Our resident baking expert and Great British Bake Off Contestant in 2016, Val Stones aka The Cake Whisperer, shares her favourite festive bakes — with a twist! Here, Christmas pudding and mince pies get a magical makeover as Val reveals how she prepares for the special day.
I love everything about Christmas — from the buying of the gifts that I do throughout the year, to the writing of Christmas cards. When I see something that I know would be just right for a family member or friend — I buy it! The only difficulty with doing this is that I sometimes forget that I have already bought for someone and then buy something else. I store the gifts in a huge drawer under the bed and start adding to it from January onwards (as there are always bargains to be had in the sales).
In October I haul the gift drawer out, spread the presents across the bed, look at them and wonder why I thought any of them were as perfect as I had decided 10 months earlier! I decide who will get what, and perhaps a little extra, so off I go again shopping for Christmas.
When I visit family or friends, I note what ‘smellies’ are in their bathroom and hope that they are still into them by the following Christmas. Most of the ladies in my family enjoy baking, so I can always find something baking-related to give them. I find the teenagers difficult to buy for — but who doesn’t! I never buy them clothes; I just stick to the safety of some sweets and money in a card. I know this is boring, but the recipients are always thrilled to be able to go out and buy what they really want. For the men of the family, I never buy socks or hankies — I try and be more creative. This year I’m gifting them each a cocktail making book called ‘Tequila Mockingbird’, in which every recipe is linked to a well-known book title; accompanied by bottles of ingredients to make the cocktails with.
For a few years now I have driven around the country delivering my Christmas presents and picking up those from my family. We also usually visit my sister in New York where we go to have an ‘early Christmas’ at the beginning of December. Sadly, none of this can happen this year. However, I will post their gifts instead as we all love to open presents on Christmas Day and this year will be no different!
In keeping with the idea that Christmas might be a little different from the norm for many of us this year, here are a couple of ‘alternative’ wintry festive bakes that will go down a treat. These are classic Christmassy flavours that will have your kitchen smelling divine in no time — but with a twist. Mincemeat at the ready!
I adore mince pies with rich buttery pastry and my homemade mincemeat. But I have family members that are coeliac and therefore eat gluten-free diets, so I developed this recipe for them. Usual oats and flour can be used instead though.
The mincemeat used in this recipe is my ‘Quick and Easy Mincemeat’ that I developed to use when I was on ‘The Great British Bake Off Christmas Special’. I liked it so much that I make it as my ‘go to’ mincemeat each Christmas.
A shallow 28cm x 18cm (11x7) baking tin that has been well buttered.
This is a twist on the classic summer pudding, using a mixture of preserved bottled and dried fruits. It is delicious and makes a perfect replacement for a traditional Christmas pudding — which again uses my homemade Quick and Easy Mincemeat. This pudding freezes well; however, you will need to open freeze it then double wrap in greaseproof paper and cling film. The evening before you wish to serve it, remove from the wrappings and place on a serving dish, then put it in the fridge to defrost overnight. Prior to eating, leave your pudding out of the fridge for two hours so it reaches room temperature.
Whatever your plans this year, I hope that your Christmas goes well. I wish you all health, happiness and prosperity!