Today I’m sharing my Christmas Soda Bread!
December is such a busy time and what with my birthday, a wedding, my daughter’s numerous school performances, my son’s various exams and his trip to the Cologne Christmas markets,
I’m afraid my Christmas recipe offerings have had to stay as ideas in my head until now. (Note to self, start making Christmas recipes in the summer)!
So for my first offering, I wanted to come up with a recipe that had all the flavours of Christmas in it. To me, those flavours are marzipan, oranges, vanilla, mixed spice and dried fruits.
I love Stollen and Panettone but wanted to make something which busy people and kids could make really quickly as I think we are all very short of time in the build-up to Christmas!
Hence my Christmas Soda Bread was born and the best thing is all the ingredients are usually things you have in your cupboards at this time of year (except perhaps the dried cherries which you could substitute for dates or sultanas etc).
I used spelt flour which is not only high in fibre but also adds a lovely depth of flavour but you could use wheat flour if you wished.
This Christmas Soda Bread is ideal for using up all the leftover ingredients from your Christmas cake and puddings and lasts for days.
I started by making one double the size of this one but decided a smaller one was more practical.
My husband isn’t usually a fan of dried fruit but once he got a taste of my Christmas Soda Bread he became hooked!
He said and I quote “It tastes a lot better than it looks”! Well, my first attempt didn’t get in the oven quickly enough as I got the proportions of flour wrong and had to add a lot more at the last minute!
It’s so important with soda bread to get it straight in the oven and not hang about so hence my first attempt was delicious but had a completely lopsided rise to it!
This gorgeous loaf with sugary crust and all the wonderful Christmas flavours, will make your kitchen smell so festive!
Spread generously with butter (and some strawberry jam if you like) for a truly awesome treat.
My teenage son also loved my Christmas Soda Bread but my daughter as ever won’t indulge in dried fruit. (Although she did try a sample of Panettone when we were out the other day so perhaps there’s hope on that front)!
I’m sure you’ll love my Christmas Soda Bread, just sit down and enjoy it with a nice cup of tea in amongst the hurly burly of the Christmas rushing around that we all do!
Don’t forget to tag @FabFood4All on social media as I love seeing your creations and leave a comment below!
More Festive Bakes
- Cheat’s Stolen Croissants
- Chocolate and Pistachio Wreath
- Festive Bread Wreath
- Crispy Clementine Cookies
- Cheat’s Mince Pies
- Christmas Bundt Cake
Leave a comment and rating below when you’ve made this recipe; I love getting your feedback! You can also share your pictures by tagging @FabFood4All over on Instagram.
Pin for later!
Christmas Soda Bread
Ingredients
- 180 ml Milk
- 1 tbsp Lemon juice
- 175 g Plain spelt flour
- 175 g Wholegrain spelt flour
- 1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- ¾ tsp Mixed spice
- 100 g Caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla sugar
- 35 g Marzipan grated
- Grated zest of 1 orange or 2 clementines wash well with detergent first
- ½ tsp Salt
- 40 g Currants
- 40 g Dried cherries chopped
- Demerara sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 190⁰C.
- Prepare a baking tray a sheet or baking parchment and a scattering of flour.
- Stir the lemon juice into the milk and set aside to curdle.
- Sieve the flours, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and mixed spice into a large bowl.
- Then mix in the caster sugar, vanilla sugar, salt, marzipan, orange zest and dried fruit thoroughly.
- Add the curdled milk and mix in with a round bladed knife until a dough if formed (use your hands towards the end).
- Tip the dough out onto a floured work surface and shape into a dome (speed is important as the raising agents start working as soon as you add the milk).
- Place the dome onto the baking sheet, sprinkle on a good layer of Demerara sugar (patting down) and using a sharp knife cut a deep cross down into the dough.
- Place in the oven and bake for 30 – 35 minutes or until a hollow sound is heard when you knock on the underside of the loaf.
- Place on a wire rack to cook.
- Serve warm or cold with butter (and jam if liked) with a nice cuppa!
Jan @GlugofOil
Lovely – I could eat that right now!
Camilla
Thanks Jan:-)
Ursula Hunt
Sounds like a good recipe
Jacqui Gourlay
That looks so good! I have a new love for marzipan after last Christmas so looking for new ideas. I hope to find the time to try this!
Camilla
Thank you:-) I’ve had a life long love of marzipan so don’t need much of an excuse to use it:-) I do hope you get a chance to make this.
Paul Wilson
Great idea – love soda bread.
Camilla
Thanks, it makes great toast too:-) (If you do have any leftover)!
Mel
That looks like a nice, easy, festive recipe! I am not a fan of dried fruit, but I guess I could take them off.
Camilla
My husband isn’t either and won’t touch a mince pie or Christmas pud but he went crazy over this bread:-)
Lucy - BakingQueen74
This looks really good, I would love to try this in the run up to Christmas!
Camilla
Thanks Lucy, it’s a really good way of using up all those leftover Christmas ingredients and so festive and tasty:-)
Jeanne Horak-Druiff
Oh – I do love a good soda bread (I never have the patience for yeast breads!!) and I love the idea of fruit in this one. I can imagine even after a day or two it woudl still be splendid toasted with some salted butter 🙂
Camilla
Thanks Jeanne:-) I really must toast the rest of it, am still eating loaf 1 (it was enormous) and it’s still fine just buttered:-)
Vicki Montague
What a great idea! I love the sound of this…soda bread is so easy to make! Fantastic flavours in this one!
Camilla
Thank you Vicki it really was tasty:-)
Elizabeth
Mmm… I could seriously go a big slice of this right now, slathered with butter! What a super idea! Thank you for sharing with the No Waste Food Challenge 🙂
Camilla
Thank you Elizabeth, I almost needed to lock it away from hubby!
Sarah James
What a lovely festive loaf, I love the sound of grated marzipan. Perfect to have with a cup of tea.
Camilla
If I can squeeze marzipan into a recipe I’m all the happier Sarah:-)