Christmas baking and cooking

[Stumpedasatree]

I can't see a similar thread so thought now is a good time for one! Thoughts/plans/recipes all welcome here.

I have attempted to make my own mincemeat this year following Mary Berry's recipe and have 4 jars in the fridge now, plan to batch make some mince pies tomorrow and freeze most of them.

I have my fruits soaking in brandy and sherry for the Christmas cake, also Mary Berry. It's a traditional style one with proper white ready rolled icing. I've never iced before so suspect I may skip the icing and just glaze with apricot jam and top with fruits. I'd like to get this baked later today but need to get some muscovado sugar and treacle yet!

I also want to do some spiced biscuits, probably tomorrow as well.

I’m not making a Christmas cake this year but I have decided to make all of the pudding options for when we host on Boxing Day this year. I’m thinking I need 3 options but they will need to be baked on Christmas Eve so need to be recipes that will last and still be at their best after 48 hours. So far I’m thinking of a sticky toffee pudding and a chocolate tart.
Oh and I’m also planning some Christmassy biscotti.

I'm doing gingerbread biscuits in the shape of christmas puddings, dipped in white chocolate, those are going to be gifts for the neighbours. I've got my cakes baked (one for us and one for my parents) and being fed, and I'm planning on doing them with royal icing, and some sort of penguin scene I think. I've also done a Christmas pud which is also being fed regularly. I've got some homemade mincemeat so might do some pies too. I love christmas baking :)

I’ve made my mince pies, just store bought shortcrust pastry and then store bought mince meat pepped up with orange juice, orange zest, dried cranberries and a big glug of brandy.

I’ve also made coconut buns and bakewell buns (my grandmas family recipe) Basically these are just jam in a shortcrust pastry with a coconut sponge or plain sponge topping.

They are all in the freezer ready to get a few out at once.

I’ll make a cheesecake - probably with fruit topping on Christmas Eve for the big day and some hm sausage rolls.

The other thing I make which is ridiculously easy and popular with my family is peppermint bark.

So melted milk chocolate with a couple of drops of peppermint essence spread out in a thin layer with smashed up peppermint candy canes, chocolate chunks, sprinkles and edible glitter. I usually drizzle a bit of white chocolate on too. Then the whole thing is chilled and is honestly like chocolate crack.

None of us like Christmas pudding or traditional Christmas bakes, so this year I’m doing a Mary Berry profiterole wreath!

Sounds lovely!

@Allmyarseandpeggymartincan I have the recipe for your coconut buns? I adore coconut! And maybe elaborate on the jam ones too? Thank you!!

Profiterole wreath sounds very clever - beyond me!!

For Christmas day itself I am thinking a ginger sponge pudding (instead of Christmas pud although may one of those) and chocolate roulade.

I saw a Christmas pudding brownie recipe with brandy buttercream in Delicious magazine the other day, that’s going on the list. And I’ll do a Yule log this year. Usually whip up a batch of ice cream too, often mince pie flavoured but I think this year I’ll do gingerbread and caramel 😋

@ Stumpedasatree of course! But I’m off on the office Christmas do tonight so will post it tomorrow

I made the Xmas pudding as per my grandma's old recipe on stir up sunday. She was a primary school cook back in the day so it's a local authority recipe she has scaled back to individual portion size. And cos it was geared it kids it's more cakey and spongy than a traditional pudding so a big hit.

Braised red cabbage has been made using the Jamie Oliver recipe and has been frozen in batches ready.

Xmas cake has also been made using the Mary Berry recipe. I hate Xmas cake but DH and DM swear it's the best Xmas cake ever. Its now under the stairs being fed with DH best brandy. But shhhhh he doesn't know that bit. I'm no good at icing so just do a layer of marzipan and icing on the top only.

I made the Xmas pudding as per my grandma's old recipe on stir up sunday. She was a primary school cook back in the day so it's a local authority recipe she has scaled back to individual portion size. And cos it was geared it kids it's more cakey and spongy than a traditional pudding so a big hit.

Braised red cabbage has been made using the Jamie Oliver recipe and has been frozen in batches ready.

Xmas cake has also been made using the Mary Berry recipe. I hate Xmas cake but DH and DM swear it's the best Xmas cake ever. Its now under the stairs being fed with DH best brandy. But shhhhh he doesn't know that bit. I'm no good at icing so just do a layer of marzipan and icing on the top only.

My daughter made some mince pies in Home Ec this week with a piped shortbread topping. They were delicious!

I've been feeding my xmas cake for month or so.
I don't really like icing of any kind so I've decided to marzipan it and then cover it in chocolate fudge. Not real fudge, but the kind that is made using just chocolate and condensed mik.
Then I'm going to decorate it like a tree stump and stick marzipan mushrooms and pistachio crumb lichen on it.

I've also got prunes soaking in booze so they are going to be stuffed with a half hazelnut or stem ginger and then coated in dark chocolate.

Lastly I have raisins soaking in booze that I'm going to try to make ice zabaglioni with.

Don't forget Christmas pudding! Eliza Acton's recipe is best - can be found online - so much better than shop bought! Nigella's Yule log also amazing. I'm doing Delia's cake this year.

My cake is maturity nicely, DH has offered to decorate it this year, after over 30 years of me complaining about have to do it. I'll make mince pies nearer Christmas. Last year I got a nasty burn after making stollen so this year I'll make 2 small ones. We'd decided to make chocolate rum tart from the Booth's food brochure, but DD has announced they will be coming for Christmas after all so I need to dig out the pudding from last year to check it's OK.

I made mince meat a couple of months ago - using either Sara Raven or the Hairy Biker's recipe (I have both and know I looked in both books) and changed it by using a German fruit liqueur as the liquid (and a bit more than recommended to just finish off the bottle). I will test it out this coming weekend.

I will also be making some candy cane cookies if I can find the recipe again...DD loves them but they are a time consuming bake.

I make a relatively plain cookie for Christmas as well - an Usborne beginner cook's book recipe (20+ years old now) that can be adapted to be orange and lemon, chocolate or coconut - and I've adapted it to include nuts, or to be plain vanilla. It's a log of dough, that you slice off rounds to bake. And it keeps in the fridge for a week or freezes - so I make them in early December, bake half, and freeze half - as DD always wants to make cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve, some years we have the time and energy to bake them from scratch, but some years, it has been a lifesaver to take the pre-made batch from the freezer and just bake them without mixing.

After 20 years of marriage, I have yet to make a cake or pudding. DMIL used to make a cake for us, a much paler fruit cake than my DM but it was a cake - then DH started to say it wasn't eaten (oh yes it was, he just hates fruit cake! But I don't!) so now we don't have it anymore. And DM makes a pudding still but I won't get that until I see her after Christmas. So I may make one or both this year myself - it's just that I work FT, run a Cub Scout pack, and a youth sailing group, DD has SENs, DH also works FT, and even my beloved crafting has fallen off the table so getting time for baking has stalled entirely. Perhaps though this weekend as DH is away on Saturday night and hopefully taking DD with him so I will be alone from finishing Cubs at 1pm Saturday until late on Sunday afternoon!! And I have a fair amount of present buying and wrapping, and card writing. already done...so I can do crafting and baking instead, I hope. (After tidying a few big clutter spots in the house.....).

Made 2 dozen mince pies today - blimey, the pastry never seems to go far!

They're boxed in the freezer now. Also done some Christmas nuts, one batch roasted in cinnamon, mixed spice and honey, and the second lot spicy with a cayenne kick. I'll eat them if no-one else does!

The cookies you make sound lovely @BiddyPop, amazing that you have so much on and time for baking. The Christmas cake itself really is low effort to make, you just need time for fruit soaking beforehand. I think pudding is more laborious.

@VestaTilley shall check out Eliza's pudding recipe now, thanks!

We have stuff in for Christmas cake but holding off for now, I know it's already getting late and it won't have time to mature, but DS is starting to get into baking, so I wanted to do it together. He's just turned 3 and doesn't really get the longer run up to Christmas, so if we make it too soon he'll tantrum that we can't eat it, then forgot that he made it by Christmas.

Also going to make a gingerbread Christmas tree, we do gingerbread quite often so just going to crack on when we have a quiet day, and make another if it gets eaten beforehand.

@Stumpedasatree - Granny B’s Coconut Buns - shortcrust pastry bases, add a spoonful of your favourite jam and then top with coconut mixture (1 egg, 50gms self raising flower, 100gms desiccated coconut, 75gms butter, 75gms caster sugar, all mixed together) stick in the oven at 180ish for 20-25 mins until golden. They freeze beautifully.

Thanks Arse! Shall give them a go :)

Ooh. Am thinking on making mince pies this year. Any nice mincemeat recipes to share? And best pastry recipe? I love really buttery shortcrust pastry.
Ds would love to help make cookies, any good recipes to follow?