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Christmas Cookies |
Fruit Cake |
New York Style Cheesecake |
| Most of
us have favorite cookie recipes that we like to bake at holiday
time. Here are a few of my favorites, some I am sure you will
recognize, others you may want to try.
more |
Fruit
cake is the traditional British Christmas Cake that is full of fruit
and nuts, laced with alcohol (usually brandy), and covered with
marzipan and royal icing. more |
New
York Style Cheesecakes are creamy, and smooth, and rich, and dense, and
absolutely delicious. more |
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Cranberry Christmas Cake |
Red Velvet Cake |
Panforte (Italian Christmas Cake) |
| This
Cranberry Christmas Cake consists of a chocolate genoise that is
split in half, filled with chocolate cream and candied cranberries,
and covered with a snowy white whipped cream frosting.
more |
Red Velvet Cake is very
dramatic looking with its bright red color sharply contrasted by a white
frosting. more |
Bite into a slice of
Panforte and you may be surprised to find how chewy it is. This chewy
texture comes from mixing the fruit, nuts, spices, and flour with a
boiled syrup made from sugar and honey. more |
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Butter Tarts |
Cranberry Upside Down Cake |
Chocolate Cheesecake |
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These Butter Tarts
consist of flaky pastry shells that are filled with a sweet mixture
of butter, brown sugar, and eggs. more |
A Cranberry Upside Down Cake
consists of lovely caramelized ruby red cranberries and a buttery white
cake. more |
A Chocolate Cheesecake is a real showstopper that combines three
delicious layers of chocolate.
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More Recipes Below |
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There
are many desserts attached to the Christmas season and every family has their
favorites. Below I have tried to provide a wide variety of popular
desserts, some you may recognize, others not. Let us begin with the British
Fruit Cake, that wonderful combination of nuts and dried and candied fruits with
barely enough cake batter to hold it all together.
Then there is the Italian Panforte,
from Siena Italy, and its chewy
texture comes from mixing the fruit, nuts, spices, and flour, with a boiled syrup made from sugar and honey. Another
favorite is the French Buche de Noel or Yule Log, consisting of a chocolate sponge cake that is
rolled around a lovely chocolate whipped cream and decorated with Meringue Mushrooms. And
let's not forget the Linzer Torte,
which originated in Linz, Austria, and is very
distinctive looking with its beautiful golden brown crust, filled with ruby red
preserves, peeking through the pretty lattice design. Another excellent dessert
is the very colorful Red Velvet Cake. It is composed of a Devil's Food Cake
that is filled and frosted with a delicious cream cheese frosting. So browse through the selection below and whether
you try something new or stay with your favorites, have a Merry Christmas and
Happy New Year.
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Cranberry Bread |
Buche de Noel (Yule Log) |
Tiramisu
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This Cranberry Bread
contains the delightful combination of fresh cranberries, candied mixed
peel and toasted almonds. more |
This is a deliciously moist
chocolate sponge cake that melts in your mouth. Can be filled with
plain, chocolate, or raspberry whipped cream.
more |
Tiramisu means pick me up or
carry me up. It is often called an Italian Trifle, as like any trifle it
is made by layering cake (or ladyfingers), that have been soaked in
spirits, with a rich custard. more |
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Raspberry Truffle Tart |
Chocolate Truffles |
Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake |
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What could be more
enticing than a giant raspberry-flavored truffle set in a biscotti
crust.This beautiful raspberry-flavored truffle tart is set in a
delicious biscotti crust. more |
These rich and elegant,
bite-sized round petit fours are made from a mixture of dark or white
chocolate and cream to which various flavorings can be added: butter,
liqueurs, extracts, nuts, coffee, purees, spices, candied or dried
fruits. more |
Cranberry Swirl Cheescake
combines two favorites, a New York Style Cheesecake and ruby red
cranberry sauce.
more |
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Florentines |
Boiled Fruit Cake |
Sponge Cake filled with Raspberry Cream |
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Florentines are a delicious
mixture of toasted nuts and candied fruit that are coated with a sweet
sticky mixture of honey and sugar. They are finished with a layer of
melted chocolate. more |
Boiled Fruit Cake is a
much simpler version of the traditional British fruit cake. It contains
all the necessary ingredients, like candied and dried fruits, yet it is
so very easy to make. more |
Sponge Cakes presented in
this way have a beautiful pinwheel design and they are often filled with
toppings like lemon curd, jam or preserves, fruit sauces, chopped nuts,
ganache. more. |
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Homemade Mincemeat Tart |
Mince Pies |
Homemade Mincemeat |
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This Mincemeat Tart has
a lovely lattice pastry crust and is filled with homemade mincemeat.
more |
Over time, beef suet came to
replace the meat and today mincemeat is thought of as a spicy preserve
consisting of a mixture of dried and candied fruits, nuts, apples, and
spices (with or without beef suet) that is heavily laced with brandy or
rum. more |
Homemade Mincemeat is a
spicy sweet preserve consisting of a mixture or dried and candied
fruits, apples, and spices that are heavily laced with brandy or rum.
more |
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Cranberry Nut Tarts |
Shortbread Tarts with
Cream Filling |
Vanilla Cupcakes (Fairy Cakes) |
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Individual tarts made with a
sweet pastry crust and filled with ruby red cranberries and nuts covered
in creamy caramel. more |
These rich and buttery
miniature shortbread tarts are filled with a delicious cream filling
made with cream cheese, condensed milk and lemons. Garnish with
fresh strawberries, raspberries, blueberries or kiwi slices.
more |
Vanilla Cupcakes are wonderfully sweet and buttery and are frosted with a
lovely Buttercream. more |
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Cranberry Galette |
Clementine Torte |
Fruit Tart |
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This makes the perfect
Thanksgiving or Christmas dessert; ruby red cranberries and walnuts
encased in a buttery flavored pastry.
more |
You can make this torte
with either ground almonds or pecans. Either way makes for a moist and
flavorful cake served alongside a dollop of whipped cream.
more |
Everyone loves the
elegance of a fruit tart with its topping of beautiful fresh fruit.
Whether you use a single fruit (like strawberries) or a medley of
berries, sliced kiwi, plums, bananas, pineapple, and/or melon no one
can resist its beauty. more |
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Gingerbread Cake |
Ricotta Cream Cheese Cheesecake |
Cream Cheese Pound Cake |
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This cake is very nice
plain but it is absolutely delicious when frosted with a lemon flavored
icing. The lemon frosting recipe given here dries to a beautiful, satiny
smooth, crusty finish. more |
Ricotta and cream
cheese are used in this cheesecake which makes it both light and fluffy
and smooth and creamy.
more |
This Cream Cheese Pound Cake
has a wonderful rich and buttery flavor, moist texture, and a golden
brown crust that is both sweet and crisp.
more |
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Pumpkin Cheesecake |
Linzer Torte |
Pecan Pie |
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Pumpkin Cheesecake combines two
American favorites; New York style cheesecake and pumpkin pie. It is the
perfect dessert for Thanksgiving. more |
Linzertorte originated in
Linz, Austria and is very distinctive looking with its beautiful golden
brown crust, filled with ruby red preserves peeking through the pretty
lattice design. more |
Pecan Pie is a delicious
combination of toasted pecans, sugar, and eggs which gives this pie
wonderful flavor with a dense and chewy texture.
more |
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Lemon-Cranberry Pound
Cake
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Chocolate Torte |
Coconut Cake |
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This recipe uses dried
cranberries. The advantage of drying any fruit is to prolong its storage
but it has the added benefit of concentrating the fruit's sweetness and
flavor. more |
Chocolate Torte is rich
and chocolately cake with an almost pudding-like texture.
more |
This cake consists of layers
of moist coconut-flavored butter cake that are filled with a tangy lemon
curd and then the entire cake is frosted with a smooth and shiny
7-Minute Frosting and sweetened coconut. more |
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Black Forest Trifles |
Cranberry Pear and Apple Crumble |
Pumpkin Cranberry Bars |
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A Black Forest Trifle has
the same components as a Black Forest Cake that is, chocolate, cherries,
kirsch liqueur, and whipped cream. more |
The
delicious combination of sweet pears, tart cranberries, and crisp
apples, along with a crumble topping, make for a perfect Fall
dessert. more |
Pumpkin Cranberry Bars
are moist and full of flavor and beg to be cut into large chunks and
served with a steaming hot cup of coffee or tea.
more |
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No Bake Cheesecake |
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A No Bake Cheesecake
combines a graham cracker crust with a light and creamy no-bake
cheesecake filling. The finishing touch is a sweet cherry topping.
more |
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