My Grandmother used Muscatel raisins in her Christmas recipes. Huge fat raisins that needed to be cut in half, The flavour was completely different from the raisins available today. (Must go online and see if I can find some).
Waitrose sell big raisins called Flame Raisins - don't know if they're similar but they look big. They also sell Vine Fruits which is a mix of 'flame raisins, crimson raisins, bold raisins and Orange River sultanas' They are very nice big fat berries and I use them for bread puddings. At Christmas I find Christmas pud way too rich after a big meal, so I make a bread pudding that has had vine fruits soaked in brandy for a couple of days and topped with toasted almond flakes.
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
I've never made crystalised fruit @Joyce Goldenlily I think I might try that. I was ultra organised when our children were growing up too. My husband wasn't so I had to make up for his tardiness
The flavour with homemade candied peel is so much better than shop-bought. I cannot remember why I had so much peel going spare. It seemed so wasteful to just throw it away, then go and buy tasteless shop-bought imitation peel. It is a bit of a faff but not difficult and of course, keeps for years. I try to use grapefruit peel and lime peel with lemon and orange.
Thank you Pete.8 I do not have a Waitrose near enough to me to warrant going just to check their home baking supplies out. Although, I have a hospital app. coming up so would be able to pop in on my past.
I went online to check for Muscatel raisins and was spoilt for choice. An interesting, very wide range of prices. I found some in Asda, haven't opened the packet yet to see and taste them. Now I have to gird my loins and start preparing everything.
Yum! I was given a recipe for mincemeat with no suet. I’ve made it very successfully and kept it in the freezer until wanted. I used to make Christmas puddings when I had a pressure cooker to cut down the steam in the kitchen ( and in my case, the inevitable forgetting and letting them boil dry! ) As so few people like them, or have room after a big meal, I now buy the individual size ones to keep in the cupboard. Lidl did a terrific range with sloe gin, but I haven’t been in there since lockdown. Same with Christmas cake, not keen on bought ones, but little enthusiasm or room for them, so reluctant to make one. We do without, extra trifle instead!
I use a recipe for a trifle that uses a homemade fatless sponge base, lots of sherry to soak it, homemade egg custard, a thick layer of cream, topped off with whole blanched almonds, glace cherries, and angelica! No fruit, no jelly. I have a vague feeling I could have found the recipe in an Upstairs Downstairs recipe book, or that my grandmother made it up during austerity times after the war. It is always a great success as long as there is plenty of sherry used!
I use Delia's recipe for mincemeat but I no longer use any suet so I don’t bother cooking it. I just up the apples and quantities generally to make up the weight. I first swapped to vegetarian suet for daughter and then ditched it all together when my son had to go gluten free.
It’s usually is all used up by January but I’ve kept it until Easter without any issues
I use Nigella’s recipe for our Christmas cake but we don’t bother with marzipan and icing. We don’t bother dosing it as we tend to eat it ‘fresh’ as the first bit was of Christmas baking on the first Advent Sunday
If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”—Marcus Tullius Cicero East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
My sister makes Christmas puddings for us all each year, following in the footsteps of our uncle who used to make them from a recipe he used when he was an army cook. She follows his recipe. I love it when ours arrives, in a brown paper parcel tied up with string.
I use a recipe for a trifle that uses a homemade fatless sponge base, lots of sherry to soak it, homemade egg custard, a thick layer of cream, topped off with whole blanched almonds, glace cherries, and angelica! No fruit, no jelly. I have a vague feeling I could have found the recipe in an Upstairs Downstairs recipe book, or that my grandmother made it up during austerity times after the war. It is always a great success as long as there is plenty of sherry used!
Our family trifle recipe is similar, except we're more lazy and use a bought jam swiss roll, and we put fruit in (fresh strawberries or raspberries or both, or frozen at a pinch, never tinned). No jelly.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
I am making Christmas cake for first time this year and thought little ones would be a good gift for elderly neighbours and my ex mother in law who made one for years but is now too frail. Any advice on cooking times etc for mini cakes? I need to find some little cake tins too.
Marzipan fruits… they were my mother’s favourites.
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Waitrose sell big raisins called Flame Raisins - don't know if they're similar but they look big.
They also sell Vine Fruits which is a mix of 'flame raisins, crimson raisins, bold raisins and Orange River sultanas'
They are very nice big fat berries and I use them for bread puddings.
At Christmas I find Christmas pud way too rich after a big meal, so I make a bread pudding that has had vine fruits soaked in brandy for a couple of days and topped with toasted almond flakes.
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
I was ultra organised when our children were growing up too. My husband wasn't so I had to make up for his tardiness
Thank you Pete.8
I do not have a Waitrose near enough to me to warrant going just to check their home baking supplies out. Although, I have a hospital app. coming up so would be able to pop in on my past.
I found some in Asda, haven't opened the packet yet to see and taste them.
Now I have to gird my loins and start preparing everything.
Same with Christmas cake, not keen on bought ones, but little enthusiasm or room for them, so reluctant to make one. We do without, extra trifle instead!
I have a vague feeling I could have found the recipe in an Upstairs Downstairs recipe book, or that my grandmother made it up during austerity times after the war. It is always a great success as long as there is plenty of sherry used!
I first swapped to vegetarian suet for daughter and then ditched it all together when my son had to go gluten free.
It’s usually is all used up by January but I’ve kept it until Easter without any issues
I use Nigella’s recipe for our Christmas cake but we don’t bother with marzipan and icing. We don’t bother dosing it as we tend to eat it ‘fresh’ as the first bit was of Christmas baking on the first Advent Sunday
East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
Our family trifle recipe is similar, except we're more lazy and use a bought jam swiss roll, and we put fruit in (fresh strawberries or raspberries or both, or frozen at a pinch, never tinned). No jelly.