Preparation:

• Chill all the ingredients and glasses before preparing the cocktail.

Mixing the Cocktail:

• In a large jug, mix together vodka and ginger wine.
• Stir in cranberry juice and the juice of 5 limes.
• Add some sliced stem ginger to infuse a warm and spicy flavor.

Chilling:

• Place the mixture in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to chill and allow the flavors to meld.

Serving:

• Before serving, give the mixture a gentle stir.

Garnish:

• Pour the Christmas Cosmopolitan into chilled glasses.
• Garnish with lime zest and, if desired, add a few fresh cranberries for a festive touch.

Cheers!

• Serve your Spiced Cranberry Citrus Bliss to your guests and toast to a joyful holiday season.

• Pour away any excess fat from the turkey roasting tin, keeping the onion halves if using the Roast turkey with citrus butter recipe.

Creating the Base:

• Set the roasting tin over medium heat.
• Sprinkle flour into the tin and stir with a wooden spoon.
• Cook for 2 minutes, turning the onion over in the mixture to extract flavor.

Infusing with Wine:

• Slowly stir in the wine and stock, adding any juices from the resting turkey.
• Bring the mixture to a boil, scraping the flavorful bits from the bottom of the tin.

Herb Infusion:

• Add the onion halves back to the mixture along with a sprig of fresh rosemary and two sprigs of fresh thyme.
• Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes to infuse the gravy with herbal goodness.

Strain and Season:

• Sieve the gravy to remove solids, leaving behind a smooth and flavorful liquid.
• Season the gravy with salt and pepper to taste.

Grill the Goat Cheese and Pears:

• Preheat the grill to high and line the grill rack with foil.
• Halve the goat cheese to make two discs.
• Halve and core the pear, cut each half into slices, and arrange in two piles on the foil.
• Lightly brush the pears with oil, then top each pile with a goat cheese disc (cut side up) and grill for a few minutes until lightly golden and bubbling.
• Scatter with the pecans and grill for an additional minute.

Prepare the Cranberry Vinaigrette:

• In a small bowl, whisk together cranberry sauce, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper until well combined.
• Adjust the seasoning to taste.

Assemble the Salad:

• Arrange the winter greens on two plates.
• Place the grilled pears and goat cheese on top of the greens.
• Drizzle the cranberry vinaigrette over the salad.
• Scatter any stray pecans over the top.

Prepare the Pudding Base:

• In a large bowl, combine currants, sultanas, raisins, lemon juice, lemon zest, grated carrot, brown sugar, golden syrup, mixed peel, breadcrumbs, suet, self-raising flour, stout, and eggs.
• Mix until well combined.

Baking:

• Spoon the mixture into individual parfait glasses or molds.
• Cover each glass with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight until set.
• Prepare the Whiskey Caramel Sauce:
• In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and add brown sugar.
• Stir continuously until the sugar is dissolved.
• Add the heavy cream and whiskey, stirring constantly until the mixture is smooth and well combined.
• Allow the sauce to cool slightly before serving.

Assembly:

• Once the pudding base has set, drizzle each parfait with the whiskey caramel sauce.
• Optionally, garnish with a sprinkle of chopped nuts, a dollop of whipped cream, or a twist of citrus zest.

Preparation:

• Preheat the oven to 230°C (450°F).
• Grease and flour a cupcake tin or line it with cupcake liners.

Mixing the Batter:

• In a large mixing bowl, combine melted butter, all-purpose flour, baking powder, mixed spice, dark muscovado sugar, egg, and orange zest.
• Use a hand mixer or blender until the batter is smooth and well combined.
• Stir in the dried berries and cherries until evenly distributed.

Baking:

• Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake cups.
• Bake in the preheated oven for about 15-18 minutes or until the cupcakes are puffed up, golden, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Allow the cupcakes to cool in the tin for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Step 1

• Put the dried fruit into a large bowl, add 2 tbsp brandy and the sugar, then cover with cling film.
• Microwave on High for 2 mins until the sugar has melted and the fruit plumped up.
• Stir, then leave to cool and soak overnight.
• If you’re short of time, carry on with step 2 and leave to soak for as long as it takes to complete step 2.

Step 2

• Put the cream, remaining brandy, and icing sugar into a large bowl and whip to soft peaks.
• Pour the custard into another bowl and fold the cream into it.
• Tip into a freezer container and freeze the mix for 4 hrs, stirring the frozen edges into the rest of the mixture every hour or so until the whole tub is soft but frozen (or use an ice cream machine, churning for 20-30 mins until thick).
• Meanwhile, line a 1.
• 2-litre pudding basin with cling film.

Step 3

• Once the ice cream mix is thick, quickly fold the soaked fruit (and any liquid from it) and frozen cranberries through it.
• Spoon into the lined basin.
• Freeze overnight or for at least 6 hrs.
• To serve, leave bombe at room temperature for 10 mins and turn out onto a serving plate.

Step 4

• To make the cranberry brandy butter sauce, in a heavybased pan gently heat muscovado sugar and butter until the sugar dissolves.

Step 5

• Splash in brandy, add cranberries and boil gently till the cranberries pop, but still hold their shape and color the sauce.
• If you want to, sieve the seeds out of the sauce and add some more cranberries for a really glossy finish.
• Serve hot or warm.

Step 1

• Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan/gas 6).
• In a bowl, mix the crumbled Christmas pudding, mascarpone, and Baileys.
• Lay out a sheet of filo on a large flat baking tray, brush with some melted butter, and lay another sheet on top.
• Repeat with more butter and filo until you have 4 layers.

Step 2

• Place the filling in a log in the center of the filo sheets.
• Brush the border with butter.
• Roll up to enclose the filling, then brush with the remaining butter.
• The strudel can be chilled for 1 day until ready to bake.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
• Dust with icing sugar and serve warm with cream or custard.

Step 1

• Mix the dried fruit, orange zest, orange juice, and sherry.
• Leave it overnight to soak.

Step 2

• Preheat the oven to 160°C (fan 140°C/gas 3).
• Butter and double-line a deep, 20cm round cake tin.
• Wrap the outside with brown paper or newspaper and secure with string to prevent overcooking on the sides.
• Beat together the butter, sugar, and vanilla seeds until pale and creamy.
• Mix the flour, ground almonds, and mixed spice together.
• Add this mixture to the butter mix along with the beaten eggs.
• Beat until combined and smooth.
• Stir in the whole almonds, soaked fruit, and any leftover juices.
• Turn the batter into the tin, then smooth the top and make a dip in the middle.
• Bake for 1½ hours.

Step 3

• Reduce the oven temperature to 140°C (fan 130°C/gas 2), then bake for an additional 1½ hours until the top is dark, and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean or with a few damp crumbs clinging to it.
• Once cool enough to handle, turn the cake onto a cooling rack and peel away the lining paper.
• Let it cool completely.

Step 4

• Keep the cake well wrapped and feed it once a fortnight with 1-2 tbsp sherry.
• Poke holes into the cake with a skewer and slowly spoon over the sherry.
• If you don’t have time for feeding, the cake is delicious freshly made and can be covered and decorated as soon as it has completely cooled down.

STEP 1 – Preparation:

• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
• Squeeze the meat from one of the chipolatas into a bowl, discarding the skin.
• Put the grated apple in a clean tea towel and squeeze out any excess liquid.
• Add the grated apple to the sausagemeat with pecans, a quarter of the bread, and sage.
• Season and combine to form a fat sausage shape.
• Cut a long slit in the chicken breast, being careful not to cut it in half.
• Stuff with the sausage and wrap with bacon.

STEP 2 – Roasting:

• Put the stuffed chicken breast in a large roasting tin.
• Wrap the remaining bacon rashers around the remaining chipolatas and add to the tin around the chicken.
• Add apple wedges, sprouts, and potatoes to the roasting tin.
• Cut the parsnip in half lengthways and put it, cut-side down, on a chopping board.
• Make very thin, close cuts into the parsnip halves.
• Transfer everything to the roasting tin with garlic and two bay leaves.
• Drizzle with oil, season with salt and pepper, and roast for 40-45 mins or until cooked through.

STEP 3 – Bread Sauce:

• Pour milk into a small saucepan with a bay leaf, cloves, and shallot.
• Heat gently until the shallot softens.
• Strain the milk into a jug, discarding bay leaf and cloves.
• Return milk to the pan with the remaining bread and cook until you have a thick, porridge-like sauce.
• Add half the butter, season, and set aside.

STEP 4 – Red Wine Gravy:

• Slice the reserved shallot and add to a deep frying pan with the rest of the butter.
• Fry until golden, then pour in balsamic vinegar.
• Continue to cook until the vinegar has reduced and is thick and sticky.
• Add wine and cook until reduced by half.
• Stir in the stock and bubble until the sauce is glossy and slightly thickened.

STEP 5 – Serving:

• Gently reheat the bread sauce.
• Slice half the chicken and place on a plate with pigs in blankets, roast apple, sprouts, potatoes, and parsnip.
• Drizzle over the red wine gravy and serve with pickled red cabbage and cranberry and bread sauces on the side.

STEP 1 – Preparation:

• Heat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3.
• Butter the base of a loose-bottomed 20cm cake tin (at least 7cm deep).
• Line the base with baking parchment, then wrap a wide band of parchment around the outside of the tin and tie to secure.

STEP 2 – Cake:

• Combine both types of nuts, dates, sultanas, and toffee in a bowl.
• Mix the flour, salt, sugar, and ground almonds in another bowl.
• Beat the butter, eggs, treacle, and rum into the flour mixture with an electric whisk until smooth.
• Stir the fruit and nut mix into the wet ingredients.
• Gently fold through the dulce de leche to create a ripple effect.
• Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and level with the back of a spoon.
• Bake for 1 hr, then reduce the oven temperature to 150C/130C fan/gas 2.
• Cover the cake with a circle of baking parchment and bake for another 1 hr 25 mins, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
• Set aside (don’t remove from the tin) and increase the oven temperature to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.

STEP 3 – Topping:

• To make the topping, gently heat the syrup and butter in a pan.
• Stir in the salt, pecans, hazelnuts, almonds, and flour.
• Remove the parchment circle from the cake.
• Dot the surface with the topping and bake for 12-15 mins more until golden.