How do I make a Christmas Cake or Mince pies?

Answer

For a great Christmas cake we suggest the BBC Food website and they also do a vegan recipe.

Christmas cakes date back to the 16th century when only rich families could afford to cover them in marzipan. It's a northern England tradition to eat Christmas cake with cheese such as Wensleydale or Cheddar.

Mince pies in the Tudor period 1485-1603 were rectangular, shaped like a manger and often had a pastry baby Jesus on the lid. They were made from 13 ingredients to represent Jesus and his disciples and were all symbolic to the Christmas story. As well as dried fruit such as raisins, prunes and figs, they included lamb or mutton to represent the shepherds and spices (cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg) for the Wise Men. It was only later, post Reformation 1534, that the mince pie adopted a round shape. We only stopped putting meat in the pies in the early 20th century!

For how to make Mince pies we suggest a BBC Food recipe or a vegan recipe with how to make the filling too.

Our Library Search has some great Christmas Recipe Articles including The Best Ever Christmas Cake, or you can try a Medieval mince pie.

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  • Last Updated Nov 01, 2023
  • Views 62
  • Answered By Andrew Boulden

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