Christmas is fast approaching, and with activities and gifts skyrocketing in price due to the cost-of-living crisis, why not make your pressies at home - and have fun while you’re doing it!
For show-stopping festive treats look no further than 2018 Great British Bake Off finalist Kim-Joy’s book Christmas with Kim-Joy: A festive collection of edible cuteness.
It’s crammed full of delicious delicacies which are guaranteed to turn the Grinch into an elf with just one bite.
Even I, the most novice of all novice chefs, succeeded in making some of her recipes as edible gifts, so you can too!
Speculo os (gingerbread biscuits)
MAKES: 30–40
- 250g salted butter
- 250g brown cassonade sugar (or light brown muscovado sugar)
- ¾tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼tsp ground nutmeg
- 8tsp ground white pepper
- 8tsp ground cloves
- 8tsp ground cardamom
- pinch of ground anise
- ¼tsp bicarbonate of soda [baking soda]
- ½ egg
- 350g plain flour
1. Line a baking sheet with baking paper or a silicone mat and set aside for now. Cream the butter and cassonade sugar in a stand mixer fitted with a balloon whisk attachment until the butter and sugar is soft, fluffy and paler in colour. Scrape the sides and base of the bowl occasionally.
2. Add all the spices, bicarbonate of soda and egg, then mix for a few more seconds until completely combined.
3. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and add all the flour. Use your hands to rub the butter and sugar mixture into the flour, then combine into a ball.
4. Roll out the dough to just under 3mm [ ∕8in] thick, then use cutters to cut into desired shapes. Transfer to the lined baking sheet and chill in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.
5. When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 180°C.
6. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the edges are just starting to colour. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool.
Royal Icing Recipe
This makes enough for a decent number of cookies
40g egg white
225g icing sugar
Use a stand mixer (or handheld electric whisk) fitted with a balloon whisk attachment to combine the egg white/aquafaba and icing sugar until you get a smooth consistency. Then add tiny amounts of extra egg white (or aquafaba) and/or icing sugar to get the right consistency. Add food dye to colour as desired! That’s it!
Lydia’s Verdict
It wouldn’t be Christmas without some gingerbread, and though I usually opt for a gingerbread latte to get my festive fix, making these biscuits was far more rewarding.
That isn’t to say that they are hassle-free, as the mixture stuck to my fingers, and it requires a good amount of elbow grease by way of a rolling pin.
Still, the mix of spices are very warming and while in your oven the house is filled with a rich aroma.
Unlike Kim-Joy I have quite shaky hands, so I don’t think my icing skills were quite up to scratch, but as she says in her book: “Things are rarely perfect the first time, but eating the treats that don’t quite turn out right is part of the fun in baking!”
Reindeer Bakewell Tarts
MAKES: ABOUT 12
PASTRY
- 150g salted butter
- 225g plain flour
- 40g caster sugar
- 1 medium egg
- FRANGIPANE
- 100g caster sugar
- 100g unsalted butter
- 1 medium egg
- ¾ tsp almond extract
- 100g ground almonds
ICING
- 200g icing sugar
- 2 Tbsp water
PLUS
- 4 Tbsp jam
- Black food dye
- 12 glacé cherries
- 24 hard pretzels
1. Grease a 12-hole muffin tray with butter. Add the flour to a large bowl. Chop the butter and add it to the bowl, then rub it into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the caster sugar. Beat the egg in a separate small bowl, then add 2tbsp to the main mixing bowl and stir, gradually combining it with the rest of the mixture. When the egg is stirred through, use your hands to form the pastry into a ball.
2. Roll out the pastry on a generously floured work surface as thinly as you can and use round cutters to stamp out 12 circles. Use your fingers to gently guide them into each muffin hole. Prick the bases with a fork 2–3 times, then place in the fridge to chill for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180°C..
3. Line the chilled pastry shells with muffin or cupcake paper cases, then fill with baking beads (or use lentils or rice) and blind bake for about 15 minutes. Remove the baking beads and paper, then bake for a further 5–7 minutes until golden and crisp.
4. Make the frangipane. Cream the sugar and butter together in a stand mixer (or use a handheld electric whisk) on high speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg and almond extract and mix until just combined. Fold in the ground almonds. Set aside.
5. When the pastry has finished baking, place on a baking sheet; they should stand up on their own.
6. Spoon 1tsp of jam into each, then fill with frangipane, about three-quarters of the way up. Return to the oven to bake for a further 15–20 minutes until the frangipane is set.
7. When baked, transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
8. Meanwhile, make the icing. Just whisk the icing sugar and water together in a bowl until smooth. Spoon about 1tbsp into a separate bowl and add black food dye to colour, plus extra icing sugar to thicken to a pipeable consistency. Transfer to a piping bag. Cover the bowl of white icing with plastic wrap.
9. When the tarts are cool, spoon the white icing over the top and carefully spread to the edges. Place a glacé cherry in the centre, then add the pretzel antlers. Cut a small tip off the black icing piping bag, then use to add eyes and a mouth. Use the back of a spoon to add a dot of white icing to the cherry nose to give it depth.
Lydia’s Verdict
Making these adorable Bakewell Tarts was a lengthy process and when you are done they’re almost too cute to eat... almost! The scrummy pastry is mixed, rolled out and cooled before you put it into the oven, and that is only the start.
However, the layers of jam, frangipane and icing all come together for a taste explosion which is definitely worth the effort.
For the antlers I used chocolate-covered pretzels, as in my local shop it was either that or sour cream and onion flavour - even with my culinary inexperience I knew onion and jam wasn’t an ideal flavour combo! Luckily, the chocolate only added to the yumminess. These little treats are perfect for the kids, but sure Santa would appreciate a few as well!
Credit: Christmas with Kim-Joy by Kim-Joy (Quadrille, £15)
