So it's Christmas week all around the world.
What are your Christmas plans? I'm going to Carols by Candlelight at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl on Christmas eve with my friends. It's kind of ironic given that I hate carols, and D-grade celebrities, yet I was the one who rounded everyone up for the event. As a result, I'm missing my mother cook goose for the very first time for the family. Then Christmas day, I'm off to Grandmother's house for a feast and a half.... followed by many hours on the couch, telling myself I will never eat again.

I had my Christmas lunch for my friends on the weekend and needed a Christmas themed dessert. I had always admired these white Christmas trees on the front cover of the book, so I decided this year I would admire no longer, and bake away!

I sometimes forget to read some parts of the recipe from time to time. The result of this was, I forgot to chop my marshmallows, and because I couldn't find marshmallows with toasted coconut, I ended up adding 100grams of each... thus resulting in having to add twice as much white chocolate for it all to stick together.

The end result was damn delicious though! Mixing together the white Christmas mixture was like smelling sugar heaven! Whilst it is a rather rich dessert, it's definitely a hit with the crowds, and I would no hesitate to make it again.


White Christmas Mud Cakes

125g butter, chopped coarsely
125g white eating chocolate, chopped coarsely
2/3 cup (150g) caster sugar
2/3 cup (160ml) milk
1/2 cup (35g) self-raising flour
2 eggs
2 tablespoons Cointreau
60g white eating chocolate, melted, extra
1 tablespoon icing sugar

White Christmas
120g white eating chocolate, chopped coarsley
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup (30g) rice bubbles
100g marshmallows with toasted coconut, choppped finely
1/4 cup (35g) coarsely chopped unsalted pistachios
1/4 cup (35g) coarsely chopped dried cranberries
1/2 cup (60g) finely chopped glace peaches (I used glace pineapple)

1. Preheat oven to 160°C/140°C fan-forced. Grease eight 3/4 cup (180ml) pudding moulds.

2. Stir butter, chocolate, caster sugar and milk in medium saucepan over low heat until smooth. Transfer to medium bowl; cool 10 minutes. Whisk in sifted flours, then eggs. Spoon cake mixture into moulds; place on oven tray.

3. Bake cakes about 30 minutes; drizzle cakes with liqueur. Turn hot cakes, still in their moulds, upside down onto baking paper lined tray; stand overnight.

4. Cut four 20cm circles in half. Roll each half into a tight cone. Staple or tape cones to hold their shape.

5. Make white christmas: stir chocolate and oil in a small saucepan over low heat until smooth. Combine rice bubbles, marshmallow, nuts and fruit in a medium bowl; stir in melted chocolate mixture.'

6. Push spoonfuls of white christmas firmly into cones. Stand each cone upright in a tall narrow glass. Refrigerate cones about 1 hour or until set.

7. Remove cakes from moulds. Trim tops of cakes to make flat; turn upside down onto tray. Remove white christmas cone from paper; secure cones to each cake with a little of the extra chocolate. Refrigerate 10 minutes. Serve mud cakes dusted with sifted icing sugar.

Makes 8.