Christmas Delights 2024

Christmas Delights

Originally, Christmas is a Christian festival celebrating the birth of Jesus; however, it became a festive season worldwide. December 25 has become widely accepted as the date of the celebration of Jesus' birth. I prepared Gingerbread Cookies, Gingerbread, Classic Christmas Cake and Christmas Cheese Cake to celebrate this festive season to share with you.

Garnish: 

Chestnuts, Chocolate, Cranberries, Strawberries, Dill,  Icing sugar, Cream Cheese, Whipped Cream

1. Gingerbread Cookies:

Gingerbread dates from the 15th century and figurative biscuit-making was practised in the 16th century. The first documented instance of figure-shaped gingerbread biscuits was at the court of Elizabeth I of England. She had the gingerbread figures made and presented in the likeness of some of her important guests, who brought the human shape of the gingerbread cookies.

Gingerbread man, Santa Claus, snowman, snowflake, angel 

Ingredients
· ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
· ⅔ cup packed dark brown sugar for dark gingerbread man or white sugar for others
· ⅓ cup unsulphured blackstrap molasses
· 1 large egg yolk
· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
· 2¼ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
· 2 teaspoons cinnamon
· 4 teaspoons finely chopped fresh ginger or ground ginger
· 1 teaspoon baking soda
· ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
· ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
· 1 tablespoon milk or almond milk

Instructions
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Add the molasses, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix again.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, salt, and cloves. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing after each addition. Mix in the milk.
3. Form the dough into a ball, divide the ball in half, and flatten each half into a 1-inch-thick disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 2 hours.
4. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
5. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until about ¼-inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out desired shapes, then transfer the cut-outs to the prepared baking sheets, re-rolling the dough scraps as necessary.
6. Bake, one sheet at a time, for 7 to 9 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are just set but the middles are still soft. The cookies might seem underdone, but taking them out at this point will ensure that they stay soft once they cool. The exact timing will depend on your oven, the size of your cookie cutters, and how soft or crunchy you like your gingerbread cookies.
7. Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Decorate as desired.

2. Gingerbread

Gingerbread is claimed to have been brought to Europe in 992 AD by the Armenian monk Gregory of Nicopolis (also called Gregory Makar and Grégoire de Nicopolis). He left Nicopolis (in modern-day western Greece) to live in Bondaroy (north-central France), near the town of Pithiviers. He stayed there for seven years until he died in 999 and taught gingerbread baking to French Christians. It may have been brought to Western Europe from the eastern Mediterranean in the 11th century.

Ingredients
. ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter (preferably European-style butter, if you can find it) softened to room temperature (may substitute vegetable shortening)
. ½ cup (100 g) dark brown sugar firmly packed
. 1 cup (235 ml) unsulphured molasses
. 1 large egg
. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
. 2 ½ cups (312 g) all-purpose flour
. 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
. 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
. 1 teaspoon ground ginger
. ½ teaspoon ground cloves
. ¾ teaspoon salt
. 1 cup (235 ml) boiling water
. Cream Cheese or Whipped Cream for topping, optional

Garnish: Cranberries, Dill

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and prepare a 9"x9" (23x23cm) metal baking pan by either generously greasing and flouring or by lining with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Combine butter and brown sugar in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until creamy.
3. Add molasses and stir until well combined. 1 cup unsulphured molasses
4. Add egg and vanilla extract. Stir well. 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract .
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cloves, and salt.
6. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet until completely combined.
7. Carefully stir in boiling water until ingredients are smooth and well-combined. 1 cup boiling water
8. Pour batter into prepared baking pan and bake in the center rack of 350F (175C) preheated oven for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
9. Allow to cool before slicing and serving. This Gingerbread tastes best when topped with Whipped Cream.

3. Classic Christmas Cake

Christmas cake is an English tradition that began as plum porridge. A traditional English Christmas cake is made with moist Zante currants, sultanas (golden raisins) and raisins which have been soaked in brandy, rum, whisky or sherry. The cake may be covered in layers of marzipan, then icing and is usually decorated, often with plaid ribbon bands and Christmas models such as snowmen, fir trees or Father Christmas.

Ingredients
. 1kg mixed dried fruit
(use a mix of raisins, sultanas, currants, cherries, cranberries, prunes or figs)
. zest and juice 1 orange
. zest and juice 1 lemon
. 150ml brandy Sherry, whisky or rum, plus extra for feeding
. 250g pack butter softened
. 200g light soft brown sugar
. 175g plain flour
. 100g ground almond
. ½ tsp baking powder
. 2 tsp mixed spice
. 1 tsp ground cinnamon
. ¼ tsp ground cloves
. 100g flaked almonds
. 4 large eggs
. 1 tsp vanilla extract

Garnish: Chestnuts, Strawberries

Method
1. Put 1kg mixed dried fruit, the zest and juice of 1 orange and 1 lemon, 150ml brandy or other alcohol, 250g softened butter and 200g light, soft brown sugar in a large pan set over a medium heat.
2. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 5 mins. Tip the fruit mixture into a large bowl and leave to cool for 30 mins.
3. Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Line a deep 20cm cake tin with a double layer of baking parchment, then wrap a double layer of newspaper around the outside – tie with string to secure.
4. Add 175g plain flour, 100g ground almonds, ½ tsp baking powder, 2 tsp mixed spice, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp ground cloves, 100g flaked almonds, 4 large eggs and 1 tsp vanilla extract to the fruit mixture and stir well, making sure there are no pockets of flour.
5. Tip into your prepared tin, level the top with a spatula and bake in the centre of the oven for around 2 hrs. After 2 hours insert a skewer into the centre of the cake to test if it’s done. If any wet cake mixture clings to the skewer, return the cake to the oven for another 10 mins then check again and keep cooking, checking every 10 mins until the skewer comes out dry.
6. Remove the cake from the oven, poke holes in it with a skewer and spoon over 2 tbsp of your chosen alcohol. Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin.
7. To store, peel off the baking parchment, and store in a cake tin. Feed the cake with 1-2 tbsp alcohol every fortnight, until you ice it.
8. Don’t feed the cake for the final week to give the surface a chance to dry before icing.

4. Christmas Cheese Cake

Cheesecake is a dessert made with a soft fresh cheese (typically cottage cheese, cream cheese, quark or ricotta), eggs, and sugar. It may have a crust or base made from crushed cookies (or digestive biscuits), graham crackers, pastry, or sometimes sponge cake. Cheesecake may be baked or unbaked, and is usually served chilled.

Ingredients

For the crust:
. 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
. 1/4 cup sugar
. 1/4 cup melted butter
. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Filling:
. 24 ounces cream cheese, softened
. 1 cup sugar
. 4 large eggs
. 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
. 1/4 cup sour cream
. 1/4 cup heavy cream

For the topping:
. 1 cup strawberry cranberry jam

Garnish: Cranberries, Strawberries

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Grease and our a 9-inch springform pan.
3. In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Press mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared springform pan.
4. In a large bowl, cream together the cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla extract, sour cream, and heavy cream until just combined.
5. Pour the cheesecake batter into the prepared crust. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the center is set.
6 . Let the cheesecake cool completely before topping with cranberry jam.
7. To make the topping, simply spread the cranberry jam over the top of the cheesecake. You can smooth it out with a spatula or create a swirled effect with a knife. Refrigerate the cheesecake for at least 2 hours before serving.

Next, Byrne Creek Christmas Breakfast 2024

Coming Next,  Hall Tower Christmas Turkey Feast 2024

Publisher： Chef Kar Delight