Orange and Cointreau syllabub

Syllabub - a velvety-smooth concoction of sweet wine and cream - is one of the great English desserts, dating from the 16th century. At this time of year I like to make it with orange rather than lemon, topped with an irresistibly crunchy mixture of orange zest and sugar.

Serves 6

150ml southern French muscat or similar sweet white wine
1 tablespoon Cointreau or other orange liqueur
The finely grated rind of 2 unwaxed oranges
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
4 tablespoons unrefined caster sugar
400ml chilled double cream

You will also need a large bowl, chilled for 30-40 minutes in the fridge or for 15 minutes in the freezer

Pour the wine into a bowl, add the Cointreau, half the grated orange rind, the orange and lemon juice and 2 tbsp of the caster sugar. Stir, cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Strain through a fine sieve. Pour the cream into a large chilled bowl and beat with an electric hand-held beater until it starts to thicken. Add the orange-flavoured wine, bit by bit, beating between each addition until the cream thickens again. (Don’t overbeat it, or it will separate. Aim for a thick pouring consistency.)

When the final addition of wine has been incorporated the mixture should hold a trail when you lift out the beaters but shouldn’t be stiff.) Ladle the mixture into individual glass dishes and chill for at least an hour before serving. In the meantime mix the remaining orange zest and sugar and leave it on a plate to crisp up. (If you want to make it further ahead put it in a sealed plastic box.) Just before serving sprinkle the orange sugar over the top of each glass.

What to drink:
Although you might think the citrus and sweet wine might pose problems the amount of cream actually makes this a very wine-friendly dessert that would match well with the same type of wine you use in the syllabub. We drank a pretty, peachy Tabali Encantado Late Harvest Muscat from Chile with it which went very well.

How to make an eggnog

I have to admit I was never very grabbed by the idea of eggnog until I tried it out for myself and discovered just how delicious it is - like velvety, vanilla-and-rum-scented air.

It’s not as straightforward as some other cocktails admittedly but if you’re used to making meringues or mousses you’ll won’t find it daunting at all. This version is based on the one in American bartender Dale Degroff’s excellent ‘The Craft of the Cocktail’.

Serves 6-8

3 scrupulously fresh large free-range eggs
75g/3 oz caster sugar
100ml/3 1/2 fl oz bourbon
100ml /3 1/2 fl oz spiced rum
570 ml /1 pint creamy breakfast milk
275ml /1/2 pint whipping cream
A nutmeg for grating

Separate the egg yolks carefully from the whites and put them in separate large bowls.

Beat the egg yolks, gradually adding 50g/2 oz of the sugar until they turn light in colour and moussey in texture. Beat in the bourbon and spiced rum then stir in the milk and cream.

Clean and dry your whisk thoroughly then beat the egg whites until beginning to stiffen. Add the remaining sugar to the whites and whisk until they form a soft peak.

Fold the whites into the egg nog mixture and grate over a little nutmeg. Ladle out the egg nog into small glasses or cups. Have teaspoons available for those who prefer to spoon rather than sip it.

Image (not of my recipe) © Anna Puzatykh at shutterstock.com 

Cranberry gin sling jellies with spiced cream

A simple and delicious Christmas dessert from my mate Sarah Randell, food director of Sainsbury's Magazine, which combines two of my favourite things, jelly and cocktails.

Sarah says: An elegant and refreshing dessert with a cheeky alcoholic kick. To make the jellies low-fat (as if you'd be worried about that at Christmas FB) top each with a scoop of vanilla frozen yogurt instead of the cream.

Prep 15 mins
Total time 20 mins, plus setting
Get ahead Make the jellies up to the end of step 3 one day ahead

6 leaves fine-leaf gelatine (Sarah used Supercook Select)

500ml cranberry juice

100g caster sugar

75ml gin

3 tbsp sweet vermouth

1 wine-mulling spice bag

1 cinnamon stick

a dash of Angostura bitters

To finish

150ml whipping cream

a pinch each of ground cinnamon, cloves
and ginger

1 tbsp icing sugar

a few fresh cranberries, tossed in caster sugar

1 Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water for 10 minutes.

2 In a pan, gently heat the cranberry juice, sugar, gin, vermouth, wine-mulling spice bag and cinnamon stick. Simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and add the gelatine leaves (squeezed of excess water). Stir until dissolved. Add the Angostura bitters.

3 Remove the spice bag and cinnamon stick. Pour the liquid into four glasses. Cool, cover and chill overnight.

4 Whip the cream with the spices and icing sugar. Top each jelly with the spiced cream and a cranberry or two.

Sarah is also the author of Weekend Baking and co-author of The Camper Van Cookbook and Camper Van Coast. You can find more of her recipes, posts and cooking tips on the new Sainsbury's Magazine blog Kitchen Secrets

Photo © Martin Poole

Bianca's bitterballen

If you want to serve something a little different at your Christmas party try these delicious crisp little Dutch meatballs from our guest contributor Bianca Ford of Sip with Supper (@sipwithsupper on Twitter).

Serves 12-14

Ingredients

1kg stewing beef
1 onion
½ teaspoon black peppercorns
A bay leaf
2 cloves
A few sprigs of thyme
100g butter
120g flour
2 shallots, finely chopped
500ml milk
5 sheets of gelatine or enough to set 500ml of liquid (follow the pack instructions)
A small handful of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
Plenty of white breadcrumbs, a beaten egg and plain flour for coating

Method

Put the beef in a large pan, cover with water and bring to simmering point. Add the onions, peppercorns, bay leaf, cloves and thyme. Leave to simmer for 2-3 hours or until the meat is tender.

Strain the meat and onions, reserving 500ml of the cooking liquid. When cooled, put the onions to one side and shred the meat with a couple of forks.

In a saucepan, mix the flour and butter together over a medium heat then add the onions. Gradually add the milk and the meat cooking liquid then leave the sauce to simmer for half an hour, stirring regularly. Take off the heat

Dissolve the gelatine according to the packet instructions and add it to the hot sauce, stirring continuously. Add the beef, parsley, Dijon mustard and salt and pepper to taste. Allow to cool completely then refrigerate for at least an hour.

Remove the mixture from the fridge and roll into balls – you should be able to make around 50. Put the flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs onto three separate plates and then roll the balls in each of these in turn, finishing with the breadcrumbs. Deep fry the balls, about 10 at a time, at 180° C until golden brown. Drain on kitchen towel and serve hot with mustard.

See Jackie and Bianca's wine recommendations here.