It’s a Saturday, it’s a Saturday and we are sitting here watching Christmas movies. All I want to do is sit and look at the gorgeousness that is Christmas. I am thinking of all the Christmases of my childhood. Childhood christmases started with singing carols at school, yes I sang a bit back then & being part of nativity plays. I liked the decked up school halls. 🎄
Christmases at home meant Ma & Baba would hang stockings every year, I am not sure how the traditions started. Our parents made it a tradition, hanging red stockings,mine was designed with a ' 101 Dalmatians ' motif and my brother’s was 'Lion King 'ones I think , that my dad had got from the U.S. 🎄

So after we went to sleep, or pretended to, our parents would come to the room and fill our stockings with gifts, and chocolates and even cake I think once, that Ma made. I would always want to open the gifts in the morning because isn’t that what you should do? A stickler for rules , always; while my brother would always insist on taking a peek the first chance he got, always the rebel that he was:-). 🎄
We don’t put stockings out, Vivek & I, but who knows , maybe we will start a new tradition. Its takes so little to make someone feel so special. I am thankful to my parents for making everyday feel special & celebrating everything, the big and the small.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup good whiskey

A cheesecloth filled w/cinnamon,black pepper, cloves

3 cups buttermilk

4 cups flour

3 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon Cinnamon powder

1/4 teaspoon  nutmeg powder

3/4 cup unsalted butter softened

1 1/2 cups coconut sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup honey

3 large eggs

3 teaspoons vanilla extract
Pear & coconut sugar caramel

3/4 cup coconut sugar (available widely in Bangalore but you can order @spriggourmet one here)

3 tablespoons water

1 ripe pear peeled cored and minced

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream

3/4 cup coconut sugar

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1.Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Infuse the cheesecloth bag filled w/spices in the whiskey for sometime , then mix the whiskey with the buttermilk until smooth. Set aside.
2.In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg until incorporated. Set aside.
3.In another bowl, mix together the butter, coconut sugar, granulated sugar, and honey until smooth. Add the eggs, one at atime. Alternately add the buttermilk mixture and flour mixture to the cake batter until everything is incorporated and the batter just becomes smooth
4.Pour the batter in to greased cake pans. Place the pans in the oven and bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove the pan from the oven.

Pear & coconut sugar caramel:
1.Bring the coconut sugar, water, and pear to a boil over medium heat ,remove, add cream & butter, cool, add over cake & enjoy