“‘Tis the season to be jolly…”
And why not? The Christmas season is a time to indulge in the most decadent, slurpy, chewy, and yummy homemade sweets and snacks. In our country, we have a wonderful tradition to make homemade specialties and gift them to relatives, friends, and neighbours on Christmas day.
But if you don’t know how to make these Christmas treats, fret no more! My dear friend Lisabelle Gonsalves wrote this recipe piece which I am sharing with you. Make sure you try these out and let me know how they turned out.
You can also share with me your own Christmas treat recipes.
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Christmas cake
A must-have for Christmas is the rich Christmas plum cake. And once you try it, you will be making it year after year.
Ingredients:
240 gms flour (maida)
200 gms sugar
4 eggs
120 gms butter
1 tsp. baking powder
360 gms raisins
100 ml rum
few drops vanilla essence
150 gms lemon peel
50 gms walnuts
30 gms crystallised cherriesMethod:
Grease the cake tin and sprinkle a little flour on the surface. Place a sheet of paraffin paper on the bottom.
Cut the cherries, walnuts and lemon peel into small pieces and immerse them along with the raisins in the rum.
Cream the butter and sugar along with the vanilla essence.
Add in the eggs gradually mixing all the while.
Fold in the flour and baking powder.
Mix in the rum with all the ingredients soaked in it.
Pour the cake batter into the tin and bake at 160° C for about 15 to 20 minutes.
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 to 20 minutes
Chef: Lavina Machado
Lavina’s Special Tip: Prepare syrup with 100 ml water, 50 gms sugar and a large spoon of rum. Pour it over the cake to keep it rich and moist.
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Kulkuls
No Christmas sweet platter is complete without kulkuls. And the best part is they are simple to make so your kids can join in too!
Ingredients:
2 kg flour (maida)
½ kg ghee
½ kg sugar
6 eggsMethod:
Grind the sugar well. Beat up the eggs.
Mix the ghee, the sugar and the eggs with the flour. Then knead it into a soft dough. Cover with a damp cloth and leave for half and hour.
Take portions of the dough and roll it out into a flat sheet. Then cut into small sections.
Flatten each section on the kulkul comb and then roll neatly into thin cylindrical shapes. Make sure the kulkul is not more than an inch to one and a half inch long. Press the ends slightly so that they do not open out while frying.
Heat oil in a kadai and deep-fry the kulkuls on slow fire one handful at a time. Remove the kulkuls onto newspaper to drain out the extra oil. Leave to cool. Then transfer the kulkuls into airtight containers.
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Chef: Pam Xavier
Pam’s Special Tip: After forming the kulkuls let them dry for about 2 hours. This way they won’t open out when frying.
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Snowballs
Snowballs are just the same as nankhatais. The only difference is that they are much smaller and rounder with a little cherry on the top. That’s why they are perfect for Christmas.
Ingredients:
600 gms ghee (not pure)
1 tsp. powder salt
500 gms castor sugar
800 gms flour (maida)
crystallised cherries (cut into small pieces)Method:
Cream the ghee well and add the castor sugar little by little along with the salt and mix till foamy.
Stir in the flour gradually kneading with the hand all the time.
Cover with a wet napkin and keep overnight.
Form small balls of dough and place a bit of cherry on the top of each snowball.
Place at well spaced intervals on greased tray.
Bake in a moderate oven at 300° F for 10 minutes.
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Chef: Ena D’Sliva
Ena’s Special Tip: Instead of the cherries, mix a little icing sugar, lime and food colour. Draw little stars, hearts or flowers on the top of each snowball.
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Marzipan
A delicacy made during both Christmas and Easter, marzipan with its interesting shapes and colours is a great choice.
Ingredients:
1 kg sugar
½ kg cashew nuts
White of 8 to 10 eggs (depending on size)
30 ml water and 2 to 4 ml rose essence or 30 ml rose water
3 to 5 ml almond essence (optional)Method:
Grind the sugar, nuts, water and egg white into a thin paste in a blender.
Put the mixture into a thick bottomed pan on slow flame. Stir continuously. Increase to a medium flame very slowly if you can manage.
Bring to a bubbling boil to melt the sugar. Then reduce the flame but don’t stop stirring.
Cook till it starts leaving the sides of the vessel. Run a spatula through the mixture. If the mixture takes a second or two to follow your spatula, you know it’s done.
Pour into a flat thali. Spread out the mass to cool otherwise it will keep cooking with the heat inside.
Then add a little almond essence.
Divide the marzipan into portions and colour each portion as you please. Then mould the marzipan into attractive shapes with a mould.
Cooking time: 1 hour
Chef: Regina Sheikh
Regina’s Special Tip: Make sure that the sugar you buy is crystal white and the nuts look bleached. If not, your marzipan will look slightly brownish.
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Jujups
Jujups are not a very traditional Christmas sweet but nonetheless they are made in most Catholic homes during the festival. Your kids will love them!
Ingredients:
50 gms gelatine
200 gms sugar
Food colouring of your choiceMethod:
Soak the gelatine.
Boil sugar and 3 cups of water until it becomes a sticky syrup and about 2/3 the liquid you started with.
Add in the soaked gelatine without the water and boil.
Put in the colouring.
Boil for 15 minutes or so and pour into a dish.
Put it in the refrigerator and let it set.
Cut into cubes. Then roll the sticky cubes in crystal white sugar.
Cooking time: 15 minutes
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Chef: Rosette Gonsalves
