Christmas is not just a festival, it’s a feeling of warmth and a celebration of togetherness. The festival is all about spreading the message of love for everyone.

Though the trees are decorated with lights, stars, bells and miniature Santa Clauses, the festival is incomplete without a slice of Christmas cake.

From ginger cookies to plum cakes to chocolate slice, the festival brings with it merry spirit with all sorts of mouthwatering desserts.

So if you have a sweet tooth, this festival has so much to offer. So why wait? Make your way to the kitchen and start baking.

So, this Christmas, try out these exclusive recipes made by different chefs and become a pro by baking a cake.

Plum Pudding—Taj Mahal Hotel

 

Ingredients:

White butter           312gms

Brown sugar            187gms

Eggs                           3

Apple chopped        187gms

Flour                          125gms

Corn flour                 50gms

Baking powder         3.5gms

Nut meg                     2gms

Ginger powder         3.5gms

Lemon zest                3

Soaked fruit              875gms

Fresh cream              100gms

Rum                           100ml

Method:

1. Cream butter & sugar till fluffy and sugar is dissolved using a paddle attachment in the machine
2. Add slowly eggs and incorporate well.
3. Add cream and mix
4. Sieve in all dry ingredients and mix gently
5. Lastly add in all the dry fruits and chopped apples.
6. Bake in a mould lined with butter & sugar and covered with foil at 150C on hot water bath for 4 hrs.
7. Soaked in brandy/rum and Serve warm.

 Flourless Walnut Cake with Poached Pears — Chef Sabyasachi Gorai

 

Ingredients:

For the cake:

Butter for greasing

350g California walnuts

Zest of 1 lemon

4 eggs

225g golden caster sugar

1 tbsp icing sugar

For the poached pears:

4 ripe conference pears

8 cardamom pods

Pinch of saffron

Juice of 1 lemon

150g caster sugar

250ml water

Greek yogurt to serve or

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, grease and line the base of a 9-inch cake tin with a circle of baking parchment.
2. Place the walnuts into a food processor and blitz until you have flour like consistency.
3. Separate the eggs into 2 mixing bowls.
4. Whisk the egg yolks, lemon zest and caster sugar with an electric hand whisk until pale and creamy, and then whisk the egg white to stiff peaks.
5. Mix the blended walnuts into the egg yolks, and then fold in the egg whites.
6. Spoon the cake mixture into your prepared cake tin, place on the middle shelves of the oven, and bake for 35-40 minutes (or until cooked in the centre and risen).
7. Meanwhile, peel the pears and cut in half, scooping out the core with a melon baller or teaspoon, and bruise the cardamom pods.
8. Add the peeled pears, saffron, cardamom pods, lemon juice, caster sugar and water to a medium sized saucepan over a low heat and poach the pears for 15-20 minutes, or until soft and infused.
9. Slice the cake into 8, and serve each slice with a poached pear on the side and a blob of Greek yogurt or creme fraiche.

Cinnamon Zucchini Walnut Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting— Chef Sabyasachi Gorai

 

Ingredients:

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup white sugar

4 eggs

1 cup canola oil

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3-1/2 cups freshly grated zucchini

1 cup California walnuts, chopped

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

3 cups powdered sugar

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 176°C. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, beat together sugars, eggs, and oil until well combined. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, sift the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Combine dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. Stir in zucchini and walnuts.
4. Pour batter evenly in pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes clean. Cool completely.
5. For the cream cheese frosting, beat the butter and cream cheese together until creamy.
6. Add vanilla extract and heavy whipping cream and beat until combined.
7. Beat in the powdered sugar until smooth. Frost the cooled cake and serve immediately.

Rum Plum Delight — Chef Shailendra Bhandari, The Metropolitan Hotel & Spa

 

Ingredients:

For fruits and nuts mix soaking:

750 ml Dark Rum

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 pinch salt

300g raisins

250g currants

250g sultanas

75g chopped mixed peel

10g almonds, chopped (skin-on)

½ orange zests

½ lemon zest

For cake:

175g self-raising flour, sifted

175g soft-dark brown sugar

175g butter, softened

4 medium eggs

Method:

Few days before baking cake |  Add cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, dried fruits, mixed peel, nuts and zest in a  mixing bowl with 750 ml of rum in airtight container.

When you are ready to bake the cake| pre-heat the oven to 140°C.

1. Mix flour and sugar and softened butter into a large mixing bowl then add eggs and beat until everything is evenly blended. Now use a large metal spoon to gradually fold in the fruit mixture until it’s all evenly distributed.
2. Then add flour mix and soaked nuts mixture into the prepared tin, leveling the surface with the back of the spoon.
3. Finally cover the top of the cake with a double square of parchment paper with a 50p-size hole in the center.
4. Bake the cake in the center of the oven for 4 hours until it feels springy in the center when lightly touched.
5. Cool the cake for 45 minutes in the tin, and then remove it to a wire rack to finish cooling. When it’s completely cold, wrap in double greaseproof paper.
6. Foil it and store in an airtight tin or polythene box.

Christmas Mince Pies — Enchante Patisserie

 

Ingredients:

1st Soaking:

Black Current       1000gms

Orange Peel           125 gms

Lemon Peel          175 gms

Prunes                    500 gms

Raisins                   500 gms

Brown Sugar       500 gms

Rum                         500 gms

2nd Soaking:

Unsalted butter       250

Orange Juice              125

Lemon Zest                 5

Sweet Pastry:

Rose Flour               250 gr

Butter                         150 gr

Salt                               2.5 gr

Icing Sugar               75 gr

Eggs                           50 gr

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients of the first soaking together and macerate for 48 hours.
2. Mix the ingredients of the second soaking along with the first and keep aside.
3. For the sweet pastry rub in butter into the flour. Add in salt and icing sugar. Lastly, add eggs to combine.
4. Chill the dough for at least 45 mins. Roll out dough to 2 mm thickness. Line the tart shells.
5. Fill in with mince filling prepared earlier.
6. Use a star cutter and paste on top of filled tarts. Rest for 30 mins.
7. Bake at 170 degrees in a convection oven for 20-25 mins.

Truffle Rum Cake — Chef Shailendra Bhandari, The Metropolitan Hotel & Spa

 

Ingredients:

Chocolate sponge

Flour                            175 gm

Cocoa powder               25 gm

Eggs                             10 no

Sugar                           200 gm

 Rum                            30 ml

Baking powder             ¼ tsp

Chocolate filling

Chocolate melted         500 gm

Cream whipped           1 lt

Egg white, beaten         5 eggs

Sugar                           100 gm

Rum                             30 ml

Method:

1. Separate egg yolks and whites
2. Whisk sugar and egg yolks together and add vanilla essence
3. Whisk egg whites to stiff consistency
4. Sift flour and baking powder
5. Mix the egg whites and egg yolk mixture
6. Fold in the flour and coco powder into the eggs using cut and fold method
7. Line the greasing tray with butter paper and pour the mixture
8. Bake in preheated oven at 200degrees Celsius for 25 min.

Chocolate Filling

1.  Melt the chocolate and keep aside
2.  Whip the cream and add vanilla essence
3.  Combine egg white and sugar on double boiler till stiff consistency
4. Add cream to the above mixture
5. Remove from double boiler add rum and melted chocolate
6. Layer cake with thin chocolate sponge and pour thin layer of chocolate mixture on it and repeat the same
7. Refrigerate for 1 hour and serve chilled piped with chocolate cream

Plum Pudding — Chef Sujeet Singh, Radisson Noida Sector 55

 

Ingredients:

Butter                                     1kg

Caster sugar                          1kg

Egg                                          1kg

Maida                                   800gm

Bread cram                         500gm

Caramel colour                 150ml

Almond                               300gm

Cashew nut                        300gm

Kishmish                             300gm

Orange peel                      400gm

Black currant                    300gm

Dry cherry                        500gm

Dry fig                                300gm

Tutti frutti                         500gm

Cinnamon powder          25gm

Green cardamom          25gm

Cloves powder              20gm

Ginger powder              20gm

Liquor(rum,whiskey,brandy) 500ml

Baking powder                  10gm

Apple greeted                     01 kg

Method:

For preparing cake batter:

1. Cream butter and sugar together slowly and add egg one by one, after creaming add flour, breadcrumb, baking powder and greeted apple mix them together and add caramel colour.
2. Add liquor soaked dry fruits to the mixture and mix well.
3. Then prepare cake molds for baking greases them with butter.
4. Pour the prepared mixture into small pudding molds and set them properly.
5. Covered the mold with silver foil and steam baked.
6. Bake at-230*c for 90-100 minutes

Gingerbread Cookies — Enchante Patisserie

 

Ingredients:

Refined Flour                        500 gms

Honey                                        205 gms

Butter                                         90 gms

Ginger powder                      15 gms

Milk                                             5 gms

Eggs                                             2

Mix Spice                                 1 gm

Baking Soda                            7 gms

Brown Sugar                         110 gms

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients together to form a dough.
2. Sheet to 4 mm thickness.
3. Cut with different shaped cookie cutters and bake at 180 for 15 mins.

Red Velvet Cupcake — SHEROES Cooking Community, Vaishnavi Tambat

 

Ingredients:

125-gram All-purpose flour

100 grams butter

1/2 tin condensed milk/ milkmaid

2 medium-sized beetroot

Red gel food color as required

2 tbsp. powdered sugar

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla essence

3/4 tsp. lemon juice

Method:

1. Wash, peel the skin of beetroot and chop into small pieces.
2. Take a jar and put chopped beetroot and grind into a smooth paste without adding water. Beet root paste is ready.
3. Now put the paste of beetroot in a strainer and keep a bowl under the strainer to collect the liquid. Now take out the liquid by pressing it with the spoon. Beet root juice is ready.
4. Take a bowl and add butter, sugar and mix well using a whisk. Now add condensed milk and again mix it well for few seconds by using whisk.
5. Take another bowl and add all the dry ingredients- all-purpose flour, soda, baking powder in a bowl and mix it well. You can also add 1 tbsp. of cocoa powder (optional) at this stage only.
6. Now put ½ of the beet root juice with wet ingredients and gradually put ½ of the flour mixture into the bowl of wet ingredients and mix well.
7. Now put rest of the flour mixture, beet root juice and red gel food color, vanilla essence and mix it well. Lastly add lemon juice and mix it well again. If the mixture is thick then add water as needed and make medium thick batter.
8. Pre-heat the oven at 180 degree Celsius and line a muffin tray with paper or foil liners. Now fill 3/4 cup of liners with batter. Do not fill too much as it will become fluffy after baking.
9. Put the muffin tray in a pre-heated oven and bake it in convection mode.

Christmas Cake — Chef Ashish Srivastava, Regenta LP Vilas, Dehradun

 

Ingredients:

Dried Mixed Fruit           500GM

Lemon zest                    30gm

Orange zest                   30gm

Glace cherries                60GM

Cooking brandy             120ML

Orange juice                    20ml

Lemon juice                      20ml

Amul butter                 175gm

Dark brown sugar       175gm

Whole eggs                    3nos

Self-raising flour         175gm

Ground almonds         50gm

Whole almonds          60gm

Whole walnut           60gm

Mixed spice powder 30gm

Apricot jam               30gm

Icing sugar                  50gm

Method:

1. Put all zest and juice in a bowl with mixed dried fruit and glace cherries. Add the brandy cover with clingfilm and soak for a minimum of 1 hr or overnight.
2. Grease and line a 20cm cake tin, preferably with a removable base.
3. Preheat the oven to 150°C,
4. Beat the butter with the sugar and black treacle until paler and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, beating each one in thoroughly before adding the next one. In another bowl, combine the flour, ground almonds and mixed spice and stir to mix thoroughly. Then add all the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, and fold in gently until thoroughly combined.
5. Add the soaked fruit and all the juices, plus the nuts if liked. Fold gently together until the ingredients are thoroughly combined. Turn the mixture into your prepared cake tin and flatten the surface. Place in the centre of the oven, and bake for 2 hrs or until golden brown and springy to the touch. Use a sharp knife or skewer to test the cake. If there is still wet mixture on the blade, bake for another 20-30 mins. It should come out clean.
6. Served warm with brandy sauce.