I was born in a cloud…
Now I am falling.
I want you to catch me.
Look up and you’ll see me.
You know you can hear me.
The world is so loud. Keep falling. I’ll find you.
Kate Bush – Snowflake
Each Christmas we go just a little bit more crazy than usual with the baking. Below you find our favorite Christmas baking recipes plus a few lists to add to the Holiday cheer.
It’s a little ‘eclectic’ collection with lots of pics to inspire you. Merry Christmas to you and may all your (baking) wishes come true! And a very happy New Year too!
Here are my not to miss suggestions to get you into the Christmas Baking Spirit! My favorite baking inspiration from other passionate bakers, my own favorite recipes neatly in a row, my best-loved Christmas movies, what to do with cranberries and….
Favorite Festive Recipes from our Own Weekend Bakery
Our ‘Perfect Christmas’ Stollen (because without it Christmas would not be…
Cranberry rondo’s with amazing creme pat almond paste filling
Mini mince pies with cranberry mince meat
Cinnamon Sugar Crusted Christmas Scones
Baby it’s cold outside Cardamom Cake
Loaf with Walnuts, Figs and Prunes
Speculaas (speculoos) the way the Dutch make it
Holiday Inspiration from Baking Friends
David Lebovitz – holiday recipes
The pink whisk
12 days of Holiday Macarons by Julia from Mélanger
Lots of Holiday Inspiration from Life’s a Feast
Sprinkle Bakes sweetness for Christmas
Books
These books are great classics, either for their recipes
or for the Christmas feeling they give you!
- Elizabeth David’s Christmas by Elizabeth David
- Christmas from the Heart of the Home by Susan Branch
- Nigella Christmas by Nigella Lawson
- Delia Smith’s Christmas by Delia Smith
- Advanced Bread and Pastry by Michel Suas
Famous Chef’s Festive Food Sites
Jamie Oliver Christmas ideas
Annabel Langbein Christmas inspiration
BBC Food at Christmas: one of the best sources for recipes
Martha Stewart Christmas recipes
A Donna Hay Christmas
What to do with Cranberries ‘tip’ 5
- A cranberry syrup and champagne cocktail
- cranberry and white chocolate cookies and biscotti
- cranberry and orange caramel sauce
- apple and cranberry crumble
- brownies with cranberries and white chocolate
Recently I made cranberry syrup from the new book by Tessa Kiros, Apples for jam. Mix this with lovely Prosecco and you have what Nigella calls ‘Christmas in a glass’! At another show I saw this topped by a cocktail maker who combined champagne with apple juice and cranberry juice and put some frozen berries in the glasses. It looked stunning.
My Christmas Baking Songs Top 7!
- Nutcracker Suite, also the version by Brian Setzer orchestra
- Let it Snow – Bing Crosby
- Christmas wrapping -The Waitresses
- Sleigh Ride – The Carpenters
- Anne Sofie von Otter – Koppången (Swedish version)
- December – Kate Bush
- It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year – Andy Williams
Nostalgic Christmas Album Top 10!
- A Merry Christmas with Frank & Bing
- A Charlie Brown Christmas – Vince Guaraldi Trio
- A Christmas Album – Barbra Streisand
- Carols from King’s – King’s College Choir
- A Christmas Album – London Symphony Orchestra
- Christmas with Julie Andrews
- Angels & Shepherds a 17th century Christmas
- Greatest Christmas Songs – Henri Mancini
- Christmas With The Rat Pack by The Rat Pack
And it’s not Christmas until we’ve seen
- The Snowman (from the song ‘Walking in the air)
- Miracle on 34th Street (1947 version with Natalie Wood)
- A Christmas Carol (1951)
- Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (the Original of course)
- Groundhog Day
- Meet me in St. Louis
- A Child’s Christmases in Wales
- Home Alone 1 & 2
- Jul i Svingen / Kerst met Linus (Norwegian / Dutch) all 24 episodes
Also nice to watch during the Season
- Love Actually with Hugh Grant
- Little Women
- It’s a wonderful life with James Stewart
- The day after tomorrow – more snow and ice than you can handle
- Christmas episodes of your favorite tv series
josephine says
Happy Christmas to all of you!!
thanks for the recipes and the fine news letters!
josephine
Michalis: meet the Greek traditional touch of Christmas Vasilopita!!! says
Hi Ed and Marieke,
I could’t help referring to the Greek tradition for the Christmas festivities and more specifically the King’s pie – Vasilopita!
Of course this cake/brioche or just bread has different recipes, stories and secret ingredients across Greece. However, we all agree to the hidden coin bringing luck to whom finds it in his/her piece. Here is some description of the history of the pie: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasilopita
Every mother, of course, makes the best Vasilopita, mine too and please excuse me not revealing her secret recipe. If you are curious, though, to what can be in it, you can check this example recipe: www.argiro.com.gr/recip…0%99s-cake
Happy holidays!
Weekend Bakers says
Thank you so much for sharing this with us Michalis. Last year we baked a Spanish version which also seems to be coming from the same tradition, with a hidden coin in it, like the French gâteau and galette des rois. We also share these feelings about baking traditions and recipes with you because they are very important: to honor them and to pass them on within your own family.
Happy Holidays to you too and a wonderful 2014!
Ed & Marieke
Marieke says
Thanks Julia, also for your seemingly endless creativity and stunning picture on your website!
Julia @ Mélanger says
Glad you loved my 12 days of holiday macarons. They were fun to make. Great round up of resources on the web from around the globe!
Roger Williams says
Just to let you know that there is a new, revised, e-book edition of Lunch with Elizabeth David. The novel involving David and her mentor, Norman Douglas, originally published by Little Brown, is available in all e-book formats and can be sampled at www.smashwords.com/books/view/29680
It is also in the Amazon KIndle store.
june in ireland who loves to bake says
Don’t forget the amazing animated film, ‘The Mousehole Cat’ – for us, it has replaced ‘The Snowman’ as our
favourite Christmas special/TV show/film to watch. I think you can watch it on YouTube, but having the
DVD and the book is even more special and magical. We’ve been to Mousehole (in Cornwall), and it’s
every bit as beautiful, charming and enchanting as the animated film lovingly expresses. As we say
here in Ireland, Shona Nollaig (that’s Irish for ‘Happy Christmas’)
Marieke says
Hello Jun,
Thank you so much for sharing this with us. We had never heard of this story. We saw Mousehole featured recently in a few programs at the BBC, Great British Bake Off was one of them, and also thought of visiting Cornwall next year.
Have a ‘Vrolijk Kerstfeest’ (Happy Christmas in Dutch) with your family and happy baking too!
Marieke