Merry Christmas 2014!

Christmas, for me, is all about the traditions, the family, and, you guessed it, the food!  I think all of those things are intricately intertwined and, when brought all together with a ton of love, are the best things in the whole world!!

I especially think that traditions are important for children.  Traditions provide a sense of security and stability that children desperately need in this crazy world we live in.  I tried to have traditions all year round when our girls were growing up, and Christmas traditions were always a favorite!  

One of our most cherished traditions was our family advent calendar.  When I was about 12, my Mom and I made this advent calendar together and when I had children, she gave it to me to carry on the tradition.

Over the years, I had to make a few updates, but it was always there for my girls to enjoy.  Each ornament is a little pouch and every morning, "the elves" would put some kind of treat inside and then, when the girls took out the treat, they turned over the number and found a cute picture. 


It was always fun, as much for me as for them!  Last year, I handed the calendar over to my youngest brother, John, for his kids to enjoy.  And, this year, I re-created the calendar for both of my girls so they could start the tradition in their own families!

Another favorite tradition started back when the kids were little.  One year, I threw a "Christmas around the world" party that showcased traditional Christmas desserts from countries all around the world.  (At the time, I had not yet ever been out of the US...what a wonderful treat it was for me to later visit most of those countries and eat some of those foods!!)  The highlight of the evening was the Scandinavian Hazelnut Cake!  It was devoured!  It quickly became my husband's very favorite Christmas treat and one of our family traditions.


On Christmas Eve, after our dinner, we would cuddle up in front of the TV with our glasses of eggnog and watch "A Christmas Carol" while eating our Hazelnut Cake!  It's still one of my fondest memories (although, I found out later...much later...that the girls never liked the cake quite as much as I thought, but they played along because they knew how important it was to me).

One of the great things about this cake is how dense it is in it's gluten form...in fact, I never noticed ANY density change AT ALL when I converted it to GF--now, that's a dense cake!

So, enough about the memories, where's the recipe, right??  Here it is...

Hazelnut Cake Recipe

1 lb. hazelnuts
1/2 cup butter, melted
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 cups Bob's Red Mill GF All Purpose Baking Flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 10" springform pan.  In a food processor, process whole nuts until ground, reserving 10-15 whole nuts and 1 T. ground nuts for garnish. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla until thick, about 2-3 minutes.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, xanthan gum, salt, and ground nuts.  Add to egg mixture and mix well.  Continue beating, gradually adding cooled, melted butter until incorporated.  Mixture will be very thick. Spread batter in prepared pan.  Bake for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in pan for 15 minutes; remove sides of pan.  Use a long knife or cake spatula to loosen cake from pan bottom; invert onto serving plate.  Cool completely.  To prepare glaze:  In a medium saucepan, bring cream just to a boil; remove from heat.  Stir in chips until completely melted and smooth; add 1/2 tsp vanilla and mix.  Pour glaze over top of cake, allowing it to run down the sides.  Garnish.  Makes 14-16 servings.



So, there it is...enjoy!!  I'm hoping you have a wonderfully Merry Christmas filled with fun, food, and family!  May the joy of the season permeate your heart, make you more grateful and cheerful, and carry on into the new year....

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