CHRISTMAS BAKING - chewy Italian almond biscuits with fennel seed and orange and a Christmas loaf with chocolate, frangipane, pistachios, and cherries.

Italian almond biscuits with orange and fennel seeds plus a rich, buttery brioche loaf with frangipane, amarena cherries and dark chocolate.

Hello all!

Merry Christmas!

This issue of the Good Home Cook is here to prove that there’s more to bake in the festive season than just baking mince pies, although they certainly have a place on my cooling rack (see last years mince pies with rum ice cream in the archives). But I do also like to play around with other bakes at Christmas, mainly because those christmassy flavours of orange, nuts, fruit are just all too delicious not to have fun with.

For Christmas morning this year i’ve developed a buttery brioche twist laden with chunks of dark chocolate, pistachios, syrupy cherries and a slightly salty orange frangipani. I like to make this for Christmas morning with hot cup of coffee. You can assemble the loaf the night before and when you’re ready to leave it for its second prove, cover and chill overnight (for no longer than 10 hours) then bake from chilled. It has an almond croissant like quality with all the sparkle of Christmas - orange, cherries, nuts and chocolate baked into a rich brioche dough. Its very good indeed, a real bake to put a smile on your face. Don’t worry if it ends up looking a little rustic, I think thats part of its charm and once bejewelled with extra toppings it looks really impressive.

I’ve also shared a recipe for Riccciarelli. Small Italian biscuits with a chewy interior and crisp exterior originating from Sienna. I first ate these when I lived in Tuscany in my early 20’s and was mesmerised by the simplicity and comfort that these little chewy biscuits brought to the table. Spices and almonds have a long history of working well together - wether thats a blanket of almond marzipan draped on a spiced Christmas cake or the sweet, aniseed fennel seeds i’ve added to these biscuits. They are extremely easy to make and make a lovely gift at Christmas wrapped in squares of parchment or piled on a plate in the living room to nibble alongside a sweet wine.

There’s such joy in slowing down and baking at Christmas - I hope you enjoy these two recipes!

A subscription to my newsletter might make a lovely present for someone this Christmas. Giving the gift of a years subscription garuntees they receive at least 4 new recipes a month as well as full access to the recipe archives - click the link below to gift :)

See you next week for one last newsletter before the big day!

Esther x

Orange and fennel seed Riccciarelli (Italian biscuits)

The fennel seeds and orange sing together to make a delicious aromatic flavour but if you’re not a fan of fennel seeds swap them out for a pinch of saffron or ground cardamom seeds.

MAKES 15 TAKES 50 MINS PLUS OVERNIGHT CHILLING

EFFORT LEVEL - EASY

1 heaped tsp fennel seeds, lightly bashed

2 large egg whites

200g icing sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

zest of 1 large orange

200g ground almonds

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

30g flaked almonds

Toast the fennel seeds in a dry frying pan over a medium heat for 5 mins. Tip them into a pestle and mortar and lightly grind. Set aside.

Take a large, clean mixing bowl. Add the egg whites and beat with an electric whisk on a high speed until you have stiff peaks. Alternatively, use a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Using a spatular, fold in the icing sugar, baking powder, orange zest, almonds, sea salt and fennel seeds until you have a thick, sticky batter. Cover and chill in the fridge for 12-24 hours.

The next day preheat the oven to 160 C/ 140C fan and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment. Dust a work surface liberally with icing sugar, then form the dough out into a 20cm sausage. Cut the sausage into 8 evenly sized pieces then form each one into an oval with your hands,. Arrange on the baking sheet, flat side down and gently press the flaked almonds into each one. Bake for 20 mins.

Leave the biscuits to cool completely on the baking sheet. They will seem soft at first but will firm up as they cool. Once cool dust with extra icing sugar. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

GOOD TO KNOW -

• You could make a plain version of these or add vanilla extract, lemon zest, chocolate chips or ground pistachios instead of almonds.

• They will keep well - up to a week in a sealed container at room temperature.

• Crumble any leftovers into a trifle on Christmas Day.

Christmas frangipane, cherry and chocolate twisted brioche

PREP 1 HOUR PLUS RISING TIME COOK 35-40 MINS SERVES 10

EFFORT LEVEL - A LITTLE EFFORT

170ml whole milk

60g unsalted butter, cubed

300g strong bread flour

40g golden caster sugar

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

1/2 tsp mixed spice

1 x 7g sachet fast-action yeast

1 medium egg

oil, for the bowl

For the frangipane

2 oranges, zested

150g salted butter, at room temperature

150g caster sugar

150g ground almonds

1 egg

1/2 tsp almond extract

100g dark chocolate, chopped

50g pistachios, chopped

150g Amarena cherries or cocktail cherries in syrup, chopped

For the icing

150g icing sugar

2 tbsp cream cheese

zest of 1 orange

1/2 orange, juiced