Mention the word 'December' and most people think of Christmas trees and Santa Claus. For me though, the word also conjures up images of Christmas cakes, mulled wine and cranberry sauce. As a self- proclaimed (and very gluttonous) gourmand, I practically inhabit my kitchen at this time of year.

The brightly decorated cookie tins are always filled to the brim at my house and my pantry is permanently stocked with all the things necessary to make an impromptu festive meal. Having things on hand such as chestnuts, dried fruits and bottles of spirits - synonymous with Christmas cheer - provide me with an immense amount of satisfaction.

The reason why food takes on a whole new meaning at Christmas time is because cherished traditions are built around time- honoured recipes. What could be more festive than the smell of spicy gingerbread muffins after all the presents have been unwrapped or having the children with you helping to bake the Christmas cake? 

I am amazed by the amount of ready- made Christmas foods being sold at this time of year, and call me a food snob, but I just can't see the charm of throwing a pre-seasoned and chemically-preserved roast in the oven. Especially now, food practically demands to be prepared with patience and love.

During the years, I have acquired a standard repertoire of favourite recipes- things my family and I look forward to as December approaches. I leave you with a seasonal selection meant to tempt you into your own kitchen during the upcoming winter break. Here's to a delicious and prosperous Christmas!

Glühwein
2 servings

This cold-weather classic is guaranteed to tint your cheeks with a warming glow.  An instant fireplace in a glass, if there ever was one!

• 375 ml dry red wine
• 100 ml freshly brewed cranberry tea
• 1 unwaxed, organic orange
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 3 whole cloves
• 3 cardamom pods, bruised
• 2 tbsps brown rum
• 2 tbsps brown sugar

Cut the orange in half, squeeze out the juice from one half and cut the other half in slices.  Cut those slices in half again.  Put all of the ingredients in a pan and simmer them on a low heat for 10 minutes.  Do not, under any circumstances, bring the wine to the boil as this will evaporate the alcohol! 

Sift the wine and serve in glasses along with a cinnamon stick and a few orange slices. top

Spice Infused Poached Pears
2 servings

This is an incredibly easy dessert with a high 'wow' factor. Serve the pears with a good scoop of cinnamon ice cream and a drizzle of the warm, aromatic syrup. Don't forget to take a peek into the pan while they are cooking and inhale as deeply as possible!

• 2 Gieser Wildeman pears
• 200 ml red wine
• 50 ml crème de cassis
•  approximately 300 ml water, or enough to cover the pears
• 3 bruised cardamom pods
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 cloves
• 1 star anise
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• cinnamon ice cream, to serve

Wash and peel the pears. Set them in an adequately sized pan and add the rest of the ingredients.  Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer.  Allow the pears to cook in the closed pan for a good hour and a half.  Transfer the cooked pears carefully onto a plate, remove the lid from the pan, increase the heat and allow the syrup to reduce for about 35 minutes.  Serve them in pristine white bowls with the ice cream and syrup. top

Nigella's Fudge
64 pieces

I was delighted when I first tried this recipe last week. It's amazing how so few ingredients can result in such exquisite little pieces of candy! These tiny squares make gorgeous (and very affordable) presents. All you need is a trip to the supermarket, a big roll of cellophane and some ribbon. Your friends and family will be delighted!

NOTE:  This recipe comes from Nigella's newest book, Nigella Express.  Nigella's recipe includes pistachios but in my version, I opted for dried cranberries and chopped almonds.  A very seasonal variation indeed!

• 350g dark chocolate
• 1 can (397g) condensed milk
• 30g butter
• pinch salt
• 150g pistachios (I used 150g almonds and 125g dried cranberries)

Put the chopped chocolate, condensed milk, butter and salt in a heavy- based pan on a low heat, and stir to melt.

Put the nuts into a freezer bag and bash them with a rolling pin, until broken up into big and little pieces. (I did this very democratically with my mezzaluna.)
Add the nuts (and the berries) to the melted chocolate and condensed milk and stir well to mix.

Pour and drop this mixture into a foil tray 23cm square, smoothing the top. (I used a baking tray of the same size and lined it with baking paper.)

Let the fudge cool, and refrigerate until set. (I did this overnight.) You can then cut it into small pieces approx. 3 X 2.25cm. Cutting 8 X 8 lines in the tin to give 64 pieces best achieves this.

Once cut, it can be kept in the freezer- no need to thaw just eat straight away." top

Cranberry Sauce
Approximately 10-12 servings
Delicious served with the traditional turkey dinner or even as a jam on Christmas morning!

• 1 bag of cranberries, 340g
• 120g unrefined cane sugar
• 50 ml crème de cassis
• 150 ml water
• 3 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 ½ tsp ground ginger

Put all the ingredients in a pan and let this come to the boil.  Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the pan with a lid and let the sauce cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Pour into a glass jar.  
NOTE: Since this makes such a small amount, there is no need to sterilize your jar. top

Intensely Rich Hazelnut and Fruit Brownies
28 servings

Christmas just isn't Christmas without a batch of brownies to accompany a frothy cup of cocoa!  Overkill to some, pure seasonal bliss to me!

• 250g butter
• 300g pure, dark chocolate
• 5 eggs
• 300g unrefined cane sugar
• 2 tsps vanilla extract
• fat pinch of salt
• 200g flour
• 150g whole hazelnuts
• 180g mixed dried fruits (I used a mix of cherries, cranberries and blueberries.)

Preheat oven to 180C. Melt butter and chocolate au bain-marie. Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla till thick and creamy. Add the chocolate while beating. I did this with the help of my Kitchen Aid but you can do it with the help of a hand- held beater. Fold in the flour, salt, nuts and fruit. Pour batter evenly into a 32.5 x 22.5-cm (13 x 9-inch) lined baking tray and bake for 20- 25 minutes. Allow to cool 20 minutes before cutting into bars. top

 Cranberry Sauce

Tia Maria's Hot Cocoa

For 1 cup
I came up with this recipe after returning home from a walk in the freezing cold.  That drop of booze really does it for me, but if you feel you want to up the content, who am I to stop you?

• 200ml full- fat milk
• 2 tbsps Tia Maria
• 1 tbsp good- quality cocoa powder
• 2 tsps golden syrup
• 1 cinnamon stick

Put all the ingredients in a pan and heat while whisking continuously.  Serve as is, or with a hearty dollop of whipped cream frivolously scattered with shavings of chocolate. top

Nigella's Chocolate Fruit Cake
Serves 8

Honestly, I was never a big fan of fruit cake.  I found it too heavy, almost a meal on its own.  Last year though, I decided to give this recipe a whirl seeing that it had my favourite holiday tipple, Tia Maria, and that on top of that, it was chocolate! Well, I was thrilled with the results and vowed to make this one a standard at my house every Christmas. 

NOTE:  There's no need to follow the decorating instructions to the dot.  This year I am planning on using sugar-coated almonds instead of coffee beans for example. Get creative!

• 350g/12¼oz dried soft prunes, chopped
• 250g/8¾oz raisins
• 125g/4½oz currants
• 175g/6¼oz unsalted butter, softened
• 175g/6¼oz dark muscovado sugar
• 175ml/6¼fl oz honey
• 125ml/4½fl oz coffee liqueur
• 2 oranges, juice and zest only
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 2 tbsp good quality cocoa
• 3 free-range eggs, beaten
• 150g/5¼oz plain flour
• 75g/2½oz ground almonds
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• For decoration
• 25g/1oz dark chocolate-covered coffee beans
• edible glitter
• gold mini balls
• about 10 edible gold stars

Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas 2.

Line the sides and bottom of a 20cm/8in, 9cm/3½in deep, round loose-bottomed cake tin with a layer of reusable silicon baking parchment. When lining the tin with the parchment, cut the material into strips that are twice as high as the tin itself (it is easier to use two shorter strips of parchment, than one long strip); the height of the strips protects the cake from catching on the outside of the cake tin.

Place the fruit, butter, sugar, honey, coffee liqueur, orange juice and zest, mixed spice and cocoa into a large wide saucepan. Heat the mixture until it reaches a gentle boil, stirring the mixture as the butter melts. Let the mixture simmer for ten minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and leave to stand for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, the mixture will have cooled a little. Add the eggs, flour, ground almonds, baking powder and bicarbonate soda, and mix well with a wooden spoon or spatula until the ingredients have combined.

Carefully pour the fruitcake mixture into the lined cake tin. Transfer the cake tin to the oven and bake for 1¾-2 hours, or until the top of the cake is firm but has a shiny and sticky look. At this point, if you insert a sharp knife into the middle of the cake, the cake should still be a little uncooked in the middle.

Place the cake on a cooling rack. Once the cake has cooled, remove it from the tin.

To decorate, place the chocolate-covered coffee beans in the centre of the cake and arrange the gold stars around the perimeter of the top of the cake. Then sprinkle some gold mini-balls over the whole of the cake. Sprinkle the edible glitter over the top of the cake. top

Nigella's Gingerbread Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

One whiff of these and you know December has arrived!  Their spicy warmth fills the whole house with the smell of Christmas, yet they're so good that I must admit to baking them in the middle of July! Offer them at Christmas brunch, take them along to your children's school Christmas party, or put them in a pretty box and give them as gifts.

• 250g plain flour
• ½ teaspoon bicarb of soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 egg
• 50g dark muscovado sugar
• 50g light muscovado sugar
• 150ml full-fat milk
• ¼ teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 6 tablespoons vegetable or corn oil
• 4 tablespoons golden syrup
• 4 tablespoons black treacle.

Preheat oven to 200C. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with muffin papers.

Combine the flour, bicarb, baking powder & spices in a large bowl. Whisk the egg in a large measuring jug then add the sugars, breaking up any large lumps. Add the milk and vinegar then measure in the oil with a tablespoon. Use the same oily spoon to add the syrup & treacle so they don't stick to it. Whisk the mixture to combine and add to the flour mix. Stir until mixed but still fairly lumpy. Spoon into muffin papers & bake for about 20 minutes until the tops are dry.  top

Blogger Paola Duque-Westbeek has a passion for good food and the Dutch culture of the Golden Age. She has a BA in Dutch Studies at the University of Leiden with an emphasis on Dutch 17th century painting. Paola is currently working on a book of Dutch recipes.

For more of Paola's recipes and information on the workshops she offers, visit Mijn Zoete Leven

Photo credits: Salim Fadhley; Tim Pierce; A .