Sicilian almond paste cookies, or Paste di mandorla are sweet and chewy and they taste great. Topped with cherry, almond etc they are simply perfect.
Christmas
Recipes that are usually associated with Christmas
Pistachio & Parmesan Sables – Cookies
Pistachio & Parmesan Sables are such tasty little shortbread crackers, perfect for snacking at Christmas, or at anytime. Easy to make and easier still to eat.
Walnut Baskets – Walnut Tarts
These little walnut baskets are based on a favourite Hungarian treat. My sister Margaret, who lives in Canada, was checking on Pinterest and came across a Hungarian treat called Diós kosárka. That translates, according to Google as Walnut Baskets. Basically these little baskets are made with a wonderfully crumbly shortcrust pastry case which is then […]
Clementine Shortbread for Christmas
Christmas deserves something extra special. So a shortbread biscuit flavoured with clementines, so readily associated with that time of year, are just perfect. They taste great and have that special shortbread crunch. Although I made shortbread just a few weeks ago I decided that a slight variation, adding the zest from some clementines, would make […]
Pandorini – Mini Italian Christmas Bread
Pandorini, the perfect individual little Christmas Bread. I have always been fascinated with yeasted Christmas bakes that are so popular in many countries. One such is Pandoro from Italy. Made in a special star shaped mould it is a tall bread with small slopes around the top, somewhat resembling a mountain perhaps. It is sprinkled […]
Lady’s Kisses – Baci Di Dama
Bite-sized little treasures that are a taste sensation in the mouth. I thought a lovely treat for Christmas would be a popular Italian cookie/biscuit known as Baci di dama, which translates as Lady’s Kisses. These are tiny little biscuit sandwiched together with some chocolate. The weight of each biscuit, before baking, is 5 grams so […]
Boozy Christmas Cake
Rich and fruity with lots of booze. Perfect for Christmas, or at anytime at all. I saw a lovely recipe on Delia Smith’s wesbite for a Creole Christmas Cake. It was a rich, fruity cake, with lots of different alcohols in it. I couldn’t fathom why it was ‘Creole’, but I was certainly intrigued by how […]
Norwegian Christmas Bread
It was suggested to me that Norwegian Christmas Bread, known as Jukekake or Julekage would be a great addition to my Christmas baking. So I checked out a few recipes and read up a little on the bread. It is very similar to some other Christmas breads, such as Panettone from Italy, and several other […]
Vanilla Yule Log – Bûche de Noël à la vanille
One of my subcribers on Youtube asked if I might be able to make a Bûche de Noël à la vanille, which very roughly translates as a Vanilla Yule Log I think. I decided to give it a try, using a Joconde type sponge as the cake base and a custard and butter cream to […]
Last-Minute Christmas Mincemeat Cake – Easy
This year I haven’t made my usual Christmas Cake or a Dundee Cake so, with just a week to go until Christmas I have decided to use a trusted recipe from Delia Smith for a last-minute Christmas cake that has mincemeat in it. I actually came across a few other recipes using mincemeat in Christmas cake […]