The big baking post

Dear reader,

As we speak, a large pot of homemade mincemeat is cooling on the stove, soon to be laced with brandy and left overnight for the flavours to blend. Commissioned by my boss to bake 2 dozen mince pies, I feel a little nervous, especially since I don't have the proper sized tin, only a muffin mould and cutters which are too small. Since the begiing of December I have made around 200 German Christmas cookies or Plätzchen. Last week I made a mincemeat cheesecake and on Sunday the flat smelled of oranges and freshly baked gingerbread as I prepared a snow topped spice cake and some orangettes. In the small hours of this morning I made Dan Lepard's cranberry chocolate snow cookies as the sky was turning the loveliest pink and orange. They were so good that I ate at least 12 of them, yes really, me who was always so self-righteous about only ever eating one transformed into a quivering wreck who raids the biscuit tin. If there was ever a case for baking overdose, it could well be me and it's not even Christmas yet.

Still, as Mae West once said, too much of a good thing can be wonderful. In the spirit of seasonal excess, I'll be posting a series of recipes, hopefully every day until Sunday, beginning with this post on Christmas cookies. I've never really been a fan of shop biscuits or boxes of chocolates, however expensive they may be. There are always the caramels, liqueurs and coconut ones which I hate left at the bottom and it always seems too much. Yet a little bag of homemade goodies makes a lovely gift, much nicer than a boring voucher or another CD and I guarantee that your friends will really appreciate the time and effort you've put in for them. I made all the Plätzchen below over about four days but you might not have the time or energy for that which I quite understand. The Spekulatius are by far the simplest and quickest, followed by the cranberry and chocolate snow cookies then the vanilla crescents, Linzer Augen and mini Stollen. The Lebkuchen and cinnamon stars are the fiddliest and most time consuming, although also the most popular. Whichever you choose, I'm sure they'll be most appreciated.

Vanilla crescents (recipe from Mingou I posted here)

Keep in a metal tin for 4-6 weeks in a cool place

Linzer Augen (recipe from Mingou I posted here)

Keep in a metal tin for 4-6 weeks in a cool place

Spekulatius

I bought my patterned form from Karstadt but any large department store in Germany should stock nice ones. If you can't find it, just use ordinary cutters in the shape of your choice.

Makes around 80

500g flour

250g butter

250g natural cane sugar

a pinch of salt

2 eggs

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1. Preheat the oven to 200° or 175° fan assisted. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix until you have a smooth dough.

2. Roll the dough out to around 5 mm thick and cut out shapes or if using a form press the dough onto the pattern evenly with a rolling pin or your hands. Place on a baking sheet covered with parchment.

3. Bake for around 10 minutes then remove carefully and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Keep in an airtight container for 4-6 weeks

Zimtsterne (cinammon stars). Recipe from the December issue of Meine Familie und ich.

I chose a different recipe from previous years in order to avoid serving raw egg white so I could give it to kids and older people. It's basically pretty similar but this time the icing is applied before baking.

Makes around 60

4 egg whites from medium sized eggs

a pinch of salt

350g icing sugar

500g ground almonds

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 tablespoon zest from an unwaxed lemon

icing sugar for rolling out

1. Beat the egg whites with the salt until stiff then fold in the icing sugar. Beat at maximum speed on your hand mixer for another 10 minutes. Put 5 tablespoons of egg whites to one side.

2. Mix the almonds with the cinnamon and lemon zest. With a large whisk, gently blend in the egg whites and leave to cool for 30 minutes.

3. Divide the dough into small portions and roll each one out between two sheets of plastic in order to avoid having a super sticky dough that remains glued to the worktop (I'm talking from experience). It should be around 5mm thick. Using a star shaped cutter, regularly dipped in icing sugar, cut out the cookies and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment, gathering up the remaining bits and rolling out again until you have no dough left over. Brush the reserved egg white mixture over the stars and leave to dry for an hour.

4. Preheat the oven to 150°C (fan assisted 130°C). Bake the stars for 12-14 minutes and transfer to a rack to cool. They should be slightly golden and chewy inside.

Keep in a metal tin for 2-3 weeks

Elisen-Lebkuchen (Recipe from the December issue of Meine Familie und ich)

Elisen-Lebkuchen are a little different from the normal Lebkuchen because there is no flour but a mix of nuts and spices instead. The cookies are pretty easy to make but decorating them takes a long time. However, all my friends loved them the best so maybe it's worth making the effort.

Makes around 60

4 medium sized eggs

1 teaspoon lemon juice

150g icing sugar

2 teaspoons Lebkuchengewürz or mixed spice if you don't live in Germany

200g ground almonds

200g ground hazelnuts

a pinch of salt

1 tablespoon zest from an unwaxed lemon

60 Backoblaten or wafers, 0.5cm (see here for more info or you can skip them if there aren't any in your supermarket)

250g bittersweet or dark chocolate, depending on your preference

chopped almonds for decorating

1. Preheat the oven to 160° or 140° for fan assisted ones. In a large bowl beat together the eggs, lemon juice and icing sugar vigourously by hand or with a mixer for around 10 minues or until thick and creamy. Add the Lebkuchengewürz, ground almonds, hazelnuts, salt and lemon zest and blend with a metal spoon.

2. Distribute the wafers on a baking sheet covered with parchment and place one heaped teaspoon of mixture on each Oblaten. Bake for around 15 minutes. Remove and leave to cool.

3. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or the microwave, stopping to stir every 30 seconds if you're using the latter. I found that melting all the chocolate at once wasn't such a good idea because it started to set before I'd finished decorating so do smaller amounts one after the other if possible.

4. Brush each Lebkuchen with melted chocolate and scatter some chopped almonds on top.

Keep in a metal tin for 4-6 weeks. Place a slice of apple inside that you change regularly and don't close the tin completely so the cookies stay soft.

Chocolate cranberry snow cookies from a recipe by Dan Lepard in the Guardian here. So easy and delicious!

Mini Stollen ((Recipe from the December issue of Meine Familie und ich)

Makes around 80

For the dough

250g flour, plus more for rolling out and the worktop

1 pack of dried yeast or half a cube of fresh

1 tablespoon milk, slightly warmed

70g sugar

125g low fat quark/curd cheese/fromage blanc

a pinch of salt

one medium egg

80 raisins

50g candied orange peel

50g candied lemon peel

a little lemon juice

Extra

100g of butter for brushing on top

100g icing sugar for decorating

1. Sift the flour into a large bowl and form a well in the centre. In another bowl mix or crumble the yeast with the warm milk and 1/2 teaspoon sugar and pour into the well. Mix with some of the surrounding flour. Leave for 30 minutes.

2. When the time's up, add in the quark, salt, egg, remaining sugar, raisins, candied orange and lemon peel and the lemon juice and knead until blended. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.

3. Roll out the dough on a floured worktop until 2.5cm thick. Cut into rectangles 10cm wide and 20 cm long. With the edge of your hand make an indentation in the middle then fold both sides (lengthways not widthways) over one another so that you have a long Stollen shape.

4. Place on a baking sheep covered with parchment and leave for another 30 minutes.

5. Preheat the oven to 180° or 160° fan assisted. Bake the stollen on the middle shelf for 15-20 minutes.

6. Melt the butter and brush generously over the top of the stollen while it's still warm. The more butter you use, the longer it will keep and the better it will taste. Dredge a thick layer of icing sugar as a finishing touch and cut into 1cm thick slices.

Keep in a metal tin for 1-2 weeks

The finished cookies, ready for giving out. Tomorrow I'll be back to talk about cake and give you an update on my mince pies. Wish me luck!

The sky this morning

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire

When I was a little girl I found it hard to go to sleep on Christmas Eve. A plate was put outside my room with a freshly baked mince pie and small glass of brandy for Santa and a carrot for Rudolph, alongside the pillowslips I left to be filled with my presents (I never got into the tradition of stockings for some unknown reason). One night I woke up to find that Santa had already been, leaving a charming note thanking me for the refreshments and a sackful of goodies. Amazingly I managed to resist the temptation to open everything and just settled for one present before going back to sleep. Today the presents lie around the little wooden tree in the living room that we always get down from the loft. For many years, we settled for an ugly tinsel covered one until I picked up the little one a few years back in a place in Nottingham where I used to go for toasted baguette with walnuts and goats' cheese before it got too pricy and finally closed down. Yet the exhileration of waking up on Christmas Day has never left me and I slip my dressing gown and slippers on before bounding downstairs in my impatience to let the gift sharing commence. There are always certain things to be done first though; most importantly the cats to be fed, the living room fire to be lit, the lunch preparations to see to and waiting for my Father to finally come downstairs because it would be unfair to open anything without him. When she was still alive, my grandmother joined us for Christmas lunch before retiring in the living room where the fire was on full to watch the Queen's speech. In true anti-monarchist spirit, I retreated to a room upstairs to watch Top of the Pops featuring all the hit singles from the past 12 months, popping down reluctantly in between to check on my grandmother while my parents were out on one of their long winter walks. When they returned, there would be turkey sandwiches (plus all that week as well!) with an enormous piece of blue stilton to be divided between us and warm mince pies with whipped double cream. On Boxing Day, my brothers were always dropped off, bringing with them a second wave of presents. My heart was always full of nervous anticipation before they arrived and I sat by the window wth dripping wet hair, waiting for the sound of a car pulling up. They would sleep in the room that is now mine on two metal framed beds, one of which sloped down at the end, munching through boxes of Quality Street or Roses chocolates and perhaps watching a cricket video which my brother had given my Dad because he wanted it himself. Things are much quieter these days but I truly enjoy the hours by the fire, engrossed in our new books, the walks out into the winter air which stings your cheeks and reminds you that you're alive when everyone else is inside celebrating or snoozing after a large meal, coming back to hot tea and trifle, scrabble battles, reading aloud to each other from our favourite texts before drawing the curtains on the icy night outside and settling down with a film. I'm already so excited about this special time to come.

In the days immediately after my return from Derbyshire, Berlin seemed cold and desolate for the first time since I've lived here. Perhaps it was simply because of frozen pipes which left me with a cold flat for nearly a week, or the frustration at the transport system paralysed by snow or just a case of post holiday blues. I threw myself into baking sessions which heated the kitchen and filled everywhere with the smell of spices and melted chocolate and had film marathons with screwball comedies. Things picked up again as the thaw came and I realised once more how much the city means to be, even when the temperature is well below zero. Last Friday I walked in the silence of the Bürgerpark, a place that is filled with memories. I remember going there on New Year's Day of 2008 with just the lightest dusting of snowflakes on the ground as the children made the most of it with snowmen and sledgerides down the little hill. I drank mulled wine while a cruel wind blew icy circles around me and last October enjoyed the final sunrays of an Indian summer, reading my book in the rose garden. Today the benches are thick with snow and the roses have been pruned for warmer times yet I felt no nostagia for those sun filled days in the winter wonderland around me.

Caught in a snowstorm on my way back from work

Icicles outside my window last week

Later on that evening, I joined Chrissi and a couple of other girlfriends for the Lucia Market the the Kulturbrauerei in Prenzlauer Berg. Even thouh it was more crowded that last year, I still found it charming and authentic in a way that some other ones are not and in spite of the freezing night, a glass of mulled wine and some Kartoffelpuffer with apple sauce lifted my spirits as we wandered from stall to stall. I even bought myself a charming little lantern which lights up my kitchen window next to the little poinsettia (see below) in its red pot covered in glitter.

Some photos from our lovely evening out at the market

To finish, a bumper set of recipes to get you into the Christmas spirit if you're not already there yet and to enjoy with others.

Moominmamma's Cold Comfort

Last Thursday I made another trip to Iittala and was lucky enough to grab this last Moomin limited edition winter mug. I took this as a sign to make another recipe from their wonderful cookbook and I spotted one called cold comfort which seemed appropriate since I'm so enjoying Stella Gibbon's Cold Comfort Farm. It's a strong Scandinavian drink, designed to be enjoyed in small quantities to revive you even on the coldest of days.

Ingredients

650g blackcurrants

240g granulated sugar

1 piece fresh ginger

1 cinnamon stick

600ml water

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp cardomom seeds

Measure all the ingredients into a saucepan and place over a gentle heat for about half an hour. Strain and serve while hot.

Lemon crumble biscuits

Loukoum made these using Jane Pettigrew's recipe from her book Tea time. They're amazingly simple and so delicious. The only thing I did was to addd little lemon juice since my dough turned out a little dry. Thanks Loukoum!

For around 50 biscuits

450g flour

200g butter

350g fine sugar

4 egg yolks

the zest of 4 unsprayed lemons, finely grated

2-3 tbsp lemon juice

1. Mix the flour and butter until you have a crumbly mixture. Add the sugar, egg yolks, lemon zest and enough lemon juice to mix the dough enough until it forms a ball. Divide it into two parts, wrap in clingfilm and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

2. Pre-heat the oven to 170°C. Remove the dough from of the fridge and take a small walnut sized piece, roll it in between your hands so you have a smooth, round shape. Place on a baking sheet lined with piece of greaseproof paper, leaving a little space between them and press the tops of the biscuits gently with the back of a fork.

3. Bake for 12-15 minutes; the bicuits should just be a little golden. Leave to cool on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack.

Spekulatius biscuits - no Christmas would be complete without them

Ingredients (makes about 65)

250g soft butter

250g butter

2 eggs

500g flour

1 tsp baking powder

250g ground almonds

1 sachet spekulatius spice mixture or you can make your own combining cinnamon, aniseed, coriander, ground cloves and cardamom

1. Mix the butter, eggs and sugar until creamy. Sift in the flour along with baking powder and spice mixture and blend together. Finish with the ground almonds and knead the dough with your hands until smooth. Wrap in clingfilm and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

2. Roll the pastry out until it's roughly 3mm thick and cut out shapes with the cutters of your choice. I mixed the Christmassy ones my Mum gave me last Christmas with the Ikea animal ones. Place your shapes on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper and leave them to rest for another 15 minutes before popping them into a hot oven at 180°C for around 8-10 minutes.

Snow topped spice cake from Nigella Lawson's How to be a Domestic Goddess

I made this cake for the first time yesterday as an easier and fruit free alternative to the traditional British Christmas cake. Apologies for the somewhat dark photos but between last night and this morning, good light was rare. I'm hoping it goes down well my German students tomorrow.

4 large eggs, separated, plus 2 extra large egg whites
125ml vegetable oil
125ml water
2 tbsp runny honey
200g dark muscovado sugar
75g ground almonds
150g plain flour
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
pinch of salt
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp all-spice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
zest of 1/2 an orange
100g caster sugar

Preheat the oven to 180c.
Whisk together the yolks and oil, then add the water, honey and dark muscovado sugar. Add the almonds, flour, baking powder, bicarb, salt, spices and zest, folding in gently. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form and then gradually add the caster sugar. Fold the whites into the cake mixture, and pour into a well buttered Springform tin. Cook for 45 minutes, or until the cake is springy on top and beginning to shrink away from the edges. Let the cake cool in its tin on a rack for 25 minutes before turning it out.

When it's completely cold, you can make up the icing. Beat the egg white with the lemon juice. Add the sifted icing sugar and beat on a low speed until well combined and smooth. The icing needs to be used immediately or transferred to an airtight container, as it hardens when exposed to air.