• Baking,  Recipes,  Shaw Christmas Favourites

    Buche de Noel

    Buche de Noel Ingredients Filling 2 cups heavy cream 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Cake 6 egg yolks 1/2 cup white sugar 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/8 teaspoon salt 6 egg whites 1/4 cup white sugar confectioners’ sugar for dusting Directions Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C). Line a 10″ x 15″ inch jellyroll pan with parchment paper. Filling: In a large bowl, whip cream, 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, 1/2 cup cocoa, and 1 teaspoon vanilla until thick and stiff. Refrigerate.  Cake: In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat egg yolks with…

  • Mulled Wine - Glühwein
    Period Recipes,  Recipes,  Shaw Christmas Favourites

    Mulled Wine – Glühwein

    Glühwein translates as ‘glowing wine,’ and I agree that it adds a glow to the season.  In my time at the Toronto Christmas Market, the smell of mulled wine was one of the most evocative scents of the season, and a glass of it at the end of a long, cold day sent me home with a warmth in my heart. People have been drinking spiced wines since the Roman period at least, and the earliest recipe that we have is from 1390, which is older than any of the other recipes I’ve been able to find for my other festive drinks. This is another drink that was given to…

  • Cranberry Sauce
    Recipes,  Shaw Christmas Favourites

    Cranberry Sauce

    Is there an easier thing in the world than home made cranberry sauce? I mean, yes, opening a can is easier, but this recipe takes 20 minutes tops and tastes a million times better than whatever you get out of a can.  Gorgeous, ruby-red cranberry sauce is perfect as is – you can certainly add all kinds of other things, but I think it’s best kept basic – sugar, water, cranberries.   Cranberry sauce is one of my favourite things about any turkey dinner – I really just use turkey as a cranberry sauce delivery system – and I always make my own. I love the beautiful reds of the berries,…

  • Snickerdoodles
    Baking,  Recipes,  Shaw Christmas Favourites

    Snickerdoodles

    2017 Update: I associate Snickerdoodles with Christmas, not because my family necessarily loves them but because I do, and anything sugary and cinnamony is bound to seem Christmassy to me. I’ve rarely seen this recipe posted anywhere, which surprises me because these cookies are delicious. I got the recipe when I worked at Lang Pioneer Village as a costumed interpreter, baking on the old wood-fired cast iron stoves in the Keene Hotel or the Milburn House, learning to gauge temperature based on how quickly your arm-hair felt singed when you stuck your arm in the oven.  Unfortunately, an electric or gas oven can’t replicate the particularly delicious flavour that a…