Christmas Special Recipes

Sweet Spiced Loaves: Melt butter, add sugar and milk, let cool to lukewarm, then combine with flour, yeast, salt, and cardamom; knead into a smooth dough, let rise one hour, roll out, spread cinnamon butter and chopped pecans, fold, braid, place in loaf tin, brush with beaten egg, sprinkle pearl sugar, bake at 375°F for 25 minutes, brush with cardamom syrup.

Mulled Apple Juice Syrup: Combine water, caster sugar, lemon zest, cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, star anise, cloves, and vanilla bean; simmer until syrup thickens, cool and store. To serve, heat 200 ml syrup with 1 L apple cider.

Whiskey and Plum Glazed Ham: Simmer ham in water with onion, bay leaves, star anise, peppercorns, allspice, and dry cider for 4–5 hours; remove skin, score, stud with cloves, brush with glaze made from plum jam, brown sugar, whiskey, and star anise; bake until caramelized.

Prosciutto‑Wrapped Parsnips: Parboil parsnip strips, wrap three strips with a slice of prosciutto and a sage leaf, bake until golden, then crisp sage leaves in oil, toss parsnips with butter, apple cider vinegar, and honey, glaze until sticky.

Spiced Pear Sticky Toffee Cake: Poach peeled pears in water with sugar, cinnamon, lemon zest, and star anise; cool in liquid. Prepare batter with softened butter, brown sugar, golden syrup, eggs, self‑raising flour, mixed spice, dates, and bicarbonate of soda; pour batter over pears in a springform pan, bake for about 1 hour, then drizzle with maple‑rum glaze.