Tag Archives: gourmet bakes

Con Affetto’s Traditional Christmas Bakes: Part One

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Christmas is upon us and we’re feeling particularly festive here at Con Affetto! We lurrve all things Christmassy right from Santa with his festive troop of reindeer, beautifully decorated Christmas trees to the promise of funky Christmas gifts 😉 , but if there’s one thing that really gets our Christmas spirit soaring, it’s the traditional Christmas bakes we get to relish this season!

Traditional Christmas bakes play a key role in the festivities

The traditional Christmas dinner is quite a feast!

Food has always been a big part of Christmas with the traditional Christmas dinner of roast turkey with stuffing and gravy; mashed potatoes; cranberry sauce; steamed veggies and the ubiquitous Christmas pudding becoming popular all over the globe, but did you know that some traditional Christmas bakes are equally relished as well? Here’s a quick low-down on what you should be baking- or digging into- this season!

Lets begin our journey into traditional Christmas bakes with a look at some X’massy cakes!

Traditional Christmas bakes include the classic Christmas fruitcake with marzipan or icing

Think Christmas, think cake!

Think Xmas, think cake! Christmas cakes are truly a feast for the senses! There are myriad versions of Christmas cakes but among the more popular are the the classic fruit cake with marzipan or icing and the Scottish Dundee cake, which is a relatively 😉 lighter version. Then there’s also the ‘mincemeat cake’ which comprises of any traditional mincemeat mixed in with flour and eggs, and the fun Yule Log, which is basically a Swiss Roll coated in chocolate. But more than the cake itself, we especially dig the fun traditions surrounding Christmas cakes! One is the ‘stir up’ tradition which involves mixing some of the ingredients for the cake  (a super fun activity for the entire family, some peeps even like adding coins to their cake for good luck!). The second tradition is ‘feeding the cake’ which is when alcohol is added in small quantities to the cake over a period of time to build the flavour and keep it moist (we like!) and a third tradition is to avoid cutting the cake before dawn on Christmas eve (considered unlucky!).

You might also like: 5 Handy Cake Decorating Hacks That Will BLOW Your Mind!

Christmas Pies come next on our fun list of traditional Christmas bakes…

Traditional Christmas bakes include that all time British favourite, mince pies

An all time Xmas favourite; mince pies

The traditional Christmas Mince Pie, small pies filled with minced fruit, dry fruit and spices, is a popular inclusion on Christmas menus across the world. Although mince pies first originated in an oval shape and then went on to include a variety of shapes from stars and hearts to flowers, today they are commonly made in a round shape and eaten hot or cold. We like ours piping hot with some ice cream on the side! A custom from the Middle Ages says that if you eat a mince pie every day from Christmas to Twelfth Night (6th Jan) you will have happiness everyday for the next twelve months! (A custom worth trying, we think!) And hey, did you know that mince pies are SO popular in the UK, they have their very own Mince Pie club?!

Our personal favourite traditional Christmas bake of the season…

Traditional Christmas bakes include Christmas cookies

It’s not Christmas without the cookies and gingerbread cookies are a personal fave!

Christmas cookies! Yup, when it comes to Christmas, can cookies be far behind? 😉 Christmas feasting traditionally involves a baking bonanza (yay!) and back in the day, unlike pies or cakes, cookies could easily be shared and gifted. Our traditional Christmas cookies date back to these medieval gifts. Cut out cookies, shortbread and gingerbread cookies are some of the most well loved cookies of the season but we’re rather partial to sugar cookies and biscotti. For most people it isn’t Christmas without cookies. There are cookie plates, cookie exchanges, heck, even Santa loves his cookies! Children traditionally leave out cookies for Santa– a practice started by parents to encourage generosity in their kids-and one that is still going strong. You ain’t getting to size zero anytime soon, Santa!

Break some Christmassy bread with this traditional Christmas bake…

Traditional Christmas bakes include a wide variety of Christmas breads, which are also a lighter alternative to the rich Christmas fruitcake

Bake and break some Xmassy bread this season ;)

If you’d rather give a toss to tradition and Marie Antoinette, and bake bread instead of cake, you’re in for a treat because Christmas baking comes replete with a fabulous selection of Xmassy breads. If you like fruitcakes, you’ll LOVE these Christmas breads, traditionally made to be moist, with dried and candied fruit and nuts. From the traditional German Stollen to Julekake – a Norwegian Christmas bread, to cinnamon tea rings and pumpkin bread, these sure are some bread-y and heady alternatives to traditional fruitcake, and also make for fabulous gifting options!

Are you drooling already with visions of buttery Christmas cookies and spongy slices of Christmas cake floating before your eyes? We’re just about getting started! Watch this space for Part Deux of our traditional Christmas baking series: some funky, fabulous and mouth wateringly delicious traditional Christmas baking recipes coming your way…very soon!

How To Bake The Perfect Brownie: 8 Must Know Hacks!

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Chewy… Fudgy… Dense… Moist…

Our top 8 hacks to bake the perfect brownie will ensure soul satisfying brownies every time

Chewy…fudgy…chocolicious! What’s your brownie type?

We sure take our brownies seriously here at Con Affetto! We even match our brownies to personality type 😉 Dense brownies for the serious sort; crumbly brownies for the soft-hearted, there’s always the perfect brownie for everyone! And whether it’s a chocolate hug in a mug at the end of a long day or much needed comfort food at the beginning of a difficult one; you can always count on a brownie to bail you out. So it always helps if you know how to bake your brownie just right. Here are some super simple hacks that’ll help you bake the perfect brownie every time!

Our top 8 hacks to bake the perfect brownie will ensure soul satisfying brownies

Brownies are the ultimate comfort food!

#1: Make up your mind

Is it a fudgy brownie you want or a cake-y one? Blondies more your style? Decide what you want before you get baking, and choose your recipe carefully because every different sort of brownie requires a different mix and proportion of ingredients.

Our top 8 hacks to bake the perfect brownie will ensure your brownies are baked to perfection

To bake the perfect brownie you need the perfect recipe!

#2: To bake the perfect brownie you need the perfect eggs…

And by perfect we mean eggs at room temperature. Cold eggs don’t mix well and just make for unhappy, too-dense brownies (perfect for the office grouch maybe 😉 ). So get your eggs out of the fridge at least a half hour before baking.

Our top 8 hacks to bake the perfect brownies will turn you into a baking pro

Egg-ther you have it or you don’t!

Related: 5 Handy Cake Decorating Hacks That Will Blow Your Mind!

#3: Be gentle with the flour!

When it comes to folding in the flour, if you’re gonna heave it all together what you’ll get are thick, chewy brownies. So be gentle and don’t over stir. An easy trick is to fold the flour in till a few streaks are showing and leave it at that.

Our top 8 hacks to bake the perfect brownie, be gentle with the flour

A little gentleness with your flour will go a long way to brownie baking perfection!

#4: How hot is your oven?

Clueless? Invest in an oven thermometer and you are well on your way to brownie baking perfection. Most ovens are off temperature-wise and when it comes to baking, even a few degrees can be the difference between the perfect brownie and a tasteless blob!

Our top 8 hacks to bake the perfect brownie, invest in an oven thermometer

An oven thermometer is a great investment for serious home bakers

#5: To bake the perfect brownie timing is EVERYTHING

Yes it is. Time it right and you’ll have soul satisfyingly delicious brownies popping out of your oven Every.Single.Time.

Our top 8 hacks to bake the perfect brownie, timing is everything

Watch that clock!

#6: Don’t wait till the end to check on your brownies

Check on your brownies at least 5 minutes before the time stated in your recipe. This is because when you’re baking from a recipe, there will be a lot of variables you’re working with: oven heating, type of pan etc. And like we said earlier, when it comes to baking, even an extra minute or two can make a difference.

Our top 8 hacks to bake the perfect brownie, check on your brownies 5 minutes before the recipe time

You’ll have happy brownies popping out of your oven in no time ;)

#7: Happy pans make happy brownies!

Light-coloured, shiny pans conduct heat more evenly as opposed to dark-coloured or glass pans which can cause the edges to over bake or burn. Choose your pans carefully, bake your brownies in the center of the oven and don’t put them in until the oven is preheated.

Our top 8 hacks to bake the perfect brownie, get the right bake ware

Your bake ware is an essential ingredient too!

#8: Work the lining

Use greased parchment paper or wax paper to line your pan and leave an overhang on the sides to create handles. When your brownies have cooled, use the handles to gently lift out your brownies.

Our top 8 hacks to bake the perfect brownie, don't forget to line it right

Add the final touches with the right lining, your perfectly baked brownies are almost done!

And lastly, when you’re done baking your gooey perfection, give them some time to cool, before you dig in! Trust us, the texture and flavour of your brownies is SO much better when cooled. Do YOU have any pro tips when it comes to baking the perfect brownie?  The most funky & helpful tips stand a chance to get featured on the blog- so TELL US already! :)

Edible Bouquets: What Makes Them Rock!

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A rose by any other name would smell as sweet…

Edible bouquets with the Con Affetto tag will make a regular flower bouquet pale in comparison

A rose by any other name…?Not if it’s from a Con Affetto bouquet!

Well, what if Shakespeare were wrong? Impossible, you say? What if we were to tell you about a bouquet created with rich, moist cake…soft as butter and dipped in the finest chocolate with a promise of melting on your lips? We can bet even Shakespeare would be drooling at that! And he sure would agree that a rose with the Con Affetto name is a million times yummier 😉

Edible bouquets bring together the perfect union of gourmet baked products and the alluring good looks of a flower bouquet

Melt in your mouth gourmet bakes inspired by the beauty of flowers; visions of heaven are guaranteed!

Don’t get us wrong, we love flowers just as much as any gal. And which gal wouldn’t love getting a bursting bouquet of gorgeous blooms? But what happens after that initial heady rush? Those very same blooms begin to wilt and fade away, and eventually end up as trash. And that just made us kinda sad. It also made us sit up and think…

What if you could get a bouquet with blooms just as gorgeous, but that wouldn’t need to be trashed? What if they could smell as great, look as gorgeous….and taste divine!

Eureka! And that’s how Con Affetto came to be. The finest creations, inspired by nature and designed to make mortals go weak at the knees! Anyone who’s bitten into one of our sinful delights will tell you it was love at first taste.

Our edible bouquets range from cake pop bouquets, cookie bouquets, cup cake bouquets to cakesickles, cake truffles nd the works

LOVE! At first bite 😉 Dip into our red velvet cake pops bathed in dark chocolate or our classic vanilla petit bites in swathes of milk chocolate

Has to be be, when you marry the sophistication and taste of gourmet baked treats in all their layered, frosted delight with the sheer beauty of flowers… and when the union looks something like this!

One of our edible bouquets is the gorgeous and yummy cupcake bouquet

What looks better? Our gorgeous cupcake bouquet or exotic packaging it’s encased in?

Talk about gifting something unique, meaningful and oh-so-delicious! We don’t like to brag but even the most gorgeous bouquet of flowers cannot compete with our soft, moist, rich edible delights that will explode on your taste buds in a burst of decadence.

Do you really need to think again next time you’re looking for, say…maybe an online flower delivery to your special someone? Here are a few more reasons why an edible bouquet beats a regular flower bouquet any day:

No gender discrimination;)

So you Googled the best online flower delivery option and had their finest (and most expensive!) bouquet delivered to your love. That lush bunch of flowers may have HER swooning, but can you say the same for HIM? Last we heard, flowers aren’t really that big a deal with the guys (some of our guy pals even confessed that they think being gifted flowers is kinda embarrassing- not macho enough, no?)! No such problem with our edible bouquets once they unwrap the packaging and start discovering the scrumptious delights that lie within!

One of our edible bouquets is the cookie bouquet with an assortment of cookies, pretzels, marshmallows

Think we’re only about chocolate? Our cookie bouquet brings you a dizzy assortment of vanilla butter cookies, sugar cookies, pretzels and marshmallows ….swooon!

Maintenance…say what?

Remember the last flower bouquet you were gifted? What did you do once you’d finished ooh-ing and aah-ing over it? Trimmed the stems, put it in fresh water and changed the water daily, most likely. Only to see those pretties wilt away and end up in the trash eventually. Edible bouquets? Receive. Ooh and aah! Unwrap. Eat. Bask in the blissful memories…and taste! And say ta ta to maintenance!

Edible bouquets are better than regular flower bouquets in that they require zero maintenance

Drop dead gorgeous and oh so low maintenance!

Dee-licious!

Just in case we didn’t say it enough;) Our edible bouquets taste like they’ve been concocted by the Gods of Chocolate themselves, right up there in the divine chocolaterie….lip smacking drool-icious! Now you’ll just have to taste one and see for yourself! And if you’re wondering about the variety you’ll get into a tizzy trying to pick just one from our giddy assortment of cookie bouquets, cup cake bouquets, handcrafted cake pops, cake truffles or cakesickles!

Our edible bouquets come in a wide assortment of products and flavours

Cookie bouquets; cup cake bouquets, cake truffles, cakesickles…we’ll have you spoilt for choice!

The perfect gift for just about anyone…

Forget about frantically searching for the best online flower delivery option and then trying to pair it with a cake or maybe chocolates thrown in for good measure. With an edible bouquet you have the perfect package tailored for you: gourmet baked products that look even better than flowers and presented in a way that will make the most gorgeous bouquet pale in comparison. If you’re looking for the perfect gift, look no further!

Edible bouquets look gorgeous and taste even better!

Fall in love with our gorgeous bunches of edible blooms :)

So in case you’re still thinking about a traditional flower bouquet as your go to delivery gift option, think again! Let the flowers bloom we say, and gift an edible bouquet instead!