Serves 8
2 cups plain flour
½ cup almond meal (or ground almonds)
1/3 cup caster sugar
125g butter, diced and chilled
1 egg, whisked
375g unsalted butter
1 cup caster sugar (extra)
2 tsp vanilla extract
6 eggs (extra)
2 cups self-raising flour
1½ cup plain flour (extra)
1½ cups milk
250g unsalted butter (extra), at room temperature
1 cup icing sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract (extra)
2 tsp milk (extra)
silver dragées, to decorate
1 To make reindeer biscuits, put plain flour, almond meal and sugar in a food processor and process for 30 seconds. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add egg and process until mixture forms a ball. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and lightly knead until smooth. Form dough into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
2 Preheat oven to 160C. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper. Roll dough out between 2 sheets of baking paper until 5mm thick. Using a reindeer cutter, cut about 16 reindeer and put on prepared trays. Bake for 12–15 minutes or until cooked through. Leave on trays to cool and then store in an airtight container lined with foil.
3 To make cake, preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line a 22cm square cake pan with baking paper. Using an electric beater, beat unsalted butter, sugar (extra) and vanilla until light and creamy. Add eggs (extra), 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Using a large metal spoon, fold in combined self-raising flour and plain flour (extra), alternating with the milk, until smooth and well combined.
4 Spoon mixture into prepared pan and smooth the surface with the back of a wet spoon. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted in the centre. Stand cake in pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool. When cool put on a serving plate or cake stand.
5 To make butter cream, beat unsalted butter (extra) for 5–8 minutes in the small bowl of an electric beater until light and creamy. Gradually add icing sugar, vanilla (extra) and milk (extra), beating until smooth and fluffy. Spread butter cream over cake with a palette knife. Stand reindeer biscuits around sides of cake and sprinkle top with silver dragées.
