Sparkling Ink

{ merry christmas }

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas with all the joys and wonders of the holidays. I'll be taking a few days off, so I'll see you again on the 27th.

Have a beautiful holiday!

{ image by tiina rinkinen for sparkling ink }

{ chocolate gingerbread cake }

This dark and rich cake really tastes like a Christmas cake should. It's the perfect combination of spices of gingerbread cookies and chocolate. Confectioner's sugar on top is like a beautiful light layer of snow. Just like we have outside right now.

Ingredients (serves 8)

- 4 tablespoons butter, plus more for pan
- 1/4 cup (0.6 dl) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup (1.8 dl) flour
- 1  1/2 teaspoons gingerbread spice mix
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup (1.2 dl) dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (0.6 dl) dark syrup
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup (0.6 dl) sour cream
- 1/2 cup (1.2 dl) chopped chocolate
- confectioner's sugar for dusting

Combine cocoa powder, flour, spice mix, baking powder and baking soda. If gingerbread spice mix is not available, you can make your own mix by using spices of this season such as ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg.

In a separate bowl, beat together melted butter, brown sugar, syrup, egg and sour cream until smooth, using an electric mixer on medium speed. You can substitute dark syrup with molasses. Add in the dry ingredients, and stir with a rubber spatula just until combined. Stir in chopped chocolate or chocolate chips. Pour the batter into a well buttered long cake pan (small to medium size), and smooth the top.

Bake at 350 F (175 C) for 30-35 minutes until a tooth pick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the cake. Tap the pan a few times strongly against a surface. This will help to remove the pan easily after the cake has cooled down. Turn the pan over on a serving dish to remove the cake, and dust the it lightly with confectioner's sugar.

{ recipe adapted from martha stewart }

{ painted pine cones }

Tomorrow's the last day before Christmas. Today, we went grocery shopping for all those lovely Christmas dishes that I look forward to all year long. We got a big ham that's going in the oven tomorrow night. The house is all ready and clean to be decorated tomorrow, according to our tradition every year.

Even though we have been busy with shopping and cleaning, there's always time for a quick DIY project. We had an old pine cone wreath that was a bit out of date and washed out, so I decided to give it a new look today with silver spray paint. I just simply coated the pine cones lightly with the paint, of course outdoors on a piece of cardboard. I also had a little bag full of pine cones that I picked last year. I sprayed some of those too, and will hang them on the tree with thin twine. Just remember to allow the pine cones to dry inside, for example in an air ventilated storage or garage, completely before handling them. Simple and fast with a very pretty result.

{ images by tiina rinkinen for sparkling ink }

{ magazine holiday inspiration }

I love the ideas Kaikkien Aikojen Joulu magazine (in Finnish only) gives for dressing up the home for the holidays. Such a pretty magazine to read in front of the fire before Christmas Eve. I especially like the idea of wrapping decorative paper and lace ribbon around the amaryllis for a lovely centerpiece.

{ pages from kaikkien aikojen joulu magazine 2009 }

{ jam pinwheels }

These cookies have got me more compliments than any other cookies before. Everyone seems to love them: the way they look like miniature cinnamon rolls, the sweet and soft quality of them and the way the disappear in one bite. I think I'll need to make another batch before Christmas. The whole family is simply loving them. (And to be honest, I have eaten a big part of the first batch myself.) These pinwheels work with any flavor of jam, so you can pick your favorite, or a few. My choices were apricot and blueberry.

Ingredients (makes 50)

- 6 oz (170 g) unsalted butter, room temp
- 8 oz (230 g) cream cheese, room temp
- 1/2 cup (1.2 dl) sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups (4.8 dl) flour
- 3/4 cup (1.8 dl) jam, oven proof
- 1 egg for brushing
- coarse sugar for sprinkling

Using an electric mixer, beat the room temperature butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed and gradually add in the flour, mixing until combined.

On a floured work surface, gently knead the dough a few times just to bring it together. Form the dough into two discs 1-inch (2.5 cm) thick. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for an hour.

Flour the work surface well, and roll a disc into around 9 x 12 inch (23 x 30 cm) rectangle. Spread a thin layer of jam on the dough. For best results, choose jam that is suitable for baking. Cut the dough crosswise into thirds. Starting from a long side of each of those three pieces, roll into logs. Wrap the logs in parchment paper, and let sit in the fridge for 30 minutes to get firm. Repeat the rolling of the dough, spreading jam, cutting into thirds and rolling into logs with the second part of the dough as well.

Slice the logs into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces, and place them with the seam down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving around 1  1/2 inches (4 cm) space in between. Brush the wheels lightly with beaten egg, and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake at 350 F (175 C) for 20-25 minutes until golden. Cool completely before storing in air tight containers.

{ recipe adapted from real simple }

{ lemon poppy seed cookies }

I like poppy seeds on my bread and bagels, so not too surprising that I like them in cookies too. Lemon and poppy seeds are the best of friends in these shortbread style cookies. Wrapped pretty, cookies make a really nice gift. And if you make the cookies now, they will store just fine until Christmas. If you have any left by then.

Ingredients (makes 50-60)

- 8 oz (230 g) unsalted butter, room temp
- 2/3 cup (1.6 dl) confectioner's sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 4 tablespoons poppy seeds
- zest of 1 lemon
- 2 cups (4.8 dl) flour

Using an electric mixer, beat room temperature butter until smooth. Sift in the confectioner's sugar, and keep beating until the mixture is smooth again. Add in the egg yolks. Beat in the vanilla extract, salt, poppy seeds and finely grated lemon zest as well. Reduce the mixer speed to low, and gradually add in the flour. You can switch the electric mixer to a rubber spatula. Stop mixing immediately when the dough is combined.

Divide the dough in half, and form two thick discs on lightly floured work surface. Wrap the discs in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Form each piece into logs. The thickness of the logs will define the size of the cookies. I made them around 1-inch (2.5 cm) thick. Wrap in plastic again, and let harden in the fridge for 2 hours.

Cut the logs into 1/3 inch (1 cm) thick slices using a sharp knife. Place the cut dough rounds on baking sheets lined with parchment paper leaving 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) space in between the cookies. Bake at 350 F (175 C) for 12 minutes or until the cookies are nicely set but not yet browned. Let cool completely before storing in air tight containers.

{ recipe adapted from smitten kitchen }

{ printable christmas gift box }

My friend Hanne is not only a very talented graphic designer but also a crafts enthusiast. Hanne has designed this adorable gift box that is free to download with complete instructions from her blog Paprua, a blog about paper toys and crafts. The penguin design is just so cute, and the top of the box folds in a clever way. The ready box measures about 12 cm in height.

Here's the box I put together yesterday. It was so much fun, and didn't take long at all with Hanne's detailed instructions. You can see her original version of the box (so pretty!) on her blog including the gingerbread cookie and penguin gift tags that are also on the same file with the box parts. Thank you Hanne for sharing this great design with us!

{ image by tiina rinkinen for sparkling ink }

{ mom's date cake }

Christmas coffee table is not the same without mom's date cake. Oh my, it really is the best and of course made only for the holidays making it extra special. The recipe has been perfected by my mom over the last few decades, and she was nice enough to share it with all of us. (The recipe is originally in metric measurements, so pardon me with the fractions due to the conversion.)

Ingredients (makes 1)

- 8 oz (230 g) packed pitted dates
- 7/8 cup (2 dl) water
- 7 oz (200 g) baking margarine, or butter
- 2 eggs
- 5/8 cup (1.5 dl) sugar
- 3/8 cup (1 dl) sour cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1  1/2 cups (3.5 dl) flour
- butter and fine bread crumbs for the pan

Break the packed dates. I used a brick of them where they are dried and packed tightly in plastic. In a sauce pan, combine the dates and water, and bring to boil. Simmer until the dates are soft. Turn off the heat, and add the butter into the hot mixture. Mix until butter has melted and combined.

Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar until fluffy. Add the sour cream. In a separate bowl, combine vanilla sugar, baking soda and flour. Mix in the dry ingredients. Gradually pour the date and butter mixture into the batter, and mix just until combined.

Prepare a bundt pan (fruitcake pan) by buttering it and tapping a small amount of fine bread crumbs around it. The recipe is made for a pan with approximately 8-cup (2 liter) capacity. Pour the batter into the pan. Bake at 350 F (175 C) for an hour. Test the cake by poking it with a tooth pick to make sure it's done. The pick should come out quite clean with no batter sticking on it. Let cool in the pan, and turn over to remove. The cake can be stored refrigerated and wrapped in foil up to 2 weeks.

{ kastehelmi glassware }

Me, and especially my sister have had kind of an obsession for old glassware called Kastehelmi. My sister has been collecting them from second hand stores because it has been out of production since 1988. Now, Iittala is bringing back the most popular pieces of the collection designed by Oiva Toikka originally in 1964, in apple green and clear colors.

The technique used on the plates creates a beautiful dew-like surface. The idea of using droplets of glass as decoration came to Toikka when he was thinking of ways of covering the joint marks left on the surface of pressed glass pieces by the production process, and was inspired by Finnish nature. The collection will be available in 2010. Yay, no more hunting down these pieces!

{ images by iittala }

{ villa harmonie }

Before leaving the city yesterday, me and my sweetie visited the most adorable Christmas store. Villa Harmonie is my favorite Finnish home decoration online store, and I was thrilled to see what they had created in the charming environment of old wooden houses in Tallipiha (Staple Yards), Tampere. In addition to the lovely little stores, the yard has a traditional outdoor Christmas market.

The lovely fragrance of hyacinths welcomed us in the store already at the door, and the store was full of little treasures for a beautiful Christmas time. A store that you leave with a big smile and lots of holiday spirit for sure! Thank you Satu, the owner of the store and the lady behind this wonderful little world, for sharing your inspiration with us. (Psst, you can enjoy Satu's eye for style, and find news from the store on her blog Ripaus Unelmaa in Finnish.)

{ images by tiina rinkinen for sparkling ink }