Once cool, put one cake on to a plate, spoon the jam on top and spread it out evenly. Place the second cake on top. Cut out a round piece of paper just larger than the cake. Fold it into four and cut an intricate snowflake design out of it. Unfold the piece of paper and lay it on top of the cake. Dust the top with icing sugar before carefully removing the paper. You should be left with a beautiful delicate snowflake on top of your cake.

Chocolate-coated walnut marzipan - Cool Food Dude Chocolate-coated walnut marzipan - Cool Food Dude

Cut the marzipan into 1cm/3/8in squares and, using a fork held horizontally with the tines pointing upwards to balance the marzipan on, dip each square carefully into the chocolate,

In one bite-sized biscuit, they swept me directly to cold snowy cobbled streets with people’s breath hanging in clouds under the glow of street lamps. There was just something about them that seemed so old-fashioned that was hard to put my finger on – the vodka somehow brought a mysterious feeling of cold into your mouth. These little sweets came about one autumn when we found the ground on our usual path to school scattered with walnuts. After dropping the boys off I rushed home, scooping up as many nuts along the way as I could carry. The recipe recommends a sharp, smooth jam so I bought some damson jelly to go in the middle, but in all honesty, I’m not sure I could’ve told the difference between that and regular strawberry or raspberry. Best yet, the biscuits tasted even better in the days after baking – good news, because I’m pretty sure I made enough to feed a small army. Lebkuchen are often called gingerbread in English, which Dunk finds “somewhat misleading.” Lebkuchengewürz (Lebkuchen spice mix, recipe follows) is made up of roughly seven spices; along with ground ginger, Dunk’s version includes anise, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, coriander and mace. The process was a bit fiddlier than your average biscuit – you have to roll out the dough, cut heart shapes, blob jam in the middle and cover with a slightly bigger heart on top. My efforts weren’t the most finessed – as shown by bits of jam pouring out after baking – but it still tasted delicious.

Advent: Festive German Bakes to Celebrate the Coming of Advent: Festive German Bakes to Celebrate the Coming of

Put the flour, sugar, salt and citrus zests into a large bowl and mix together with a wooden spoon, then add the melted butter and egg. I was going to bring you the Stollen recipe today, but for many reasons (including the words in the introduction to this recipe) I decided, with a glad heart, to share the Christbrot — the Christmas Bread with Dried Fruit — with you. And I must own up here, that I made it with chopped dried apricots in place of the candied peel, used a little more rum than instructed, and then realised only when it was too late that I'd forgotten to add the almonds I'd so carefully weighed out! But it was de-luscious like that, I may have to do exactly the same next time I make it, which will most definitely be soon. The kneading in of the fruits is not light work, but patience is more than rewarded.Crumble the yeast (or sprinkle if using dried) into the tepid milk and stir to dissolve. Pour the yeasted milk into the flour mixture and, using your hands, bring the ingredients together into a rough dough. Tip the dough on to a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until it becomes more elastic. Form it into a ball and nestle it into the bottom of the bowl. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and set aside in a warm spot to rise for 1-3 hours until almost doubled in size. (Alternatively, put the flour, sugar, salt and citrus zests into the bowl of a free-standing electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the butter and egg. Pour in the yeasted milk and knead for 5 minutes until the dough is elastic. Cover the bowl and set aside, as above.) On the principle that it’s never too early to start thinking ahead, really, and that Christmas is always on us before we know, how about Have Yourself a Happy Hygge Christmas? Christmas is about the small things in life, much as hygge is, and establishing what you want from Christmas and then being able to say no to the excess is important. The book has hints and tips that hopefully will help you enjoy what is, too often, a frantic season. The Great British Bake off has introduced us to all these goodies. I’m looking forward to trying some of them 👍 How to Hygge the British Way is my gift to the world. I don’t get paid for writing it, I’m not in it for the kudos, financial rewards, to become an influencer, work with brands or otherwise make any money from the blog. That’s why there are no ads, and any products I mention and recommend have either been gifted to me or bought by me with my everyday wages or donations from supporters. Every book I review has been bought and read by me, unless stated otherwise. I have a massive apology to make here. In Monday’s post, I listed Advent by Anja Dunk as one of my Advent books, the small volumes I wrap and give myself on the Sundays of Advent. That was written at my desk in the office, where I do most of my writing and without all of the books actually being present in front of me.

Advent: Festive German Bakes to Celebrate the Coming of

These biscuits are traditional Advent sweet treats in both the Netherlands, where they are usually eaten around 6 December (St Nikolaus day), and in Germany, where they are eaten throughout the whole run-up to Christmas. Usually they’re decorated with images relating to Nikolaus, and more often than not have windmills depicted on them. Lay out small foil chocolate cases on a baking sheet. Give the mixture a good stir through again, then spoon it into a piping bag fitted with a 1cm star-shaped nozzle. Pipe the mixture, with a swirling motion, into the foil cases, lifting the nozzle up at the very end to create a peak. Stollenkonfekt is something that has become popular during my lifetime. It’s basically mini bite-sized versions of the real thing. I like to make these moreish buttery confections with Quark and baking powder for ease, but these would also work with yeasted dough. Christbrot is very similar to a Weihnachtsstollen (Christmas stollen), but lighter in texture, and is best eaten freshly baked without needing time to mature. This is one of the reasons why a Christbrot is more popular to bake at home than a Stollen each year. It isn’t hard to make Christbrot but the method involves a triple rise, so you’ll need to set a morning or afternoon aside if you choose to make it.

Place the walnuts in a food processor and blitz for about 2 minutes until finely ground, then scrape down the sides of the processor and blitz again for a couple of minutes until the oils are released from the nuts and the mixture clumps together.

Anja Dunk’s Christmas cakes, bakes and chocolate recipes

Add the egg and bring everything together into a dough with your hands. (Alternatively, simply put all the ingredients into the bowl of an electric free-standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix until an even dough is formed.) Heat the cream in a saucepan over a medium heat, stirring from time to time to avoid it scorching on the bottom. Take it off the heat just before it comes to a boil. Add the chocolate and butter or coconut oil, and stir with a wooden spoon until both are dissolved. Mix in the Kirschwasser and beat for a minute until smooth and glossy. Refrigerate for 45 minutes so it stiffens up slightly. Put the chocolate and coconut oil into a heatproof bowl and place the bowl over a small saucepan with a 1cm/3/8in depth of water in the bottom. Turn the heat on low and wait for the chocolate to melt. Once it starts melting, stir so that the coconut oil is evenly dispersed. Take off the heat once the chocolate is glossy and fluid. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly together in a bowl and store in an airtight jar for up to a year. Add the icing sugar along with 1 tablespoon of vodka and blitz again until a smooth paste forms. You may need to add a bit more vodka depending on how fresh the nuts are.Now food writer Anja Dunk has collected together a whole slew of festive German bakes in her new cookbook, Advent.