Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
One of the things I really enjoy during the holiday season is Stollen. I adore marzipan and dried fruits, and a bread which combines the two of them is somewhat of a delight, that is more often than not done really badly. More's the pity.
This delightful bake I am showing you today is a rif on the flavours and best bits of a traditional stollen without all of the faffing about of the original.
This is quick, simple and delicious!
It begins with a scone type of dough, made with butter and buttermilk, that you pat out to a rectangle. A mix of brandy/rum soaked dried fruits and nuts gets sprinkled over top of that . . .
This gets rolled around a long "sausage" of marzipan, almost like a cinnamon roll. I use the golden marzipan because I like it. You can use ready-made or homemade. Its your choice.
Once you have the roll, you simply cut it into twelve even slices . . .
Place the rounds on a baking paper lined baking tray . . . slighly overlapping in a circle shape . . .
And bake until it is nicely puffed and golden brown!
A simple glaze of warm sieved apricot jam and brandy/rum is brushed over the warm loaf which makes it glisten and shine . . . like a fruit and almond filled jewel!
I also like to pretty it up with a dusting of icing sugar for serving. You separate the rounds and serve to your most appreciative family and friends. This is a delight to wake up to on Christmas morning!
*Breakfast Stollen Slice*
Makes 12 slicesFor the dough:
280ml of buttermilk (2 1/4 cups)
420g plain flour (3 cups)
1 TBS caster sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
120g unsalted butter, cold, cut into small bits (1/2 cup)
Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Line a large baking sheet with grease proof baking paper. Set aside.
To make the filling, combine all of the dried fruits and pistachios in a bowl with the brandy and then set aside.
To make the dough, whisk
the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda and salt together in a large
bowl. Drop in the butter. Cut the butter into the flour mixture using
a pastry blender, or two round bladed knives, until the mixture
resembles very coarse meal. Some bits can be pea sized. You don't
want the butter to be too finely but in. The larger bits are what help
make these so flaky.
Make a well in the middle of the dry/fat mixture. Add the buttermilk all at once. Stir together with a fork, just to combine. Tip out onto a lightly floured board. Knead a couple of times to help bring the dough together and then lightly pat it out about to a large rectangle about 1/2 inch in thickness. Spread the fruit mixture over the dough to within about 1/2-inch of the edge.
Take
your marzipan and shake it into a long sausage, the length of the
longest edge of the rectangle of dough. Lay this sausage down along the
pastry's length about 1 inch in from the edge. Begin from that edge and
roll the dough up around the marzipan and continue until you have a
long, fairly tight sausage of dough. Trim off the ends. Cut the
sausage into 12 equal slices.
Lay the
slices in a ring on the prepared baking sheet, slightly overlapping the
slices. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until well
risen with a
nicely golden brown crust.
These sweet slices are so delicious and would make a fabulous Christmas morning goodie to enjoy with a hot drink. If you wanted to you could do all the prep of the filling the night before and mix together all the dry ingredients for the dough, only adding the wet first thing in the morning and proceeding. They go together really quickly after that! Happy Holidays!
I picked up a new cookbook the other day. Yes, I know . . . I couldn't resist. It was Nigel Slater's Christmas book, The Christmas Chronicles.
I expect there will be a television series to go with it over the holidays, which will be good, but I wanted to make sure my collection of his books was complete.
He had a recipe in it for Brandied Mincemeat that looked quite promising and was quite different than my old recipe for mincemeat.
As well as the regular vine fruits . . . sultanas and currants . . . it called for dried apricots and prunes. I love both those fruits and so I decided to give it a go. There is also some chopped apple in there, plenty of spice, good beef suet, lemons and . . . gulp, brandy!
I found that I had to use almost twice as much brandy as the recipe called for, and hopefully it will all have cooked off. *hiccup*
The prunes dissolved and the mixture was catching on the bottom, and so I just kept adding little bits of brandy to keep that from happening.
The end result was quite tasty however! If you don't want to use alcohol you can use some fruit juice. Just enough to keep it from catching as you cook and stir it on the stove. Orange or apple would be great!
*Brandied Mincemeat*
Makes about 3 pounds
This is what worked for me. Put the suet in a large saucepan and melt.
Stir in the sugar, half the brandy, the lemon juice and the spices.
Stir to melt the sugar. Stir in all of the fruit and the zest of the
lemon. Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium low heat for about 15
minutes. Check it frequently to make sure it doesn't catch, it if it
catching, add additional brandy a bit at a time. You may not need it
all. Have ready several large sterilized jars or containers. Allow the
mincemeat to cool completely. Divide it amongst your chosen containers
and seal. Store in a cool dark place until needed.
It makes quite a lot and so I am set for mincemeat this year! Let the Mincemeat Fest begin!
Mincemeat and Marzipan Tea Bread. If you like mincmeat you will love this moist and tasty tea bread. We
like it spread with cold butter. You just can't beat a slice of this,
enjoyed next to teh fire on a cold and windy evening. Comfortingly
delicious!
Mincemeat Rolls. Fluffy buttery cresent rolls filled with tasty mincemeat, baked and
then dusted with icing sugar and served warm. A delicious holiday
breakfast addition!
Spiced Cranberry, Mincemeat and Almond Eve's Pudding. I combined a mixture of cooked Bramley apple, along with some
cranberries and the leftover mincemeat, and then topped it with a
buttery almondy frangipane batter. Oh my . . . but this is some
good. The tartness of the bramley apple and cranberries, offset the
sweetness of the mincemeat just perfectly . . . each mouthful is
wonderfully buttery, and sweet and tart at the same time.
Mincemeat Tarts. I just adore these delicious holiday treats! Crisp and buttery pastry
encasing a delicious filling of spiced fruits, and dusted with icing
sugar. Oh, so very wonderful. It just would not be Christmas without a
breadbox filled with these!
Mincemeat and Apple Brown Betty. A delicious mix of mincemeat, apples and buttery soft bread crumbs. Serve warm
with cream or ice cream. Yum!
Holiday Split Seconds. Called split seconds because they can be thrown together quickly and
baked just as quick as a wink. These are lovely additions to your
holiday cookie trays. Great keepers and very tasty.
And that's just for starters!
Bon Appetit!
I thought this weekend I would make our Christmas pudding for this Christmas and get it done and put away so that it is nicely ripened for the big day. Christmas puddings are a really big deal over here in the UK.
Back home we might have had a Carrot Pudding with Brown Sugar Sauce, but we didn't really do Christmas Puddings as such. The carrot pudding would usually have to be made on the day, although admittedly, my MIL used to make it and freeze it, and then just reheat it in the top of a double boiler.
Christmas Puddings are a very traditional thing here in the UK. Christmas (or Plum) Pudding is the traditional end to the British Christmas dinner. But what we think of as Christmas Pudding, is not what it was originally like!
Christmas pudding originated as a 14th century porridge called 'frumenty' that was made of beef and mutton with raisins, currants, prunes, wines and spices. This was quite liquidy, would need to be eaten with a spoon like a soup, and would have been a fasting meal during the preparations up to Christmas.
By 1595, frumenty was slowly changing into a plum pudding, having been
thickened with eggs, breadcrumbs, dried fruit and given more flavor with
the addition of beer and spirits. It became the customary Christmas
dessert around 1650, but in 1664 the Puritans banned it as a bad custom. (Those old Puritans were a bunch of party-poopers!)
In 1714, King George I re-established it as part of the Christmas meal,
having tasted and enjoyed Plum Pudding, and by Victorian times, Christmas
Puddings had changed into something very similar to the ones which are prepared and eaten
today.
The Plum pudding is a national symbol – It does not represent a class or
caste, but the bulk of the English nation. There is not a man, woman or
child raised above what the French would call proletaires that does not
expect a taste of plum pudding of some sort or another on Christmas
Day.
~London Illustrated News, 1850
Traditionally a Christmas Pudding is prepared on the last Sunday before Lent, which is lovingly referred to as "Stir Up Sunday." Stir-up-Sunday is usually a family affair.
Each family member is supposed to stir the mixture from East to West to honour the journey of the Magi. This ritual is also thought to bring the family luck and prosperity in the coming year.
At one time it was also customary to hide a number of small trinkets in the mixture, a bit like the twelfth night cake. These charms often included a silver coin (wealth), and a ring (future marriage).
Woe betide the guest who stumbled across a thimble in their serving. A future of Spinsterhood was a cert for them! Nowadays this generally isn't done, although Todd does remember his mom putting coins into theirs.
I am doing mine a bit earlier this year so that I can present you a tutorial on it and give you time to get in any necessary ingredients, etc. "Stir-up-Sunday" this year will be the 19th November.
125g dried figs, quartered (3/4 cup)
100g raisins (2/3 cup)
75g golden raisins (scant half cup)
75g dried currants (scant half cup)
50g glace cherries (1/3 cup)
65g candied ginger (scant half cup)
100 ml brandy (6 1/2 TBS)
125g butter, softened (1/2 cup)
140g soft light brown sugar (2/3 cup)
1 tsp freshly grated orange zest
1 large free range egg
25g blanched almonds chopped roughly (3 TBS)
25g toasted pecans, chopped roughly (3 TBS)
90g soft white bread crumbs (1 generous cup)
30g plain flour (1/4 cup)
15g self raising flour (1/8 cup)
1/2 tsp each ground mixed spice and ground cinnamon
pinch salt
Mix
all of the dried fruit together in a bowl. Add the brandy and stir,
mixing well together. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave on the
counter overnight to macerate.
The next day bruht a 1 litre
pudding basin (5 cup) well with melted butter and place a round of
baking paper in the bottom. Set aside.
Cream the butter,
sugar and orange zest together until light and fluffy in a large bowl.
Beat in the egg. Stir together both flours, nuts, spices and bread
crumbs. Add the macerated fruit and stir together to combine. Stir this
mixture into the creamed mixture combining well together. Spoon into
the prepared pudding basin, pressing it down to compact, smoothing the
top withthe back of a wooden spoon. Tap on the counter several times to
remove any air holes.
Place a large sheet of tinfoil on
the counter. Top it with an equal sized piece of baking paper. Butter
the paper. Make a pleat in the centre of both sheets together. Wrap
them over top of the pudding, leaving room for expansion. Secure
tightly with either a rubber band or kitchen string.
Place a
small heat proof trivet in the bottom of a large saucepan (with a tight
fitting lid). Lower the pudding into the saucepan, placing it on top of
the trivet. Fill the saucepan with enough boiling water to come 3/4 of
the way up the sides of the pudding bowl. Cover tightly and simmer over
low heat for 4 to 4 1/2 hours, topping up as necessary with boiling
water. Do NOT let it boil dry.
At the end of that time,
carefully fremove it from the saucepan. Leave to cool overnight. The
next day remove and discard the messy wrappings and rewrap in some clean
baking paper, foil and string. Store in a cool dark and dry place
until Christmas.
On Christmas Day, boil or oven steam (in
the container) for about an hour until heated through. Unwrap and turn
out onto a serving plate. Serve with your favourite sauces.
(You can serve it with Brandy Butter, Brown Sugar Sauce, Cream, Custard, etc.)
This was fun. I hope you will give it a go and make your own Christmas Pudding this year. It's really not that hard to do, and when you make your own, you know exactly what has gone into it! Bon Appetite!
I am doing mine a bit earlier this year so that I can present you a tutorial on it and give you time to get in any necessary ingredients, etc. "Stir-up-Sunday" this year will be the 19th November.
The fruit mixture of the pudding is a mix of dried figs, currants, raisins, golden raisins, cherries and candied ginger.
All are mixed together in a bowl the night before you go to make your pudding and a portion of brandy is poured over top and the fruit left to macerate in this overnight on the counter top.
A clean towel over top to keep it safe from dust and insects. If you don't like to use alcohol, you can use orange juice in an equivalent amount.
The next day softened butter is creamed together with soft light brown sugar, orange zest, ground cinnamon and ground mixed spice.
You can easily make your own mixed spice: Combine 1 TBS ground cinnamon,
1 tsp each of ground coriander and nutmeg, 1/2 tsp of ground ginger,
1/4 tsp each of ground cloves and all spice. Mix well and store in an
airtight container out of the light for up to 6 months.
An egg also gets beaten into this, a bit at a time so it doesn't curdle.
Fresh soft white bread crumbs are mixed with chopped blanched almonds and toasted pecan nuts.
Two kinds of flour are stirred into this mix of nuts, bread crumbs and spice. Plain flour and self raising flour.
You can make your own self raising flour by adding 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder and 1/4 tsp of salt to every cup of plain flour.
You then mix the macerated fruit together with the flour/nut/bread crumb/spice mixture.
This mixture then gets added and stirred into the creamed mixture to combine. Make sure everyone gives it a stir and makes a wish.
Don't forget East to West, just don't ask me which is which, lol! If you are putting trinkets in this is when you would do it.
I would wrap them in cling film first or waxed paper, and don't forget to warn any guests that they are there when it comes to eating!
The pudding basin is prepared by generously brushing it with melted butter and placing a round of baking paper in the bottom.
Pack the pudding mixture into the prepared pudding basin, smoothing the top out with the back of a wooden spoon.
Once you've done this tap the bottom of the basin on the countertop a few times to settle and work out any air holes.
This is the most complicated part of the pudding. Creating the lid to wrap it in. Lay a large piece of foil on the table, and top it with an equal sized piece of baking paper.
You then make a pleat in the paper, bearing in mind that the baking paper will be the side against the pudding. Butter the paper.
I fold them in half with the paper on the inside, and then, from about 2 inches down, I fold them back on themselves.
It should look like this on the paper side, and like the top picture from the foil side.
Wrap this over the top of your pudding basin, leaving plenty of room for expansion, paper side towards the pudding. Tie it tightly onto the bowl with some kitchen twine, bakers twine or even using a rubber band.
I use bakers twine and using a generous length, after I have knotted it, I fashion a handle with the excess that I bring back over the top and secure on the opposite side. This makes it easier to lift out of the pan when its done.
Trim off the excess paper and foil so it looks nice and neat.
You will need a large saucepan that is large enough to hold your pudding basin, with a tight fitting lid.
If you have a small trivet you can place it in the bottom of the pan, or you can do like me and fashion your own using a canning jar ring and some balls of foil.
The pudding basin gets set on top of this and boiling water gets poured down inside the saucepan just to come up 3/4 of the way of the sides of the pudding basin.
Tightly covered, the saucepan is then put on a low heat and the pudding simmers away for about 4 1/2 hours. Make sure you check it periodically and top it up with more boiling water as needed. You don't want it boiling dry.
At the end of that time, remove the pudding basin and let it cool on a rack overnight. Once it is cold you can remove the old wrappings and wrap it with clean new wrappings and then store it in a dark, cool and dry place until Christmas Day! Instructions for re-heating are in the recipe.
And there you have it . . . . Christmas Pudding!
*Christmas Pudding*
Serves 6 to 7
It
wouldn't be Christmas without one. I try to make mine in November so
that it is nice and matured by the time Christmas rolls around.
(You can serve it with Brandy Butter, Brown Sugar Sauce, Cream, Custard, etc.)
This was fun. I hope you will give it a go and make your own Christmas Pudding this year. It's really not that hard to do, and when you make your own, you know exactly what has gone into it! Bon Appetite!
Who does not love a scone? A delicious tiny bread, built just for one. Small indulgences meant to be enjoyed with a hot drink . . . and sometimes cream and jam.
Not me! I adore scones! I can honestly say I have never met a scone that I didn't like!
That is why when I saw these on the Land'O'Lakes site the other day I immediately wanted to go into the kitchen and bake them.
Gingerbread Scones. Just the name is tempting! How much more festive could you get in a scone? The recipe is attributed to the Pioneer Woman.
The dough was a lot wetter than I thought it would be. She mentioned in her recipe that the dough would be crumbly, but mine wasn't. It was quite wet, but I went with the flow and just used a well floured board.
Perhaps it is the difference between British and American flour, I am not sure. If you don't want a wet dough, add the liquid ingredients gradually until you get a dough the consistency of what you are looking for.
These smell heavenly when they are baking. Absolutely heavenly.
I wanted to dive in right away.
But you really need to wait until they are cooled, and then you need to glaze them with that scrumptious cream cheese glaze . . .
And then you need to let that set before you dive in. Trust me. It will be well worth the wait.
Mmmm . . . these are FABULOUS! Really delish! Tender and flakey and oh so filled with flavour!
*Gingerbread Scones*
Makes 8
1/4 tsp each ground nutmeg and ground cardamom
1/2 tsp salt
60ml molasses (1/4 cup)
milk for brushing
demerara sugar for sprinkling (turbinado)
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Have ready a large baking sheet which you have lined with baking paper.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 24 minutes until nicely poufy and set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
Whisk together the drizzle ingredients until smooth. Drizzle decoratively over the top of the scones. Allow the drizzle to set before serving. These will keep in an airtight container for several days.
You really need to try these. They are truly wonderful! They will fill your house with lovely Christmasy Festive Smells!! Bon Appetit!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.
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