It’s that time of the year again—when the air smells like cinnamon, homes twinkle with lights, and desserts dominate the culinary scene!
This Christmas, we’ve got you covered with exclusive holiday-themed recipes from bakery experts and pastry chefs who know how to make your celebrations extra sweet. Get ready to wow your guests with these festive and delicious treats that’ll make Santa’s cookie plate look basic.
Honey X’mas Cake by Chef Rajesh Paramashivan, Head Pastry Chef at Novotel Mumbai Juhu Beach
Ingredients:
Honey: 600 gms
Rum: 120 ml
Clove Powder: 30 gms
Cinnamon Powder: 40 gms
Ginger Powder: 30 gms
Chopped Chocolate: 720 gms
Flour Refined: 3000 gms
Chopped Almond Roasted: 1500 gms
Mixed Peels: 600 gms
Baking Powder: 30 gms
Baking Soda: 30 gms
Steps to make:
Heat up honey and sugar and water for about 40 C, cool.
Beat eggs and honey mixture.
Place all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl.
Put the honey mixture into and knead for a short time.
Portion the batter and bake it for 1 hour at 180 C.
Coffee Oats Cranberry Cookies by Chef Rajesh Paramashivan
Ingredients:
Refined flour: 200 Gms
Oats meal: 270 Gms
Coffee powder: 20 Gms
Brown sugar: 300 Gms
Expresso shot: 30 Ml
Salt: 2 Gms
Baking soda: 5 Gms
Butter: 170 Gms
Eggs: 1 Nos
Water: 60 Ml
Steps to make:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. Stir together the refined flour, salt, baking soda and coffee powder set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the egg, water and vanilla. Mix in the flour mixture, and then stir in the oats. Lastly, add an expresso shot.
Drop by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 2 inches apart.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from baking sheets to cool on wire racks.
Cinnamon Stars by Chef Rajesh Paramashivan
Ingredients:
Almond meal: 700 gms
Egg whites: 240 gms
Marzipan: 750 gms
Sugar castor: 625 gms
Sugar icing: 500 gms
Cinnamon powder: 40 gms
Flour refined: 70 gms
Sugar icing: 500 gms
Egg whites: 150 gms
Steps to make:
Add all the dry ingredients together.
Cream marzipan and add the egg whites gradually and cream further.
Add all the dry ingredients to the creamed marzipan and make a smooth mixture.
Let the mixture stand in the fridge overnight.
Roll the mixture with the rolling pin, and apply the prepared icing with the help of the below icing sugar and the egg white.
Cut the cookies with the help of the cookie cutter and bake them at a moderate temperature.
Ginger Molasses Cookies by Kimberley Almedia, a self-taught home baker
Ingredients:
Plain flour: 300 gm
Fresh ground ginger: 2 teaspoons
Ground cloves: 1/2 teaspoon
Ground cardamom: 1/2 teaspoon
Ground nutmeg: 1/2 teaspoon
Ground cinnamon: 1/2 teaspoon
Baking powder: 1/2 teaspoon
Baking soda: 1/2 teaspoon
Brown sugar: 50 gm
Regular white sugar: 50 gm
Butter (regular salted): 100 gm
Elackstrap molasses: 80 gm
Egg: 1
vanilla extract: 1 tablespoon
Soft ginger chews (cut into tiny cubes)
Steps to make:
In a medium bowl, using a hand mixer, cream together brown sugar, white sugar, and butter.
Now beat in the egg and add the molasses and mix well.
Now add in the ground ginger and mix well.
Now add the spices, baking powder and baking soda, and mix well.
Pre Heat the oven to 180°C
Line a sheet pan with baking paper, and set aside
Add in the vanilla extract and fold in the cut-up soft ginger chews.
Add the flour and mix everything well to form a soft dough ball.
Wrap the dough in cling wrap and store in the fridge for a half hour.
Use an ice cream scoop to shape the dough into balls, and flatten it a bit.
(Tip: Here you can add more soft ginger chews).
Bake for 15 -20 min, until the cookies start to crack on the top.
Serve warm or store in an airtight cookie jar at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Rich Rum Fruit Cake by Kimberley Almedia
Ingredients:
Currants: 150 gm
Sultanas: 150 gm
Spiced Rum: 1000 ml
(TIP: Soak currants and sultanas in rum for 24 hours or six months, and up to a year for best results)
Regular salted butter, softened: 250 gm
Regular white sugar: 250 gm
Beaten eggs : 4
Blackstrap molasses: 2 tablespoons
Plain flour: 350 gm
Mmixed spice powder: 2 teaspoons
Blanched almonds: 50 gm (chopped)
Cashew nuts: 50 gm (chopped)
Mixed peel: 100 gm
Orange juice and zest: 1
Steps to make:
Place the soaked currants and sultanas in a bowl. (TIP: Reserve the rum to be poured into the cake after baking and resting)
Grease and line (8in) round cake tin. Preheat the oven to 180°C
Using a hand mixer, beat the butter, sugar, and molasses together.
Gradually beat in the eggs.
Fold in the flour and mixed spices.
Add the soaked fruit, almonds, cashews, mixed peel and orange juice and zest, mix well.
Spoon the batter into the prepared tin.
Bake for 45 minutes at 180°C, then reduce the oven temperature to 160°C and continue baking for another half hour to 45min or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Once cooled, allow the cake to stand at room temperature for 24 hours and then pour the reserved rum into the cake before serving.