St Stephen’s Pudding

The Feast Day for St Stephen falls on 26 December (Boxing Day), hence the Christmas Carol, Good King Wenceslas:
“Good King Wenceslas looked out
on the feast of Stephen, …” 
I have no idea why this is called St Stephen’s Pudding.  There is no reason given with the original recipe, where it is suggested as an alternative to [...]

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Stollen

Stollen is a traditional rich Christmas bread eaten in Austria and Germany.  It is full of dried fruits and candied peel with hidden marzipan centre topped with a drizzle of glace icing.  The way the yeast dough is rolled around the marzipan log is intended to remind us of the cloths that swaddled baby Jesus in the manger.  The usual [...]

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Basic Recipe: Marzipan (Almond Paste)

Marzipan is an ancient sweetmeat.  One of its major uses is as a layer under icing on a rich fruit Christmas cake and also at Easter as the top layer of a Simnel Cake.  It is also used in Stollen, a rich and fruity yeast bread eaten at Christmas, mainly in Germanic and Scandinavian countries.  It can also be [...]

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Lebkuchen

I love Lebkuchen, the spiced Christmas-time biscuits from Germany which are slightly soft rather than crisp.  They are often called German Gingerbread with the most famous type originating from Nuremburg. The German Food Guide gives more information on the different types of Lebkuchen.  This recipe is for the most well known type: Brown Lebkuchen, but there is a lesser known White Lebkuchen made with almonds and [...]

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Gingered Glazed Ham

Ham is a traditional meat for the Christmas table, alongside the usual turkey.  We particularly enjoy them together at tea time as cold cuts with salad, pickles and chutneys. Cooking the ham completely or partially in ginger ale, rather than conventionally in water, gives a lovely sweet flavour which penetrates the whole joint of meat. Adding [...]

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Cranberry & Orange Relish

If you are having a Turkey this Christmas the chance is that there will be some Cranberry Sauce on the table.  It’s difficult to get excited about the shop bought variety, however, even if it is one of the better quality brands.  I usually find it is not worth the bother – a bit like [...]

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‘Jolly’ Ginger Biscuits

This recipe was given to our family by Mrs Jolly, the Swedish mother of my brother’s school friend Neal.  It’s one of those recipes that works every time.  A lovely crispy spiced biscuit: very more-ish.  At a glance, the amount of spice used seems rather a lot: the original recipe calls for scant teaspoonfuls.  Once you have tried [...]

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Christmas Chutney

I suspect this is called Christmas Chutney because of its festive red and green colours and it will go perfectly with cold cuts and cheese at tea-time on Christmas Day.  It is very spicy so if you want a less hot version then halve or even quarter the cayenne pepper.  It would benefit from the addition of some raisins [...]

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Last Minute Mincemeat & Mince Pies

Mincemeat is a traditional sweetened filling which has altered down the centuries.  It no longer contains minced meat (originally mutton or pork), of course, but most mincemeat includes shredded beef or vegetarian suet.  Mincemeat is relatively easy to make, but sometimes time is tight and this is a useful shortcut.  This is an easy version for improving on [...]

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Sloe Gin

Sloe Gin is one of the tastes I associate with Christmas and this delicious plummy flavoured liqueur is very easy to make.  Sloes can be found in hedgerows during Autumn and are easy to pick. It is worth freezing a batch as they are not always easy to find: if you find a good source then make a note [...]

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