Christmas baking but for very few

[myladyjane]

my Christmases always upset me a bit because over the years I have gone from a big family to a small one (who I know I am very very lucky to have)

I always used to love baking and it was widely appreciated but annoyingly my kids never really liked it other than a couple of things and neither does dh. so as I have lost the people who used to scarf it down, for the past few years I haven’t bothered and I realised today I really miss it - the act of festive baking was a pleasure and a joy in itself.

so I have decided this year I would like to bake a few things - a couple of things my teens will eat but also a Xmas pudding and a Xmas cake.

the issue is that only myself and my mum will eat it and whilst we both love traditional cake/pudding, neither of us will eat massive portions and I don’t want to waste. My mother will happily eat small bits of cake for months after though

I know I can scale a recipe down but whenever I try, I always seem to get it a bit wrong. I am looking for hearty dense dark stuff. No nuts other than almonds sadly (mild allergy) but ready and willing to load with booze. Probably won’t ice any cake and rather go for some kind of glazed topping.

any suggestions/recipes very gratefully received. I know it will be cheaper/easier to buy but I just want to flex my baking muscles again

I've previously scaled down Christmas cake from 8 inch dia to 6 inch dia. using a hybrid of Delia Smith and Nigella Lawson recipes. You could make 2 smaller cakes and give one to your mum. Christmas cake lasts months. I think one of them has a version with glazed fruit on top.

I make Nigella’s traditional Christmas cake and pudding every year. Can’t go wrong. Can just leave out any nuts. Just scale it down.

Does this help? It's a photo of a page in one of my recipe books that shows different amounts of the ingredients depending on tin size. I sub the nuts for extra fruit.

For Christmas puddings I make them in individual pudding moulds. Give them the first steam ans normal (I use my slow cooker) and then only do a second steam as they are eaten. Any that aren't eaten can be stored until next year.

This happened to my Mum. We used to do the whole family, cousins and grandparents so maybe 15 or so people. Mum always made her Mums recipe for Christmas pudding. Over time it became fewer people (we lived overseas for a few years) and then when I got married and had children we were back to 6 but 3 people can't stand Christmas pudding! So Mum used to make the full batch and divide it into smaller portions and after cooking would freeze the extra puddings. It meant she only made them every other year and they seemed to get better with a year in the freezer!

She also made the whole cake recipe. Cut it in half after baking, iced one half (with marzipan as that was her favourite bit) and froze the other half for the following year. Worked for her so might work for you. Or ice both halves and give one to a neighbour or friend.

Just google "small batch" plus whatever you want to make and you will get tons of recipes and tips.

I see people have already recommended Nigella - her chocolate fruitcake is divine; dark, squidgy, moist, rich, totally delicious.

I don’t actually like fruitcake, but I make it every year at Christmas, and it lasts for ages. Although actually not because it gets scoffed fairly quickly. I usually freeze half of it, or even you could freeze individual slices.

https://www.nigella.com/recipes/chocolate-fruit-cake

BTW I always add loads more Tia Maria than the recipe and leave out the candied orange peel. Enjoy!

Ive just set the fruit to soak to make Christmas cake tomorrow!

Im making a full sized cake (Delia recipie). DH and I will have a couple of pieces each, and teen DS1 will eat the rest over a couple of months!

If you cut over christmas, then cut into quarters - wrap most very well in foil, and continue to feed it like you are storing it - lack of icing will help you here.

I buy a pudding (only DS eats it), and make mince pies (DS, with occasional help from DH. I make more pastry than required, and turn half into apple pies for DS2!) So also think about if there are variations thst will be appreciated by others.

We've reduced the cooking to the things most appreciated!

I do this as my family don’t appreciate traditional fruit cake. I wouldn’t let small numbers stop you, especially if it’s something freezable. Eg you could make a full batch of mince pies, freeze them unbaked, and then bake from frozen in quantities needed (I think - I’ve certainly done this with cookies, maybe have a Google first!).

Nigella’s traditional cake gives lots of different sizes and I scale it down to a 6 inch round tin every year. I worked out the volume and did it from there but it’s loosely 2/3 of the ingredients for a 6 inch square tin, baked for around 3/4 of the time that would take (but check earlier).

Thank you for all the responses. I have discussed with child number 1 and have decided to buy the pudding (I never seem to steam mine quite long enough) but I am going to make that nigella chocolate fruit cake, ginger cake and brownies. That should satisfy my baking cravings

I’ve just bought a Small Batch Bakes book from the Christmas bargains thread (https://rackhams.com/small-batch-bakes-baking-cakes-cookies-bars-and-buns-for-one-to-six-people-by-edd-kimber) It looks good but I’ve not tried it yet.

There are a million baked items you could choose from worldwide cuisine and you want Christmas cake? I'm with the kids here! Palettes change.

I usually make some nice chocolate cookies that we eat over twixmas and this year DS wants gingerbread.

Maybe you can get your baking fix without the soaked dried fruit?

But what's wrong with 'soaked dried fruit'? A lot of people like it and it's part of Christmas.

That Edd Kimber book looks good and relatively cheap. Those recipes plus tips like remembering Christmas cake lasts for months so no rush to eat it. You can also freeze a lot of things. For mince pies, you could perhaps freeze them uncooked and then bake a few at a time?

I make Nigellas Clementine Cake every year. She would be a good start I think. Look at the Domestic Goddess book.

Could you bake and then donate to a local Christmas fair / care home / church event? Speak to them in advance to make sure it would be helpful but I’m sure you could find somewhere who’d love a homemade Xmas cake

@myladyjane

These look nice, OP.

https://www.oetker.co.uk/recipes/r/mini-christmas-cakes

I'm going to make sausage rolls for a change this year, the kind with stuffing and onions. With shop bought puff pastry. Also parmesan and pesto palmiers and cheese straws. We're not bothered about mince pies or Christmas cake. But I do like a florentine and shortbread. From m&s. 🙊

Well, maybe I love baking something connected to a certain event?

I love Stollen but would never ever bake it outside November, ready for Christmas. Similar to certain biscuits.

I bake plenty of things during the year and happy to bake something else if a member of the family would like something different.
But a small number of people doesn't stop me baking my favourites for Christmas.