Wishing you a joyful Christmas and prosperous New Year.

Prune and Chocolate Torte
Submitted by Amy Rees from BBC Good Food

Ingredients

• 250g no-soak prunes, halved
• 4 tbsp brandy
• 25g cocoa powder
• 100g plain chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids), in pieces
• 50g butter
• 175g golden caster sugar
• 4 large egg whites
• 85g plain flour
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• Lightly whipped cream or crème fraîche, to serve

Put the prunes and brandy in a small bowl and leave to steep for about 30 minutes until most of the brandy has been absorbed.

Preheat the oven to 190C/Gas 5/fan oven 170C. Grease a 23cm/9in loose-bottomed cake tin or springform tin. Put the cocoa, chocolate, butter and 140g/5oz of the sugar in a pan, add 100ml/31⁄2fl oz hot water and gently heat until the mixture is smooth. Leave to cool slightly.

Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, then gradually whisk in the remaining sugar. Sift the flour and cinnamon over and gently fold in with a metal spoon, until almost combined. Add the chocolate mix and fold in until evenly combined.

Pour the mixture into the tin and arrange the prunes over the top (they will sink into the sponge during baking). Sprinkle over any remaining brandy and bake for about 30 minutes until just firm. Serve with cream or crème fraîche.

Christmas Game Pie
Submitted by Georgina Kershaw via Paula Rowlinson

It’s that time of year again, when we have been asked for our traditional recipes, and once again I asked my good friend Paula Rowlinson to look through her grandparents original recipe book and here it is :

Ingredients

• Chicken. Pheasant, Rabbit, Guinea fowl or any variation
• 4oz parsley
• White sauce, stock
• Short crust pastry
• Prunes
• Walnuts

Method

• Pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 4 / 180C
• Cook game, remove from bone (do not use too much  water)
• Line a baking tin with pastry
• Chop meat into cubes and place in the tin
• Make the white sauce with the stock and add the parsley, pour over the meat.
• Cover this with the prunes and walnuts
• Cover the pastry by brushing with beaten egg
• Before putting in the oven make 2 small holes for the release of steam
• Cook for 1.5 hours

Whiskey Turkey
A special Christmas recipe from Stephen Wynne-Jones

Step 1: Go buy a turkey
Step 2: Take a drink of whiskey
Step 3: Put turkey in the oven
Step 4: Take another 2 drinks of whiskey
Step 5: Set the degree at 375 ovens
Step 6: Take 3 more whiskeys of drink
Step 7: Turn oven the on
Step 8: Take 4 whisks of drinky
Step 9: Turk the bastey
Step 10: Whiskey another bottle of get
Step 11: Stick a turkey in the thermometer
Step 12: Glass yourself a pour of whiskey
Step 13: Bake the whiskey for 4 hours
Step 14: Pour another whisk of glasskey
Step 15: Take the oven out of the turkey
Step 16: Floor the turkey up off of the pick
Step 17: Turk the carvey
Step 18: Get yourself another whittle of Boskey
Step 19: Tet the sable and pour yourself a glass of turkey
Step 20: Bless the saying, pass and eat out
Bon Appetit !!!!

Trench Cake – a Christmassy, vegan take on the classic!
Submitted by Sam Townsend

The non-vegan recipe was first used during the Great War, December 1914 (just replace with margarine and cows milk).

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb flour (about 2 cups)
• 4 oz non-dairy margarine
• 1/4 pint of oat milk
• 3 oz brown sugar
• 3 oz cleaned currants
• 2 teaspoons cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• grated lemon rind

Method

• Preheat oven to 350F/ 180C/ GM4
• Grease and/ or line an 8” cake tin
• Rub together the non-dairy margarine and flour (just like making a crumble topping)
• Add the rest of the dry ingredients EXCEPT the bicarb
• Mix together the oat milk and bicarbonate of soda
• Add to bowl and mix well – it will make a thick batter
• Pour into tin and bake for around 1 hour, or until knife comes out clean
• Remove from tin once slightly cooled and then allow to cool completely
• Best served with a steaming hot cup of tea!

Tropical Christmas Cake with Coconut Icing
Submitted by Jennifer Ball, original version on bakearama

A fresh twist on the original classic!

Ingredients

• 600g mixed tropical dried fruit (I used a 200g mix of apricots, sultanas and apples, plus 400g mix of pineapple, papaya and mango)
• 50ml rum or other spirit (optional)
• 185g butter
• 185g golden caster or light brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 225g plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 30g chopped crystallised ginger
• Spice blend as desired (I used 1 teaspoon each of cinnamon and ginger, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of nutmeg )

For the icing: –

• 75g butter
• 150g icing sugar
• 200g desiccated coconut

Method

If you’ve time, soak the dried fruit overnight in the rum , in a covered bowl.
Beat together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs, spices, baking powder and sieved flour, and beat again until smooth.
Finally, add the dried fruit and ginger and mix well combined with an even distribution of fruit.
Pour into a greased, lined in – 7 inches round with high sides is perfect, but you could use a larger round, a square or even a novelty tin.
Bake at 150 degrees for 2 1/2 – 3 hours, until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Timing will very much depend on your oven type, mine took around 2 1/2 hours in a fan oven. If the top is starting to brown then cover with tin foil for the remainder of the cooking time.

Remove from the tin and leave to cool completely – overnight is ideal as you don’t want the icing to melt off!

For the icing, simply beat together the butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy. If you have an electric stand mixer then leave it on for 4-5 minutes, the extra beating will lighten the mixture so that the tallow of the butter fades into a white.
Add the coconut and beat again until smooth, use a dash of milk if it’s a little too stiff.
Use immediately as it will set hard – applying generously all over the cake, and smoothing with a palette knife dipped in hot water.

Jennifer Ball

As Marketing Co-ordinator for Esker UK, Jennifer manages Esker UK's marketing campaigns and events for S2P solutions. She has been part of the Esker family since 2019.

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Wishing you a happy and peaceful Christmas.

Recommended by Raj Sahota. Recipe from BOSH!:

Vegan Giant Christmas Sausage Roll

A Christmas Dinner centrepiece. High taste, high protein and high praise to BOSH! for the recipe.

Ingredients

• 3 Parsnips – boil in salt water till soft, drain well, cool before using
• 100g Hazelnuts
• 1 Red Onion
• 150g Chestnut Mushrooms – chopped
• 400g Butter Beans
• 400g Cannellini Beans
• 100ml Vegetable Stock
• 2 tbsp Maple Syrup
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
• 2 cloves Garlic grated
• 2 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
• 2 tbsp Chickpea Flour
• 1 tsp Thyme leaves
• 1/2 tsp Fennel Seeds – crushed
• 1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
• ¼ tsp fresh black pepper
• 100g pre-cooked Chestnuts -roughly chopped
• 200g Brown Breadcrumbs
• 2 sheets Pre-rolled Puff Pastry
• Olive Oil -to brush pastry and fry onions

Fry the onion ’till softened. Add chopped mushroom and cook about 7 minutes. Put in the blender with the cooled and well drained parsnips and whizz. 

Tip in the butter beans, cannellini beans and the cooked & chopped chestnuts. Blend to a thick paste. Add everything else and blend well.  Transfer to a bowl and add breadcrumbs. Mix thoroughly.

Place greaseproof paper on the baking sheet. Lay both sheets of pastry side by side. Carefully spoon the mixture into a mound of 2.5 inches high on one pastry sheet. Decorate the pastry that will go over the mound using cookie cutter. Brush the sides of pastry with water. Hold the greaseproof paper on the edges to get the pastry onto the sausage mixture. Seal edges firmly with your fingers then press the edges down with a fork to seal and decorate. Brush with olive oil. Bake till golden, 35– 40 minutes on 200 degrees Centigrade.

—–

Submitted by Georgina Kershaw from Paula Rowlinson:

Christmas Pudding

One of my closest friends has always sworn by her Nanny’s and Pop’s Christmas pudding, Dorothy and Vic Day. Vic continued to make this Christmas pudding up until he died in 2013 at the age of 94, he then handed the original recipe book over to his Granddaughter.

Now his granddaughter, Paula Rowlinson has shared it with a few of her friends because it is just too good to keep a secret, so give it a go….we all are!

Ingredients

• 1 x egg beaten
• 8oz of wholemeal bread made into breadcrumbs
• Chopped nuts
• Small grated carrot
• Grated orange rind
• 8oz of raisins
• 2oz of currents
• 2oz of sultanas
• 4oz of brown sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 4oz of sunflower margarine
• 1 x tablespoon of milk
• 1 x tablespoon of brandy
• 1 x teaspoon of ground ginger
• 1 x teaspoon of mixed spice
• 1 x tablespoon of syrup

Mix well and then pour into a pudding bowl, steam for 4 hours and then re-steam again for 2 hours when needed.

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Recommended by Amy Rees

Christmas Fairy Cakes

These delicious little cakes are great to put out when guests call round at Christmas.

Ingredients
125g soft butter
125g self-raising flour (or to make these chocolately, replace 40g of flour with cocoa)
125g caster sugar
2 large eggs
½ tsp of vanilla extract.
1 tsp cinnamon
2-3 tablespoons of milk.

Put everything, apart from the milk, into a bowl and use a mixer or an electric hand whisk to combine. Add the milk and mix again.
Share the mixture out between 12 cake cases in a cake tray and bake for 15-20mins at 200oc.
Ice with white icing and edible glitter or other sparkly cake decorations.

Boxing Day Pancake Brunch

Something to try throughout the festive season for breakfast, brunch, lunch or supper! Recipe makes enough for approximately four people.

Ingredients
• 270g plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 dessert spoons caster sugar
• 260ml milk
• 2 large eggs
• 4 tbsp melted butter (cooled slightly)
• Extra butter for cooking

Put the flour, baking powder and sugar into a large bowl. Stir lightly and add the milk, melted butter and eggs. Use a balloon whisk to create a silky, thick batter.
Use a frying pan to cook the pancakes on a low heat. Melt a small blob of butter, then add small dollops of the batter. You can cook multiple pancakes at a time. Leave the pancakes alone until the batter circles start to bubble, then turn over. Once golden on both sides, remove from the pan. They should be thick and fluffy.
This is a great American-style pancake recipe on its own, but for Christmas, top a stack of pancakes with clementine segments, chocolate-hazelnut spread, a sprinkle of cinnamon and a drizzle of honey.
Alternatively, serve with sausages, blueberries and a drizzle of honey.

Esker UK

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