The Hottest Cookbook Releases of 2019

This is the time of year where it becomes obvious that some pretty good cookbooks have been released. The few months in the lead up to Christmas see's us welcome many new titles to the cookbook section of our favourite bookshops (or even our own cookbook shelves!). Here are the recent releases I am most excited about. 

1. Veg by Jamie Oliver - As a lover of vegetarian food I was really excited to hear Jamie Oliver was releasing a book dedicated to veg. It's filled with really interesting and often fairly simple recipes and great food photography (I love it when a book has an image for each recipe!).

2. Bake Australia Great by Katherine Sabbath - This book seems like pure fun. And I don't think we could expect anything else from the queen of cakes Katherine Sabbath. Katherine and her wild imagination have dreamed up a selection of recipes paying homage to all things Aussie.

3. Just Desserts by Charlotte Ree - A super cute book by a super lovely person. This little book packs a punch in terms of fun, colour, design and photography. And of course baking recipes! I tried the Brown Butter Bundt at one of the book release events, and it immediately went straight to the top of my must bake list.

4. From the Oven to the Table by Diana Henry - Diana Henry is a food writer based in the UK, and if you've not heard of her you're in for a treat. Diana creates beautiful recipes and gorgeous cookbooks, and this one is all about easy and tasty food that takes minimal effort from you. I have bookmarked many recipes in this book, but I first want to start with Chicken with Plums, Honey and Pomegranates - as soon as plums are in season! Check out Diana's previous releases such as How to Eat a Peach for more divine recipes and food writing.

5. Just Add Love by Irris Makler - If any book could be described as a book filled with love, this is it. This book compiled by journalist Irris Makler, shares the stories and recipes of Holocaust survivors. The stories are detailed and to be honest, they are what keep me picking up this book to read more. Irris also has a blog of the same name which I highly recommend you check out if you want to know more.

6. The Little Library Year by Kate Young - If you are an avid reader as well as a lover of cookbooks this is the book for you. Kate had created recipes to suit the changing seasons and paired them with the perfect read. I own Kate's first book, The Little Library Cookbook, which contains recipes created from the pages of Kate's favourite novels, and even though I am not a very avid reader of novels I still love the book and particularly enjoy the Harry Potter references!

Links to books on Booktopia removed 15/07/2024.

Christmas Gingerbread Trifle with Red Currant & Cranberry Jelly

I had this idea for a Gingerbread Trifle at least a year ago, around Christmas. I didn’t have time to make it, but I was determined to try it the following year. 

So this year was the year to make trifle, and while I almost didn’t make it (it’s lovely, but yes a bit of effort is required), I am so glad I did. I am loving the distinct layers and being able to use some of the currants I had frozen from last Christmas (plus we’ve owned this gorgeous glass trifle dish for years and never used it, so I’m glad I’ve finally put it to good use!).

I’ve actually never made a trifle until now, to be honest I don’t really like traditional ones. I absolutely hate that the cake used is soaked in some kind of alcohol, to me that just ruins the whole thing.

So I have made this trifle alcohol free, and the gingerbread cake used really doesn’t need to be soaked in anything. You can of course add some alcohol if you wish.

I have used red currants for the jelly, and decoration. I love them and the tart flavour they add. They come into season just before Christmas here in Australia, and I always buy a couple of punnets and freeze some too. I have used my freezer stash of currants for this trifle, but raspberries could also be used for the jelly and decoration. I think pomegranate juice could also be used instead of cranberry in the jelly as well, and then decorated with pomegranate arils. 

It is best to start this recipe the day before. I made the jelly and cakes the day before, then just whipped the creams and assembled before serving the next day.

Try to use a glass trifle dish with straight sides like the one pictured. If not, use one that is also 4L capacity, and keep in mind that you may have to trim your cakes more to get them to fit. 

A note on the jelly: Making jelly with red currants using the below method will create a slightly cloudy jelly. This is what happens when currants are pushed through a sieve to create a puree, rather than leaving them to gradually drip through muslin overnight on their own. I couldn’t think of anything worse than this recipe taking a whole day more just to wait for 55g of red currants to slowly strain overnight, so I opted for a slightly cloudy jelly instead. And in all honesty, once the trifle is all assembled, I can barely notice the difference. 

Red Currant & Cranberry Jelly 

Ingredients:

800ml water

350g caster sugar

16g gelatine sheets (I used titanium strength)

120ml cranberry juice

55g + 60g red currants (fresh or frozen)

Method: 

You will need a 4L capacity (22-23cm in diameter) trifle dish for this recipe.

In a large saucepan add the water and sugar. Place on the stove over high heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. 

Place 55g of the red currants in a food processor and blitz until a puree forms. Strain the puree into the cranberry juice, discarding the seeds etc. 

After 10 minutes, remove the sugar syrup from the heat and set aside to cool a little. 

Place the gelatine sheets in a shallow bowl and cover with cold water. Leave to soak for 3 minutes, then remove from the water, squeezing out any excess water. 

Add to the sugar syrup, and whisk until the gelatine has dissolved. Then add the cranberry juice and red currant puree and whisk until combined. If the jelly has formed lots of foam from all that whisking, try to scoop as much of it off as possible. I find if it isn’t removed the jelly will set with most of this foam remaining on top. 

Pour about 750ml of the jelly into your trifle mould, and the remainder into a small plastic wrap lined container. 

Scatter in 60g red currants over the jelly in the trifle dish, then place both jellies into the fridge to set overnight. 

Makes about 1180ml jelly in total. 

Gingerbread Cake 

Ingredients: 

375g unsalted butter, softened

300g brown sugar 

3 eggs

465g molasses 

345ml water

615g plain flour 

1.5 tsp baking powder

1.5 tsp bicarb soda

1.5 tsp ground ginger

1.5 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground all spice 

1 tsp ground cardamom 

canola oil spray, for greasing

Method: 

Grease and line two 22-23cm round cake tins (use round cake tins that are closest in diameter to your trifle dish). Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, spices and baking powder. Sift in the bicarb soda and whisk to combine.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy using the paddle attachment. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Then beat in the water and molasses on a low speed (to avoid the water sloshing out of the mixing bowl!). 

Add the flour mixture and beat on a low speed until the flour begins to combine, then increase the speed a little and mix until combined (you can also do this by hand with a wooden spoon or spatula if you wish). 

Evenly divide the batter between the prepared tins, and bake for about 1 hour. The cakes probably won’t fit on the same oven shelf, so swap them over about half way through the cooking time to ensure they both cook evenly. The cakes will be ready when a skewer inserted in the centre of the cakes comes out clean. Cool for at least 20 minutes in their tins, before turning onto a cooling rack. 

Once the cakes are cooled, they can either be used immediately in the trifle if ready, or wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in an airtight container. 

Christmas Gingerbread Trifle 

Ingredients: 

Red Currant & Cranberry Jelly, as above

Gingerbread Cake, as above

550ml pouring cream

1 tbsp pure maple syrup

1.5 tsp vanilla bean paste

red and white currants, to decorate (fresh or frozen)

Method: 

N.B. If you are making this on a fairly warm day, you may want to place the trifle back in the fridge in between some of the below steps to ensure all the layers keep their shape and remain cold. 

Just before serving, take one of the gingerbread cakes, and even out the top if necessary. Trim the sides to fit into the trifle dish if necessary. Place the layer of cake on top of the jelly layer. 

Whip 300ml of the cream with the maple syrup, and using a piping bag pipe a nice edge of the cream on the outer rim over the cake layer. Fill in the remaining layer with the cream, and smooth it out if necessary to ensure it is fairly even. 

Take the second gingerbread cake and even out the top if necessary. Trim the sides of the cake to to fit into the trifle dish if necessary. This cake layer should sit right up to the top edge of the trifle dish. Place the cake on top of the layer of maple cream.

Whip the remaining 250ml of cream with the vanilla, then using a piping bag (just cut a small opening at the bottom of the bag, you don’t need to use a piping tip if you don’t have one), decorate the top of the trifle. 

Remove the remaining jelly from its container, and cut into squares. Don’t worry if some of it breaks, I didn’t find I wanted to use all the jelly to decorate the top of the trifle anyway. Decorate the top of the trifle with some of the cut up jelly (any excess jelly can be placed back into the container and stored in the fridge, or added to each serve of trifle separately on each plate), and finish with some extra red and white currants. 

Serve immediately, and store any leftovers in the fridge.

Serves about 12.

Vintage embossed spoons from The Coastal Marketplace

Unfortunately Trifle doesn’t look so great once served!

Wild Muesli for Calm Breakfasts

I was first introduced to this recipe by a former work colleague. She gave me a little jar of it, as a thanks for giving her a jar of homemade jam. As the one usually giving out edible gifts, I was very happy to receive some myself! Before then, I wasn’t much of a muesli or granola fan, and now I know it’s because I’d never had a homemade one before. 

It didn’t take long for me to ask for the recipe, and my colleague kindly obliged! I remember seeing her eat this muesli with yoghurt and fruit many mornings at work for breakfast, and walking past her desk and noticing the very large jar of this muesli sitting there! So this muesli has been always known to me as Wild Muesli as it came from the lovely Wild family (yes, that is their surname!). 

This recipe also inspired my muesli topping for the Muesli Breakfast Crumble I posted quite a while back, which is a lovely way to enjoy breakfast. This is a much more simple version, and can be added to lots of things like the typical yoghurt and fruit, and I love a little sprinkled over pancakes. I have also been known to make biscuits out of it! 

Having a batch of this made (and it does make quite a lot), really does create calm breakfasts. There is something about knowing breakfast is already partially or completely prepared that makes getting up in the morning that much easier for me. Whether it’s this muesli, crumpets waiting in the freezer or my Muesli Breakfast Crumble ready to be quickly reheated in the microwave, the knowledge that an easy, yet tasty homemade breakfast is waiting for me definitely brings me a sense of calm in the early mornings, especially before work. 

A note on the recipe - use a baking tray as large as you can. The thinner the layer the muesli is on the tray, the quicker it will cook. If the tray is too small you will be baking, stirring it every 5 minutes, for quite a while!

Also - if you are looking for the Muesli Slice recipe I made using this muesli you can find it over on Fully Booked Women!

Homemade Honey Muesli

Ingredients: 

250g rolled oats (not instant oats)

25g shredded or flaked coconut 

155g pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

115g sunflower kernels

85g chia seeds

120g slivered almonds

175g honey

Method:

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius, and line a large baking tray with baking paper. A tray with slightly higher sides will work best for this recipe. 

In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients, then add the honey and mix with a large wooden spoon until everything is well coated. 

Place in the oven, and stir every 5-6 minutes, so the muesli can brown evenly. The muesli should be golden brown in about 20 minutes. 

Store in an airtight container or large glass jars. 

Makes 860g muesli. 

Spiced Christmas Biscuits (Refined Sugar Free)

These biscuits are vastly similar to the previous recipe I have posted, except that I have used unrefined sugars to create a softer chewier Christmas biscuit than a gingerbread. 

I had the idea for these biscuits, as I have been experimenting a lot with date syrup this year, and wondered if it would make a good substitute for the golden syrup I usually use in my gingerbread biscuits. Sticking with the unrefined sugar theme, I swapped the brown sugar for panela sugar which I love adding to lots of my baking. 

The biscuit comes out slightly more chewy than my usual gingerbread biscuits, and has a slightly deeper flavour thanks to the date syrup. I also used a few teaspoons of a Christmas spice mix called St Nicholas Spekulaas from the spice shop Gewurzhaus. I found this shop whilst I was in Melbourne, only to discover later that I had probably walked past the Sydney store in the Strand Arcade many times! 

A substitute for this kind of festive spice mix would just be to add the same spices from my gingerbread biscuit recipe which are 1 tsp each of ground cloves, all spice, cardamom, cinnamon and ginger.

I am really loving my panela and date Christmas biscuits, and similar to their gingerbread cousin, the dough freezes well so you can make the dough in advance and bake later (just defrost in the fridge overnight). 

Refined Sugar Free Christmas Cookies using Grounded Pleasures Panela Sugar & Gewurzhaus St Nicholas Spekulaas Spice Mix

Spiced Christmas Cookies

Ingredients:

125g unsalted butter, softened

120g panela sugar (I used Grounded Pleasures)

170ml date syrup/molasses

1 egg yolk

390g plain flour

5 tsp Spekulaas spice mix (I used St Nicholas Spekulaas from Gewurzhaus)

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Method:

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius. Line three large baking trays with baking paper.

In medium bowl whisk together the flour and spice mix. Sift in the bicarb soda, whisk to combine then set aside.

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and panela sugar until it is pale and creamy. Add the date syrup and egg yolk and beat until combined.

Add the flour and spice mixture and combine on very low speed for a few seconds. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and finish the remaining mixing using a large wooden spoon or spatula. 

Turn onto a lightly floured surface and briefly knead until smooth. Press dough into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest. If making double quantities separate the dough into two discs. 

Once the dough has rested, you can freeze the dough to use at a later date. Defrost in the fridge overnight before using. 

Dust your work surface with more flour, then roll the dough out to around 2 mm thickness and cut biscuits out using festive biscuit cutters. Place each biscuit on to the prepared trays. Make sure you leave space in between each biscuit as they will expand as they bake. Re-roll excess dough and cut out more biscuits until it is all used up.

Bake for around 10-12 mins, rotating the trays in the oven to ensure everything cooks evenly. When the biscuits are done the edges will begin turn golden. Allow to cool on wire racks or on their trays.

Makes about 70 small biscuits or 36 medium as pictured in this post (yield will depend in the size and shape of your biscuit cutters). 

Christmas Gingerbread Biscuits

This has recipe has been a festive favourite of mine for a few years now. I originally found it on Phoodie, and have loved it ever since. In my family, shortbread has always been the biscuit of choice for Christmas, so I never really had a go to Gingerbread recipe. I do recall making some from a DK Kid’s Cookbook, but I was never much into the taste of ginger so I generally preferred shortbread. The process of resting the dough in the fridge also put me off I think, as when it comes to biscuits, I have always been after quick and instantly gratifying recipes. None of this resting the dough, and waiting around. 

Now I’m older, I understand the importance of refrigerating biscuit dough and allowing it to rest. I’m sure I’m slightly more patient now too! It also makes more sense to give your biscuit dough a chance to firm up a bit, if you like me, are making these during a warm Southern Hemisphere Christmas. 

I sometimes ice these with a royal icing, like this one, or one from a packet mix. One time I made batches and batches of these over Christmas for a cafe I worked at, and iced and decorated them all. If I can give you any advice, if you are making lots of these, don’t worry about the icing. They taste great on their own, and it often ends up being rather a stressful exercise, during what can already be a busy and stressful time of year. I haven’t iced mine in years, and I don’t miss it at all!

I find I can make a few batches of these during December, as they are enjoyed by all and make great gifts. They are also really useful for decorating other festive desserts like this pavlova I made a few years ago. 

My Christmas Biscuit Cutter Collection

Christmas Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients:

125g unsalted butter, softened

120g light brown sugar

170ml golden syrup

1 egg yolk

390g plain flour

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp all spice

1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ground cardamom 

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 

Method:

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius. Line three large baking trays with baking paper.

In medium bowl whisk together the flour and spices. Sift in the bicarb soda, whisk to combine then set aside.

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until it is pale and creamy. Add the golden syrup and egg yolk and beat until combined.

Add the flour and spice mixture and combine on very low speed for a few seconds. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and finish the remaining mixing using a large wooden spoon or spatula. 

Turn onto a lightly floured surface and briefly knead until smooth. Press dough into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest. If making double quantities separate the dough into two discs. 

Once the dough has rested, you can freeze the dough to use at a later date. Defrost in the fridge overnight before using. If making double, I usually pop one lot of dough in the freezer now, and continue baking the other.

Dust your work surface with more flour, then roll the dough out to around 2 mm thickness and cut biscuits out using festive biscuit cutters. Place each biscuit on to the prepared trays. Make sure you leave space in between each biscuit as they will expand as they bake. Re-roll excess dough and cut out more biscuits until it is all used up.

Bake for around 10-12 mins, rotating the trays in the oven to ensure everything cooks evenly. When the biscuits are done the edges will begin to turn golden. Allow to cool on wire racks or on the their trays.

Makes about 70 small biscuits or 36 medium (yield will depend in the size and shape of your biscuit cutters). 

Off The Shelf Christmas Edition - 'Nigella Christmas' by Nigella Lawson

Bought at: The Cookery Book, Northbridge (Sydney), many years ago.

Recipes Made: Cranberry and White Chocolate Cookies p.208 and Spruced Up Vanilla Cake p.198. 

The Cranberry and White Chocolate Cookies (or biscuits as us Aussies usually call them), have been quite a Christmas baking staple at our house since we got this book. They are quick to make, very satisfying and lend themselves to lots of adaptations. This recipe also uses pecans, which we usually leave out as we never have any. 

I made a version of the Spruced Up Vanilla Cake a few years ago, and posted it here on the blog. I added fresh raspberries to the cake, and served it with a rose syrup. I do however very much like the idea of a good vanilla cake, and this one is one of those. Its quite easy to make, and when cooked in a bundt tin, looks immediately spectacular despite the little effort the cake takes to make!

Raspberry and Rose Bundt Cake

Favourite Things About the Book: Cookbooks that are dedicated to Christmas are always a joy to read and cook from, even if our hot Australian Christmas doesn’t lend itself to all the recipes. I especially like the way Nigella has organised this book, with chapters dedicated to ‘manageable mass catering’, ‘serve later sides’ and ‘stress free suppers’. Christmas can feel like quite a stressful time of year, but with the calmness of Nigella on your side, the Christmas food preparation can be made much more manageable. 

This is also one of those books that needs to be perused during the year as well, not just at Christmas. As some of the more English Christmas fare doesn’t suit our warm climate, it would be great to go back to some of these recipes mid-year when we are enjoying Winter. 

Bookmarked Recipes (to make later!): Pumpkin and Goat’s Cheese Lasagne p.34-6, Chargrilled Peppers with Pomegranate p.58-9, Festive Couscous p.97, Beetroot Orzotto and Scarlet-Speckled Loaf Cake p.202.