If you’re a fan of all things spiced, this is the time of year for you! Every menu seems to be full of festive flavours and I can’t get enough of those seasonal spices, such as allspice, anise, cinnamon, cloves and chai spices.
In fact, I don’t know why I don’t have more of these festive flavours all year round. After all, I love cooking with herbs, spices and chilli so I regularly use Indian spices every week to make noodles, curries, soups, seasoned rice, sauces and much more.
I think I’m going to make a New Year’s resolution to use more seasonal spices in my cooking too, especially with these lovely recipes to try. But first, let’s start cooking some Christmassy sweet treats to make use of all those aromatic ingredients…
Spiced maple and parsnip bundt cake
Honestly, it might sound unusual but this recipe for maple and parsnip bundt cake is absolutely delicious. Let’s face it, we’re happy to use carrots in carrot cake without any quibbles so why not parsnips?
I’ve previously shared the recipe and it’s one that I love to bake at Christmas. I think the combination of spices and maple syrup is just so autumnal, making this cake perfect for any celebration from September onward.
Making it in a bundt tin makes it super-easy to cut into neat slices, so the cake actually serves quite a lot of guests. Plus, the slices are the ideal size for enjoying with a cup of tea – somewhere between a slice of malt loaf and a piece of cake.
Chocolate Gingerbread
Although this recipe is one that I usually use around Halloween (because I like to make little iced skeletons rather than gingerbread men!) it’s also a delicious one for your Christmas baking too.
It combines the usual delicately spiced elements of gingerbread with a touch of chocolate so the colour of it really stands out in a sea of gingerbread biscuits on your festive buffet.
Check out my chocolate gingerbread recipe and enjoy decorating your little gingerbread characters with contrasting white icing for Christmas.
Gingerbread syrup
While we’re on the subject of gingerbread, did you know it’s possible to make a syrup using all those lovely classic gingerbread flavours? And once you’ve made this gingerbread syrup, there are so many things you can spice-ify with it.
For example, you can use it to add a festive feel to your Christmas day prosecco, creating a golden cocktail that’s perfect for celebrating the big day. Also, you could use it to drizzle over a cake so that it soaks into the sponge and adds a dash of festive spice, in much the same way as a lemon drizzle cake absorbs lemon sugar syrup.
Coffee shop hot drink hacks
And finally, while you’ve got the gingerbread syrup on the go, why not make a festive hot drink just like the seasonal specialities that the coffee shop chains launch for their festive menu at this time of year?
I’ve previously shared three coffee shop seasonal latte dupes so be sure to have a look at that blog post to make your own (much more thrifty!) version of a gingerbread latte, toffee nut latte and honeycomb latte, just like the coffee shop special menu drinks.
Let me know if you have a go at making any of these spiced treats yourself this winter in the comments below. Plus, I’d love to hear about your favourite festive recipes so please share your favourite makes and bakes too! 🙂
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