Advent: Festive German Bakes to Celebrate the Coming of Christmas

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The Great British Bake off has introduced us to all these goodies. I’m looking forward to trying some of them 👍 There must be thousands of Lebkuchen recipes,” says the London-based cook, food writer and artist, whose mother is German and father is Welsh. “Just like we do in the U.K., everyone has a family Christmas pudding recipe and it’s the same (in Germany).” To make the dough, put all of the ingredients into a large bowl and mix using your hands. Knead for a couple of minutes until a supple, silky dough is formed. Divide the dough in half. On a floured surface, roll each half out as thinly as possible. So long as it fits on the baking sheet it doesn’t matter what shape it is, although I aim for a rough oval. Once cool, put one cake on to a plate, spoon the jam on top and spread it out evenly. Place the second cake on top.

Advent, Anja Dunk: We put the ultimate festive baking Advent, Anja Dunk: We put the ultimate festive baking

The recipe recommends a sharp, smooth jam so I bought some damson jelly to go in the middle, but in all honesty, I’m not sure I could’ve told the difference between that and regular strawberry or raspberry. Best yet, the biscuits tasted even better in the days after baking – good news, because I’m pretty sure I made enough to feed a small army. Advent is an edible countdown in 24 chapters inspired by the idea of traditional paper advent calendars, where you open up a window to reveal an image of winter on the 24 days leading up to Christmas. It is a real gem that I know will be used for very many Christmases to come in my house. Our cookbook of the week is Advent: Festive German Bakes to Celebrate the Coming of Christmas by Anja Dunk. Over the next three days, we’ll feature more recipes from the book and an interview with the author.Available as just an ebook, and a short, sharp read, is Enjoying a Self-Care Christmas: Easy Ways to keep the Joy of Christmas, and your Sanity, intact. It’s an easy read, with ideas and hints to keep you sane through the season. The self-care advent calendar is one I’ve followed for a few years now, and it really is a small daily dose of calm in a manic month.

Advent: traditional Christmas baking recipes by Anja Dunk Advent: traditional Christmas baking recipes by Anja Dunk

Cut out a round piece of paper just larger than the cake. Fold it into four and cut an intricate snowflake design out of it. Unfold the piece of paper and lay it on top of the cake. Dust the top with icing sugar before carefully removing the paper. You should be left with a beautiful delicate snowflake on top of your cake.The process was a bit fiddlier than your average biscuit – you have to roll out the dough, cut heart shapes, blob jam in the middle and cover with a slightly bigger heart on top. My efforts weren’t the most finessed – as shown by bits of jam pouring out after baking – but it still tasted delicious. As we hunker and snuggle around the stove each day, we are entertained, warmed and comforted by it. If ever there was a time for the oven to prove its worth as the real hearth of our home, advent is it. I hope you enjoy making these festive German bakes, which are made to share with friends and family for years – together or as presents. Almond domes recipe Chocolate-coated walnut marzipan, excerpted from Advent: Festive German Bakes to Celebrate the Coming of Christmas by Anja Dunk. Now food writer Anja Dunk has collected together a whole slew of festive German bakes in her new cookbook, Advent. A slightly less obvious but equally symbolic sign of festivities is the oven –constantly aglow in our home during this period, scenting the house with cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, clove and anise as tray upon tray of mouth-watering biscuits bake.

Advent, Anja Dunk: We put the ultimate festive baking

Next, I’m meant to spoon it onto a lined tray and create a log shape. My dough is very sloppy though, so my log instantly looks like it’s been through a mangle. I sprinkle demerara sugar on top as instructed then pop it in the oven, wondering whether I’ll end up with a biscotti pancake. But I got there in the end, made sure my little sausages of cookie dough were far enough apart on the baking tray so they didn’t spread into each other in the oven, and was pleased with the final result. These biscuits are traditional Advent sweet treats in both the Netherlands, where they are usually eaten around 6 December (St Nikolaus day), and in Germany, where they are eaten throughout the whole run-up to Christmas. Usually they’re decorated with images relating to Nikolaus, and more often than not have windmills depicted on them.

Cut the marzipan into 1cm/3/8in squares and, using a fork held horizontally with the tines pointing upwards to balance the marzipan on, dip each square carefully into the chocolate, verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ Place the walnuts in a food processor and blitz for about two minutes until finely ground, then scrape down the sides of the processor and blitz again for a couple of minutes until the oils are released from the nuts and the mixture begins to clump together. Goat’s cheese and honey – switch the mushrooms for 200g goat’s cheese. Drizzle 1 tbsp honey on each portion, and sprinkle with thyme and some snipped chives before serving. I couldn’t find any ground hazelnuts, star anise or cloves, so I had to ‘grind’ them myself, and with only a hand-held blender to help, it took ages. And then, instead of being able to just bung everything in a processor, there was rubbing the butter into the flour, and kneading (for another age, it seemed) to get the mixture together and pliable.