Rachel Allen
Your complete guide to Christmas baking
There’s so much more to Christmas baking than just Christmas cake, plum pudding and mince pies. As delicious, and integral to the Christmas season as those things are, I often long for something else at this time of the year, but still want to keep it festive.
Mincemeat is so much more versatile than you might think. Added into an apple tart, a crumble or even dotted in a bread and butter pudding, it’ll add a bit of Christmas cheer for even the staunchest traditionalists. This mincemeat crumble cake, right, that we’ve been making at the cookery school for a few years now, is one such example. It comprises three great textures: buttery sponge, gooey mincemeat and a topping of crunchy crumble — just what I want at this time of the year with a cup of coffee. It’ll work in other seasons too, just replace the mincemeat with raspberry jam, apricot jam or whatever jam takes your fancy.
The clementine and almond cake (see page 38) is one that I love at any time of the year, but this recipe, which came from my sister, Simone, and is in my new book Home Baking, is particularly festive, and a gluten-free goodie too. You could use tangerines, satsumas or mandarin oranges instead, if you wish.
If you’d like something a bit lighter but no less indulgent, then I recommend the orange meringue roulade (see page 38).
The orange curd (also see page 38) makes a nice change to a classic lemon curd, and would even welcome some pomegranate seeds, if you like. Add a bit of crunch to the meringue by folding in some chopped pistachios after whisking, and you have a deliciously nutty Christmas ahead of you.
Happy baking! Cover: Cardigan, Marks & Spencer; page 38, dress, See by Chloe, Brown Thomas. Make-up by Roisin Derrane for Lancome Paris, available from stockists nationwide. Hair by Ellie O’Donovan, The Edge Hair Design, Cork, using L’Oreal Professionnel Tecni.Art Styling Products Christmas props, Marks & Spencer
“Mincemeat is so versatile. Added to various recipes, it gives a bit of Christmas cheer”