While Christmas and the holiday season mean many things to many people, there is one thing that arguably unites everybody: food.
Whether grounded in tradition and created for cold winter nights (season’s greetings to our Northern Hemisphere friends), or derived from special family recipes and for the hot Australian summer, the excitement over food is one that is shared by all—commoners and royals alike.
In fact, the British Royal Family have occasionally given glimpses into some of the dishes and recipes that feature in their holiday dinners over the years, including a ‘boozy’ Christmas pudding.
Feel like giving your festive feasts a royal touch? Scroll on for three of the royal family’s favourite Christmas recipes.
The Royals Family’s Boozy Christmas Pudding
Ingredients
Makes: Two 1 kg puddings
- 250g raisins
- 250g currents
- 185g sultanas
- 150g mixed peel
- 250g suet or vegetarian suet
- 250g breadcrumbs
- 90g flour
- 12g mixed spice
- 2 whole eggs
- 180 demerara sugar
- 275ml beer
- 40ml dark rum
- 40ml brandy
Note: You can swap out the beer, rum and brandy for orange juice or cold tea for a non-alcoholic version.
Method
- Combine all the dry ingredients and give them a good stir.
- Add the eggs and liquid and stir.
- Grease your pudding tins, then adding your pudding mixture.
- Cover them with a sheet of parchment paper, then cover the basins with muslins or foil and put them into a deep saucepan.
- Fill the pan with water up to 3/4 of the pudding basin height. Cover the pan with foil.
- Steam the puddings for six hours, refilling the water if neccessary.
- Once the puddings have cooled down, wrap them well and store them in a cool, dry, dark place until Christmas.
Check out the video below for a walkthrough of how to make the royal family’s Christmas pudding.
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The Royal Family’s ‘Cinnamon Stars’ Biscuits
Ingredients
- 360g Icing sugar
- 85g Egg white
- 20g Lemon Juice
- 300g Ground almonds
- 115g Mixed peel
- ½ Lemon, zested
- 12g Ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp Ground cloves
Method
- Blitz the mixed peel into a paste-like texture, set aside.
- Whip the icing sugar, egg white with lemon juice into a soft peak meringue. Take a third out and keep aside to top the dough with a thin layer later.
- Add all remaining ingredients into the larger part of meringue and combine to a dough-like texture.
- Knead the dough together with your hands and flatted onto a baking paper lined baking tray. Placing a sheet of baking paper on top, roll it down to about 1cm thickness.
- Remove paper from the top and spread a thin layer of meringue over the dough. Keep it as smooth as possible.
- Rest the sheet of dough in the fridge for a minimum of one hour.
- Remove the dough from fridge and start cutting it into shapes with a knife or cutters. Be creative. Stars and diamond shapes work well. To use the cinnamon star cutter or round cutter, a bowl of hot water is required. Dip the cutter into the water first and in between cutting the shapes. This helps to release the cookie easily from the cutter.
- Bake in the oven at 160C fan for 12-15 minutes. Best is to bake with bottom heat only so that the top stays white and does not discolour. Cookie is baked when you are gently able to lift the edges of the paper. The centre should still be soft and sticky.
- Leave to cool for about 30 min before removing from tray.
- Keep in an airtight container for up to two months.
- Enjoy!
Check out the video below for a walkthrough of how to make the royal family’s ‘cinnamon stars’.
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The Royal Family’s Fruit Mince Tarts
You will need
- 12 hole non-stick shallow baking tray /
- Mince pie tin 32 x 24 cm/ 12.5 x 9″
- Fluted or plain cutters
Ingredients
- Zest and some juice of 1 unwaxed lemon
- Zest and some juice of 1 unwaxed orange
- 2 tablespoons brandy
- 1 tablespoon of port
- 1 tablespoon of rum
- 1 tablespoon of sherry
- 120g (1 cup) suet
- 160g (3/4 cup) golden sultanas
- 100g (1/2 cup) raisins
- 100g (1/2 cup) mixed peel
- 100g (1/2 cup) currants
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 1.2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 160 (6oz) russet apples, peeled and grated
- 500g (1lb 2 oz) sweet pastry
- Egg washed for sticking lids on the bases
- Granulated sugar for the top of the mince pies before baking
- Icing sugar for dusting
Method
- Place all the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and stir.
- Then add all the liquid and grated apple and allow to soak for at least one week in a 1kg Kilner jar, placed in the fridge or pantry.
- Preheat the oven to 190° C (375° F).
- Roll the sweet pastry into a sheet approximately 2 to 3 mm thick. Place on a tray and allow to rest in the fridge.
- Once rested, cut tops and bottoms for your mince pies using fluted or plain cutters (selecting sizes to fit your tin).
- Place the pie bases into the tin and prick them with a small knife or fork to prevent the pastry from rising during the baking.
- Spoon a teaspoon of the home-made mincemeat into the base and egg wash the edge of the pastry to enable the lids to stick.
- Place the mince pies in the fridge to rest for another 30 minutes, then add a pastry top to each, egg washing it and pricking a small hole in the top to allow the steam to escape. Sprinkle with granulated sugar.
- Place the baking tray on the middle shelf of the preheated oven and bake the pies for about 15 minutes, or until the pastry turns golden and the mincemeat starts to boil slightly.
- Take them out of the oven and allow them to cool slightly before taking the pies out of their tin.
- Dust the mince pies with icing sugar and serve immediately. For a festive finish, create the mince pie tops with a star cutter or a holly-shaped cutter.
- Enjoy!
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