Santa’s secret science

These delightful little gingerbread houses will perch perfectly on the edge of your mug. Try them with hot chocolate or mulled wine for adults. MAKES 8 PREP 30 mins plus cooling COOK 10 mins MORE EFFO

MAKES 1 PREP 1 hr plus overnight drying MORE EFFORT old newspapersquare piece of ironedcotton fabric (about80cm x 80cm)1 potatosmall, sharp knifemarker penkitchen paperpaintbrushacrylic fabric paintsg

MAKES 2 (SERVES 16) PREP 30 mins plus overnight soaking and cooling COOK 1 hr 50 mins EASY V 200g dried sour cherries200g raisins150g sultanas100g mixed peel300ml cherry brandy, plus extrafor feeding2

Our round-up of the funny, fascinating and unusual stories this fortnight

Ingredients (Serves 6) ◆ 1.5 litres dry sparkling cider ◆ 50g light brown sugar zest and juice 1 orange ◆ 3 long cinnamon sticks, halved ◆ 8 cloves ◆ 2.5cm piece ginger, sliced ◆ ½tsp grated nutmeg ◆

MEXICAN COOKING DOESN’T HAVE TO BE COMPLICATED – WITH THESE RECIPES, THOMASINA MIERS SHOWS HOW TO HARNESS THE POWER OF SIMPLE INGREDIENTS TO CREATE A FEAST WITH LATIN FLAVOUR