Cooks have always looked for ways to preserve the abundant autumn harvest through the barren winter months, and the Christmas cake is a great example. Its high alcohol content keeps it moist and ready to eat for months – assuming you can keep your hands off it!
But it hasn’t always looked as it does today. Marzipan and icing were a Victorian addition, inspired by the earlier tradition for a Twelfth Night Cake, which was baked to celebrate the end of the twelve days of Christmas. It was a night of parties, feasts and games – and the cake was a part of it. Two beans were hidden in the mix, and the man and woman who found them were treated as king and queen for the night – a tradition that seems ripe for revival! Stollen
Our last Christmas dessert is a recent import, but a popular one. Stollen has been part of Christmas in Germany since at least the 15th century and has turned up on these shores more and more in recent years. It’s made in much the same way as a regular sweetened fruit bread. But once it’s taken from the oven, the still-warm loaf is slathered in butter and rolled in icing sugar. It’s the kind of treat we often pick up from the shops, but making your own couldn’t be easier.
