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Original poster

Christmas cake, Christmas pudding etc. Bought or home-made ?

47 replies

WildRosie · 03/12/2021 12:49

Also mince pies, trifles, Black Forest Gateaux and so on. Are you happy with supermarket offerings, do you go to a bakery or someone else who is good at these things ? Or do you make your own ? I admit I don't eat any of these - they're just not to my taste so it's my loss - but I'm interested to know what other people do. My auntie used to make her mince pies from scratch, including the mincemeat. My Mum - her sister - was very admiring and appreciative. Is there any significant difference between supermarket stuff and baker's or your own ?

Thankyou.

OP posts:

EwwSprouts · 03/12/2021 20:58

Thank you!

Original poster

WildRosie · 03/12/2021 20:58

All you home bakers, preservers and icing afficianados have my admiration.

OP posts:

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 03/12/2021 22:31

I expect in 'the old days' it was cheaper and nicer to home-bake, but these days there's no point (unless you enjoy doing it).

You have a touching faith in manufacturers. There's a lot of palm oil in commercially produced food and I try to avoid that for environmental reasons, so that's one reason to be a home baker. I don't do it because it's cheaper, as it probably isn't. I don't get the economies of scale a manufacturer would have buying all the ingredients in bulk. What I do get is total control over what goes into our food, and it gets made to our taste. I'm not obsessive about this as I do buy quite a bit of ready-made stuff for Christmas - stollen, shortbread, Lebkuchen, Bahlsen Choco Leibniz biscuits, for example. But for some reason all the very traditional UK specialities (pudding, mince pies, Christmas cake) are the ones I much prefer to make myself.

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BarbaraofSeville · 03/12/2021 23:03

I expect in 'the old days' it was cheaper and nicer to home-bake, but these days there's no point

Except that just about anything you buy in a supermarket, including high end, isn't a patch on home made.

I have no idea how the costs stack up, and I'm not a particular talented baker, but supermarket mince pies, any cake, trifle, tirimisui, etc are all pretty disappointing compared with home made.

dubyalass · 03/12/2021 23:13

I make the Christmas cake because mum made one every year so I'm carrying on the tradition, right down to the decorations. It's only me who would eat Christmas pudding so I don't bother. I buy the all butter mince pies; never tried making my own mincemeat but maybe I'll give it a go. I love baking though.

KohlaParasaurus · 03/12/2021 23:18

I buy all of it, usually in the post-Christmas sales because we love Christmas pudding and rich fruit cake and don't mind eating them out of season.

TheLeadbetterLife · 03/12/2021 23:25

I make my own pudding, cake and mince pies - every part from scratch - and I love them all. Much better than shop bought, even if I say so myself. I dislike shop bought mince pies in particular. You can sometimes get good puddings off the shelf, but they don’t beat home made - I’ve perfected my recipe and it’s very involved. Christmas pudding is a once a year sublime treat, the ultimate dessert.

TheLeadbetterLife · 03/12/2021 23:28

Also I’m not sure with these particular things it was ever cheaper to make than to buy. The ingredients - dried fruits, spices, brandy etc - have historically been major luxuries.

RoseMartha · 03/12/2021 23:43

Trifle from scratch
I have made a Christmas cake in the past but now I would be the only one eating it so opted for a very mini version from supermarket.

Pudding shop bought a small one as again, only I eat it.

Now you mention the mince pies. I might make some as I am not keen on shop ones.

Tbh I dont buy a lot of extra food. As there is no need.

ISpyCobraKai · 03/12/2021 23:50

Bought, but I live on my own and it's not worth the effort.
Also, I'm really shit at baking!

Greytminds · 04/12/2021 00:00

I like to make a Christmas cake and I do think that homemade is better than shop bought. I really enjoy the process and the decorating. I need to be dairy free this year, and being able to make a cake I like that meets my own dietary requirements is useful, although I’m not a huge fan, I make it mainly for DH.

Can’t say the same for mince pies though - definitely prefer shop bought and there is such a variety now. Greggs are surprisingly good and usefully dairy free/vegan friendly.

GoodVibesHere · 04/12/2021 03:48

Well I must have different taste then as I always, always prefer shop bought. Especially with yule log.

I've eaten plenty of cake, pies and pudding made by family and friends but nothing beats M&S/ Taste the Difference etc. (in my opinion!).

beautifullymad · 04/12/2021 05:14

I make my cake and have done for 20 years using my great grandmothers recipe.

After a few lazy years of buying in I've realised you cannot buy quality without going to extremely expensive shops and even then it's not as good.

And luxurious Christmas cake isn't expensive to make. That's the thing that irks me.

It's worth noting that you don't bake a Christmas cake, you bake a heavy fruit cake (this years had extra cherries and nuts in), the transformation to Christmas cake come when it's laid away and fed.

I feed with either a quarter bottle of amaretto or brandy. You feed once a week for months. Its boozy as I like it this way. It's also huge so the amount of alcohol sounds more than it is per slice.

It takes 6 hours to cook mind, so it's a whole day to make.

Christmas pudding are always bought but laid away for up to three years. The ones you pay more for have been stored and you are paying for storage. So it's not worth it. Just buy this year enough for your Christmas in three years time.
They keep well, I can attest to this.

ouchmyfeet · 04/12/2021 06:08

Always home made Christmas cake and pudding. I love the process as much as eating the results. That boozy fug in the kitchen on a cold November weekend is very nostalgic for me.

Have tried home made mince pies a few times but mine are never as good as shop bought ones. My MIL insists on bringing her home made mince pies every year and they are always rotten

Does anyone who makes their own marzipan have a recipe they could recommend? I usually buy a block. Tried making my own last year but it didn't turn out great .

TheLeadbetterLife · 04/12/2021 09:15

I made my own marzipan for the first time last year, to make marzipan fruits to decorate my cake. They looked and tasted fantastic, but the texture wasn’t quite right. I think I used delia smith’s recipe for almond paste, but I can’t remember exactly.

Where I went wrong was not letting the almonds dry out after skinning them I think. The mixture was too wet.

I’m going to try again this year, as I liked having a cake decorated with marzipan and nuts instead of icing.

MarmitesMyMate · 04/12/2021 09:22

I'm the only one who wants Xmas cake. So I just buy one of them slab ones. Like a massive slice.
My dad makes one every year. So when I go there I bring a chunk back too. And often pop in for some, as when I know it's there I HAVE to have it haha

Mince pies. We do make with the dcs. But they often end up a disaster! So I always buy some too.

Xmas pud I buy. My dad made one a few years ago and wow the alcohol he put in burned my throat! I think it was his way of getting to have it all :p and not share with all of us.

I normally order some nice Xmas cupcakes for the dcs as they don't like 'xmas' foods

Original poster

WildRosie · 04/12/2021 11:18

It seems that shop-bought mince pies are more popular than home-made. How are they best served - warm, cold, with brandy butter, cream, rum sauce ? Or just as they are ?

OP posts:

CounsellorTroi · 04/12/2021 11:56

I make my own Christmas cake. I have a great recipe for a last minute Christmas cake that dorsn’t need maturing. Bake mince pies from shop bought pastry and Waitrose mincemeat. Lovely and so much less stodgy than shop bought ones. Never make Christmas pudding.

TheLeadbetterLife · 04/12/2021 12:27

@WildRosie

It seems that shop-bought mince pies are more popular than home-made. How are they best served - warm, cold, with brandy butter, cream, rum sauce ? Or just as they are ?

The thing with mince pies for me is that my parents were into the whole foods movement in the 80s, so I grew up with wholewheat pastry. I find shop bought mince pies too sweet and claggy with the thick, refined flour pastry.

I have them warm or cold, with brandy butter, or a slice of good, strong mature cheese.

RubyTuesday70 · 04/12/2021 12:31

We rarely have shop bought puddings/cake - I love baking, but admit to struggling to find the time these days.

I usually make a christmas log; white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake or trifle for christmas day. And my Dad is obsessed with baking mince pies/sausage rolls so we have a solid supply all through December.

Cakemonger · 04/12/2021 12:46

Christmas pudding - I make my own because I enjoy it but shop bought eg M&S is also delicious. Homemade brandy cream with the pudding is divine and better than shop bought.

Mince pies - Like both homemade and shop bought but consider them very different things. The best mince pies on earth are from Betty's imo.

Yule log - Not mad about the shop bought ones so trying to find a recipe I like, made Nigella's last year but was far too sweet and cloying so trying one without ganache this year.

Marzipan - I made my own one year (Nigel Slater recipe) but found I prefer the stronger taste of shop bought.

Christmas cake - never found a shop bought one I like. My fave homemade recipe is a slightly lighter one with whiskey from Felicity Cloake in the Guardian, though I like more traditional recipes too. No icing for me just marzipan on top.

In general homemade is nicer I find unless you have a very sweet tooth.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 04/12/2021 14:32

@TheLeadbetterLife

Where I went wrong was not letting the almonds dry out after skinning them I think. The mixture was too wet.

I’m going to try again this year, as I liked having a cake decorated with marzipan and nuts instead of icing.

I use Delia’s recipe for marzipan, @TheLeadbetterLife, and I have found it needs more ground almonds than the recipe says - maybe 100g more. I just keep on adding them until the texture is right and it’s not too wet any more.

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