The secret of the amazing flavour of this cake lies in the long process of maturing and only natural ingredients such as honey and spices. I prepare the dough on stir-up Sunday and let it sit in the fridge for almost a month. After the long rest, the cake is baked, sprinkled with Amaretto Liqueur,  dressed up with layers of plum jam and marzipan, tightly wrapped, and left in the fridge for another week. Just prior to the festivities or one day before Christmas, Polish Traditional Gingerbread Cake needs only a shiny coat of chocolate ganache. Find the recipe here….

I always start the festive season by making homemade Gingerbread Mix Spice. The preparation takes only a few minutes, and all I have to do is mix all ingredients. The Gingerbread Mix Spice is a blend of seasonal spices: cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, cardamom and nutmeg. You can make the spice mix milder by cutting the ginger amount or adding more if you need an extra punch. The Gingerbread Mix Spice is very aromatic, fresh, warming and great for gingerbread of all kinds and muffins. It should be kept in an airtight container. Find the recipe here…

Traditional stolen often contains marzipan – a confection made mainly from ground almonds and sugar. I don’t use marzipan because the fruit blend and a thick coat of icing sugar that covers the bread are sweet enough, so extra sweetness is overwhelming for me. Stollen is a yeasted bread baked with dried fruits and spices that's originated in Dresden. It’s traditionally served at Christmas time in Germany, Austria and parts of France. Stollen symbolises the baby Jesus blanket, and the fruits in it represent gifts of the Three Wise Men (called the Three Kings or Three Magi as well). Find the recipe here…

Panettone, sweet enriched bread comes originally, according to many sources, from Milan and is a true symbol of Italian Christmas. It’s more bread than a cake, although brioche-like dough of slightly sweet flavour is studded with dried fruits, almonds and raisins. The most traditional panettone is made by wild-yeast fermentation, augmented by a small amount of commercial yeasts. Making of this Christams sweet bread is a lengthy procedure, but the result is well worth it: you will end up with a golden, aromatic, and delicious Christmas bake that melts in your mouth with every bite.  Find the recipe here…

This is a classic dish served in the United Kingdom and Ireland as an accompaniment to roast turkey for a Christmas dinner or as a side dish. Pigs in Blankets, also called kilted soldiers are small chipolatas wrapped in bacon, and baked in the oven until crisp. I used the chipolatas of the usual size and divided each sausage into half to get ‘pigs’ that can be served as finger food or a one-bite size dish. And honey drizzle made this staple of the festive season super sticky and shiny. Find the recipe here...

My, oh my! These buns are so light, delicate and pillowy that you can’t stop eating them! They’re St Lucia buns, served in the run-up to Christmas across Scandinavia. The sweet rolls are eaten traditionally on the 13th of December, St Lucia’s Day (also known as The Festival of Light), in celebration of Lucia, the patron saint of light and the victory of light over darkness. These golden-hued saffron buns are formed into an S shape that resembles a curled-up cat and two raisins are added to represent its eyes. The slightly sweet rolls taste best warm with butter. Find the recipe here…

Baking biscuits is definitely a winter activity, especially during the Christmas season. We love the scent of freshly baked goods that circulate the house and boost our festive spirit. If you are looking for inspirational baking ideas, you should try Christmas Almond and Strawberry Biscuits. They are delicious and delicate, very easy to make and can be made in any size and shape. Use any fruit jam you like: strawberry and raspberry jam have red festive colour, however orange jam with a pinch of ginger and orange zest smells very Christmassy. Find the recipe here…

Gingerbread Biscuits of different shapes can easily replace traditional glass baubles and stars on the Christams Tree. They also can be an excellent edible Christmas present and great fun for children in the festive season. This gingerbread dough has a perfect balance of spices – cinnamon, ginger, cloves, all spices, and plenty of honey. It’s soft and may be a bit difficult to handle at the beginning, however make perfect and delicate biscuits that snap when break. The dough develop its flavour and makes better biscuits when left for a few days in the fridge. We decorate our Christmas tree with homemade gingerbread biscuits every year. Find the recipe here…

Marzipan is a confection, usually used for icing birthday, wedding and Christmas cakes. It can also be used in biscuits and petit fours and cakes such as German Stollen. Marzipan consists mainly of sugar and almond flour, augmented with almond extract, rose water, and it’s easy and quick to make.  The homemade treat is much more delicious than the store-bought one as it contains up to half less sugar, and almond flour is much stronger in taste. Find the recipe here…

We are obsessed with herring in myriad forms. Pickled in vinegar or with onion in oil, creamed, fried, it’s served as a cold appetizer or a side dish at any time of year but especially at holiday times like Christmas Eve. This pickled herring should be prepared at least 5 days in advance as the fish needs time to develop its flavour and absorb the aromas of spices. The pickled herring can be served straight from the jar with pickled onions on rye bread, with various sauces and used as the main ingredient of cold salads. Find the recipe here…

A traditional polish delight is served usually on Christmas Eve. This meatless dish can be eaten on its own with a slice of bread or fill other traditional Christmas Eve meals – pierogi z grzybami (dumplings with sauerkraut and forest mushrooms). Sauerkraut is always prepared at least one week in advance as all flavours need time to combine and develop. We use porcini - the most delicious and aromatic wild mushrooms, a few dried prunes to balance the sour taste of fermented cabbage and a large glass of red wine that deepen the flavour of the dish. Find the recipe here…

Keks is a sponge cake with a high content of unsalted butter, packed with dried fruits and almond flakes. It’s baked in a loaf tin and then served generously dusted with icing sugar. Dried fruits – apricots, black currants, sultanas and raisins are soaked in a warm mixture of orange liqueur and orange juice with the addition of orange zest. Keks is buttery, sweet and moist, taste amazing both freshly baked and after a few days. The cake can be prepared in advance and kept tightly wrapped in baking paper and aluminium foil. Find the recipe here…

Vegetable Salad is a staple dish of Polish cuisine, served on many occasions and holidays. It's a delicious medley of root vegetables, complemented by sweet garden peas, crunchy apples, eggs, sour brine cucumbers, pungent leek, all blended with homemade mayonnaise. The salad is quite simple to make, but the whole process involves a lot of fine dicing: the finer dice, the better taste. Vegetable Salad is served cold, usually with sliced meat and bread for breakfast or lunch. Find the recipe here…

Dried Fruits Beverage is one of 12 traditional dishes served on Christmas Eve in Poland. This is a naturally sweet drink, which distinctive flavour comes from dried apples, pears, apricot, prunes and fragrant spices: cinnamon, cloves and star anise. Dried fruits, prunes, in particular, give the kompot enough natural sweetness; however, if you need to have it sweeter, add honey to the cool mixture. My Dried Fruit Beverage also contains thick slices of fresh orange, making this traditional drink even more Christmasy and citrusy. Serve cold with cooked fruits on the side. Find the recipe here...

We can’t imagine the Christmas Eve table without herring. It's usually served pickled in vinegar or oil with onions or with soured cream and finely diced apple. Herring tartare is a great option for having herring this Christmas differently. The tartare consist of Matjes fillet pickled in salted brine and soaked in water, gherkins, shallots, pickled mushrooms, spring onions, all combined with mustard and citrus sauce. The sour capers and red hot peppers give this small dish a kick. The herring tartare tastes great served on dark rye bread. Find the recipe here…

Traditional sweet mini pies baked and eaten in the festive season before Christmas. Mince pies are made from short crust pastry filled with the sweet mix of dried fruits, spices, citrus zest, all soaked in alcohol. These festive pies of English origin have been known there since the 13th century. They originally were savoury, not sweet as consisted of a mixture of minced meat, suet, fruits and spices. Today almost every housewife has her own recipe for mince pies and mincemeat if she prepares a homemade version of the pies. I prefer less sugary filling but use a bit sweeter French buttery pastry. Try my recipe here…

Mincemeat needs at least two weeks to macerate before using in mince pies. Dried fruits, almonds, spices and orange zest have enough time to soak beautifully in sherry, and their flavours become rich and complex. Although I’m not entirely against store-bought mincemeat as you can buy a very good one, but when is homemade its taste is completely different. Homemade mince meat is easy and quick. Cooking takes only 10 minutes, dried fruits, almonds are available at grocery stores, and you can control the amount of sugar which may be important. The homemade mincemeat can be made up to six months in advance. Find the recipe here….

The poppy seed roll – or in other words – the poppy seed strudel - is a typical polish pastry usually prepared for Christmas and Easter.  It consists of sweet yeast dough filled with aromatic poppy seed paste which is full of nuts, dried fruits, almonds and resins. According to some old polish beliefs, poppy seeds eaten at Christmas Eve dinner brought happiness and prevented from evil, were also a symbol of fertility. Why is this pastry exceptionally delicious? Because of the balance between the thickness of the dough and the amount of the poppy seed paste - moist, naturally sweet and rich in nuts and fruits. Find the recipe here...

This is a classic and very traditional polish dish served at Christmas Eve with Beetroot Cleared Bullion called Borscht. They are filled with an aromatic and delicious forest mushroom paste which contains cooked sweet onion. The ear-shaped dumplings often named the little ears can be also eaten with melted butter and sprinkled with herbs, just like Italian tortellini. The dumplings are time and work consuming, require a bit of experience especially in folding and sealing but believe me: these little dumplings are worth of your effort. They can be prepared in advance and kept frozen even for several weeks. Find the recipe here...

Classic beetroot soup served at Christmas Eve in our house is made with a vegetable stock, mushrooms and beetroot fermented juice called beet kvass. Sour, a bit tangy and very light beetroot bullion doesn't contain chopped beetroots or sour cream. It always comes with ear-shaped dumplings called sometimes little dumplings, filled with mushrooms paste. Ruby-coloured cleared borscht is like a meatless red consommé – clear, aromatic and very elegant which makes a perfect match with heavy meals eaten at dinner. Served as a first dish always almost hot, warms up and prepares your stomach for a real Christmas feast. Find the recipe here..

My poppy seed filling is full of almonds, nuts, dried fruits, flavoured with orange juice and zest. All its sweetness becomes from honey, not sugar. I make it only once a year, just before Christmas, for a traditional polish cake – Poppy Seed Rolls. The filling is an amazing natural poppy seed paste which can’t be compared to any ready-to-eat canned store-bought stuff. Neither difficult nor time-consuming to master can be prepared a few days in advance. The poppy seed filling is also eaten with pasta as a traditional meal at Christmas Eve in some regions of Poland. Find the recipe here...

Beetroot soured juice, also called beet kvass is naturally fermented liquid, slightly sweet, salty and tangy, a little earthy. This very nutritious and health-boosting drink is famous for its cleansing properties. Beet kvass is also the main ingredient of red borscht (in Polish barszcz) – traditional Polish soup served at Christmas Eve's Supper. Easy to make at home red beet kvass calls only for firm beetroots, salt and water, however requires a bit of patience because the fermentation process lasts at least one week. Natural, healthy and extremely delicious, free from sugar and preservatives red liquid makes barszcz the best Christmassy soup in the world. Find the recipe here...