Proven recipes for nut roasts and xmas cakes?

[AudTheDeepMinded]

Help! I never quite get these right, except for one year when I followed a Xmas nut roast recipe from Good Housekeeping (2002ish) which was bloody lovely. I remember it had cheese and mushrooms amongst other things in it. Needless to say, I lost that recipe and have never been able to find it again.
My cakes are ok but not fantastic either. Does anyone have a good recipe for either that they use and that works out? I'd love a cake recipe that I can feed booze to and is more puddingy in texture when ready. And if anyone has the nut roast recipe I remember making I would be forever grateful
Travelling hopefully!

Following for the nut recipe!!

@ForgothowmuchIhatehomeschoolin honestly, it was bloody awesome. It's my Holy grail of things to find again!

I have just printed off the BBC Good food one and am going to have a crack at it...wish me luck!

I use the Delia Christmas cake everyone seems to like it (not a fan of the cake myself)

I found these two GH nut roast recipes, they may not be the one you had but might be worth a try.

www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/food/recipes/a535632/mushroom-cranberry-nut-roast/

www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/food/recipes/a538353/white-nut-roast/

I make lovely nut roast but I never write the recipes down and I make them in bulk so the quantities are quite large. Nut roast freezes really well.

This is a very rough recipe idea.

One finely diced onion
500 - 700g mushrooms very finely diced (whatever you fancy)
Garlic - at least 3 or 4 cloves but add more or less according to preference
800g nuts of your choice, chopped in the food processor
200g panko bread crumbs
200g pecorino or grana padano finely chopped in food processor
Eggs to bind usually 3 or 4 for this quantity, the mixture needs to be what can only be described as stodgy!

Seasonings and flavourings can be whatever takes your fancy. I've used ginger, soy sauce, veg oyster sauce (leave the cheese out for this one) chilli, sun-dried tomatoes, various different herbs (oregano and sage are favourites), veg stock cube, Worcestershire sauce (veggie version), mustard, tomato puree. I sometimes line the base of the tin with a suitable roasted root vegetable (you can add a little maple syrup to them) or if it's a summery one to serve with salad I add a layer of roasted peppers or s/d toms and sliced mozzarella with a little bit of pesto.

The most important thing is to take it out of the oven and leave it in the tin for 10 mins before you slice it. Work out a good basic recipe which slices well and then let your imagination run wild.

My Dad has always used Delia's Christmas cake recipe for years and years.

I’ve made this one a few times and it’s lovely. Didn’t bother with the tomato sauce though. www.goodfood.com.au/recipes/mushroom-nut-roast-with-tomato-sauce-20130807-2rf7v

@Forgothowmuchlhatehomeschoolin

I have just printed off the BBC Good food one and am going to have a crack at it...wish me luck!

Good luck! If you could report back before Xmas I'd be grateful!!

@FOJN Thanks, I'll give them a go

@Daisy38 Thanks

This Jamie Oliver recipe is really good

www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/uncategorised-recipes/best-ever-cranberry-pistachio-nut-roast/

@Nookable that recipe looks amazing! Is it really fiddly to prepare? Do you make it on the day or do you prepare it in advance and freeze it?

@NatriumChloride it's a bit time consuming making the risotto base but I had never made risotto before then and the recipe worked fine so not difficult just a bit long. After that the steps are all easy. I'd recommend not making the silly mistake I did of buying pistachios still in the shell, would have definitely saved some time

I made it the day before and then just baked it on Christmas day. Haven't tried freezing it, but apparently risotto can be safely frozen and reheated but the texture can be affected. When eating the nut roast you wouldn't be able to guess that the base is a risotto so I think with all the other ingredients maybe any texture change wouldn't be noticeable if you get what I mean? That's just a guess though.

It is really tasty, the dried mushrooms have so much flavour. Probably wouldn't bother doing it for an average Sunday but worth the extra effort for Christmas.

Another vote for the Delia Christmas cake recipe - if it's the same one I use, she also provides a useful table for how to scale up and down for different sized cake tins, and also square and round tins. (Really important if you make lots of different sizes like I do - scaling up and down for cakes isn't straightforward!).

I made mine about a month ago, and they've been fed twice already (brandy). I also soaked the fruit overnight in brandy.

I've been using Delia's recipe for years, and everyone raves about it - even me (never was a huge lover of shop-bought christmas cakes - too much sugar, too 'cloying' - but homemade is totally different).

If anyone else is like me and also makes little individual cakes (3" diameter) and 4" diameter cakes, or 1lb loaf tin versions, then I've made 1 x 6" round mix of the Delia recipe into 6 x 3" cakes, 2 x 4" cakes or 1 x 1lb loaf tin cake. I never make really 'big' cakes, only smaller ones as above.

I've made the Mary Berry Christmas cake. I meant to go with your Delia recommendation but had a brain fart when i was googling the recipe. Smells amazing, let's hope it tastes as good!

I also use the Delia Christmas cake recipe. Swapped to Nigella one year and it was unanimously declared not as nice.

I've made this Anna Jones nut roast which is a bit different and v v nice - recipe halfway down the page

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/18/purple-pickled-cabbage-soup-anna-jones-christmas-recipes

Not helpful at all but I made the same Good Housekeeping one with the cheese in, and I have been looking for it again for years! No others come close.

@FabelTable I'm considering messaging them to see if it is in their archives. I'll then charge everyone who wants it a small fee for it!

@FabelTable Done! will let you know how i get on.

Best Christmas cake I’ve ever made is Sybil Kapoor’s Spiced Christmas cake- I got the recipe out of the Telegraph, you can probably just google it.

Crammed with lovely moist fruit, will happily absorb as much booze as you chuck at it. Far too alcoholic for children (which means there’s more for you).

Actually thinking about it, the best cake I made was not Delia's cake but Jane (and later Sophie) Grigson's Murrambidgee cake.

It's basically all dried fruit and nuts held together with a bare minimum of cake, no icing or marzipan. As it's all fruit you can feed it with vast quantities of alcohol if you so wish. And it is far far better than a standard Christmas cake.

They both sound lovely!

My favourite nut roast is Sarah Brown’s Cashew and Mushroom Nut Loaf which we usually have with mushroom & Sherry sauce www.shoestringcottage.com/layered-cashew-and-mushroom-roast/ . Absolutely the best, and will also freeze well.

Does anybody please have a recipe for a chunky nut roast, with no mushrooms?

My go to Christmas cake is this bbc good food