Christmas is a time when we all love to visit family and friends. We all say we should do it more often. In any case it is nice to turn up with some home-made baking and today I have two recipes that go down a treat. And both of them have a history.

Eccles cakes are named after a town in Salford, greater Manchester, where they first appeared. And mendiants are a French recipe where the nuts and dried fruits traditionally represented the colour of monastic robes; the raisins for Augustinians, hazelnuts for Carmelites, figs for Franciscans and the almonds for the Dominicans.

Eccles cakes are less work than mince pies and make a nice light Christmas treat. The all-butter puff pastry gives better flavour, and the glaze give a nice rich colour and feel. With all the spices and orange rind, these little cakes have great taste and texture.

Mendiants are delicious chocolate discs. Do buy the best chocolate. Áine Chocolates in Co Cavan are excellent. You could use a variety of nuts instead of the crystallised ginger. These are great with a cup of coffee and are an easy-to-make and welcome gift.

Happy cooking,

Neven

Recipes

Eccles cakes. \ Photography: Philip Doyle. Food styling: Sharon Hearne-Smith

Eccles cakes

Makes eight

For the pastry:

500g (1lb 2oz) all butter puff pastry, thawed if frozen

plain flour, to dust

For the filling:

1 tbsp melted butter

4 tbsp light brown sugar

150g (5oz) mixed dried fruit

50g (2oz) mixed peel

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground ginger

finely grated rind of 1 orange

For the glaze:

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tbsp Demerara sugar

½ tsp ground cinnamon

  • 1 Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured work surface until 5mm thick or it needs to be just big enough to stamp out 8 x 10cm rounds, which you can easily check with the cutter. Once you are happy that it is big enough, using a 10cm cutter, stamp out eight puff pastry rounds. Arrange them on a baking sheet and pop into the fridge to rest for at least 10 minutes whilst you make the filling.
  • 2 Put the melted butter into a bowl and mix in the sugar, dried fruit, mixed peel, spices and orange rind. Get the pastry from the fridge and place a tablespoon of the mixture into the centre of each round. Then gather the pastry around the filling to enclose and squeeze it together. Flip them over so the top is upwards and gently pat them into a smooth round. Flatten each round a little more with the palm of your hand into an oval, approximately 7.5cm x 6cm. Place them in the fridge on the baking sheet for 10 minutes to firm up.
  • 3 Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F, gas mark six). Once the Eccles cakes have rested, take a small sharp knife and make three little slashes in the top of each one. Brush with the beaten egg to glaze. Then mix together the Demerara sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle on top. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the pastry is puffed up and golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for five minutes before eating.

    • Christmas chocolate mendiants

    Makes about 40

    50g (2oz) whole cashew nuts

    400g (14oz) plain chocolate, broken into squares (at least 70% cocoa solids)

    40g (1 ½ oz) dried cranberries

    40g (1 ½ oz) crystallised ginger

  • 1 Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, gas mark four). Spread the cashew nuts on to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and roast for six to eight minutes until nicely toasted, stirring them half way through to ensure they cook evenly. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.
  • 2 Melt 325g (11oz) of the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir occasionally until just melted, then take the pan off the heat and add the rest of the chocolate. Allow it to melt in the residual heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and leave to cool a little.
  • 3 Using a teaspoon, pour little discs of the melted chocolate on to large baking sheets that have been lined with parchment paper and use the back of the spoon to spread them to a size of 2.5cm (1in). Do about four at a time because the toppings must be added while the chocolate is still soft. Gently press one cashew nut, two or three pieces of dried cranberry and once piece of crystallised ginger onto the top of each chocolate circle.
  • 4 Continue making the mendiants in the same way until all the chocolate has been used up. If the chocolate in the bowl begins to set a little before you have finished, simply pop it back on to the pan of simmering water and stir gently until just melted again. Allow the mendiants to set in a cool, dry place for two to three hours. Pop the chocolates into gift boxes or bags layered with tissue paper, tie with ribbon and share them. These can be made up to two weeks in advance if stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.