Fruit Mince Braided Star Bread ~ #BreadBakers

A pull-apart Braided Star Bread that is sure to be a show-stopper and is deceptively easy to make. 

With a wonderful enriched dough and a filling of traditional fruit mince, this holiday

treat will be the star of your get-together and disappear right before your eyes.

Dundee Cake ~ #TheCakeSliceBakers

"There's nothing better than cake but more cake." - Harry S. Truman

Julekage - #BreadBakers

“How can a nation be called great if its bread tastes like kleenex?” -  Julia Child. Instead of kleenex-tasting bread make this wonderful bread called Julekage that tastes like all the holidays wrapped up in one slice.

Whole Wheat Stollen ~ #BreadBakers

Life is better with fresh baked bread, especially if that bread is Weihnachtsstollen/Christstollen.

Hawaiian Christmas Cookies ~ #CreativeCookieExchange

#CreativeCookieExchange is all about the decorated cookie this month.  Unfortunately for me I stepped out of line when the decorating of cookies talent was being handed out, so I missed out. Lucky for me I found these adorable reindeer cookies to make.

Mini Mincemeat Tarts

Contrary to how it sounds, mincemeat tarts contain no meat, well at least they don't these days but at one time they did.  Typically it would contain chopped dried fruit. liqueur, and some spices.  One day I will make my own mincemeat, and David Lebovitz has a great recipe on his site, but for now I have a few large jars that I picked up on sale.

Hawaiian Gingerbread Village

I know, I know, I am so late posting this kind of thing but I wanted to show everyone a gingerbread house made with aloha.  I have been meaning to visit the gingerbread village at Sheraton Princess Kailuani in Waikiki for the past two weeks.  It just didn't happen.  I was determined to get there before January 3 when they took down the display,  so off we went last night.  I wasn't disappointed. I just stood there in awe of the work it took to make this village happen.

This gingerbread village depicts various buildings right here in Hawaii - Iolani Palace, the Moana Surfrider (complete with rocking chairs on the veranda), and the historic Kawaiahao Church.

The Sheraton Moana Surfrider, with the Kawaiahao Church in the background

The village is not made with pre-fabricated sheets, they are gingerbread bricks. According to Chef Ralf Bauer, the architect of this wonder "it’s what keeps the village special.”  He and his team begin making the components for the village in September.  Although the base of the buildings is actually Styrofoam, each one is then painted with melted chocolate and covered with small gingerbread bricks that are approximately an inch-and-a-quarter long.

'Iolani Palace

Each of the gingerbread villages are interlinked by ski lifts, ice-skating ponds, working carousels, and a train station all made from icing, spun sugar, gelatin, chocolate, and of course gingerbread.

Waikiki Station

Here are some of the stats that go into making this happen:

• 100 pounds of dark chocolate
• 30 pounds of white chocolate
• 60 sheets of gingerbread bricks
• 200 gallons of icing
• And tons of Aloha!

It certainly was a spectacular sight and I can't wait to see what they come up with in 2011.  My only wish is that they move the display back to the Sheraton Moana Surfrider because it is such a classic hotel.

The Christmas tree in the lobby of the Sheraton Moana Surfrider