In European countries, Christmas is considered the main winter holiday. On this day, people try to celebrate the holiday with their families, wish each other happiness and joy, decorate their homes and be sure to serve traditional dishes for each nation.
Among all the holiday dishes, Christmas cupcakes and pies stand out, which are especially popular in some countries. The most famous of them are the German stollen, the Italian panforte and the English Christmas cake.
And what could be tastier than aromatic, spicy and delicious pastries with lots of dried fruits, candied fruits and nuts, soaked in rum.
Christmas will come very soon, first it will be celebrated in Europe, and a little later here. And maybe some of you will want to prepare delicious pastries for the table. And this article will help you.
English muffins are baked 1.5 months before Christmas. During this time, it must brew and soak in strong alcohol. It is usually soaked in rum, whiskey or cognac, which gives it a sweet, spicy taste and enhances the aroma of spices. Traditional spices are cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Every day the smell of spices becomes stronger and reminds us that Christmas is approaching.
The finished cake is decorated with marzipan and white icing and stored in foil. Or simply sprinkle generously with powdered sugar.
We will need:
- flour - 250 gr
- butter - 100 g + 2 teaspoons for greasing the mold
- milk - 150 ml
- egg yolks - 3 pcs
- sugar - 150 gr
- vanillin - sachet
- salt - a pinch
- baking powder - 1 teaspoon
- cognac, rum or brandy - 70 - 100 ml
- dark and white raisins – 100 g
- dried apricots - 50 gr
- figs – 50 gr
- candied fruits – 100 gr
- ground cinnamon - 1 pinch
- ground cloves - 1 pinch
- ground cardamom - 1 pinch
- nutmeg - 1 pinch
- orange - 1 pinch
- powdered sugar - for sprinkling
Preparation:
1. Rinse dried fruits thoroughly and dry. Cut dried apricots and figs into small pieces, combine with raisins and pour alcohol over everything. I used cognac.
Stir and keep the dried fruits in the ridge for 24 hours, or at least overnight.
2. Wash the orange thoroughly with a brush in hot water, dry thoroughly and grate the zest on a fine grater.
3. Prepare the cake pan in advance. It needs to be coated with butter. If necessary, you can line the pan with baking paper and only then grease it with butter.
4. Let's prepare the dough. The butter must be melted and mixed with sugar until smooth.
5. Separate the yolks from the whites. We don't need whites in this recipe. Add the yolks one at a time to the sugar and butter mixture.
6. Sift the flour and add to the dough in small portions along with milk.
7. Continuing to beat, add baking powder, salt, vanillin, orange zest and all the spices. To stir thoroughly.
8. Drain the liquid from the dried fruits and add them to the dough.
Don't pour out the liquid, we'll need it later. Add candied fruits.
Mix the dough thoroughly again.
9. Place the dough in the prepared baking dish. The shape may vary.
10. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and place the pan in a baking tray on a medium level. Bake for 40-50 minutes, depending on the characteristics of the oven.
The finished cake should be browned and when pricked with a toothpick, there should be no batter left on it.
11. Remove the cake from the oven and grease it with butter and pour the alcohol drained from the dried fruits over it. Let cool slightly, remove, place on a plate and sprinkle thickly with powdered sugar using a sieve. This is if you eat it on the same day.
And if you insist it before Christmas, then bake the cake 2 weeks before it. The finished hot cake must be additionally soaked in alcohol and allowed to cool. Then wrap in baking paper and then in foil and store in a cool place for 2 weeks until Christmas, soaking it in alcohol from time to time!
Try to keep the packaging sealed to preserve the aroma.
The cupcake turns out incredibly beautiful, fragrant, with a spicy smell and an amazing delicate taste!
Video about how cupcakes are prepared for Christmas in Britain (English fruitcake)
The video provided provides you with general provisions and a complete recipe for English Christmas cake with some secrets. And also the cooking sequence.
As you can see, preparing delicious pastries using this recipe is not at all difficult. You just need to do it in advance, especially since there is still time for this!
German Christmas cake with candied fruits and nuts - delicious stollen
Before the holidays, these loaf-like traditional German muffins, called stollen in Germany, appear at numerous Christmas markets and store shelves. This pastry symbolizes the Christmas log. Some people buy it in the store, while others prefer to bake it at home. So today we will bake stollen at home.
We will need (for 2 cupcakes):
- flour - 500 gr
- butter - 150 g
- eggs - 2 pcs
- milk - 200 ml
- sugar - 150 gr
- dry yeast - 1 teaspoon
- zest of two lemons
- vanillin - 1 sachet
- raisins light and dark -100 gr
- almonds - 100 gr
- candied fruits – 100 gr
- ground ginger - 1 teaspoon
- rum or cognac - 100 ml
- salt - a pinch
- ready marzipan mass - 200 g
Preparation:
1. Pour alcohol over dried fruits and nuts and leave to steep for a day or overnight.
2. Prepare yeast sponge dough. To begin, slightly warm 100 ml. milk, add 1 tbsp. spoon of sugar, mix and leave for 15 minutes until the dough becomes “alive”.
3. Beat the remaining milk with the eggs.
4. Mix sugar, vanilla, salt, all ground spices and zest.
5. Add mixed dry ingredients and egg mixture with milk to the fermented dough. Stir thoroughly until smooth.
6. Slowly add flour.
7. Soften the butter, add to the dough and mix everything thoroughly. Knead for 10 minutes, then cover with a napkin and leave for 1-2 hours to rise.
8. Drain the liquid from the dried fruits and add them to the dough, which by then has already risen. Do not pour out the liquid. Mix.
9. Divide the dough into two parts. Roll each into an oval layer no more than 2 cm thick.
10. Place marzipan mass on each layer. Fold up the edges and cover the marzipan.
11. Line a baking sheet with baking paper and grease it with oil. Place both cupcakes and let rise for 30-40 minutes.
12. Bake for an hour at 160 degrees.
13. Take out the finished stollen and grease them with butter, pour over the alcohol drained from the dried fruits. Leave to cool. Then soak in cognac.
You can eat right away. In this case, the cooled cake will need to be generously sprinkled with powdered sugar. Or you can wrap it in baking paper, then tightly wrap it in foil and store until Christmas in the refrigerator or other cold place, periodically soaking the cake with cognac.
Christmas cake from Germany - curd stollen
We will need:
- flour - 500 gr
- cottage cheese - 250 gr
- butter - 125 g + 1 - 2 tbsp. spoons for greasing
- sugar - 150 gr
- egg - 2 pcs
- almonds - 100 gr
- dark and light raisins - 100 g
- candied fruits – 50 gr
- zest of 1 lemon
- zest of 1 orange
- vanillin - 1 sachet
- ground nutmeg - 1 teaspoon
- ground cinnamon - 1 teaspoon
- ground ginger - 1 teaspoon
- baking powder - 1 teaspoon
- rum or cognac - 50-70 g
- salt - a pinch
- powdered sugar - for sprinkling
Preparation:
1. Rinse lemon and orange in hot water with a brush. Then dry and grate the zest. Mix the zest with raisins and pour in cognac. Leave to infuse overnight.
2. Rub the cottage cheese through a sieve and mix it with softened butter, eggs, sugar and vanilla.
3. Sift flour and baking powder, add salt and dry spices. Mix.
4. Combine both mixtures. Drain the liquid from the raisins, add all the dried fruits and almonds. The almonds can be pre-cut, or you can leave them whole. Knead the dough.
5. The dough turns out quite steep, but that’s how it should be. It needs to be thoroughly kneaded until smooth.
6. Grease a baking dish with butter and place the dough into it.
7. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and bake the cake for 50 - 60 minutes. Take out the finished stollen and grease it with butter.
8. Coat the cooled cake with cognac, wrap it in baking paper and then tightly in foil, and leave to steep for two weeks.
Once or twice a week, soak the top with cognac.
9. Sprinkle the finished stollen thickly with powdered sugar and serve, cut into slices.
Stollen gains its strength 2-3 weeks after infusion. So if you decide to make it for Christmas, make it ahead of time.
In Italy, many different pastries are baked for Christmas. One of them is prepared quite simply, this is a delicious nutty delicacy - panforte, which is a cross between gingerbread, gingerbread and pie. But whatever it is, it's a delicious Christmas treat!
Italian panforte cake with dried fruits and spices
We will need:
- flour - 90 gr
- brown sugar - 100 gr
- butter - 30 g
- olive oil - 1 tbsp. spoon
- honey - 200 gr
- hazelnuts – 100 gr
- dried figs - 100 gr
- dried apricots - 50 gr
- raisins – 100 gr
- zest of 1 lemon
- ground ginger - 0.5 teaspoon
- ground cloves - 0.5 teaspoon
- ground allspice - 0.5 teaspoon
- ground cinnamon - 1 teaspoon
- cardamom - a pinch
- cocoa powder - 1 tbsp. spoon
- salt - a pinch
- powdered sugar - for sprinkling
Preparation:
1. Rinse all dried fruits in running water and dry with a paper towel. Cut figs and dried apricots into small pieces.
2. Sift the flour, add all the spices, cocoa powder, salt, zest, nuts and dried fruits. Mix.
3. Heat the butter in a saucepan, add sugar and honey. Stirring, bring to a boil and heat for 2-3 minutes. Then remove from heat.
4. Prepare the cake pan in advance. You will need a mold with a diameter of 20 cm. It should be lined with paper and greased with olive oil.
5. Pour the hot syrup into the flour mixture and mix thoroughly. Spread the mixture into the pan in an even layer.
6. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees. Bake the cake for 30-40 minutes until done. Check readiness with a toothpick. If you pierce a cupcake with it. then there should be no batter left on it.
7. Remove the finished cake from the oven and let cool. You can coat the top with butter.
8. Place the cooled panforte in foil and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Wrap and store in the refrigerator until Christmas.
9. When serving, cut the cake into pieces. Enjoy eating!
The next type of Christmas baking also applies to pies. And it deserves our attention.
Portuguese king cake with candied fruits for Christmas
This pie is a traditional Christmas pie in Portugal. In shape and decoration, it resembles a royal headdress, all decorated with rubies, emeralds and other precious stones, the role of which candied fruits will play in our recipe.
We will need:
- flour - 500 gr
- fresh yeast - 30 g
- milk - 100 ml
- egg yolks - 3 pcs
- butter - 100 g
- champagne - 150 ml
- zest of one lemon
- salt - a pinch
- candied fruits and dried fruits (any) - 350 gr
Preparation:
1. Sift all the flour. Place a third of the flour in a bowl. Dissolve yeast in warm milk, add 1 tbsp. spoon of sugar and add to flour. Allow the dough to stand until it begins to “breathe” and increases in size.
2. Prepare candied fruits and dried fruits. Wash and dry dried fruits, cut half of the large ones into pieces. You can use any candied fruits and dried fruits. The more there are, the tastier the pie will be. Use dried cherries, figs, dried apricots, raisins, pears, pumpkin, and citrus peels. You can add any nuts and seeds.
3. Make a small well in the remaining flour. Place the yolks in it and mix them with the flour using a fork.
4. Add salt, zest, champagne and melted butter, as well as the prepared dough. Add half of the dried fruits and candied fruits. Knead the dough. Roll into a ball and place in a warm place until the dough rises. To prevent it from drying out, you can grease it with olive oil or cover it with a towel.
The finished dough should double in size.
5. Grease a baking sheet with oil and sprinkle with flour. Place the dough on a baking sheet, forming a round hole in the middle (the following video recipe clearly shows how to do this). We need to get a pie shape.
6. Place whole dried fruits and remaining candied fruits on the prepared workpiece.
7. Let stand until the dough increases in volume.
8. Preheat the oven to 160-170 degrees. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Make sure that the pie does not burn.
9. Take out the finished pie, lightly coat with oil, cover with paper and a towel. Let stand for a while and cool.
10. Then sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve warm or cold with tea.
Video on how to make Portuguese holiday cake
The entire sequence is described in the previous recipe. Yes, in principle, everything is clear from the video. I give only the exact recipe of the necessary products. Watch the video and you will understand everything!
We will need:
- flour - 900 gr
- yeast - 50 g
- water - 100 ml
- dark beer - 150 ml
- egg - 4 pcs
- sugar - 200 gr
- butter - 100 g
- red wine such as Port - 100 ml
- zest of 1 lemon
- zest of 1 orange
- pine nuts – 75 g
- raisins – 100 gr
- walnuts – 75 gr
- candied fruits -200 gr
For registration:
- powdered sugar
- candied fruit
- fruit jelly
- egg - for greasing
Preparation:
1. Knead the dough from 250 grams of flour, yeast and warm water. Leave for 1 hour.
2. Then, adding all the ingredients one by one, knead the dough and let it brew for 1.5 hours.
3. Form a pie and bake for 40 - 45 minutes at 180 degrees.
Anyway, I figured it out. I think you will figure it out too!
In conclusion, I would like to remind you that I have already shared its recipe with you. This pie is different from all the others, and deserves attention to be prepared.
Well, that's all for today. Prepare cupcakes and pies for Christmas. Delight your loved ones with your baked goods, and may your holiday be a great one!
Happy New Year and Merry Christmas!
Christmas is just around the corner, so why not make a delicious Christmas cake for the occasion? The recipes proposed in the article will also come in handy for gatherings with friends after Christmas.
Making Christmas pies is a tradition that came to us from Europe. It is there that holiday pastries of various shapes have long been prepared. It could be a log of wood or a baby in diapers. Despite the fact that this tradition is not yet fully developed in Russia, delicious pastries will be happily accepted at the festive table.
Traditionally, Christmas cake contains a lot of dried fruit. In some ways they resemble our cottage cheese cake.
It is important to note that traditional European baked goods always contain alcohol - it can be cognac or rum. Therefore, it is not recommended for children to eat the pie. For a classic Christmas pie you will need:
- 200 g sugar and butter
- 300 g of your favorite dried fruits
- 3 eggs
- 300 g flour
- 1 citrus (you can choose from lemon or orange)
- sachet of ripper
- 50 g dark chocolate
You can also add your favorite spices and alcohol to taste. This is not necessary, but it will add a unique flavor to the baked goods. The pie will turn out delicious if you follow these steps:
- Rinse the raisins and, if you still decide to use alcohol, fill them with rum or cognac.
- Place the dried fruits in a separate container and rub the chocolate into it.
- Mix dried fruits with eggs and oil. Add sugar to the mixture and beat again.
- Add the juice of your chosen citrus.
- Take another bowl - in it you will mix flour with ripper.
- Mix all the ingredients in one container and pour into the mold.
- Bake at 160°C for 40 minutes, then reduce the temperature by 30°C and leave for the same time again.
- At the end of cooking, you can pierce the dough with a toothpick (this way you can check readiness) and carefully pour a little cognac into the holes.
- You can decorate the pie beautifully and serve it to the table.
Christmas Ring Meat Pie
For lovers of heartier food, we offer a meat pie snack. Traditionally, meat pie is prepared in the shape of a ring. The main ingredient is chicken, so most often you will find recipes for chicken Christmas pie. Well, we suggest you write down the ingredients for meat baking:
- 1.5 kg chicken fillet
- 6 chicken eggs
- 2 onions and carrots
- greenery
- 400 g puff pastry
- spices and salt to taste
Prepare the holiday pie as follows:
- Wash and chop the fillet.
- Also chop the peeled vegetables - onion with a knife, carrots with a grater, fry.
- Mix the minced meat with vegetables, herbs, spices and eggs.
- Turn on the oven to 180°C and spread parchment paper on a baking sheet.
- Pour water into a glass and place it in the center of the baking sheet.
- Arrange the resulting minced meat in the shape of a ring around a glass.
- Boil 3 eggs and cut lengthwise.
- With the yolks down, place them tightly on the future pie at an equal distance.
- Put the glass away; you won't need it anymore.
- Make beautiful shapes from puff pastry. These can be leaves, stars, roses or braids.
- Make long strips of the rest of the dough and wrap it around the pie.
- Cook the pie for 50 minutes. When the baked goods have cooled down a little, you can make tea and enjoy your own creation. Bon appetit!
What surprise do they put in a Christmas cake?
Christmas is a time of miracles and surprises. Some people hide gifts in a Christmas stocking or under the tree, but it will be very unexpected and pleasant to receive an interesting gift in a Christmas pie. Traditionally, a coin is placed in the pie, but with the current variety of gifts, you can play with ideas:
- Do not depart from traditions and put coin.
- Place into portioned pie slices wishes written on paper.
- For children, you can put a small toy, like a kinder surprise.
- New Year's small souvenir. It can be a tiny bell or a figurine. But don't go overboard with the sizes.
- For couples in love you can put it in a pie ring.
But be careful with any of these points. Before eating the pie, tell the story that there are often surprises in such baked goods, so that guests are careful. Otherwise, the results can be disastrous - from broken teeth to swallowing that same surprise.
Recipe for Christmas cake with dried fruits and nuts
We bring to your attention an incredibly delicious pie with dried fruits for Christmas. For it you need:
- any dried fruits – 100 g
- 100 g cognac or rum
- 100 g sugar and butter
- 1 chicken egg
- 150 g flour
- salt and soda on the tip of a knife
- 50 g milk and molasses
- spicy spices
The preparations are as follows:
- Prepare dried fruits in advance; they need to be soaked in cognac for 24 hours.
- Place a greased baking dish in an oven preheated to 180°C, preferably round.
- Mix butter and sugar, then in order of priority in the list, add the remaining ingredients.
- Lastly, add dried fruits, and pour in cognac or rum.
- Place the dough in the pan and bake for 45 minutes.
- After the pie has cooled slightly, pierce it with a fork and pour in rum or cognac.
- It is important to note that this pie can be stored for more than 10 weeks. If you intend to hold it longer, then place the pie on paper soaked in rum and wrap it in the same thick paper or cloth.
- Every 2-3 weeks, pour 1 tbsp over the pie. l. rum or cognac. And the holiday dish will remain just as tasty even after 3 months.
German Christmas cake
The German Christmas cake bears the name gallery and in the traditional version should be prepared a month before the celebration itself. At this time, it should be stored in parchment paper and a dark place. Only then will it be a truly German pastry.
For stollen you will need:
- 200 g milk and butter
- 700 g flour and half as many raisins
- 50 g each of yeast and rum
- 250 g each of almonds and candied fruits
- 75 g sugar
- 1 lemon
- cinnamon and powdered sugar to taste
Preparation of stollen:
- Soak raisins in cognac or rum.
- Dissolve yeast, 1/3 of sugar and a little flour in milk. Leave for 30 minutes.
- After this, add the rest of the sugar and flour, and also mix the dough with eggs, sugar and salt.
- Leave to rise warm.
- Grind almonds and candied fruits.
- Grate the lemon zest onto the dough and mix it with candied fruits and almonds.
- The dough should stand for 3 hours, during which time knead it 2 times.
- Divide the dough into two parts and fold each part in half.
- Place parchment paper on a baking sheet and place the dough.
- Place a baking sheet in an oven preheated to 170°C and bake for 45 minutes.
- Melt the butter, and 2 minutes before the end of cooking, brush the pie.
- Dust with powdered sugar and wrap in parchment paper.
English Christmas cake
English pie, like German pie, needs to be prepared with plenty of dried fruits and nuts. The ingredients for English and German pie are identical, but in this version you should add 700 g of dried fruits and 150 g of almonds, which must be divided in half - fry and cut one half, grind the second into powder.
IMPORTANT: Do not roll out the dough too much, otherwise it may tear due to the large amount of dried fruit.
Making English pie is not difficult:
- Sift the flour and grate the butter, mix thoroughly.
- Add eggs, sugar and milk. After you mix everything until smooth, wrap the dough in cling film and leave in the refrigerator for 60 minutes.
- Finely chop nuts and candied fruits.
- Add melted butter, as well as cognac or rum to dried fruits and candied fruits. Wrap the container with the mixture in cling film and place it in the dough for an hour.
- Roll out the dough (remember, not very thin) and spread the filling on top. Leave 2 cm from each edge.
- Roll the dough into a roll and refrigerate for 60 minutes. This is done so that in the future you can cut the pie into even pieces.
- Place the sliced pie on a baking sheet or baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 40 minutes.
- Sprinkle the cake with powdered sugar and you can make tea. Bon appetit!
Christmas pie with apples and cottage cheese
You can prepare such a delicious pie both for the Christmas table and on Saturday evening. For cottage cheese pie with apples, take:
- 500 g each of flour and cottage cheese
- 200 g sugar and half as much butter
- 10 apples
- 3 eggs
- 50 g sour cream
- 5 g soda
- cinnamon to taste
The preparation is as follows:
- Separate the yolks and whites.
- Mix half the sugar with soda, add the yolks.
- Add flour and sour cream to this mixture. Knead the dough.
- Beat the whites with sugar.
- Cut the peeled apples into rings.
- Roll out the dough and place cottage cheese on it, place apples on top, sprinkle with cinnamon.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C and bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove the pie and fill with whipped egg whites. Bake for another 10 minutes. Cool and enjoy the delicate taste of the aromatic pie.
Austrian Christmas cake
Kugelhupf or Austrian pie is a real work of art. A tasty and aromatic pie has simply unsurpassed taste. Prepare the necessary ingredients:
- 100 g butter and raisins each
- 50 g almond powder
- 1.5 cups flour
- 3 eggs
- 2 tbsp sugar and 1 tsp salt
- 150 g milk
- 7 g dry yeast
- Citrus zest
- Powdered sugar
Austrian pie can be prepared like this:
- Pour warm milk into melted butter and add almond powder
- Place parchment paper on a baking sheet and sprinkle with almonds
- Add yeast and sugar to butter and milk
- After kneading, add salt and eggs.
- Knead the dough, gradually adding flour
- Continuing to stir, grate the zest and add dried fruits
- Leave the finished dough to infuse in a warm place
- Preheat the oven and place the dough, bake for 45 minutes at 180°C
- Sprinkle the finished pie with powder and invite guests to the table.
Christmas is a wonderful holiday that needs to be celebrated brightly and in good company. And for a large company you need delicious dishes.
Try baking the suggested pies for Christmas, and you will definitely delight your guests and family with fragrant pastries. If you don’t have time or have a lot of worries before the holiday, then you can prepare the pie in advance. The suggested options include recipes for pies that can be prepared a month or more in advance.
Video: Making Christmas cake
According to a long-standing tradition, Christmas cake with dried fruits and nuts is prepared 2-3 weeks before the holiday. While waiting, the product is soaked from time to time in alcohol to prevent molding and to impart a refined taste and aroma. However, nothing will prevent you from tasting the delicious delicacy even after it has cooled.
A Christmas cake is baked with dried fruits and a portion of nuts, which are complemented by delicate dough and all kinds of spicy additives.
- Dried fruits are pre-soaked in alcohol, and nuts are browned.
- Knead the dough, combine with additives, bake until done.
- The finished Christmas cupcake with dried fruits and nuts is decorated with icing and appropriate decorative elements.
English Christmas Cake - Recipe
For many years, cooks in England have perfected the traditional recipe for holiday baking so that the result is beyond praise. Prepared by following the recommendations below, a classic English Christmas cake will allow you to get incredible gastronomic pleasure from tasting it
Ingredients:
- dried fruits - 800−900 g;
- cognac - 400 ml;
- eggs - 4 pcs.;
- flour, butter and sugar - 230 g each;
- ginger, nutmeg, cardamom and pepper - a pinch each;
- honey and orange zest - 1 tbsp. spoon;
- almonds - 100 g;
- hazelnuts and pistachios - 50 g each.
Preparation
- Soak dried fruits in cognac (300 ml).
- Grind butter with sugar and eggs.
- Add honey, spices, zest, flour, and then dried fruits and nuts.
- Bake the cake in the mold for 1 hour at 150 degrees and another 3 hours at 130 degrees under foil.
- The product is soaked in cognac and kept in foil for 2-3 weeks.
German Christmas cake Stollen - recipe
No less magnificent is stollen, a Christmas cake that German housewives prepare for the holiday. The peculiarity of this recipe is the use of yeast dough with dried fruits and marzipan filling. Nuts are often simply mixed into the dough, which is then rolled out and folded in half before baking.
Ingredients:
- raisins, dried apricots - 200 g each;
- almonds - 250 g;
- cognac - 50 ml;
- eggs - 2 pcs.;
- butter - 250 g;
- cinnamon and vanilla - 1 teaspoon each;
- milk - 200 ml;
- sugar - 75 g;
- lemon - 1 pc.;
- fresh yeast - 50 g;
- powdered sugar, salt.
Preparation
- Dried fruits are soaked in cognac.
- Yeast is diluted in warm milk, a spoonful of sugar and flour is added, and left for 30 minutes.
- Mix sugar, salt, butter and flour into the dough and leave the dough to rise.
- Add dried fruits, nuts, cinnamon, vanilla and zest, knead and let sit again for 3 hours.
- Divide the lump into 2 parts, roll it out, fold it in half.
- Bake a cupcake with dried apricots, raisins and nuts for 1 hour at 180 degrees.
- Generously lubricate the hot product with oil and sprinkle with powder.
Italian Christmas panettone cake
Italian Christmas cake is similar in taste and appearance to Easter cake. A delicacy is prepared with raisins, nuts and candied fruits from yeast dough with a large amount of baking. If desired, add citrus zest, cut dried apricots, and other dried fruits to the composition, and flavor the base with vanilla.
Ingredients:
- dried fruits, nuts and candied fruits - 300 g;
- eggs - 2 pcs.;
- yolks - 6 pcs.;
- butter - 120 g;
- flour - 700−800 g;
- vanilla - to taste;
- milk - 250 ml;
- sugar - 130 g;
- dry yeast - 15 g;
- salt.
Preparation
- Dissolve yeast in milk, adding 2 tablespoons of sugar and flour, leave for 10-15 minutes.
- Add eggs with sugar, yolks, butter, salt, vanilla and flour.
- Knead the dough, adding dried fruits, nuts and candied fruits, leave in a warm place for 2-3 hours.
- Fill the molds halfway with dough and bake the products at 180 degrees.
Christmas cupcake with dried fruits and rum
A spicy Christmas cake takes on an incredible aroma and taste when baked with a savory mix of fragrant spices. Dried fruits added to the dough are pre-soaked several days or ideally a week before the dough is supposed to be kneaded in high-quality rum.
Ingredients:
- dried fruits - 600 g;
- rum - 250 ml;
- eggs - 4 pcs.;
- flour - 240 g;
- ground almonds - 60 g;
- butter - 200 g;
- baking powder - 10 g;
- vanilla and cinnamon - 0.5-1 teaspoon each;
- nutmeg, cardamom, cloves - a pinch;
- sugar - 150 g.
Preparation
- Soak dried fruits in rum.
- Beat butter with sugar and eggs.
- Add flour, almonds, baking powder, spices and dried fruits.
- Transfer the dough into a mold and bake the cake at 170 degrees.
Christmas chocolate cupcake
Chocolate-nut cake acquires a special juiciness and aroma due to the addition of cocoa, spices and soaking the product with tangerine juice. After cooling, you can cover the treat with chocolate icing from melted chocolate, adding a tablespoon of heavy cream and decorate to your taste.
Ingredients:
- raisins - 400 g;
- cognac - 100 ml;
- walnuts or almonds - 150 g;
- eggs - 3 pcs.;
- flour - 200 g;
- cocoa - 50 g;
- baking powder - 20 g;
- butter - 150 g;
- cinnamon - 2 teaspoons;
- brown sugar - 150 g;
- tangerines - 4 pcs.;
- chocolate glaze. spices.
Preparation
- Soak raisins in cognac.
- Beat eggs with sugar and butter.
- Add cocoa, flour, baking powder, and spices.
- Stir in raisins and nuts and bake the cake at 170 degrees.
- Squeeze the juice from the tangerines, remove the zest, boil, pour the juice into the hot cake in the mold, and leave for 20 minutes.
- Remove the chocolate cake with walnuts and raisins to a wire rack and cover with frosting.
Gingerbread Christmas Cupcake
Christmas cake with dried fruits and nuts is a recipe that perfectly supports various kinds of experiments. The product acquires a special aroma when grated ginger root or ground ginger is added to the dough. In this case, both components are used, which will only enhance the fragrance.
Ingredients:
- dried fruits - 250 g;
- bananas - 200 g;
- rum - 100 ml;
- eggs - 2 pcs.;
- flour - 300 g;
- cocoa - 40 g;
- nuts - 100 g;
- vegetable oil - 130 ml;
- baking powder and soda - 10 g each;
- honey and sugar - 100 g each;
- fresh and ground ginger - 1 tbsp. spoon;
- cinnamon - 1 teaspoon.
Preparation
- Soak dried fruits in rum overnight.
- Mix flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda, dry ginger, cinnamon.
- Beat eggs with sugar.
- Add banana puree, honey, fresh ginger, oil and dry mixture, knead, adding nuts and dried fruits.
- Bake Christmas ginger cake with dried fruits and nuts at 170 degrees for 1 hour.
Christmas cake in a bread machine
A delicious chocolate Christmas cake with raisins, the recipe for which will be presented below, is prepared in a bread maker, which greatly simplifies the task. You just need to prepare all the necessary ingredients in advance and simply put them in the device’s bucket, following the manufacturer’s recommendations.
Ingredients:
- raisins and nuts - 100 g each;
- bananas - 2 pcs.;
- rum - 50 ml;
- eggs - 3 pcs.;
- flour - 280 g;
- cocoa - 50 g;
- nuts - 100 g;
- sugar - 140 g;
- margarine - 150 g;
- baking powder and vanilla sugar - 2 teaspoons each.
Preparation
- All ingredients for the dough are placed in a bucket.
- Select the “Cupcake” mode.
- After the signal, add chopped bananas, raisins soaked in rum and nuts.
Christmas cake in a slow cooker
The cake is simply prepared in a slow cooker with nuts and dried fruits, which, as in the traditional recipe, need to be soaked in alcohol. The filling set can be compiled at your own discretion, using various varieties of nuts, dried apricots, raisins, figs, dates, all kinds of spices and other components.
Ingredients:
- dried fruits - 600 g;
- nuts - 100 g;
- alcohol - 250 ml;
- eggs - 4 pcs.;
- flour - 250 g;
- brown sugar - 120 g;
- butter - 200 g;
- baking powder and zest - 2 teaspoons each;
- spices.
Preparation
- Dried fruits are soaked in alcohol.
- Knead the dough from butter with sugar, eggs and flour, adding spices, baking powder, zest, and then mixing in nuts and dried fruits.
- Transfer the mixture into a bowl and bake the cake on “Baking” for 110 minutes on one side and another 30 on the other.
Christmas cake recipe from Yulia Vysotskaya
It’s easy to prepare, but the Christmas cupcake from Yulia Vysotskaya turns out to be simply amazing in taste. The finished product can simply be generously greased with butter and sprinkled generously with powdered sugar while it is hot, or covered with glaze and decorated to taste a few hours before it is intended to be served.
Ingredients:
- dried fruits - 1 kg;
- hazelnuts and almonds - 100 g each;
- alcohol - 300 ml;
- eggs - 5 pcs.;
- flour, brown sugar and butter - 350 g each;
- baking powder - 1 teaspoon;
- spices.
Preparation
- Dried fruits are soaked in rum.
- Beat butter with sugar and butter, add eggs, spices, baking powder and flour in the process.
- Stir in dried fruits and nuts, bake the cake at 160 degrees for 2.5-3 hours.
Ingredients for a mold with a diameter of 24 cm:
For the test:
320 g flour
150 g butter, cut into pieces
50 g fine granulated sugar
1 egg
4 tangerines (seedless, with small slices)
A pinch of salt
For filling:
250 g of a mixture of candied fruits and dried fruits (I used ginger, prunes, raisins and cherries)
100 ml of aromatic alcohol (I have cognac and wine)
125 g nuts (I used almonds, cashews and walnuts)
50 g flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp spice mixtures (cloves, nutmeg, cardamom)
175 g honey
100 g dark cane sugar
2 tsp water
For registration:
1 egg white
Cherries, mint
1. Using a fine grater, remove the zest from all tangerines. Place it in a small saucepan along with the butter and place over medium heat. Once the butter has completely melted and begins to crackle, remove the ladle from the stove. Cool the oil slightly.
2. Add sugar, salt and egg to the butter, mix. Add all the flour and quickly knead the dough. If the dough does not come together, moisten it with tangerine juice (I used the pulp of a whole tangerine in the dough).
3. Roll out the dough into a layer 2.5-3 mm thick and put it into a mold. Place the pan with the dough in the refrigerator. Collect the rest of the dough into a ball and also put it in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes (I couldn’t roll it out, so I distributed the dough into the mold with my hands).
4. Peel the tangerines and separate them into slices.
5. Wash and dry dried fruits. Cut prunes and ginger into pieces. Stir in a ladle, add all the spices, add alcohol and put on the lowest heat. Cover with a lid and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently. The liquid should be absorbed almost completely. Remove the ladle from the heat and cool the mixture.
6. Transfer the mixture of candied fruits and dried fruits into a large bowl, add coarsely chopped nuts (I chopped them in a blender) and tangerines, sprinkle with flour and mix thoroughly.
7. Mix honey, cane sugar and water in a ladle. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Reduce heat and simmer the syrup for another 3 minutes.
8. Remove the ladle from the heat and pour the boiling syrup over the contents of the bowl. To stir thoroughly. The filling is ready.
9. Transfer the filling to the cooled dough pan and smooth it out with a spoon or hands dipped in cold water.
10. Take the remaining dough out of the refrigerator, roll it out into a layer 2-2.5 mm thick and cut out figures reminiscent of Christmas: stars, bells, Christmas trees or holly leaves. This can be done using cookie cutters or a template cut from thick cardboard.
11. Place the cut out figures beautifully on top of the filling. Brush with lightly beaten egg white and place in an oven preheated to 180 degrees.
12. Bake the pie for about 30 minutes until its surface has acquired a beautiful blush. Decorate it with dried cherries and mint.
Author: Alena Spirina/aspiri
According to the tradition that has developed over centuries, on Christmas in Rus' they no longer eat lean, but not at all fatty foods. Thus, it is customary to serve Christmas pie with berries as a dessert. We will give a recipe for such a dish in the interpretation of Yulia Vysotskaya, and also diversify it with delights from Europeans.
Christmas berry pie
As the main ingredient, Yulia Vysotskaya recommends using any berries: fresh, frozen, jam, and even dried. It’s just that every time the baked goods sparkle with new colors, because Christmas pies are Here is a list of ingredients that will be needed for such a masterpiece:
Cooking process
Despite the fact that there are quite a lot of ingredients, preparing the dessert will not take the hostess too much time. So, first, let's melt the butter for the dough. Sift the flour into a separate bowl, put the cottage cheese there, pour in the melted butter and add a little salt. which we present, traditionally cannot do without ground nuts. Before grinding the almonds, you can heat them a little in a frying pan; you can also use the kernel of a bitter variety of fruit for a special taste and piquancy of the dish. Add ground nuts and egg to the mixture. Now mix all the ingredients thoroughly.
Forming the cake
Take a baking container with wavy edges and grease it with oil. Now we distribute the resulting dough inside the mold in such a way as to fill not only the bottom, but also the edges. When forming the future base of the pie, use your hands to press the dough to the bottom and sides of the mold. When the entire mass has been distributed, put our base in the freezer for about half an hour, after pricking it with a fork.
Preparing the filling
In the meantime, let's start preparing a delicious holiday filling. Again, there is nothing complicated here: just mix sour cream, sugar, berries, vanillin and yolks. The only important point is the lack of water in the berries. If you defrosted them, drain the liquid; if you took them from jam, strain the syrup. After mixing all the ingredients and waiting for half an hour indicated in the recipe, take out the frozen form and put the filling into it. The Christmas pie should be baked in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for at least an hour, and a good thickness of the filling will signal that the dish is ready. It is unlikely that you will be able to check the readiness with a toothpick, unless from the very edge. The baking time is due to the fact that the dough goes into the oven frozen. By the way, if you want to diversify this recipe, you can safely replace the berry ingredients with fruit ones. So you can bake a Christmas cake with apples, oranges, pears and even bananas.
with dried fruits
Our next recipe is a good solution for ever-busy housewives. After all, once prepared, this pie can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, and to prevent it from going stale, sprinkle the holiday pastries with cognac every day. Let's learn how to cook a Christmas pie from Yulia Vysotskaya with dried fruits, and for this we will prepare the following ingredients:
- premium wheat flour - 350 g;
- fresh chicken eggs - 5 pieces;
- butter - 350 g;
- brown sugar - 350 g;
- dried apricots -200 g;
- raisins - 200 g;
- prunes - 200 g;
- dried cranberries - 200 g;
- dried figs - 200 g;
- almonds and hazelnuts, 150 g of each type;
- baking powder - 1 teaspoon;
- cognac - 2 tbsp. spoons.
Important! The degree of moisture in dried fruit affects the baking time. If there are wet ingredients in the dough, the Christmas cake will not bake right away. In this case, you can check the readiness of the dish with a toothpick.
Cooking technology
The oven can be preheated in parallel with the start of mixing the components, the final temperature is 180 degrees. Take dried fruits and cut them into equal-sized pieces. Grind the nuts in a blender or food processor. Next, beat the brown sugar and butter, and then add one egg at a time, continuing to beat slowly after each time. We combine the resulting brown base with grated nuts and pieces of dried fruit, then sift in the wheat flour and baking powder.
This Christmas cake will rise very much when baked, so you need to use a deep and round pan. Grease the container with oil and lightly sprinkle with flour, lay out the dough and place in a preheated oven. The baking process will take place in 2 stages:
- Bake for 15 minutes at 180 degrees.
- Reduce the temperature to 160 degrees and keep the Christmas cake from Yulia Vysotskaya in the oven for another 45 minutes. To prevent the top from burning, cover the baked goods with parchment paper.
All that remains is to make sure that the festive dish is completely prepared by placing a wooden stick in it. If the pie is completely baked, remove it from the oven and sprinkle with cognac. The finished baked goods have an unusual dark shade.
Traditional Russian Christmas pie
Different peoples of Europe prepare different treats for the Christmas table. This also applies to pies. If a festive feast in Germany is difficult to imagine without the traditional Stollen cake, then the Russian table can hardly do without a meat pie. Moreover, since ancient times in Rus', baked goods with pieces of chicken were served for the holiday, and as an everyday dish, cooks baked baked goods filled with minced meat. The dough was most often made with sour cream. You and I will not depart from this tradition. For the dough we will need the following ingredients:
- premium wheat flour - 3.5 cups;
- sour cream 15% - 200 g;
- fresh chicken egg - 2 pieces;
- margarine for baking - 200 g;
- granulated sugar - 1 teaspoon;
- salt - 0.5 tsp;
- baking powder for dough - 2 tsp.
Our Traditional Christmas Chicken Pie will be filled with the following ingredients:
- chicken legs - 2 pieces;
- chicken breast - 1 piece;
- onion - 3 pieces;
- salt and spices (to taste).
To ensure that the filling does not seem too dry, in addition to the fillet, we will use tender and juicy meat removed from chicken legs.
Knead the sour cream dough
First, let's mix the liquid ingredients: sour cream, softened margarine for baking and eggs, add salt and granulated sugar to the resulting mixture. Then add flour enriched with oxygen (pre-sifted) and baking powder into the dough. Let's knead the dough until we are sure of its ideal elasticity. Many Christmas pies are made using poured dough mixed with filling (this was the case with the previous recipe). The recipe is quite traditional. Therefore, we will not deviate from the rules and place the dough in the refrigerator for about an hour. This time is enough for gluten to form. In the meantime, we'll start preparing the filling.
Prepare the meat filling and form the pie
Separate the meat from the bones and skin and cut into small cubes, add finely chopped onion, salt and pepper. You can mix the filling with your hands, pressing lightly so that the onion gives its juiciness to the meat. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and divide it into 2 approximately equal parts. Then take a rectangular baking dish, the bottom of which will be lined with one half of the dough. Don’t forget to pre-lubricate the bottom and sides of the mold with vegetable or butter. Roll out the dough on the table and then place it in a container, forming sides with your hands. Then put the filling on the dough layer, not forgetting about the juice - it will add flavor and tenderness to the festive dish.
The finishing touch is to form the top layer of the pie and place a second layer of dough on top of the juicy filling. We cover the product and pinch the edges with any type of pattern - waves, braids, overlapping, and so on. In the center we form a small hole for the hood. If desired, you can leave a little dough to decorate the top of the pie, for example in the form of a carved sheet. We will bake for the first 20 minutes at a temperature of 200 degrees, and then for another 20 minutes, lowering the oven temperature to 170. At the end of the process, we traditionally take a test to see if the dish is ready. By the way, you can also check the meat by pulling a piece through the central hole.
Bulgarian Christmas pie Banitsa with cheese
If we talk about traditional holiday dishes in Europe, we cannot fail to mention another savory version of baked goods that comes from sunny Bulgaria. Try making Banitsa pie with cheese using ready-made phyllo dough. This will diversify your traditional holiday menu and will not take much time. The ingredients you will need:
- filo puff pastry - 1 package;
- feta cheese - 300 g;
- low-fat milk - 2.5 cups;
- fresh chicken egg - 4 pieces;
- butter - 50 g.
Cooking process
Pre-defrost and crush the cheese with a fork in a separate bowl. The pieces should not be too small. Add 3 eggs to the cheese and mix the ingredients thoroughly. The finished dough package contains several layers. We begin to place the cake in the mold from the first layer, after greasing it with butter. We will not distribute all the filling, so that there is enough to cover the next sheets. If you measure the amount of filling in teaspoons, then we will put 5-6 spoons of cheese on 1 sheet of phyllo. Grease each subsequent layer of dough with oil to prevent the sheets from sticking together. We make sure that no voids form inside. So, we alternate layers of dough and filling, and the last sheet is called to complete the design.
Without milk filling, such a pie will turn out dry. To prepare it, whisk the egg with milk and pour it evenly onto the newly formed pie. Bake a traditional Bulgarian dish in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for 40 minutes. Readiness can be determined by appearance, as indicated by the ruddy golden crust of the top layer.
Conclusion
As you can see, the Christmas pies, the recipes for which we have provided you with, are varied. You can serve baked goods as a dessert with berries or dried fruits, or as an appetizer with meat or cheese - it all depends on the mood of the hostess.
Bon appetit!
