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Christmas recipes: cakes, cookies, roasts and festive bakes

Christmas cakes and cookies, kulkuls and rose cookies, stollen, roasts and warming alcohol-free drinks. (129 recipes)

BreudherBurgher Christmas loaf

On Christmas morning in Dutch Burgher homes from Colombo to Galle, the breakfast table holds a tall, fluted breudher, the island's take on the Dutch Christmas loaf, sliced thick, spread with butter and topped with a slice of Edam. The dough is enriched with plenty of butter, eggs and sugar and studded with raisins, and the crumb is soft, golden and slightly sweet, closer to brioche than to bread. Old recipes leavened it with fermented palm toddy; this version uses ordinary yeast, so there is no alcohol. Edam is normally made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian Edam or Gouda if that matters to you. The most frequent failure is an impatient rise, which gives a heavy, close loaf, because butter-rich dough moves slowly; wait until it has truly doubled. Chef's tip: work the butter in a little at a time only after the dough has been kneaded smooth, and it will turn silky and elastic instead of greasy.

85 minSri LankanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Sri Lankan love cake

Love cake is the Burgher Christmas and birthday cake, a legacy of Portuguese rule shaped by Sri Lankan spice gardens, and Colombo families argue happily over whose grandmother's recipe is best. Roasted semolina, butter and a huge quantity of whisked egg yolks and sugar are folded with chopped cashews, pumpkin preserve, rosewater, cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg, then baked slowly so the top forms a crisp, sugary crust while the inside stays moist, dense and almost chewy. It is cut into small squares because it is very rich, and served with tea or packed into little boxes for guests. A common mistake is baking until a skewer comes out completely clean, which leaves it dry; the centre should still be slightly sticky. Pumpkin preserve (puhul dosi) is sold in Sri Lankan shops; candied winter melon, sold as petha, is the closest substitute. Chef's tip: make it two days ahead, as the spices and rosewater deepen as the cake rests.

110 minSri LankanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

SiemieniotkaHemp seed and buckwheat soup

Hardly anyone outside Silesia has tasted it, but in villages around Racibórz and Opole siemieniotka is still the first dish on the Wigilia table, ladled out before the carp and the poppy-seed sweets. Hemp seeds are simmered, crushed and strained with onion into a pale, creamy, gently nutty soup, then poured over a spoon of buckwheat groats in each bowl. Use only food-grade hemp seeds from a health food shop. Where most people go wrong is skipping the straining, which leaves the soup gritty with shell. Chef's tip: toast the seeds in a dry pan for a minute before simmering to deepen the nutty flavour.

90 minPolishSoupsVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Roast goose with apples

On 11 November, St Martin's Day and Poland's Independence Day, roast goose comes back to tables from Poznań to Gdańsk, and Pomeranian and Kujawy farms still raise their own white geese for it. The bird is rubbed with marjoram, garlic and salt, left overnight in the fridge, then stuffed with sharp apples and roasted slowly so the fat renders out and the skin turns crisp and mahogany. The meat is dark and rich, the apples collapse into a tart sauce. Serve with braised red cabbage, potato dumplings and the pan juices. Most people forget to drain the fat as it roasts, and the bird ends up frying in its own puddle; pour it off every half hour and save it for roast potatoes. Allow an extra night for the marinade. Chef's tip: prick the skin all over, especially under the wings and thighs, without piercing the meat, so the fat has somewhere to escape.

240 minPolishMeatGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Cabbage with peas

Of the twelve dishes on a Polish Christmas Eve table, this is the humblest and often the one people go back to for seconds. Sour, tangy sauerkraut is braised slowly with yellow split peas until the peas collapse into a soft, savoury mash that binds the cabbage, with dried mushrooms and golden onion for depth. Serve it warm next to pierogi or potatoes, and know that it tastes even better reheated the next day. The usual slip is adding salt before the peas are cooked, which keeps them hard; season only at the end, as the sauerkraut is salty anyway. Chef's tip: if your sauerkraut is very sour, rinse it once and squeeze it, keeping a little juice to adjust the sharpness later.

90 minPolishVegetarianVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Śledź po kaszubskuHerring in sweet-sour tomato sauce

Kashubian fishing families along the Baltic coast and the lakes near Kartuzy always kept a crock of herring in the cellar, and this layered version, with a thick sweet-and-sour sauce of slow-fried onion and tomato, is now a fixture of the Christmas Eve table across Pomerania. Mild salted fillets sit between spoonfuls of the soft, glossy sauce, and after a night in the fridge the two flavours merge into something savoury, tangy and gently spiced. Eat it cold with boiled potatoes or rye bread. Herring like this is cured but never cooked, so buy ready-salted or matjes fillets from a good fishmonger, keep them chilled, and note it is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system. Pouring the sauce on while hot is a mistake: it partly cooks the fish and turns it grey and soft. Chef's tip: taste a corner of a fillet before soaking; mild matjes need only a short rinse, while barrel-salted herring needs hours.

40 minPolishFishGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

ČesnicaChristmas bread with a coin

On Serbian Orthodox Christmas morning, 7 January, the family stands around the table and breaks the česnica between them, turning the round loaf three times before everyone pulls off a piece. Whoever finds the coin hidden in the bread is said to have luck for the year. Recipes vary from flaky layered pies to this soft, slightly sweet yeasted loaf with a twisted rope round its edge, lovely with kajmak, cheese and the rest of the Christmas spread. Wrap the coin well and tell everyone before they bite, and keep an eye on small children, as a coin is a choking risk. The usual slip is rushing the rise in a cold kitchen, which gives a dense, heavy crumb; find a warm spot and wait until the dough has truly doubled. Chef's tip: brush the hot loaf with a little oil as it leaves the oven for a soft, shiny crust.

120 minBalkanBreads & Parathas
by KrazyBadal 0 views

BibikkanCoconut jaggery cake

Bibikkan is the darkest, stickiest cake in the Sri Lankan repertoire, baked by Burgher families for Christmas and by Sinhala households for the New Year table, and nobody quite agrees whether its roots lie in Portuguese or local kitchens. Freshly grated coconut is first cooked in melted kithul jaggery, then mixed with roasted semolina, flour, eggs, cashews, raisins, chopped ginger preserve and a mix of cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg and cloves, and baked until almost black on the outside. The crumb is moist, heavy and chewy with coconut, with a deep treacle sweetness and a warm, spiced finish, and slices are served with tea. Baking it too hot is where it often goes wrong, as the jaggery burns before the middle sets, so keep the oven moderate and cover it if the top darkens early. Chef's tip: cook the coconut in the jaggery until it looks thick and sticky before mixing; that is what gives bibikkan its fudgy texture.

90 minSri LankanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Fried Christmas carp

For many Polish families, Wigilia, the meatless Christmas Eve supper, is not complete without fried carp, bought live from market tanks in mid-December or, more often today, cleaned and cut into steaks at the fishmonger. The steaks are salted, floured and fried until the skin crisps and the white flesh turns sweet and juicy. Serve with boiled potatoes, sauerkraut with peas, or simply bread and a lemon wedge, after the beetroot barszcz. Keeping a scale from the Christmas carp in your wallet is said to bring money all year. Carp has a reputation for tasting muddy, and the usual culprit is skipping the salting and resting time. Ask the fishmonger to score the steaks finely so the small Y-shaped bones soften as they fry. Chef's tip: salt the steaks and leave them in the fridge for 20 minutes, then pat completely dry; the flesh firms up and the flour clings in a thin, even crust.

40 minPolishFish
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kluski z makiemNoodles with sweet poppy seed

Poppy seed is the taste of a Polish Christmas Eve, and in central and eastern Poland it often reaches the table as a bowl of wide noodles in a sweet, dark poppy mixture with honey, walnuts and raisins. It sounds strange to anyone who expects pasta to be savoury, but it is closer to a pudding: nutty, slightly bitter, sticky with honey, eaten at room temperature as the last dish of the night. Where most people go wrong is using whole poppy seeds straight from the packet; they must be scalded and ground, or the dish is gritty and bland. Chef's tip: buy ready-ground poppy seed or grind scalded seeds twice in a spice grinder until they turn grey and buttery.

45 minPolishDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

RisgrynsgrötChristmas rice porridge

Risgrynsgröt is the creamy rice porridge Swedes eat on Christmas Eve, either at breakfast or after the julbord, with cinnamon, sugar and cold milk; one whole almond is hidden in the pot, and whoever finds it will marry in the coming year, or simply gets a prize. Leftovers become ris à la Malta with whipped cream and oranges. A common mistake is cooking it on a high heat, which scorches the milk. Chef's tip: start the rice in water to soften, then add the milk and let it cook very gently, with a cinnamon stick, until thick and creamy.

65 minScandinavianDessertsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mákos gubaPoppy seed and bread roll pudding

On 24 December, after the fish soup and before the presents, many Hungarian families bring a dish of mákos guba to the table, because poppy seed is said to bring plenty in the year ahead. Stale crescent rolls (kifli) are sliced, soaked in warm vanilla milk, layered with sugared ground poppy seed and baked until the top crisps, so the inside is soft and puddingy while the edges turn crunchy. It is simple, very cheap and loved by children; serve it warm, with vanilla custard poured over if you want it richer. Older recipes pour honey over it instead of sugar. A common mistake is drowning the bread, which turns it to porridge; it should be moist but still hold its shape. Chef's tip: grind the poppy seed fresh in a coffee grinder, as pre-ground poppy goes bitter quickly.

40 minHungarianDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ryba po greckuFish under sweet-sour vegetables

Ryba po grecku, 'Greek-style fish', has no Greek roots at all; it is a Polish invention from the communist years, when cheap frozen cod and pollock met carrot, parsley root and tomato purée to make a festive dish out of very little. Today it sits on almost every Christmas Eve table and at name-day buffets, served cold. Pieces of fried white fish disappear under a thick, orange layer of soft vegetables stewed in tomato with allspice and bay, sweet and tangy at once. It needs a night in the fridge for the vegetable sauce to soak into the fish. The usual slip is grating the vegetables too fine, which turns them to mush; use the coarse side of the grater or cut thin matchsticks. Chef's tip: let the fish and the vegetables cool before layering, then chill; it tastes better on day two and keeps for three days.

60 minPolishFish
by KrazyBadal 0 views

VínartertaLayered cardamom prune cake

Vínarterta, 'Vienna cake', is the Icelandic Christmas cake: six or seven thin layers of cardamom-scented biscuit dough sandwiched with thick prune jam spiced with cinnamon and cardamom, then left to mature for a few days before slicing into narrow strips. It is still baked by Icelandic families in Reykjavík and by the descendants of Icelanders in Manitoba, where it became a symbol of home. A common mistake is slicing it the same day; the layers are crisp until the jam softens them. Chef's tip: wrap it and leave it for 3 days in a cool place, so the biscuit softens into a fine cake.

110 minScandinavianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

FafernuchyHoney and carrot Christmas cookies

Old Masurian and Warmian households baked fafernuchy weeks before Christmas and kept them in tins, where they slowly mellowed; children found them in their stockings and on the Christmas plate. They are small, hard, pebble-like biscuits, sweetened with honey and given a gentle colour and moisture from finely grated carrot, with a little spice in some homes. Expect a proper crunch, made for dunking in tea. A common mistake is expecting them to be soft straight from the oven; they are meant to be firm and soften only a little in the tin. Chef's tip: grate the carrot on the finest side of the grater so the dough stays smooth and holds its shape.

60 minPolishBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

GozinakiWalnut and honey diamonds

Gozinaki is the sweet every Georgian family makes for New Year's Eve, from Tbilisi flats to Kakhetian farmhouses: toasted walnuts stirred into honey boiled until thick, spread on a wet board and cut into diamonds that set glossy and crunchy. Children help shell the walnuts in December, and a plate of gozinaki sits on the table for the midnight toasts. A common mistake is taking the honey off too early; it stays sticky and the pieces never set. Chef's tip: cook the honey until a drop in cold water forms a firm, pliable ball, then work fast, because the mixture sets as it cools.

30 minGeorgianDessertsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

FlæskestegRoast pork with crackling

Flæskesteg is the Danish Christmas Eve roast: a pork loin or belly with its rind scored deep, rubbed with salt and bay, and roasted until the crackling puffs into crisp, golden ridges. This is a pork dish. It is served with brunede kartofler, red cabbage, plain boiled potatoes and gravy, and the crackling is the prize everyone fights over. A common mistake is scoring the rind too shallow or not all the way across, so it cracks unevenly. Chef's tip: start the joint rind-down in a little boiling water for 20 minutes, which softens the rind, then turn it up and roast; it crackles evenly. Whole pork joints are safe at 63 °C followed by a 15-minute rest.

140 minScandinavianMeatGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Gurian Christmas pie

On Christmas Eve, 6 January, kitchens across Guria, around Ozurgeti and Lanchkhuti, smell of baking ghvezeli: large crescent pies stuffed with fresh cheese and chunks of boiled egg, their shape said to recall the crescent moon. They are baked in batches, carried to relatives and eaten through the holidays with tea. A common mistake is overfilling, which makes the crescent split at the seam in the oven. Chef's tip: let the yeasted dough rise once, shape the pies, then give them 15 minutes more so they puff into soft, rounded crescents. Imeruli and sulguni usually use animal rennet; look for vegetarian ones.

70 minGeorgianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

VánočkaBraided Christmas bread

On Czech Christmas Eve morning, before the carp and the potato salad, the table holds a long golden vánočka, a sweet braided loaf whose layered plaits are said to represent the baby Jesus in swaddling. Families slice it for breakfast through the holidays with butter, honey or jam. The crumb is soft and rich with egg and butter, scented with lemon zest and studded with raisins; flaked almonds crisp up on the crust. The usual slip is braiding too loosely, so the tiers slide apart in the oven; plait tightly and hold them with wooden skewers while baking. Soaking raisins in warm water (not rum) keeps them juicy and alcohol-free. Chef's tip: vánočka keeps for days wrapped in a cloth, and slightly stale slices make superb French toast.

185 minCzechBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Brunede kartoflerCaramelised small potatoes

No Danish Christmas Eve dinner is complete without brunede kartofler beside the roast pork or duck: small boiled potatoes rolled in golden caramel and butter until they are glossy, sweet and salty. Families boil the potatoes the day before so they are firm and dry. A common mistake is adding wet potatoes to the caramel; it seizes and splatters. Chef's tip: melt the sugar alone until amber, then add the butter, and roll cold, dry potatoes in it over a medium heat until coated.

40 minScandinavianSidesGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pozsonyi kifliWalnut or poppy seed crescents

These little crescents take their name from Pozsony, the Hungarian name for Bratislava, where bakers made them famous in the nineteenth century, and today they fill Christmas cookie tins across Hungary alongside bejgli. A short, buttery yeast dough is wrapped around a walnut or poppy seed filling, then glazed first with yolk and then with white, which gives the shiny, crackled, marbled top that marks a good batch. They are rich but not too sweet: eat them with coffee or tea through the holidays. Where most people go wrong is letting the dough rise in a warm spot; this is a cold dough, and if it gets warm the butter melts and the kifli split open. Chef's tip: let the yolk glaze dry fully before the white goes on, or you will not get the crackle.

120 minHungarianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

RosolliBeetroot and potato salad

Rosolli is the jewel-coloured salad on the Finnish Christmas Eve table: diced cooked beetroot, carrot and potato with pickled cucumber, apple and onion, arranged in neat stripes or mixed together, with a dressing of whipped cream tinted pink with beetroot juice and sharpened with vinegar. Pickled herring is sometimes added; this version keeps it vegetarian. A common mistake is mixing the beetroot in early, which stains everything a muddy pink. Chef's tip: arrange the vegetables in rows on a platter and serve the dressing on the side, so each stays its own colour.

60 minScandinavianSaladsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

HangikjötSmoked lamb with white sauce

Hangikjöt, 'hung meat', is the Icelandic Christmas Day dinner: lamb or mutton smoked over birch or dried sheep dung, then simmered slowly and served hot or cold with potatoes in white sauce (uppstúfur), green peas, red cabbage and laufabrauð or flatkökur. Icelanders buy it ready-smoked in December; it is cooked at home. A common mistake is boiling it hard, which toughens the meat and makes it too salty. Chef's tip: let it cool in its cooking water; the meat stays juicy and absorbs back some of the flavour.

130 minScandinavianMeat
by KrazyBadal 0 views

SpitzbubenJam-filled butter biscuits

Spitzbuben, 'rascals', are the jam-filled sandwich biscuits Swiss families bake every December: two thin, crumbly butter biscuits, the top one with a little window cut in it, stuck together with raspberry or redcurrant jam so it shines through, and dusted with icing sugar. They are made by the tin-load for Christmas and keep well. A common mistake is rolling the dough too thick, which makes heavy, doughy biscuits. Chef's tip: chill the dough well and roll it 3 mm thick between sheets of baking paper; dust the tops with icing sugar before sandwiching so the jam window stays clean.

50 minSwissBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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