From family teas to fancy parties, the best baking treats to see you through the festive season
Yotam Ottolenghi’s orange and saffron shortbread stars. Photograph: Louise Hagger/The Guardian
It’s holiday season soon, a time for winter feasting, for baking Christmas treats. If you want simple and savoury – Jeremy Lee’s definitive soda bread, a smart twist on cheesy straws, or something eye-catching and adventurous such as Justin Gellatly’s monumental croquembouche – you need look no further. From Dan Lepard to Dominique Ansel, Anna Jones to Claire Ptak, Yotam Ottolenghi to Nigel Slater, our experts have your back. There are also crisp shortbread stars, a Christmas pudding, perfect mince pies, Mont Blanc tarts, a luxurious meringue cake, even Anja Dunk’s gingerbread house. Top recipes for a family tea or a posher party. Merry Christmas everyone.
Yotam Ottolenghi’s orange and saffron shortbread stars
Gloriously festive, these fragrant star biscuits are perfect to have on hand for cups of tea over Christmas, and make a great present.
Yotam Ottolenghi’s orange and saffron shortbread stars. Photograph: Louise Hagger/The Guardian
Violet Bakery’s Christmas pudding from Claire Ptak
Bright, rich, spicy and most importantly delicious, this seasonal staple is best made ahead, then left to gently warm while you eat Christmas lunch.
Christmas pudding from Claire Ptak’s Violet Bakery. Photograph: Patricia Niven/The Observer
Napoleon cake from Alissa Timoshkina
With its snowy surface giving way to layers of crisp flaky pastry and rich and buttery vanilla creme patissiere, this is a winter wonderland of a cake.
Cheesy Marmite straws from Alvin Caudwell
Christmas entertaining is a snap with these moreish snacks – easy to make, quick to cook straight from the freezer, and perfect with a drink.
Gingerbread house from Anja Dunk
An easy recipe for a snowy fairytale scene that’s as fun to decorate as it is to eat.
Nigel Slater’s prune brownies
Deep, rich flavours from prune and armagnac add seasonally appropriate indulgent notes to a chocolate brownie recipe that will still please purists.
Justin Gellatly’s croquembouche
This impressive cake, traditionally smashed by the host before serving, makes a theatrical centrepiece for the Christmas table.
Pear, persimmon and ricotta crostata from Joe Trivelli
This take on an Italian tart is an almost perfect wintry pudding – seasonal fruit, enveloped in a ricotta cream and baked in a hazelnut crust.
Dauphinoise pies from Ravneet Gill
Buttery puff pastry, oozy cheese and layered potatoes, this pie elevates comfort food to be a vegetarian main worthy of a Christmas feast.
Mince pies from Blanche Vaughan
One recipe for fruity and deeply spiced mincemeat and one for the perfect crisp pastry that helps transform it into these Christmas essentials.
Dan Lepard’s pistachio halva chocolate roulade
A twist on the French bûche de Noël sees the traditional dark chocolate sponge and icing swapped for pistachios and white chocolate.
Jeremy Lee’s beremeal treacle soda bread
Nothing beats bread warm from the oven, generously spread with butter. This easy loaf is made with an interesting heritage grain and works particularly well with smoked salmon or Christmas cheese.
Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh’s mont blanc tarts
In this sophisticated tart, the classic pudding of chestnut puree and whipped cream is given a bit more interest with crunchy pecan praline.
Anna Jones’s membrillo, buttermilk and poppy seed cake
Membrillo – quince paste – isn’t just for the cheese board. Stirred into a mix with buttermilk, spelt and poppy seeds, when baked it melts deliciously into this surprisingly decadent tray bake.
Jeremy Lee’s walnut and pineapple meringue cake
Like a boozy pavlova with a lid, the elements for this merry pudding can be made two days in advance, taking a little stress out of Christmas feasting.
Chocolate fondant pudding cakes with Turkish delight from Greg and Lucy Malouf
This dinner-party favourite takes an update, hiding nuggets of a favourite Christmas sweet in its oozy centre. One for the traditional pudding haters.
Rum-soaked raisin caramel cake from Nik Sharma
This traditional Indian Catholic family recipe is full of rich and bittersweet caramel and rum flavours, with plenty of spiced sweet ginger and chopped cashews.
Honey & Co’s butternut squash and spice cheesecake from Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich
Influenced by American home-cooking, this cheesecake is full of seasonal spices – and was a much-coveted favourite of the kitchen staff at Honey & Co.
Jam and butter croissant pudding from Dominique Ansel
There’s no better use for leftover croissants, and this is an easy and a gorgeously indulgent brunch or supper for the lazy post-Christmas days.
La pompe à huile bread from Caroline Craig
A sweet, orange-blossom-flavoured brioche-like bread is traditional in Provence for Christmas Eve – but it works equally well as a Boxing Day breakfast for dipping into mugs of hot chocolate.