The ultimate Christmas market food recipes

Christmas markets get us all excited for the festive season – after all, what’s not to love about fairground rides, family-owned businesses, and festive food?!

But don’t despair if you can’t make it this year; you can still savour scrumptious Christmas market food at home with these easy-to-make recipes!

We start with everyone’s favourite German treat, the Bratwurst, before cooking up a new British festive favourite: the Yorkshire pudding wrap.

What you'll need

Cast iron pan/ skillet (with a lid)

Ingredients (based on 6 sausages)

·         6 Bratwurst sausages (most supermarkets sell these, but you may even be able to get them from a local butcher/charcuterie store, or online)

·         White onions

·         Garlic

·         Mustard seeds

·         Sausage buns 

·         340ml beer (non-alcoholic options include vegetable stock, chicken stock or non-alcoholic beer) 

·         Cast iron pan/skillet (with a lid)

Method 

1.       Slice your onions and poke a few holes in your sausages to ensure they don’t burst whilst cooking. 

2.       Place your sausages in a pre-heated skillet alongside the onions, garlic, and mustard. Let your sausages brown for around 4 minutes before turning them over and pouring in your beer or liquid of choice. 

3.       Cover with the lid and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook until the sausages reach an internal temperature of 71 degrees Celsius. 

4.       Remove the sausages, and let the liquid reduce for a few minutes by turning up the heat again. 

5.       Bratwurst can be served in various ways – but when it comes to Christmas markets, it’s all about that warm bun. 

6.       Place your sausage in the bun and top it with onions and any sauces you might fancy (we like the classic tomato ketchup or mustard).

What you'll need 

Electric/ hand mixer

Roasting tin

Yorkshire Pudding Recipe (makes 2)

·         150g of plain flour

·         3 medium eggs

·         300ml milk, ideally full fat

·         2 tbsp of vegetable oil 

Filling

·         You can either cook your meat or buy it ready-cooked and pre-sliced. For this Christmas-themed recipe, we recommend around 150-200g of turkey slices. 

·         Carrots

·         Parsnips

·         2 tbsp honey 

·         2 tbsp of vinegar

·         3 tbsp of olive or sunflower oil

·         100g of turkey gravy (or the gravy best suited to your choice of meat)

·         Cranberry sauce

Method

1.       Whisk the ingredients for your Yorkshire pudding together in a bowl or jug until smooth, and chill for around half an hour. Whilst waiting, heat your oil in a roasting tin at 220c until it’s bubbling. 

2.       Take the tin out of the oven and carefully pour in your mixture. Cook for around 20-25 minutes until it’s risen, puffed up and golden. 

3.       Slice your carrots and parsnips into batons, and toss in honey, oil, vinegar, and a pinch of salt. 

4.       Roast in the oven at 190c for around 45 minutes. 

5.       Take your large Yorkshire pudding and flatten it gently (this makes it easier to roll) then cut it in half. 

6.       Spread your cranberry sauce across both halves, before placing your turkey, carrots, parsnips, and gravy in.

7.       Wrap and serve!

Once you’ve had your fill of savoury dishes, it’s time to dig into dessert. Choose from the German delight, Lebkuchen, classic waffles, or shockingly sweet fudge – or have all of them as a Christmas treat!

 What you'll need

Saucepan

Baking tray

Ingredients (approx 14 cookies)

·         200g honey

·         85g butter

·         200g plain flour

·         100g ground almonds

·         1 tsp baking powder

·         ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda

·         1 tsp ground cinnamon

·         1 tsp ground ginger

·         1tsp ground cloves

·         1 tsp ground allspice 

·         ½ tsp ground nutmeg

·         ½ tsp of salt

·         Zest of ½ orange 

Icing Glaze

·         70g sifted icing sugar

·         1 tsp of lemon juice

·         Sprinkles (optional) 

Method

·         Place your honey and butter into a small pan over low heat, continuously stirring until the butter has melted. Sift together the remaining ingredients and mix this with the honey and butter mixture until it forms a stiff dough. 

·         Let this dough chill for 30-40 minutes and preheat your oven to 180c just before removing them from the fridge. 

·         To create your biscuits, you can either:

            o   Break off equal bits of the dough and roll them into a ball before placing them on a lined baking tray

           o   Roll the dough out onto a floured surface until it’s around 1cm thick, then take a cookie cutter and cut out as many biscuits as you want.

·         Bake your cookies for around 15 minutes, or until they start to brown. 

·         Mix your icing sugar with 2-3tsp of water and the lemon juice, until it’s slightly runny. Pour over the cookies whilst they cool to create a classic semi-transparent glaze.

·         You can also decorate with multicoloured or chocolate sprinkles. 

What you'll need 

Waffle maker

Ingredients (serves 4)

·         1 egg

·         225/ of self-raising flour

·         250ml milk

·         50g butter (melted)

·         1 tbsp vegetable oil 

·         ½ teaspoon of allspice

·         ½ teaspoon of cinnamon 

·         Topping of choice

·         Vanilla ice cream

·         Crushed gingerbread 

Method

1.       Mix the egg, flour, milk, butter, and spices together until smooth. 

2.       Brush your waffle maker with a little oil and pour over your mixture to coat the surface of the waffle maker. Follow the instructions on your waffle maker. 

3.       Top your waffles with a dollop of vanilla ice cream, and sprinkle over crushed gingerbread before serving. 

What you'll need

Saucepan 

Baking tray

Ingredients (approx 30-35 squares) 

·         125g unsalted butter

·         375g golden caster sugar

·         397g condensed milk 

·         30g dried cranberries 

·         30g raisins

·         30g flaked almonds

·         30g chopped pistachios 

Method

1.       Line a square tin with butter and baking paper, ideally around 18-20cm. 

2.       Place your butter, condensed milk, and sugar in a saucepan over low heat and stir until dissolved.

3.       Then turn the heat up and bring it to a boil for around 10 minutes, or until it’s reached 115c. 

4.       Remove from the heat and let it cool a little bit. As it thickens, gradually stir in the fruits and nuts until it cools to around 60c. It should have thickened and will begin to look matte. 

5.       Spoon into the lined tin, and smooth it out. Leave to chill and set for 3-8 hours before cutting it into squares. 

 What you'll need 

Saucepan

Ingredients

·         Your favourite red wine 

·         2 cinnamon sticks

·         3 cloves

·         2 star anise 

·         2 tbsp honey 

·         1 large orange, sliced

·         1 lemon zest strip

·         50ml of brandy 

Method

1.       Pour the red wine with all the flavourings (except the brandy) into a large pan or pot and heat on low for around 10 minutes. 

2.       Leave to cool and infuse for 30-40 minutes, before stirring in the brandy and serving. 

What better way to prep these delicious Christmas market recipes than with some nifty kitchen equipment and utensils? Gift your loved ones (or treat yourself!) this Christmas with VonHaus kitchen utensils, like baking trays and pans, or nab them a milk frother to enjoy homemade waffles with a cup of cocoa!