However you look at it, Christmas is a busy time of year. No more so than for the cook. After all, there's all the preparation to do, the cooking of the meal itself and handling the aftermath. For some the holiday period can be even more extended with celebrations extending until the evening of the 5th of January (12th night). You have the run-up to Christmas, which means mince pies, Christmas itself, New Year and then potentially Epiphany (Twelfth Night). It's no wonder that many put off even thinking about Christmas food until the very last minute.

However, the beginning of November is when you should really begin to think about festive food. If you're going to cook most things from scratch then rich fruit-based recipes such as Christmas cakes and Christmas puddings need to be done then. If you're making your own mincemeat for mince pies then this is also the time to think about these recipes. All these cakes need to mature and they need the time to be allowed to do this. Even relatively simple cakes such as a Stollen improve in flavour if allowed to mature for a couple of weeks.

This article, however, will focus on the rich fruit confections that need several weeks to mature. First I'll begin with a recipe for proper rich mincemeat:

Mincemeat (this makes about 1.5kg)

Ingredients

180g currants, cleaned

120g sultanas, cleaned

180g stoned raisins, cleaned

60g mixed peel, chopped

300g firm, hard, cooking apples, peeled and cored

225g Demerara sugar

225g shredded suet

1/4 level tsp powdered cinnamon (or mace)

grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

grated zest and juice of 1 small orange

150ml brandy

100g chopped nuts (any you like)

Roughly chop the fruit then combine with the sugar, suet, spices grated zest, juices and brandy. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly, cover and leave over night to mature.

Next day, add the nuts stir the mincemeat well and store in jars. Store in a cool, dry place and allow to mature for at least 2 weeks before use. Not only is this excellent for making mince pies but it cal also be used as a base for a sponge that makes an excellent dessert with custard.

The next recipe is for a classic British 'Twelfth Night' cake that's a traditional rich fruit cake and which is typically served on the eve of Epiphany (the night of the 5th of January).

Twelfth Night Cake

Ingredients

350g butter

350g caster sugar

6 eggs, beaten

75ml brandy

350g plain flour

1 tsp ground allspice

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cinnamon

700g mixed dried fruit

50g blanched almonds, chopped

45g apricot conserve or apricot jam

900g almond paste (or marzipan)

4 egg whites

900g icing sugar

3 tsp lemon juice

2 tsp glycerine

glac? fruit, candied angelica and silver balls, to decorate

Cream the butter and sugar toghether until light and fluffy. Gradually add the beaten eggs, mixing well after each addition then add the brandy. Fold-in the flour, spices, fruit and nuts. Grease a deep 25cm cake tin and line the bottom and sides with greaseproof paper. Tip the cake mixture into this and tap to remove any trapped air. Place the cake in an oven pre-heated to 150'C and bake for about 2.5 hours, or until the cake is firm to the touch. If the top of the cake darkens too quickly cover with a sheet of folded greaseproof paper about half-way through the cooking. Remove the cake from the oven, allow to cool in its tin for 30 minutes then tip onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

Once cold cover the surface of the cake with the apricot preserve or apricot jam. Roll out the almond paste and cut just enough of the paste to go around the side of the cake. Then roll the remainder of the paste out and use to cover the top of the cake. Allow the cake to set for at least two days then prepare the icing by lightly beating the egg whites and incorporating the icing sugar into this to form a stiff paste. Add the lemon juice and glycerine and incorporate well. Then, using a palette knife sprad the icing all the way around the sides and top of the cake. Place in a tin and allow to set for at least two days. When ready form a cresecent of the candied fruit and anjelica on top of the cake and decorate with the silver balls.

As a rich fruit cake this also makes an excellent Christmas Cake in its own right, just omit the candied fruit decoration and halve the amount of spices.