 180 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes or till a skewer comes our clean.

When the cake is out of the oven immediately take a tea strainer ( it spreads evenly over the cake) and pour the drained alcohol 2 -3 tablespoons  over cakes (this is optional). I do it since it keeps the cake moist.  

Let them cool completely and then um mold. Enjoy!!

Labels : Cakes, Fruit Cake, Christmas, Alcohol, Homemade

Let's take a look at the recipes being shared today with Alphabet Challenge 2026 - Alphabet "W" 

• Sneha’s Recipe: Alcohol White Christmas Cake 
• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Cream White Bean Pesto Dip 
• Blogghetti: Grilled Buffalo Wings 
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Italian Sausage & Whiskey Butternut Squash Stew
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Levain-Style Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Pahadi Mooli Ki Kadhi  
• A Messy Kitchen: Vintage Avocado-Orange Fruit Dip 
• Sizzling Tastebuds: Watermelon Quinoa Salad with Lime & Chilli Vinaigrette 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: White Bean Salad
• Food Lust People Love: Windfall Apple Tart 
• Culinary Cam: Wurst-Mania: All About German Sausages

Soft & Chewy Snickerdoodle Cookies#SundayFunday

These soft & chewy snickerdoodle cookies are topped with cinnamon-sugar and take less time to make. Do try these are so delicious you can't stop having them. While baking these brown quickly so keep on eye on them and the temperature of the oven.

Make 16 cookies
Ingredients
165 Grams Unsalted Butter
150 Grams Caster Sugar
60 Grams Brown Sugar
2 Eggs Whole Egg
2 Teaspoons Vanilla extract
232 Grams All Purpose Flour
2 Teaspoons Cream of tartar
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
¼ Teaspoon Salt
For The Topping
60 Grams Caster Sugar
2 Teaspoons Cinnamon powder
Method

Sieve the flour cream of tarter, baking soda and salt keep aside.
In a large bowl beat the butter and both white and brown sugar well till light and fluffy. Now add in the egg vanilla and whisk again till incorporated well and it turn thick and soft. then add in the sieved flour and beat again till well incorporated. Refrigerated the dough for at least 30 minutes.

After that take a small cookie or about 25 grams each ball and roll into round ball . Place on a parchment lined baking tray with sufficient space between each since they spread.
For the coating, mix in cinnamon & sugar well.

Roll each cookie ball in this cinnamon sugar and place it in lined baking tray. Bake in a preheat oven at 175°C for 9 - 10 minutes with both rods on. 

Labels: Biscuits & Cookies, Sunday Funday, Cinnamon, Christmas
For Sunday Funday we are sharing recipes with "Cinnamon".

• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Apple Cinnamon Bread 
• Culinary Cam: Cinnamon Beef Tagine 
• Food Lust People Love: Cinnamon Shortbread Squares 
• Our Good Life: Easy Cinnamon Roll Bread with Fireball Glaze 
• Amy's Cooking Adventures: Mario Under Water World Cake (Apple Cinnamon Cake) 
• Karen's Kitchen Stories: Mexican Cinnamon Cookies 
• Sneha's Recipe: Soft & Chewy Snickerdoodle Cookies 
• Mayuri's Jikoni: Tilslørte Bondepiker 

Mix Flour Shankarpali/Shankarpara#AlphabetChallenge

Shankarpali is crispy, crunch and yet very soft like fried biscuit. This snack typically made in India during Diwali or Christmas, actually a festival is incomplete without this snack. It is made in two forms savory and sweet. Today, I am sharing the sweet version.
Makes 400 Grams
Ingredients  
1 Cup Level All Purpose Flour
½ Cup Level Wheat flour
½ Cup Level Fine Semolina
2 Tablespoons Heaped Ghee - melted and cooled
Salt a pinch
Oil as required to deep fry
For The Sugar Syrup - to knead the dough
½ Cup Sugar
½ Cup Water

Method 
In a small sauce pan mix sugar and water, bring this a boil only till sugar melts. Immediately take off flame add salt and ghee.  This syrup does not require any thread consistency . Allow to cool. When cooled then add the semolina mix it and let it sit covered for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes take the whole wheat and all purpose flours into a big kneading bowl.   Add the sugar semolina mix little by little , mix well with the help of your palms. knead the dough. The dough should be of medium consistency. Not very hard nor very soft. 

Make equal sized balls and roll into 1/4 cm thick circle. Cut them into square or diamond shape. 

Heat oil, when the oil if medium hot then put the cut squares in to it. Do not fry on high flame, because they will remain uncooked from the inside. 

Fry the pieces till light brown and crisp. Once all are fried, place them aside to cool. They become nice crispy on cooling. Once cooled store them in an airtight container.

Enjoy these sweet, crispy yet melt in mouth Shankarpali.
Labels:  Festival Sweets, Shankarpali, Christmas, Mix Flour, Snacks, Alphabet Challenge

Let's take a look at the recipes being shared today with Alphabet Challenge 2026 - Alphabet "M" 

• Grilled BBQ Meatball Skewers from Jolene’s Recipe Journal
• Mambazha Pulissery from Mayuri’s Jikoni
• Mastica Ice Cream from A Messy Kitchen
• Melon and Prosciutto Salad from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Methi Chole from Sizzling Tastebuds
• Mexican Green Chile Pimento Cheese Dip from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Mini Turkey Meatloaves from Blogghetti
• Miso Chocolate Cookies from Food Lust People Love
• Mix Flour Shankarpali/Shankarpara from Sneha’s Recipe
• Sweetened Condensed Milk Cookies from Karen’s Kitchen Stories 

Boiled Fruit Cake#SundayFunday

This is a very simple and delicious cake. Made this for Christmas , If you have forgotten to soak the fruits then do not worry make this cake which is easy and absolutely fruity and moist. My family and friends loved this cake. Do try it!

Ingredients  

1 Can (14 oz) Condensed milk
150 Grams Butter
200 Grams Raisins
200 Grams Sultanas
150 Grams Currants
150 Grams Glace cherries - chopped
250 Grams All Purpose Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking powder
2 Teaspoons Cake Spice powder - Homemade
1 Teaspoon  Cinnamon powder
3 Eggs
1/2 Cup Orange Juice for moisting the cake 

Method

In a pan add the condensed milk, butter, glace cherries, currants, sultanas, raisins. Let butter melt and mix well. Bring it to a boil. On low flame let boil for 8 to 10 minutes, keep stirring it continuously. Set aside to cool at least for 3 to 4 hours.
Then only add the other ingredients.

In a bowl sieve the flour, baking powder, cake spice and ground cinnamon.

When the fruit mix has cooled, add the flour mix and mix it with a spatula.  Then add in the eggs and mix it again. Pour batter in a greased and lined baking tray. Bake at 150 degrees C for about 1.1/4 hour to  1 ½ hours or till done. 

When you remove it from the oven immediately, poke holes with skewer and pour orange juice over the cake to make it moist or else it will dry out. Let cool and then remove from tin wrap a ribbon around it and serve.  Wrap it with cling film, to stay fresh.

This is a delicious and beautiful fruit cake, remains soft and moist for a week and even more if it remains ... for that many days..
Labels : Christmas, Fruit Cake, Cakes, Festival Sweets, Sunday Funday

For Sunday Funday we are sharing Cake Recipes

• Birch Tree Cake (Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting) by Amy’s Cooking Adventures
• Boiled Fruit Cake by Sneha's Recipe
• Cherry Almond Cake, Eggless by Mayuri's Jikoni
• Chocolate Guinness Cake with Irish Buttercream by A Messy Kitchen
• Easy Birthday Cake by Making Miracles
• Medovik by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Tangerine-Ricotta Cake by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Twinkie Layer Cake for a Friend's 50th by Culinary Cam

Eggless Piped Chocolate Cookie#SundayFunday

These piped chocolate cookies looks irresistible. So crisp and crunchy. They are completely egg free cookies and for a chocolate addict, this is the much perfect as well as super simple recipe to make and enjoy !
Piped cookies are shaped by piping. Basically the cookie dough first put into a piping bag fitted with any desirable nozzle or even without any nozzle. Then the cookies are shaped as per the individual choice over a baking tray. 

Ingredients
24 Grams Unsweetened Dark Cocoa powder
¼ Teaspoon Baking powder
¼ Teaspoon Vanilla or Chocolate Essence
180 Grams All Purpose Flour
2 Tablespoons Corn Flour
160 Grams Salted Butter
100 Grams Caster Sugar
5 Tablespoons Cold Water
Method  

Cream the butter and sugar till light and fluffy, then add the water and continue to beat well. Add the cocoa powder and beat well then add the essence, flour & baking powder and on low speed beat for a minute only and then take it on a silicone mat with a spatula, cream it so that all ingredients will mix well place it a piping bag and pipe with rosette nozzle into circle place on a lined sheet. 

Place the tray in the refrigerator for at 20 minutes.
In the meantime preheat the oven at 160°C.
Bake them in preheat oven 160°C with both the elements on for 16 - 18 minutes.
Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool down completely.
Store in an air-tight container! 

These cookies are absolutely delicious and crispy.

Labels: Biscuits & Cookies, Christmas, Eggless, Chocolate, Sunday Funday

• For Sunday Funday we are sharing Cookie recipes!
• A Panoply of Pistachio Cookies by Culinary Cam
• Bakery-Style Holiday Sprinkle Cookiesby Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Citrusy Ginger Shortbread Cookiesby A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Egg Free Peanut Butter M&M Cookiesby Mayuri's Jikoni
• Eggless Piped Chocolate Cookieby Sneha's Recipe
• Fruitcake Cookiesby Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Gingerbread Cookie Barsby Food Lust People Love
• Vegan Ginger Cookiesby Sid's Sea Palm Cooking

Guava Cheese#SundayFunday

Guava Cheese is a sweet prepared by Christians for Christmas. It's very easy and has a long shelf life. This is cheesy, soft, melt in the mouth sweet. Do give it a try. This sweet has no flour or eggs, completely vegetarian, vegan, gluten free. My mom's favorite sweet. 

Ingredients
4 Cups Guava Pulp (1½ Kg Ripe Big Guavas)

4 Cups Tea Sugar
Juice of 3 Big Lemons
2 Tablespoons Ghee
Few drops of Pink/ Red color or color of your choice
Method

Wash the guavas and cut them in halves, place it in a container and steam them in a pressure cooker (like you steam rice) on high for one whistle then reduce the flame and keep it for 10 minutes ( taking care that no water enters the container). 

Cool the guavas completely then take a spoon and scoop out the seeds and keep aside, taking care that no seeds remain in the outer covering.
Take the seeds pulp in a fine strainer and remove the pulp as much as possible. 
Take the outer cover and chop it into small pieces and grind it to a fine paste without adding any water.

Measure the pulp and the ground paste in a cup or a bowl. Take the same bowl and measure the sugar. 
Place the sugar, guava pulp and lime juice in a heavy bottom base kadai and place on fire on medium low flame stirring continuously with a wooden spoon.

While stirring take care to stay far away as it splutters. Keep stirring continuously, this take around 45 minutes to an hour. When the mixture thickens and starts leaving the sides add the ghee and color, continue stirring till starts form a ball in the center. 

Take it our into a greased tray and spread it. Cool completely and cut into squares. Store in airtight containers.

This stays good for 3 months in a cool dry place.

Labels: Festival Sweets, Gluten free, Guava, Lime Juice, Sugar, Vegan, Vegetarian, Christmas, East Indian, Sunday Funday

For Sunday Funday we are celebrating Moms Day. 

Check the recipes made to celebrate this special day!   

• Edible Gelatin Balloons for Cake Decorating from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Guava Cheese from Sneha's Recipe
• Haldi Doodh Masala Spiced Cupcakes with Burnt Caramel Buttercream from Culinary Cam
• Honey Mustard Chicken Strips from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Pistachio Saffron Muffins from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Rustic Baked Potato Soup from Food Lust People Love
• Shortbread Lemon Squares from Our Good Life

Homemade Rice Wine#SundayFunday

This is my mother's recipe. A tried and tested recipe. My mother use to make this often and we all loved having this wine. By the way my mother use to prepare another different rice wine using raisins also will make and post this soon.. means maybe another Christmas.

Ingredients

275 Grams Raw Rice
3 Grams Fresh Yeast
1 Kg Sugar
2 Big Sour Limes juice
2 Liters Water
90 ML Gin
Other Requirements
5 - 6 litres Sterlized Glass or Ceramic jar (‘Buyaon’ in East Indian/ ‘Bharani‘ in Marathi)
a long Wooden spoon or stick to stir the contents
3 Sterilized Liquor Bottles around 750 ML Each
A Strainer
A large clean & dry steel pot to strain out the contents
A clean & dry funnel to pour the wine into the bottle

Method 
Wash the rice in water twice. The third time use boiled and cooled water to give it a final rinse. Keep aside.

Boil the water and keep it aside. When the water is luke warm, add rest of the ingredients. Fill this into a sterilized buyaon / jar along with dried yeast, sugar, sour lime juice, and stir the sugar until it is mixed well (doesn’t need to dissolve right away as granulated sugar will take sometime to dissolve). Cover the mouth of the jar with a clean cloth and lightly place the lid.

Keep the jar in a warm dry place of your kitchen. Stir the contents with the wooden spoon/clean wooden stick once a day, for two days. On the third day strain out the liquid and separate the rice. Grind the rice to a very coarse paste, pulsing it just two or three times.

Pour the liquid and the ground rice into the jar again and give it a good mix. 

Cover the mouth with the cloth and place the lid lightly. Keep this to ferment for 21 days undisturbed( do not stir it at all).

After 21 days, strain with a fine muslin/cheese cloth this into a another big sterilized jar which can hold all the wine. Ensure that the jar is placed where they needn’t be moved around (this is because the decanting process requires the containers to be absolutely still as the sediment settles to the bottom of the bottles). 

Next day again strain the wine with a muslin cloth carefully seeing that the sediment that's settled at bottom of the jar is still. Repeat this process another 2 times for the next two days.

On the third day add the gin and give it a good stir. Keep this again for a day or two. 

Now the final straining of the wine and it's ready to serve.
Cheers & Merry Christmas!

Check here also the other Homemade Wine Recipes

Ginger Wine
Orange Wine
Labels: Wine, Yeast, Christmas, Sugar, Rice, Sunday Funday, Homemade

Today we are in sharing recipes to spread Christmas cheer, like Cocktail or Mocktail recipes. Let's see what everyone is sharing here!

• Amy's Cooking Adventures: Gingerbread Mule 
• Mayuri's Jikoni: Homemade Pear Cider 
• Sneha's Recip: Homemade Rice Wine 
• Food Lust People Love: Spiced Hot Toddies 
• Karen's Kitchen Stories: The Sugar Plum Cocktail 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Winter White Cosmopolitan 
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