Cakes, Breads and Puddings

• Christmas Pudding
• Brownies
• St. Lucy Buns
• Vasilopita
• ABC Muffins
• Bread & Butter Pudding
• Blueberry Muffins
• Orange Muffins
• Koliva
• Pavlova
• Kozunak | Baltic Easter Bread
• Simnel Cake

Christmas Pudding

Ingredients

• 2 cups raisins
• 1 cup other dried fruit
• 1 large apple
• 1/2 cup plain (gluten-free) flour
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 1/4 cup blanched slithered almonds
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (125g) coconut oil (or cold butter)
• 2 small eggs
• 2 tbsp brandy, mead, or drambuie
• 2 tsp nutmeg

Method

1. Grate the apple and finely chop the dried fruit.
2. Mix almonds, apple, dried fruit and raisins, nutmeg, flour, breadcrumbs, sugar, eggs, and liquor in a large bowl.
3. Grate the butter directly into the bowl and stir it well. While stirring, say the "Stir Up" prayer.
4. Line and grease a 1-litre bowl. Pack in the mixture, cover it with two layers of baking paper, pleat it at the top and tie with a string.
5. Cover all over with aluminium foil and tie with a string, making a handle to easily lift it out.
6. Boil for 8 hours, topping up the water as necessary.
7. When cold, unwrap the pudding and then re-wrap in new baking paper and string; store it in a cool, dry place.

Notes

This recipe makes one (1) 1L pudding. It should be prepared at the beginning of Advent.

Brownies

Ingredients

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup butter or coconut oil, melted
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup walnuts (optional)
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C / 350F.
2. Mix together the dry ingredients (minus optional add-ins).
3. Add the wet ingredients.
4. Stir well, and add in the optional add-ins.
5. Pour into baking tray.
6. Bake for 20 minutes

Variations

For a high-protein variation, instead of the listed flour and cocoa powder, use 1 cup flour, 3/4 cup chocolate protein powder, and 1/4 cup cocoa powder.

St. Lucy Buns

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup margarine
• 2 cups milk
• 4 tsp yeast
• pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp saffron or turmeric
• 1 tsp cardamom or mace
• 5 cups bread flour

Method

1. Melt the butter, then in a large mixing bowl add to it the milk, yeast, salt, sugar, and spices.
2. Slowly add the flour by stirring and then knead gently until it comes together and peels off the sides of the bowl.
3. Cover and rise for 30 minutes or until double in size.
4. Knead and shape, then cover baking trays and rise for 30 minutes or until double in size.
5. Bake 10 minutes at 225C / 435F.

Notes

Makes 12.

Vasilopita

Ingredients

• 3 cups self-raising flour
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1.5 cups butter (or margarine, or coconut oil)
  
• 6 eggs, room temperature and divided
• 3/4 cup (200g) plain or vanilla yoghourt
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

Method 

1. Divide eggs and preheat oven to 200C / 400F.
2. Add salt to egg whites and whisk until meringue peaks are formed.
3. Cream butter and sugar.
4. Add yolks and mix well.
5. Add orange juice, yoghourt, and vanilla and mix well.
6. Add 1 cup of flour and mix, then 1/3 of the egg whites and mix, and then repeat until all is combined.
7. Place in a greased 12" cake tin.
8. Bake at 180C / 350F for 60 minutes, DO NOT OPEN OVEN for first 30 minutes.
9. Remove when the skewer comes out clean.

Notes

Cool completely before adding coin through the top.

Invert cake before decorating; decorate the bottom.

ABC Muffins

Ingredients

• 2 apples, grated
• 2 large ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1/2 cup choc chips (no more!)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup oil or butter
• 1 egg
• 2 cups self-raising flour

Method 

1. Preheat oven to 200C / 400F.
2. Mix banana, sugar, oil, egg and milk.
3. Stir in apples, carrot, and chocolate.
4. Stir in flour.
5. Spoon into muffin pans.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Bread & Butter Pudding

Ingredients

• stale bread or hot cross buns
• butter
• 2 cups of milk
• 1 cup of cream
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• sweet spices to taste

Method

1. Slice and butter bread, filling dish with it.
2. Mix all other ingredients together and pour them over the bread.
3. Bake until golden.

Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients

• 2 cups self-raising flour
• 2 cups blueberries
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200C / 400F.
2. Cream butter and sugar.
3. Add eggs and mix well.
4. Add vanilla, salt, and milk, and mix well.
5. Add flour and mix well.
6. Crush 1/2 a cup of blueberries with a fork and mix into batter.
7. Stir in the remaining blueberries.
8. Fill the muffin tray and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon.
9. Bake 20-25 minutes.

Orange Muffins

Ingredients

• 2 cups self-raising flour
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 4 tbsp oil or butter
• 1 tbsp orange zest
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200C / 400F.
2. Rub orange zest and sugar together.
3. Stir flour and salt into the sugar.
4. Whisk together eggs, oil, orange juice, and vanilla extract.
5. Mix wet ingredients into dry.
6. Spoon into pans and bake 15 minutes.

Koliva

Ingredients

• 1 cup grain
• 1 cup pomegranate arils
• 1/2 cup almond pieces
• 1/2 cup finely-chopped parsley
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• ground cinnamon

Optional:

• 1/4 cup sultanas
• 1/4 cup pistachios
• 1 tbsp orange zest
• almond flour or sugared almonds
• icing sugar

Method

1. Boil grain and cinnamon together.
2. Drain the grain well and rinse in cold water. Leave it to drain for 60+ minutes.
3. Toss all ingredients together.
4. Press into a mound and decorate it.

Notes

Wheat berries: soak overnight beforehand
Barley: pearl barley
Rice: short-grain brown or sushi; wash very thoroughly before using

Pavlova

Ingredients

• 4 egg whites, at room temperature
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 tsp cornflour
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp white vinegar
• pinch of salt

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C / 350F.
2. Beat all ingredients on high until very stiff and glassy.
3. Place on a try lined with baking paper. Use a spatula to form a circle and pull up the sides to raise edges.
4. Put in the oven and immediately reduce heat to 120C / 250F and bake for 1 hour.
5. Turn heat to 100C / 200F and bake for 1 hour.
6. Turn the oven off and leave in until cold.

Notes

DO NOT OPEN OVEN DOOR AT ANY TIME.

For mini-pavlovas in muffin trays, bake for 45 minutes in Step 4 and 45 minutes in Step 5.

Top with yoghourt or whipped cream, and fruit.

Kozunak | Baltic Easter Bread

Ingredients

• 6 cups bread flour
• 2 cups milk
• 8 egg yolks
• 1 cup sugar
• 6 tbsp butter
• 4 tsp instant yeast
• 1 tsp salt

Method

1. Combine flour, sugar, salt, and yeast.
2. Melt butter with warm milk, then add to flour.
   
3. Add egg yolks to flour.
4. Mix and knead until elastic. Rise until doubled in size, then braid on a flat baking tray. Rise again and then bake until cooked through.

Notes

Make a double recipe of pavlova with the remaining egg whites.

Simnel Cake

Ingredients

• 1 cup chopped almonds
• 2 cups dried grapes (sultanas or raisins)
• 2 cups other dried fruit
• 1 cup fruit juice
• 1 cup apple sauce or mashed banana
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cup ground almonds
• 2 cups plain flour
• 2 cups self-raising flour
• cinnamon, ginger, and cloves to taste

Method 

1. Soak fruit overnight in juice.
2. Mix applesauce and sugar, then add flours and spices.
3. Add in almonds and fruit and mix well.
4. Put half of batter in a cake tin and then add a layer of thinly-rolled marzipan. Add the other half.
5. Bake until a skewer comes out clean.
6. Cover top with a layer of marzipan and decorate with 11 marzipan balls.

Notes

For nut-free, eliminate all almonds and use a plain white bread dough instead of the marzipan; add the top layer and the 11 balls before baking.

Make marzipan with equal parts icing sugar and almond meal, using rosewater to moisten.

The 11 balls represent the 11 Apostles remaining after Judas' betrayal. Presumably before Matthias was chosen.