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1 month ago
10
The boxes of baubles have been brought are down from the attic. The plum puddings are on the larder shelf and the tree is ready to go up. Everything I have eaten this week has a hint of the feasting to come. A smoked fish pie with a coarse, fruity chutney; a cake with brown sugar and vine fruits, and a dish of citrus-scented brandy butter have been the stars of the week’s cooking, each batch of baking filling the kitchen with the unmistakable scent of the season.
This slow buildup to Christmas started with plum puddings, two bought from a favourite bakery and two I made myself. Sleeping in their china bowls, they will appear from Christmas Eve until New Year, though I am tempted to keep one for my birthday in April.
In the meantime, my run-up-to-Christmas-cake is a simple, almost plain cake with a hint of mincemeat and butterscotch notes. It has none of the richness but all of the welcome of a traditional fruit cake. Something to get everyone in the mood and also for those who prefer a bit more crumb than fruit.
Nothing I have eaten this week would feel out of place on the Christmas table and yet neither is any of it full tinsel-and-baubles yuletide food. It is the prelude, the slow approach to all that’s good about the celebration. The trailers to the feature film if you will.
Smoked salmon pie
A coarse-textured and fruity chutney is required here. I used a thick, spicy apricot version. My pastry is based on the very straightforward one in Anna Higham’s delicious book The Last Bite, but you could use shop-bought puff pastry, if you prefer. Serves 4. Ready in about 90 minutes
For the rough puff pastry:
plain flour 200g
butter 150g
salt ½ tsp
water 50ml, ice-cold
egg 1
For the filling:
hot-smoked salmon 500g
chutney 4 heaped tbsp, fruity and spicy
You will need a large baking sheet.
Put the flour into the bowl of a food mixer. Roughly chop the butter, add to the flour, then mix briefly until you have crumbs of differing sizes. (It is crucial you don’t take it to a fine crumb and instead leave lumps of butter in the flour.)
Mix in the salt and water, bring to a firm, shaggy dough, then tip out into a floured board. Shape into a thick square, wrap in kitchen film or greaseproof paper and rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Roll the dough into a long rectangle, about 15 x 40cm. Fold the bottom third up and the top third down, as if making an envelope. Roll out to the same sized rectangle again, then repeat the folding. If you have time, rest the dough again for an hour. (It won’t be a disaster if you don’t, but I feel the extra resting does give it a flakier finish.)
In a bowl, break the salmon into large pieces, then stir in the chutney. Set the oven at 180C/gas mark 4.
On a floured board, roll the pastry to 22 x 34cm. Lift on to your baking sheet, long edge towards you. Spoon the filling on to half of the pastry, leaving a 2cm rim. In a bowl, lightly beat the egg with a fork, then brush over the bare pastry edge, making sure none trickles over, which would stop the layers rising.
Bring the empty side of the pastry over the filling, then press the edges together to seal. Brush with more beaten egg. Pierce a couple of holes in the top (to prevent the pastry cracking), then bake in the oven for 45 minutes, until the crust is crisp and golden brown.
Mincemeat cake
A moist, plain cake that has Christmas written through every mouthful. I like to serve this with the brandy butter and a few slices of orange or clementine. Serves 8. Ready in about 90 minutes
butter 250g, softened
soft brown sugar 125g
golden caster sugar 125g
ground almonds 75g
plain flour 125g
baking powder 1 level tsp
eggs 4, large
orange 1
mincemeat 200g
For the brandy butter:
butter 180g
soft brown sugar 90g
golden caster sugar 90g
clementine 1
lemon 1, small
vanilla extract 1 tsp
brandy 3 tbsp
Line the base of a 20cm cake tin with baking parchment or greaseproof paper. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4.
Put the butter and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer with a flat paddle attachment, then beat until smooth and creamy. Finely grate the orange zest.
In another bowl, mix the almonds and flour together and set aside. Break the eggs into a small bowl and beat lightly with a fork until well mixed.
A little at time, with the beater still turning, add the eggs to the butter and sugar. Mix in the flour and baking powder. If there is any sign of curdling add a little of the flour and almonds.
Turn the machine off and add the zest and a third of the almond-flour mixture. Turn the mixer on slow until the dry ingredients are incorporated, then turn off, add another third; repeat with the remaining third. If you mix it all too quickly you will end up with a heavy cake.
Finally, with the machine on slow, mix in the mincemeat. Transfer the mixture to the lined cake tin and bake for 35 minutes. Without removing the cake from the oven, place a sheet of foil on top, then cook for a further 15 minutes, until springy to the touch. Leave to cool for 15-20 minutes, then run a palette knife around the edge of the tin and turn out the cake on to a cooling rack.
For the brandy butter, take the butter out of the fridge about an hour before you start, and cut into small dice, which will help it marry better with the other ingredients. Cream the butter and sugars. This is easiest with an electric mixer, but a wooden spoon will do. Finely grate the clementine and lemon zests, add to the butter and sugar with the vanilla extract, then mix in the brandy. Serve with a slice of the cake.
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