Brandy Butter

Sometimes called 'hard' sauce, this is an essential accompaniment to your Christmas Pudding which will slowly melt into the hot sponge to give a rich, sweet and delicious sauce. It is just as good with mince pies served warm from the oven.

This was in my mother’s recipe book and something she made every Christmas. The addition of whipped cream gives it a much lighter texture.

110g butter, softened

170g icing sugar, sieved

2 tbsp brandy

2 tbsp lightly whipped double cream

Cream the butter and gradually beat in the sieved icing sugar.

Then add the brandy, one tablespoon at a time beating well between each addition.

Lastly, fold in the lightly whipped cream and spoon into your serving dish.

Chill for several hours until firm.

Mince Pies

Mince pies have been a Yuletide tradition for centuries. Whether you're serving them at a party with a glass of mulled wine or as a festive dessert, just remember to save one for Father Christmas to be placed by the fire with a glass of milk on Christmas Eve.

I have a few ways of making mince pies - a traditional one encased in a sweet pastry, one with a crumble topping (as shown above) and, my favourite, a much lighter one made with filo pastry. Here's my instructions for the filo pastry version using my own mincemeat.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC

A pack of store bought filo pastry will make about 24 mince pies. You will need two 12-bun tins and about 50g of butter, melted in a small saucepan.

Cut the filo pastry into squares slightly larger than your bun tins, melt the butter and brush it on to the inside of your tins using a pastry brush. Put a square of filo pastry into each hole, brush again with melted butter and lay another square at right angles on top. Repeat twice more until you have four layers in each tin in the shape of a star.

Spoon in about a teaspoon of your mincemeat – don’t put too much in as it will bubble up during cooking – and top with a ‘scrunched up’ square of filo pastry.

Bake in a 180ºC oven for 7-8 minutes. When cool, use a small sieve to sprinkle them with icing sugar.

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Cranberry upside-down cake

Here I have adapted my gooseberry upside-down cake to make a cranberry version - a perfect fruity pudding for Christmas Eve or Boxing Day especially as the cranberries are so readily available at this time of year. I make it in my mother’s tarte tatin dish, but a 20cm cast-iron (straight sided) frying pan is just as good. Best served warm.

The topping – 50g butter, 150g caster sugar, 175g cranberries

The sponge – 125g butter, 125g self-raising flour, 125g caster sugar, 2 eggs, 1 tsp cinnamon, pinch of salt, 1-2 tbsp milk

Preheat the oven to 180ºC

Start with the topping.

Melt the butter in the tarte tatin dish over a medium heat. Stir in the caster sugar and allow it to dissolve before adding the cranberries. Gently coat the cranberries in the sugary mix making sure they are in an even layer.

Turn off the heat.

For the sponge, mix together the flour, cinnamon and salt and set aside. Cream the butter and caster sugar together, then add the eggs one at a time alternating with the flour mixture. Add a little milk to loosen the mix slightly and pour this slowly and carefully over the cranberries.

Place it in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes. It is ready when the cake has risen and is beginning to shrink back from the edges. Take it out of the oven and allow to cool slightly.

Put your serving plate upside down on top of the tin and turn over - be careful as it will be hot! Then simply lift off the tarte-tatin dish and it's ready to serve. Best with ice cream or crème fraiche.