Lily Vanilli and Baileys – Christmas Dessert Hacks and Recipes

If there’s one tipple that perfectly sums up the spirit of Christmas, it’s Baileys. This year, go beyond pouring it over ice as a toast to the festive season - the creamy, delicious drink has so much more to give - starting in the kitchen.

To help you take your Christmas baking to the next level, Baileys has enlisted the help of London’s coolest baker, Lily Vanilli, to share her festive dessert hacks and recipes - all created with the nation’s favourite festive tipple, Baileys. Lily’s tips and tricks range from simple recipes that you can whip up at home (or give as gifts), to decorative hacks that will upgrade your bakes to seasonal showstoppers. For starters, try Lily’s Baileys Christmas Fudge or Chocolate Cake with Baileys Salted Caramel topped with glittering cranberries, sparkling pecans and rosemary wreaths. Tempted? These recipes and hacks will have you reaching for your Baileys quicker than you can say ‘cheers’! Lily Vanilli’s Baileys Christmas Fudge will be available to buy from the Lily Vanilli Bakery every Sunday throughout December.

Lily’s Recipes:

Baileys Christmas Fudge

Ingredients

• 200ml Baileys
• 400g Condensed Milk
• 450g Light Brown Sugar
• 120g Unsalted Butter
• 20cm square tin, lined with baking paper
• Sugar thermometer (if you have one)

Method

• Place all your ingredients in a non-stick saucepan and melt gently over a low heat, stirring slowly, just until the sugar has dissolved.
• Now bring your mixture to the boil, and then simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring continuously and being sure to scrape the base of the pan.
• The mixture will be very hot so be careful!
• To test whether it’s ready, just drop a little of the mixture into a jug of ice-cold water. A soft ball of fudge should form. If you have one, you can check it with a sugar thermometer (the fudge should be approximately 116°C when done).
• Remove the fudge from the heat and beat until it’s very thick and starting to set (this should take about 10 minutes).
• Pour into the prepared tin and leave to cool completely before cutting into any shape you like. This fudge is quite soft so make sure it’s properly set before cutting.
• Cut it into stars, pop them in a bag and decorate with a sprig of holly!

Chocolate Cake with Baileys Salted Caramel

The Chocolate Cake Makes - approx 14 Ingredients

• 1 cup cooled espresso
• 1 cup olive oil
• 250g light brown sugar
• Pinch vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 250ml whole milk
• 110g cocoa powder
• 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 240g plain flour
• Pinch sea salt

Method

• Make up the coffee & leave it to cool. Beat together the olive oil, sugar & vanilla. Add the eggs & milk & beat gently until well combined. Sift together the cocoa, bicarb, flour & salt. Stir until evenly combined, then beat into the batter until smooth. Slowly add the cooled coffee until just combined evenly.
• Pour into well greased cupcake pans (no paper cup necessary) - fill each cup around 2/3 full. Bake for around 15 mins or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Once out of the oven and partly cooled, make a small hole in each cake and use a piping bag or squeezy bottle to pipe some salted caramel into the centre.

Serve warm or cold! Baileys Salted Caramel Ingredients

• 400g sugar
• 50g glucose
• 200ml water
• 200ml double cream
• 50ml Baileys
• 1/2 tsp Malden sea salt

Method 

• Pour water into a non-stick pan over a high heat. Carefully add the sugar and glucose and then bring to the boil. Heat for 3-4 minutes, or until the sugar starts to turn golden brown – you shouldn’t stir but you can gently swirl the pan to make sure all the sugar melts evenly.
• Once the sugar has melted and bubbles are forming all over the surface, take the pan away from the heat. Mix the Baileys extract into the double cream and carefully pour it into the pan - be careful to avoid splashes as the mixture will be very hot. Finally, whisk in a good pinch of sea salt & allow to cool.

Lily’s Hacks:

Coffee and Chai Milk Ice Cube Mixer Freeze cooled coffee or chai-infused milk in an ice cube tray. Once frozen, pop a few in a glass and pour in your Baileys. As the ice melts you have a lovely winter cocktail. Baileys Hot Chocolate Add 25ml of Baileys to your hot chocolate (Lily melts dark chocolate with a little hot water, then pours in hot milk, before adding the Baileys and stirring to combine). Glitter Your Cranberries... Wash your cranberries in cold water and drain, then transfer to a dry bowl and tip a little glitter over them. Stir with a paintbrush to coat evenly and use to decorate your festive cakes. Make your pecans sparkle Always toast nuts before applying edible lustre dust. Place them on a baking tray in an oven preheated to 200c for 6-8 mins. Allow to cool completely, then transfer to a bowl, tip in some lustre dust & stir to coat them. Use these to decorate your Christmas cakes and tarts. Make A Rosemary Wreath Use rosemary to create a winter wreath on your bundt cakes. Simply press sprigs of rosemary into buttercream on top of a bundt to create a wreath effect (I used my Baileys chocolate bundt recipe). You can then use your cranberries or pecans to decorate.