The festive spirit is building in our house and everyone is looking forward to a well deserved break.  I'm just back from visiting my childrens' School Christmas fair.  It is lovely to see so many handmade gifts on sale.   The festive season provides so many opportunities to spend time together as a family.  One tradition my kids adore at this time of year is creating a winter wonderland table centrepiece.  Together they cover a cereal box, with tinfoil and collect little twigs for trees, cones for bushes and some holly.  A dusting of spray snow transforms everything into a magical lakeside scene.  What better way to get your house looking and feeling festive than creating a gorgeous chalet style Ginger Bread House scene.  The simple A-frame structure is foolproof so you will be able to construct it with minimal fuss and spend more time on those extra details that make it look so pretty.

GINGERBREAD HOUSE WITH ROYAL ICING

I always make...

By now the house will be strewn with tinsel and glittering baubles.  It is the perfect time to indulge in a bit of festive baking alongside a playlist of holiday tunes. These red velvet cupcakes are show stoppers! The cocoa powder in the sponge gives them a mild chocolate flavour and rich colour. For the fabulous red icing I use cream cheese which lends a contrasting tangy taste to these sweet cupcakes.

Red velvet bakes have an intriguing trompe l’oeil effect signalling to the brain ‘red fruit’, whilst the flavour of the cake is actually chocolate, due to the addition of cocoa powder.  Commercial bakers achieve a vibrant deep red sponge purely by adding artificial red food colouring as it maintains a stable colour after baking which doesn’t fade.  However the manufacturer’s labelling indicates it should be used sparingly (so it’s wise to ask mum to supervise the amount used).  In this recipe, I have kept the red colouring to a...