Christmas Baking

[SashaOfSiberia]

Has anyone got any festive baking planned this year?

I think its generous to describe myself as not being a natural cook, but at christmas I do try and do my bit.

There's the obvious ones likes mice pies and the cake but I'm looking for some inspiration. What are you all baking?

has anyone tried the nigella tree cake - the vanilla cake she does in the fancy tin?

For Lebkuchen in Germany you can buy ready-made spice mixture. This is what I use:

All spices are ground/grated

1/2 ts Cinnamon
1/2 ts Allspice
1/2 ts Cloves
1/2 ts Nutmeg
1/4 ts Cardamom
1 1/2 ts Coriander

Possibly some ground star anise too (my personal variation), and I usually add extra cinnamon. I would use at least 20gr of spices on 500gr of flour.

There are many many variations, by region and by family.
My recipe is made from wholemeal wheat and rye flour and contains raisins, nuts and candied peel, all finely diced, plus Brown sugar and honey. I think this year it was a bit too much honey and they're a bit hard at the moment....

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charity

Mince pie oaty cookies:

250g unsalted butter (room temp to soften)
250g light brown soft sugar
1 large egg
2-4 tsp vanilla
About 390g porridge oats
150g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
Spices- cinnamon, nutmeg, anything Christmassy
A jar of mincemeat
A couple of handfuls of sultanas

heat oven to 180c/fan 160
cream butter & sugar together in large bowl.
beat in egg & vanilla
add oats, flour, baking powder & spices & mix until well combined.
stir in sultanas and mincemeat & mix well.
divide into blobs about the size of walnuts & space well apart on baking sheets lined with baking paper & press down lightly.
bake for 15-20mins until golden at the edges.

Oh that sounds SO yummy! Thank you!

The boys (2 and 4) have made psudo lakeland trees this afternoon.
I have a set of 5 (or maybe 6?) nested start cutters, so we made basis shortbread (250g butter, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 cup ground rice, 1 1/2 cups plain flour), and both boys have made a stack. Topped with glacé icing, as I hate the taste of fondant.
The Rudolf cakes look like our next baking.

Today I made gluten free gingerbread biscuits and dh made gluten free stollen cake - both recipes from a magazine I picked up called 'gluten free Christmas' by World of Food. The stollen, I have to admit, was amazing.

I made biscotti about two weeks ago and need to make another batch as I've given some away and then I keep nibbling at it.
I've made 60 odd sausage rolls - don't know exact number as I left DP to put them in the freezer the other day and I know he'll have eaten a few in the process
Today I've made goats cheese and red onion puffs, Parmesan and pancetta puffs for the freezer and then flapjack and gingerbread as the kids break up this week and we have our first visitors coming to stay.
I'll make the cake tomorrow (Delia's last minute Christmas cake) as well as a stollen type thing and will probably make a spare during the week (not sure how much will be eaten by the guests we have over Xmas and those coming after Xmas will definitely want a lot of Christmas cake).
DD and I may make peppermint creams & fudge.

Could the Christmas wreath be made with marshmallow rather than choc? DD doesn't like choc.

I've made 2 Christmas cakes - one for us, one as usual for my Dad as Mum stopped baking them when we moved out.

I make mince pies as I hate shop bought ones.

I will also make
Rudolph cakes (mini matchmakers or chopped up curly wurly for antlers)
Rudolph gingerbread biscuits (upside down gingerbread men)
Marshmallow snowmen.
Different loaf cakes for the Christmas tea buffet.
Tiffin.

Does anyone have any links to what they make?

I made these iced cut out biscuits and they are amazing. I did lemon zest in the icing and orange in the dough. I have made loads of roll out recipes but these are hands down the best. They taste really buttery and the icing sets hard enough to pack up or let kids eat on a cream sofa but is not rock hard royal icing. I used liquid glycerin in the icing instead of corn syrup. www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/holiday-butter-cookies-recipe. The christmas recipes on that site are really good generally as they do seem to test the recipes well. The freeze ahead section is worth a read - pictures of cinnamon rolls done ahead etc...

I also made the reindeer cookies mentioned above using delia's gingerbread man recipe. cakecentral.com/g/i/1171468/i-saw-this-cute-idea-on-here-and-had-to-give-it-a-try-they-are-gingerbread-with-buttercream-decorations/. They froze really well iced with royal icing.

I am planning on doing some Nigel Slater crystallised orange and chocolate friands that were in last weeks Observer food magazine. I already did the pink whisk boozy fruit christmas cake which used up a lot of slightly ageing dried fruit that was knocking around. www.thepinkwhisk.co.uk/2012/10/christmas-cake-baking-time.html

I am looking for a recipe similar to Nigella's clementine cake but slightly less bitter. Has anyone done one?

Mince pies (own pastry must admit I bung if all in food processor- nigellas method) and delia a mincemeat
Christmas biscuits for kids to decorate for tree
Nigellas Christmas cupcakes
Lakeland biscuit Christmas tree
Gingerbread house
Snowman marshmallow cupcakes (Annabel karmel)

I didn't think it was much but written down it is!

So would love any gingerbread house tips. How long does it keep? Do you eat it at the end?

Oh my goodness have just googled Christmas cake pops. Never made cake pops... So cute.
Also forgot, am making Christmas pudding truffles

I got the recipe for Sweet Mincemeat Loaf from MN - possibly on the poncing thread last year - and it's absolutely fantastic! Flour, caster sugar, sunflower oil, an egg, milk and mincemeat. Get the kids to weigh and mix, stick in the oven for 45 mins then repeat a couple of days later because it seems to vanish almost overnight!

And Nigella's Snickerdoodles.

Does anyone have a easy peasy fudge recipe? I've never made it befor and would love to give it a go. I'm not that technical though!!

The kids made fruity Christmas biscotti with dh today to give teachers as gifts. A double batch made five big bags.
www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/8022/fruity-christmas-biscotti
They taste lovely and should keep well.

I've done this sucesfully a number of times.

Never tried it but no cook fudge is supposed to be good

Ok. Have done the lebkuchen from bbc good food today. Taste lovely. Found they only needed 10 mins in oven instead of 15 (mine may have been a bit smaller than the recipe suggested, but not by much).

Had a go at Jamie's chocolate truffles too. They were so easy to do, though I'm worried they are going to be a bit bitter as I used 85% dark choc. 70% would have been better. Still going to eat them all though

FUDGEY GOODNESS this is so simple and it tastes amazing! I pour the mix over mini marshmallows to set and it's always gone in seconds when I get it out.

The carnation coconut ice is a very similar story.

Full proof Fudge, make double as you will eat the first lot :)

Chocolate Fudge Recipe

75g full fat cream cheese
350g icing sugar
1 level tbls cocoa powder
75g plain chocolate drops
40g butter
100g white chocolate.
36 petit four cases.

Put the cream cheese into bowl, sift icing sugar and cocoa into the bowl. Mix well.
Melt butter and chocolate stir in a tablespoon of cream cheese mixture.
Then pour the chocolate into cream cheese mixture, beat together until they are creamy.
tip out and cut into 36 even pieces, roll into balls.
Melt white chocolate.
Dip balls into white chocolate, then place into petit four cases and put into fridge.

Eat within 10 days.

StillNoFuckingEyeDeer

Made your Mince Pie Oaties, bloody lovely!

Grotbagstwin thank you so much for posting the cupcake recipe on page one. They are delicious and so easy- even with a 2 year old 'helper'!

What is your recipe for cream cheese frosting?

Oh, cant believe I have only just found this thread , loads of lovely ideas. I do a lot of baking, this week has been so busy but I plan on baking this weekend. I will be making festive flap jacks (using cranberries, pecan nuts, orange zest and maybe drizzled with white chocolate), gingerbread and traditional mince pies. I don't really follow recipe's, I tend to make things up as I go along.

I am trying to make the brownies today, does anyone have a suggestion on how I should reduce the cooking time as they are going into a trsy like this

Well, cupcakes take 12-15 mins. A full cake take 40 mins?
So, what about looking at them after 1/4 of the cooking time?

How long do your brownies take in a full tin? Mine are only 20 mins, so I'd probably not bother with anything less than 10 mins.

Brownies are hard to judge when cooked tho - however just eat still warm with a spoon if they are undercooked!