Our Family Christmas Dessert Recipes!

Christmas is coming, and it’s coming fast. We know how stressful it can be to organize and get the family and friends together, but it all ends up being worth the stress when you eat that delicious dessert you have been planning to bake for you and your guests. The dessert is the last food that your guests will be eating after you wonderfully cooked meal, so make sure you’re planning to top off the evening with a bang! 

We have provided a couple of our favourite family baking recipes during this amazing holiday season! We decided to choose quality over quantity, which is why we only provided you with 3 top recipes that your guests will enjoy!

3 Special Recipes

1. Mince Pie
2. Rich Christmas Cake
3. Chocolate Orange Mousse

1. Mince Pie Recipe – Keep calm and eat mince pies…

 

Ingredients 

• 6 oz SR flour
• 4 oz margarine
• 1-1½ tablespoon cold water to mix
• 1 jar of mince meats

Baking Instructions

a) Short crust pastry – Part I:

1. Keeping everything cool, cut margarine into small pieces and rub into the flour mixture is like breadcrumbs – or use a Kenwood mixer or similar!
2. Add the water and use knife to mix it in first, then use hands to bind it together – do not make it too wet.
3. Turn it out onto a floured board, knead slightly to get rid of cracks. Roll it out to required thickness.
4. If lining a tin for a flan, grease the tin and picking the pastry up with the rolling pin place over the tin and gently press onto base and sides being careful not to break the pastry.
5. Always rest the pastry in the fridge for about an hour before baking. To bake blind, crumple some foil and put it in the pastry.
6. Bake at 200°C for about 10 minutes then remove the foil and bake for another 2 minutes.
7. If you are covering a pie, trim the edges and using a fork, press the edges to the tin.
8. Brush the top with milk and sprinkle with caster sugar and then cook.

   b) Mince Pie  – Part II

1. Grease bun tins.
2. Roll out the short crust pastry on a floured board to thickness required.
3. The tops of the mince pies should be slightly thicker than the bases so should be cut out first.
4. For the tops, us a 6 cm. cutter and for the base a 7 cm. one.
5. Cut out about 12 – 15 tops and put to one side.
6. Roll the pastry to make it slightly thinner and cut out the same number of bases.
7. You will probably have to gather up all the pieces of pastry, squeeze them altogether and roll out again to get the required number.
8. Put the bases into the bun tins, pressing them into shape.
9. Fill them with mince meat but do not overfill.
10. Dampen the edges of the tops with water to put them on the pies and press the edges together.
11. Put into the fridge for about an hour.
12. Prick the tops with a knife, then brush them with milk and sprinkle caster sugar.
13. Put into oven at 200°C until the tops are nicely brown – about 20 – 30 minutes.
14. Carefully remove the pies and allow to cool on a wire rack.

2. Rich Christmas Cake – All I want for Christmas is you (and cake)…

 

Ingredients

 

• 6oz plain flour
• 6 oz butter
• 10 oz currants
• 5 oz raisins
• 1 oz chopped almonds
• 1 tablespoon treacle
• 6 oz soft brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 5 oz sultanas
• 2 oz glace cherries chopped
• 1 oz crystallised ginger
• 1 tablespoon mixed spice

Baking Instructions

1. Grease and line a 175mm square or 200mm round cake tin and line the base with 2 layers.
2. Tie 3 thicknesses newspapers around the outside.
3. Cream the fat and sugar, add the beaten eggs a little at a time adding a spoonful of flour with each.
4. Add the treacle (syrup can be used instead). Mix the spice with the flour.
5. Put all of the fruit in a large bowl, mix thoroughly, then add 2 tablespoons of the flour mixture and mix again so that all of the fruit is covered with the flour.
6. Add the fruit to a butter mixture and add the rest of the flour.
7. Put it all into the tin and make sure that the mixture goes into all the corners.
8. Put in the oven at 150°C for 1 hour, reduce the temperature at 140°C after that hour and then reduce again at 130°C for 1.5 hours.
9. Put a knife in the middle of the cake, to see if it comes out clean, then it is ready!
10. Leave the cake in the tin to cool.
11. When cold, remove the tin and turn upside down.
12. Remove the paper and prick the base with a skewer.
13. Pour drops of rum, whisky or brandy into the holes.
14. Keeping upside down, wrap in greaseproof paper and then foil.
15. Allow to mature for several weeks.

Chocolate Orange Mousse – All you need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt…

 

Ingredients

• ½ oz gelatin (1 packet)
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 orange
• 8 oz chocolate
• 2 eggs (separated)
• 2 oz caster sugar
• 1 small tin evaporated milk (chilled)

Baking Instructions

1. Grate the rind of the orange and squeeze out the juice.
2. Add 1 tablespoon of water to the juice and sprinkle gelatin on it.
3. Stir, leave until spongy, then stand bowl in saucepan of hot water until all the gelatin has dissolved.
4. Melt 8 oz chocolate (do not boil)
5. Whisk 2 egg whites in a large bowl
6. Add 2 oz caster sugar slowly, beating all the time.
7. Whisk the evaporated milk until thick.
8. Stir the 2 egg yolks and mix the chocolate.
9. Add the orange peel.
10. Add to the egg white mixing well.
11. Add the evaporated milk and the gelatine (slightly warm).
12. Put into a serving dish and into the fridge until set.
13. Decorate with cream.

Start planning now and practice, practice these recipes, so they can be baked perfectly, without rookie mistakes, when you have your big group get-together in one of our Party Houses!