Is it too early to start thinking about Christmas?
It’s hard not to when the shops and supermarket have already put up the Christmas decorations and everything Christmas related. Oh I’m so excited and full of anticipation! This year is going to be extra special as I don’t have to worry about moving as what I have done for the past 2 years. This means I have more time to plan for Christmas and gifts! Finding gifts for family and friends is part of the fun (when it’s not last minute)!
Since I am surrounded with food enthusiasts, my choice of gifts often revolves around food, naturally. Think Christmas hampers. It is my go-to gift option when I’m not sure what to get for a particular person. Getting Christmas hampers online may be unorthodoxed to some people. I love the thought of surprising family and friends who are residing in different parts of the world by sending Christmas hampers online. If the world wide web works for gifting flowers, it totally going to work for Christmas hampers. So when I came across the Christmas hampers varieties from www.hamper.com, let’s just say I had a “scroll around” ;). The site offers different price packages from budget friendly to luxury Christmas hampers. Although it is a UK based company, it offers shipping to many countries including Europe, non EU Europe countries, USA, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, Australian and UAE.
One of the features I like about this site is you can choose alcohol free, vegetarian or children friendly Christmas hampers. It helps to narrow down the options in case you’re overwhelmed with choices.
In addition to checking out online Christmas hampers, I am also looking to try some Christmas themed baking recipes. I think this 5 cup fruit loaf is a good start. It reminds me a Christmas cake minus the booze which makes this children friendly. It is also super easy to make…seriously just look at the ingredient list below. It’s simply a 15 minute work to mix the batter together…or maybe less.
5 Cup Fruit Loaf
(tweaked very slightly from Bestrecipes.com.au)
What you’ll need:-
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup mixed fruits (if you can’t find them in the supermarkets, try your local health food stores. Mine was gifted from a friend who used to own a online health food store) or you can substitute mixed fruits with raisin as per the original recipe.
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 + 1/2 tsps baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup milk
- Cooking oil to grease area which isn’t covered by the baking paper
Alternatively, you can replace 1 cup of all-purpose flour, 1 +1/2 tsps baking powder & salt with 1 cup of self-raising flour.
I feel it can do with a little touch of spices such as ground cinnamon and nutmeg to make it more Christmassy.
Method:-
Preheat oven to 160 degrees C/ 320 degrees F. Line a baking paper on a loaf tin and grease area which isn’t covered by baking paper with some cooking oil. I diced the mixed fruits as mine was a little on the chunky side. If you use raisins, you can skip this step. Mix all the dry ingredients together including the mixed fruits with a fork. Then add milk and whisk the wet and dry ingredients until well combined with a fork. (Please note the batter is a wet mixture). Bake in the preheated oven for an hour or until the cake tester comes out clean.
This post is brought to you by Clearwater Hamper.
My father in law always make the 5 cups cake! He makes it vegan so I think he must use soy milk. I love giving hampers too, although I usually make them up myself (cos it’s fun)
It’s nice to have a father in law who bakes! I think Christmas Hamper is ideal for people who enjoy food…heheh like myself? Whenever I received a hamper, I enjoy the feeling ripping the wrapper apart to uncover the hidden treasures.
thanks for the site tip!
also, this fruit loaf looks delicious.
thanks Katie!
The cake looks great and I love how easy it is to make! Definitely a good alternative for the boozy Christmas cake.
Thank Ronja. I totally agree with you about the cake being a good alternative for the boozy version.
Wow, this looks incredibly yummy…I must must must try this recipe!
Just one question though: What size loaf tin did you use for this?
OMG! This looks extremely delicious and healthy. Thanks for sharing great Christmas gift ideas. This cake plus the recipe are worth giving to a friend who almost always spends his or her time in the kitchen. Add a gourmet gift hamper full of condiments if she’s a special someone. That will definitely make her or him happy.