Ingredients:

8 cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 tablespoons of dry yeast
1 cup of warm water (105F, 40C)
1 cup of warm red wine
1/2 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup of orange juice
1/4 cup of brandy
grated peel of 2 oranges
1 cup of sugar
1 1/2 cups of raisins
1 1/2 cups of walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup of pine nuts
1 tablespoon of grated gum mastic or 1 tablespoon of crushed anise seed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

For the Topping
milk
2 whole walnuts in shells
sesame seeds

Procedure:

Mix the yeast with 1/2 cup of warm water and 2 tablespoons of flour, stir until dissolved and set aside for 10 minutes, until it bubbles. In a large mixing bowl, sift the salt with 2/3 of the flour. Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the yeast mixture, the remaining warm water, and the wine. Mix until a soft dough forms, cover with waxed paper and a damp towel, and set aside to rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until doubled in bulk. Punch the dough down and knead for several minutes until any air pockets are gone. Sift in the remaining flour, add the oil, orange juice, brandy, and grated orange peel. In a small bowl, mix the sugar, raisins, walnuts, pine nuts, gum mastic or anise, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg until blended, and add to the dough. Knead well until the dough is firm and doesn’t stick (about 10 minutes), cover, and allow to rise for 1/2 hour. On a lightly buttered baking pan, shape the bread into two circular loaves, about 8 inches in diameter. Cover with a dry cloth and a damp cloth over that, and place in a warm place to rise again, until doubled in size. Using a floured knife, score a cross into the top of the loaves, and place one whole, unshelled walnut at the center. Brush the bread with milk and scatter with sesame seeds. Place a pan with at least 1 inch of water in the bottom of the oven and preheat to 450F (230C). Place the bread in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, then remove the pan with the water, reduce heat to 390F (200C) and bake for another 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven, brush lightly with water, and cool on a rack. Use a mortar and pestle to crush the anise seed.

Decorate Your Christmas Bread (photo): At step 6, pull a fistful of dough from each loaf. Pat the dough back into shape to rise. When risen, use the small pieces of dough to create designs: roll them out into strips and coil around whole walnuts pressed into the top in the shape of a cross (photo), or make them into the shapes of your choice and place on top of the loaves. Continue with the recipe. Brush with beaten egg instead of milk to get a brighter glaze.

Ingredients:

750 gram /1 lb. 10 oz. royal icing
or 650 grams/1 lb. 7 oz. ready-to-roll icing
3m ribbon
edible colored and gold balls

Procedure:

Attach the balls on to the top of the cake with royal icing. Use the colored ones for branches, gold for the trunk. Tie the ribbon around the cake.

Ingredients:

8 oz./225 grams seedless raisins
8 oz./225 grams currants
8 oz./225 grams sultanas
3 oz./75 grams chopped dried pear
1 oz./25 grams chopped dried pineapple
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
8 oz./225 grams fresh white breadcrumbs
3 oz./75 grams plain flour
1 tsp. ground mixed spice
¼ tsp. salt
8 oz./225 grams shredded suet
8 oz./225 grams soft light brown sugar
a dash of angostura bitters
4 large eggs - beaten
2 fl. oz/55 ml. dark rum
2 fl. oz/55 ml. calvados
3 fl. oz/75 ml. milk
1 sterilized penny

Procedure:

Lightly grease a 2¾ pint/1.6 litre pudding basin and line the base with non-stick baking parchment. Put the raisins, currants and sultanas in a large mixing bowl with the dried pear and pineapple, lemon zest, breadcrumbs, flour, mixed spice, salt, suet and sugar. Stir to mix. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, a dash of the angostura bitters, rum, the calvados and milk. Add to the fruit mixture and stir well. At this stage add the sterilized penny and take turns in the family to stir the pudding and make a wish. Spoon into the pudding basin and press down well. Cover the surface with a disc of greaseproof paper. Cover the whole basin with some more paper and foil, making a pleat in the center to allow for expansion during cooking. Secure with some string. Place the pudding basin into a large saucepan and pour enough boiling water in to come halfway up the basin. Now bring up to the boil, cover the pan and boil steadily for 5 hours making sure the saucepan doesn’t boil dry. Top up with boiling water only. Once cooked, remove from the pan and allow to cool completely. Re-cover with some fresh greaseproof paper and foil. Store in a cool, dark place for four weeks, or even longer. To reheat on the day, steam the pudding for 2 hours as before. To serve, turn out onto a warmed serving dish. Warm some rum in a pan, and set it alight with a match. Pour this over the pudding and decorate with holly.

Ingredients:

1-12 oz. can sliced pineapple
1- 16 oz. can apricots
1- 16 oz. can pears
1- 16 oz. can peaches
1-15 oz. jar spiced apple rings
1 cup. raisins or other dried berry, optional
1/2 cup. butter
1/2 cup. sugar or Splenda
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1 cup. dry sherry or apple juice

Procedure:

Drain the cans of fruit and layer in a 2 quart casserole dish: Combine in saucepan: butter, sugar (or splenda), cornstarch, and 1 cup dry sherry or apple juice. Cook until thick. Pour over fruit mixture, bake for 30 minutes until bubbly. May also top with some crushed oatmeal cookies toward end of baking. Makes 8-10 servings. Good for Holiday buffet.