Update and Christmas Recipe

I'm backkkkk!

Yes, I am crawling out of my writing cave and squinting my face back up to the sun for the first time in a long time. So the lastest update...

The Bride of Fire has been accepted for publication by Blushing Books! Having taken 2 years to write and tapping out at approximately 130, 000 words it has been decided to split it into a three part serial. Stay tuned I will be posting snippets and teasers closer to the release!

What does this mean? It means that during the Christmas period I'm catching up on all the little things I've ignored or kept pushing to the bottom of the list, such as giving my website a make over (I hope y'all like it), neglecting writing blog posts and supporting my fellow authors (yes, shame on me) and generally trying to get a jump on prep now I know a little more about what I'm doing (gulp, or supposedly know more of what I'm doing)

So with the holiday season in full swing I thought to share a family recipe. We don't do mince pies in my house but something we've dubbed as 'almond cheesecakes' which is like a jam tart topped with an almond macaroon.

Recipe for 'Almond Cheesecakes'

Ingredients

100g (4oz) of Short crust pastry (I just use the ready rolled stuff to save time)

Filling:

50g (2oz) Caster Sugar

50g (2oz) ground almonds

1 medium egg, beaten

Raspberry or strawberry jam

1) Heat the oven to 200 C or 400 F, Gas mark 6.

Roll out the pastry thinly, cut 3/4 of it into rounds using a 7.5cm (3 inch) cutter and line 9 patty tins.

2) Mix the almonds and sugar with sufficient beaten egg to make a soft paste

3) Place a little jam in each case no more than half a teaspoonish and top with a teaspoon of of almond mixture. (position the almond mixture to 'seal the jam in' and do not over fill the cases and the almond mixture rises.

4) Sprinkle with caster sugar then then make thin strips from the remaining pastry to make crosses. Bake for 15-20 mins (closer to 15 due to the amount of sugar they burn easily).

Happy Baking!