My Christmas Cake Recipe/ Folded Pudding card

Hi all i just have to share my christmas cake recipe with you. We had this all while i was growing up but my mum used basic ingredients....i have scince spiced it up and added a few of my own secret ingredients. We love it and everyone I've given it to all loves it, very moist and morish. I make one each year for the the kids bus driver as a thankyou for safe travel through the year and my daughters Oboe teacher got one this year.They also go great as muffin size cakes which make great little presants. Hey they would look great in my christmas pudding bags you'd just have to make the base a more square shape to fit them and i'm making my own cookies and crean type icecream but with the cooked cake mmmmm for christmas sweets this year.And below is a quick last minute card tutorial. So here we go........

Valita's Christmas Cake

1/2 Kilo of mixed dried Fruit
1 c brown sugar
100g bag of glazed cherries
6 dried dates chopped
6 dried apricots chopped
3/4 c mxied chopped nuts
125g butter
1/2 440g can pineapple chopped small
1, 1/4 c pineapple juice - use the juice from the can of pineapple
and add enough water to make it up

Bring all this to the boil and boil for 3-4 mins. add 1 tsp of baking powder stir and then let cool.
when mixture is cool add

2 eggs
1/2 chopped banana
1/2 c choc chips
4 tsp Rum essence
2 tsp of vanilla essence
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 c self raising flour

Mix all this together and pour into a lined cake tin. top with extra cherries and or almonds. Bake in a Mod oven for about 1 hour or until when tested with a skewer it comes out clean. ENJOY

Pudding Card

I love Iris Folding and in the past have made many of my own patterns but not in the traditional IF fashion. Now do'nt be scared to try this it is'nt hard, dosent take long and comes up great. I know its probably getting too close to christmas for making loads of cards but theres always a last minute special card to give to someone.

You will need:
Pattern... found bellow

Card stock in 3 different colours
stirps of coloured paper
sticky tape
craft knife
double sided tape
inks
ribbon and trins

First you will need to cut a template of the outside of the pudding. This can be stored with your pattern for later use. Tace an outline of the pudding onto the back of your card stock and cut out with a craft knife. I then cuttlebug embossed my card front and wiped a silver ink over the embossing.
Now tape your pattern to the bench and with your card front facing down lay your cutout over the pattern and tape that down also using small amounts of tape. Your pattern will all be showing through the cutout ready to add the folded strips. Cut 1' strips of paper ( i like to use a mix of patterned and plain) and put a fold down one edge. It's important to follow the numbers on the pattern. So starting with number 1 lay the white strip down making sure the folded edge runs along the pattern line. tape down and do the same with 2 and so on until all the nimbers are covered.

It's important that you don't get any tape on the pattern or you will see it when you've finished.
remember your working on the back of the card front.

Don't panic i know it will look pretty messy but that is normal you wont see this side. A tip though to make it less bulky is to only cut the length of paper you need to cover the cutout.
Now carefully take off the pattern and flip it over to reveal the finished folded pudding
Add the cherry and holly leaves decorate the rest how you like using my finished card as a guide and tape to a layered card front. See that was'nt too hard... Dont panic the pattern is at the end of this post. As i'm writing this post another christmas cake is in the oven cooking and it smells divine. We have been busy traveling to and fro to our kids awards nights. I'm so glad school have finished for the year its been a busy one. They now start their 6 week break....heres some pics from the last 2 nightsBeth was awarded Excellence in Society & Culture and Pursuit of Ecellence in Advanced English
and was also chosen to be a part of the school executive team as prefect which help the school captians for next year. She also was awarded Directors Choice award plus a cheque for the Oboe at the conservatorium of music. Madaleine was awarded a scolarship for next year which pays a whole terns fees. Ben did'nt get any awards but came first in computers in his class and overall did very well. We are so proud of them all they have done so well.
and a last thought to leave you with. My daughter has found this text helpful through the year.

Thought for today

If you wait for the perfect conditions,
you will never get anything done.
Ecclesiastes 11:4

Heres the Pudding pattern its a jpeg file so you can resize it to fit the card you want. Valita