reading time: 17 min

Have you ever listened to the English Christmas carol The Twelve Days of Christmas and wondered what they are singing about? The Twelve Days of Christmas are also known as Twelvetide, The Omen Days, The Twelve Quiet Days or The Twelve Holy Nights, and they refer to the special period of time between the old year and the new year.

These twelve nights arise because on the one hand there is the solar calendar with 365 days, and on the other hand there are the twelve moons with 354 days, 29.5 days per month. This results in a difference of twelve nights – twelve days that are neither part of the old year nor part of the new year and therefore "outside" of time. It is believed to be a period during which time "stands still" when the veil between the worlds is thin, and therefore it is a highly spiritual time.

Officially, the Twelve Days of Christmas begin on the night of Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, December 25, and conclude on Epiphany, January 5, at midnight which is also known as Three Kings Day or Twelfth Day.

Alternatively and going by the name of Yuletide or the Twelve Days of Yule you can also celebrate this mystical time beginning on Yule (the Winter Solstice) which falls on December 21, and ending on January 1. This is also where the custom of burning a Yule log for the duration of 12 days comes into play.

In my case, I usually celebrate the Twelve Days starting on Christmas Day, but this decision is entirely up to you.

During the Twelve Days it is believed that the Wild Hunt begins and Odin roams the skies with his army of the dead to frighten man and beast. At this time, people should stay indoors in order not to be carried away by the raging Wild Hunt. But people also thought of the departed souls and prayed for them so that they would be freed.

For that reason it was and still is common to put candles on the window sill or by the door and to smudge the home to protect yourself from unwelcome spirits that pass by. We are also particularly close to our ancestors during this time and we can honour them through thoughts and prayers. This time is also particularly good for making wishes and oracles.

In fact, the Twelve Days are even said to predict the course of the new year. Basically, each of the twelve days is said to correlate to how each month of the next year will be, so December 25 represents what January will hold for your, December 26 represents February and so on.

It is a time of peace and silence, of introspective and reflection. All work should be left undone, if possible. So it's best to take the days off during this period, and spend the time at home, recalling the old year, thinking of your resolutions for the coming near, or just reading a good book!

Today I want to share with you the daily rituals that you can do during the magical time of Twelvetide or The Twelve Days of Christmas. These rituals are separated into general rituals you can do every day, and rituals that are specific to each day of the Twelve Days.

Black Forest Cake (Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte) is a traditional German dessert, probably named after the Black Forest in southwestern Germany, or rather the local speciality of Schwarzwälder Kirsch(wasser), a brandy made from sour cherries.

It is the most popular cake here in Germany, traditionally made with chocolate sponge cake layers filled with whipped cream and cherry compote as well as covered in whipped cream and chocolate shavings, resulting in a slightly rustic look. It usually also contains Kirsch or Kirschwasser, hence the name. I made this gorgeous cake – that would also be absolutely justified to bear the name "Snow White Cake" in my opinion – for my fiancé's birthday this week. It was a huge hit!!

In our case, I made it alcohol-free, but I did include some instructions for adding the cherry brandy in the recipe, if you prefer your cake to be a bit boozy. I also didn't go for the classic chocolate shavings on the sides, but used homemade chocolate bark instead. Again, instructions for that are included in this recipe!

This Black Forest cake is
egg-free
dairy-free
wheat-free
rich
moist
fluffy
light
soft
chocolatey
fruity
& simply heavenly

I've created my own recipe based on various recipes online, most notably this one by Bianca Zapatka, as well as this one.

This recipe is ideal to prepare over two days – prepare the cake and the cherry compote the night before, and continue with the cream filling and frosting the next day. The finished cake can be chilled for a couple of hours before serving!

Spread half of the cherry compote evenly on the bottom cake layer. Spread about a third of the whipped cream over the compote, leaving about a finger's width around the edge. (It will squash out a little when you sandwich the layers together.) Make sure that the surface is as smooth and even as possible.

Top with the middle cake layer and repeat spreading with the remaining cherry compote and another third cream.

Lastly, carefully place the third cake layer on top (smooth side up). Set aside about 3/4 cup of whipped cream for decoration.

Using a clean spatula, frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining whipped cream until the cake is completely covered in whipped cream.

Decorate sides of the cake with the prepared chocolate bark. Pipe 8 to 16 swirls of whipped cream around the edge of the cake, and garnish the middle of the cake with remaining chopped chocolate bark or chocolate shavings. Put a cherry on each cream swirl.

Refrigerate cake until serving. Dig in!

If you are looking for more veganized German classics, you might like these:

Vegan Snow White Cake | Donauwelle

Vegan Butter Cake | Butterkuchen

Vegan German Bee Sting Cake | Bienenstich

Vegan Mole Cake | Maulwurfskuchen

 reading time: 4 min

In summer 2018 I chopped off 30 centimetres / 12 inches of my hair because I needed a fresh start, and also because I really wanted to donate my hair to a charity. From this day onward I stopped straightening my hair because the health of my hair (and my overall body) became a priority.

In February 2020 – just before the whole world started to fall apart and renew itself – I got engaged! And since I want to have long, strong and shiny hair to put into a beautiful bridal hairstyle for my soon-to-come wedding, I have been growing out my hair for the past 1 1/2 years. One of the things I did to speed up hair growth and keep my hair looking supple and healthy is to apply this homemade hair oil onto my scalp and to the tips of my hair once a week.

Using high-quality oils is key here, as these will provide the necessary vital elements such fatty acids for fast growing, healthy hair. Oils are also great for detangling hair (kind of like a hair lubricant), and they also work as a (heat) protectant that seals the cuticle down. You could skip the rosemary and stick to pure oils, but I wouldn't recommend that since rosemary is known to be one of the most potent herbs to strengthen circulation, stimulate hair growth, thicken hair, prevent premature greying and dandruff.

I find that natural treatments always work the best (and they don't have any nasty side effects like many commercial chemical based products). This oil has amazing hair benefits like boosting hair growth, fighting dandruff, adding lustre, strengthening hair follicles etc. It's also great for repairing dry, frizzy and damaged hair.

I hope this homemade hair oil also helps you to get long and strong hair in a completely natural way!

»Indeed it is,« said Gimli. »Why it is better than the honey-cakes of the Beornings, and that is great praise, for the Beornings are the best bakers that I know of; but they are none too willing to deal out their cakes to travellers in these days.«

The Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien


(...) he would lade them with food to last them for weeks with care, and packed so as to be as easy as possible to carry-nuts, flour, sealed jars of dried fruits, and red earthenware pots of honey, and twice-baked cakes that would keep good a long time, and on a little of which they could march far. The making of these was one of his secrets; but honey was in them, as in most of his foods, and they were good to eat, though they made one thirsty…

The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien

Today we are making honey cakes that would make Beorn proud! Well, actually I made these brownie-like cakes a looong time ago for my friend Björn's birthday because the name Björn (like Bjorn from Vikings) sounds very similar to Beorn and also means "bear" in Swedish, but didn't get around to posting them until now.

For those who aren’t familiar with The Hobbit, Beorn is a shape-shifter (J.R.R. Tolkien called it a “skin-changer” in the book) who helps Bilbo and the 13 dwarves on their quest to the Lonely Mountain. He’s a vegetarian, but can take on the form of a huge bear, who is very fond of honey and cream. Honey cakes were the speciality of the Beornings, the people living between Mirkwood and the Misty Mountains. You can find an illustration by Tolkien of Beorn's hall down below :)

Fun fact: The character of Beorn is probably based on the hero Beowulf, whose name is commonly translated to "bee's wolf" or "bee-hunter", which describes a "honey-eater", so a bear!

Since Beorn's honey cakes are "twice baked" according to the book and supposedly similar to cram, the Hobbit hardtrack (though tastier than that), and also similar to Lembas, the Elvish travel food, they are probably quite dry and firm. It's even possible that Tolkien had something like Italian Biscotti in mind, since the Latin (panis) biscoctus means "(bread) twice-baked".

After comparing 16 different recipe options, however, I decided to make a fluffier cake for my take on this recipe with ingredients based on the Dutch honey cake (Honingkoek) that is typically enjoyed with lashings of butter for a traditional breakfast in the Netherlands. I also drew inspiration from the Dutch and Flemish spiced breakfast cake (Ontbijtkoek) that bears similarities to gingerbread. (bears, gettit? ... never mind ...)

Anyway, here are my fluffy sweet honey cakes!

BEORN'S VEGAN HONEY CAKES

Preparation time: 50 mins
Main ingredients: spelt flour, almonds, honey / golden syrup
difficulty level: easy
makes: 12 cakes (9-inch square brownie pan)
suitable for: vegan, lactose-free, wheat-free, yeast-free, soy-free

Ingredients

dry ingredients:
2 cups spelt flour (type 1050) *
1/2 cup almonds, finely ground
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup brown sugar or raw cane sugar
1-2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp fresh minced ginger OR 1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
pinch of salt
1 tsp orange zest

wet ingredients:
1/2 cup of liquid mountain honey or clover honey (or vegan "honey" or golden syrup or dark molasses, for vegan version)
1/4 cup of golden syrup (or dark molasses – NOT blackstrap molasses!)
1/4 cup of soy milk (use soy milk or pea milk to achieve vegan "buttermilk" that curdles)
1/2 cup vegan butter or margarine
1 tsp apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice)

3 tbsp golden syrup or liquid honey + 2 tbsp water for soaking


* If you are confused about that flour type, check out this website which explains the difference between German flour types and US-American flour types.  



Instructions

Preheat oven to 180 °C / 350 °F. Line a 9-inch square brownie pan with parchment paper.

In a mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients except for the sugar. Stir. In a separate bowl, cream together the butter/margarine and sugar. Mix soy milk with apple cider vinegar or lemon juice to form vegan "buttermilk". Add this to the butter mixture. Lastly, add honey and syrup. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture, and combine.

Pour the batter into the prepared brownie pan.

Bake in the preheated oven at 180 °C / 350 °F for approximately 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Remove the pan from the oven. Brush the still warm cake with some diluted golden syrup or liquid honey if you like. This is optional, as the cake is plenty sweet on its own. Decorate with orange zest or leave plain. *

Run a knife (preferably of Gondolin or Númenórean make – no Morgul blades!) around the side of the cake, and slice into brownie-sized squares.

Cool in the pan and serve warm or cold and slathered with butter, custard, ice cream or whipped cream. Beware, hobbits and dwarves are known to be prodigious eaters, so a single cake will not be sufficient for large parties!

Stored in an airtight container this cake will keep for at least four days. In fact, it becomes even more delicious if you keep it for a couple of days wrapped in foil or wax paper.

Cut into individual squares or slices, this can also be kept in the freezer for up to two months.



NOTES:

Looking for more nerdy recipes? Check out some of my other literature-inspired creations:

Sansa's Lemon Cakes (vegan)

Bilbo's Seed Cakes (vegan)

♥

Maisy

 reading time: 2 min

  reading time: 3 min

VEGAN DIRTY CHAI

Preparation time: 15 mins
Main ingredients: oat milk, chai tea, coffee
difficulty level: easy
serves: 2
suitable for: vegan, lactose-free, gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups full-fat oat milk *
1/2 cup boiling water
2 chai tea bags (or make your own chai spice blend, and use 3 tsp of that in this recipe along with 2 bags of black tea or rooibos tea)
1/4 cup hot strong coffee or 1 shot espresso, freshly brewed (I use decaf coffee)
2 tsp raw cane sugar or coconut blossom sugar or maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract

cinnamon, to garnish

* In order to achieve the desired creaminess I find that you get the best results when using either the Alpro Not M*LK with 3.5 g fat per 100 ml, or the Oatly Oat Drink Barista Edition with 3.5 g fat per 100 ml, or their Oat Drink Whole with 2.8 g fat per 100 ml. You could also try vanilla sweetened milk, and omit the vanilla extract!

Instructions:

Place the 2 tea bags in a mug and cover with 1/2 cup of boiling water. Allow to steep for at least 10 minutes (along with the spice blend, if using), then whisk in the sugar and vanilla extract to dissolve. The longer the tea steeps, the more intense the flavour will be!

Discard tea bags.

In a small saucepan, heat up the full-fat oat milk until simmering. Remove from heat, and use a milk frother or a handheld immersion blender to foam up the milk.

Divide the strong sweetened chai tea between two mugs. Pour the frothed milk over the top of the hot drink. Lastly, pour in the hot strong coffee or espresso.

Top with cinnamon and/or a small cinnamon stick.

Serve hot. Enjoy!

To make iced dirty chai:

 

Place the 2 tea bags in a mug and cover with 1/2 cup of boiling water. Allow to steep for at least 10 minutes, then whisk in the sugar to dissolve.

Discard tea bags, and allow the tea to cool.

Divide a handful of ice between your glasses, and pour the cold tea over the ice. Add espresso. Then pour refrigerated full-fat oat milk on top. Serve and enjoy immediately.

TIPS:

- To make this recipe even more decadent and rich, omit the water, and simmer your tea bags (along with the spice blend, if using) in 2 cups of full-fat oat milk, then reduce stove heat to low, and steep for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, add coffee, sugar and vanilla, and enjoy!
- If you don't have a milk frother or an immersion blender, pour the milk into a jar with a lid – no more than a third of the way full. Seal the jar with a lid and give it a good shake for about 30 seconds or so.

♥

Maisy