Olive Magazine Christmas 2018

Mariah Carey, avocado baubles, Quality Street green triangles... These are a few of my favourite (Christmas) things. These, and some other traditions – decking out the tree on 1 December (come rain or shine, or snow); testing the limits of online gift shopping delivery dates (I like the sense of peril); and wrapping all the presents into the wee hours on Christmas Eve while watching Elf on repeat – I will not compromise on. But one thing I like to do on the big day, and throughout the festive period, is flex my cooking and hosting skills. I like to experiment, try new things and really push the (gingerbread) boat out. And I know you lovely readers are just the same. Sure, you’ll have your favourites – there’s only one way…

Black forest meringue tower 4 HOURS + COOLING | SERVES 12-14 A LITTLE EFFORT | GF Once assembled the tower is best served on the day but the cherries and meringue layers can be prepared a few days ahead. Store the meringues in airtight containers. dark chocolate bar peeled todecorate (optional) MERINGUE eggs whites 8 largecaster sugar 500gcocoa powder 1 tbsp, plus extra to dust (see cook’s notes) CHERRY FILLING fresh or frozen dark cherries 500g, pittedcaster sugar 100gorange ½, juicedkirsch 75ml GANACHE dark chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate 150g (see cook's notes)double cream 200ml FILLING double cream 400mlmascarpone 200g • Line two large baking trays with baking paper. On the back of one of the sheets of paper draw a 23cm circle and a 10cm circle. On the second sheet draw a 18cm circle and a 15cm circle. Heat the oven…

HOW WE CHOSE THE WINNERS The Olive team selected 16 categories (some new for this year) having researched which products you, our readers, would be most likely to buy to make Christmas entertaining hassle-free. The supermarkets then selected the products they wanted to nominate (we only allowed them one entry per category, so they had to choose carefully). Every product was prepared according to the pack instructions – just as you would at home – and our expert panel of judges blind-tasted them, rating each on taste, texture and appearance. We then awarded gold, silver and bronze awards to our favourites – in one category, where the standard was very high, we agreed to award joint winners. BEST CRANBERRY SAUCE Asda Extra Special cranberry sauce with port, £1/230g A sauce with the perfect sweet and sour…

Every recipe you’ll need for the festive season including Christmas Day centrepieces, brilliant recipes using leftovers, make-ahead desserts and speedy canapés. PLUS loads of quick and healthy midweek meals Giant vegan Wellington | Baileys tiramisu trifle | ’Nduja-fried sprouts Russian honey cake | One-tray Xmas dinner | Loaded spiced turkey naan Hog roast with spiced apple stuffing | Roots tatin with three-cheese sauce PHOTOGRAPH: MIKE ENGLISH. STYLING: OLIVIA WARDLE. FOOD STYLING: ADAM BUSH…

Sherry-and-quince-glazed ham with pineapple relish 2 HOURS 20 MINUTES + RESTING SERVES 6-8 | EASY | GF This ham can be scaled up or down in size – just use the calculations below. Rather than the fuss of boiling then baking, we prefer to tent the ham with foil and bake in its own juices before glazing. gammon joint 2kgonion 1, cut into thick slicesblack peppercorns 2 tsp PINEAPPLE RELISH pineapple 400g (after peeling and taking out the inner core), cut into 1cm piecesonion 1, finely choppedflame or golden raisins 6 tbspcloves 2, crushedallspice 3, crusheddemerara sugar 8 tbspred wine vinegar 6 tbsp GLAZE sweet sherry 3 tbspquince jam 4 tbsp • Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Weigh the gammon then tear off 2 long pieces of foil. Lay the two pieces in a cross in…

Russian honey cake 1 HOUR 15 MINUTES + CHILLING OVERNIGHT | SERVES 20 A LITTLE EFFORT I first had a version of this cake at the 20th Century Café in San Francisco and this Russian-inspired creation owes a lot to that recipe – especially the icing, where the surprise ingredient is a glorious amount of dulce de leche, which adds a wonderful caramel note. BURNT-HONEY ICING runny honey 95gdouble cream 750mlsea salt a large pinchdulce de leche 250gsoured cream 65ml CAKE LAYERS unsalted butter 125grunny honey 150gsoft light brown sugar 125gplain flour 500g, plus extra for dustingbicarbonate of soda 1 tspsalt/4 tspground ginger 1 tspground cinnamon 2 tspmixed spice 1 tspeggs 3 largevanilla extract 2 tsp • To make the icing, put the honey into a small pan and cook over a medium heat for 5-10 minutes…