Christmas Recipes

A lot of our clients choose our studio for our bespoke kitchen, it truly is a dream to prepare food and entertain in, however we are always interested to hear what people get up to off site as well. TV chef Rachel Green has used the kitchen at First Option countless times and is a longstanding friend of the team. For the second year running Rachel has been kind enough to share some of her own favourite festive recipes this year below.

Please do take a look and try them out for yourselves, don’t forget to send us photos of your finished versions!

Rachel Green’s Cranberry & Mincemeat Muffins

Mini Cranberry & Mincemeat Muffins

Makes 20

200g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3 tbsp caster sugar
1 large egg, beaten
125ml milk
3 tbsp melted butter/rapeseed oil
100g dried cranberries
4 tbsp good quality mincemeat

Topping:
200g cream cheese
2 tbs icing sugar
½ tsp vanilla essence
Dried cranberries, to decorate

Mix the ingredients together and top each muffin. Decorate with a dried cranberry.

Preheat oven to 200C/Gas 4

Method:

Sift flour, baking powder and baking soda into a bowl. Make a well in the centre. Add the remaining ingredients. Gently fold everything together to make a wet batter. Spoon batter into 20 of the buttered muffin cups. Bake until golden brown and firm to the touch, 12 minutes. Turn out and cool completely on wire rack. When cool top with cream cheese icing and decorate with a dried cranberry.

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Rachel Green’s Amaretti Roulade with Mascarpone & Festive Fruits

Amaretti Roulade with Mascarpone and Festive Fruits

Serves 6-8

100g Amaretti biscuit crumbs
110 g caster sugar
40g self-raising flour
3 large eggs
1 tsp almond essence

Filling:

400ml double cream
55g dried figs, sliced
55g dried dates, sliced
30g prunes, sliced
30g dried cranberries
30g sultanas
icing sugar, to dust
250g mascarpone cheese
1 tsp vanilla essence
2-3 tbsp amaretti liqueur

Method:

Line a Swiss roll tin. Heat the oven to 200°C/400°F/ Gas 6. Whisk the sugar with the eggs and the almond essence over a bowl of hot water until it forms a thick pale foam. Fold the flour, and Amaretti crumbs into the egg mixture. Pour into th lined tin and bake for 8-10 minutes or until well risen and light brown. Allow to cool then remove from the tin. Beat the cream and mascarpone together until thick, add the Amaretti liqueur, vanilla essence and 1 tbsp of icing sugar. Lay a piece of foil out larger than the Swiss roll. Cover with icing sugar, turn the roll onto the foil brown side down. Layer with the cream and the fruits and roll up into a log. Chill for two hours. Eat or freeze!

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If you have any recipes you would like to share on the blog then drop us an email here – studio@studiohirefirstoption.com