stir up sunday

Traditional home-made mincemeat is a real treat for mince pies and it is so easy to make! Make it once and you'll never go back to jars.

Mincemeat

225 grams/8 ounces vegetarian suet

225 grams/8 ounces Bramley apples, peeled, cored and chopped

candied peel, chopped

sultanas

raisins

currants

demerara sugar

tsp mixed spice

orange, zest and juice

60 milliliters/2fl oz brandy

Mary Berry’s been making her traditional Christmas cake recipe for as long as Paul Hollywood’s been alive. She knows what she’s talking about. If you don't have the required tin size, go to her <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/christmas_cake_calculator">cake calculator</a> to recalculate the ingredients and cooking time for your cake tin.

Mary Berry'S Classic Christmas Cake

350 grams/12 ounces natural glacé cherries, halved, rinsed, and thoroughly dried

brandy

oranges, zest only

250 grams/9 ounces butter, softened

sugar

free-range eggs,

tbsp black treacle

flour

1½ tsp mixed spice

jam,

icing sugar

marzipan

free-range eggs, whites only

675 grams/1½lb icing sugar, sifted

lemon juice

1½ tsp glycerine

Mary Berry's classic Christmas cake

Mary shows Paul how she makes royal icing; egg whites beaten to a froth, with icing sugar added and a little glycerin and lemon juice. She ices the cake and decorates it with a ribbon and some Christmas angels.

Mary decorates her Christmas cake

Mary Berry's Christmas pudding recipe is loaded with fruit, peel and, of course, brandy. With an extra dollop of brandy butter on the side, this pudding will win over the harshest critics.

Equipment and preparation: You will need a 1.4 litre/2½ pint pudding basin

Mary Berry's Christmas pudding

450 grams/1lb dried mixed fruit (use a mixture of sultanas, raisins, and snipped apricots)

cooking apple, peeled, cored and roughly chopped

orange, finely grated rind and juice

tbsp brandy, sherry,

75 grams/3 ounces butter, softened,

100 grams/3½oz light muscovado sugar

free-range eggs

grams/1½oz breadcrumbs

grams/1½oz whole shelled almonds, roughly chopped

grams/3½oz unsalted butter, softened

225 grams/8 ounces icing sugar, sieved

tbsp brandy, rum

Keep this delicious aperitif in the freezer for a refreshing - and surprising - Christmas drink.

Christmas pudding vodka

300 grams/10½oz mixed dried fruit (sultanas, currants, raisins)

75 grams/3 ounces caster sugar

cinnamon

tsp ground mixed spice

cloves

nutmeg,

orange, zest only, finely grated

unwaxed lemon, zest only, finely grated

milliliters/1 vodka

A classic Christmas pudding recipe with dark, rich fruit and a hidden surprise. Quinces add a delicious fragrance if you can get hold of them.

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Mincemeat

Mary Berry'S Classic Christmas Cake

Mary Berry's Christmas pudding

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The best Christmas pudding

Top 5 stir up sunday recipes from across the web

The most viewed stir up sunday recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Mincemeat

Mary Berry'S Classic Christmas Cake

Mary Berry's Christmas pudding

Christmas pudding vodka

The best Christmas pudding

The most viewed stir up sunday recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine