A 2023 London Christmassy Round Up
My London Christmas Baked Goods Hit List from the 20+ mince pies and 30+ other festive items I've tried this season, plus a few I haven't. More news & plans for this Substack + a new bakery in London!
I started writing this on Monday and I flipped over to my email to see …. new subscriber notifications.
Lots of them.
So, I restarted my introduction to this week saying, essentially: hi! how did you get here? 😅
Then, a few hours later, I got an email with this:
😵
I can’t tell you stunned I was and how thrilling it felt, and still feels.
I may or may not have jumped up and down on my own in my office. 😁🤐
To have the Substack team suggest people subscribe to MY Substack feels like the most exciting and validating thing. 🥰
Thanks to every one of you for reading!
I hope I can help (or continue to help!) you to find delicious things to make your week more joyful.
If you’re new here, I make the locations bold and the items I’m referring to bold and italic so you can scan the email if you’re busy.
Usually I provide the headlines at the beginning, too. This week:
A reminder about the online Mystery Chocolate Tasting next year 🥰
My favourite festive treats this year
What’s a Bûche de Noél?
All the mince pies I tried this year
Where I’m off to… 🌏
A new London bakery opened today!
What’s coming up for this Substack
My Top 6 Mince Pies for 2023 (paid subscribers only)
This week a small part of this newsletter will be for paid subscribers only.
There’s still plenty for all of you to seek out though!
If you’re thinking of becoming a paid subscriber, I’m going to donate the first month (or equivalent if you sign up for a year) of all new subscriptions (including gift subscriptions) before Christmas to Médicines sans Frontières. (Medical staff working in all war zones and beyond.)
In case you missed the announcement last week (before the featured substack thing! 😅):
The paid subscription prices are going up on Christmas Day, but if you subscribe before then it locks in the current prices (only £4.50/month! Or £44 for the year which works out to 84.6p per week) for as long as you (or the person you’re buying for!) stays subscribed.
Come and join me live on Zoom next year!
There are still spots on my one-off reprisal of the Mystery Chocolate Tastings planned for 8pm Wednesday 6th March 2024.
Frankly, there will likely be spots up until I head to Chocoa in Amsterdam in early February to choose and collect the chocolate for the tasting, but I am reminding you now in case you want to get it sorted as a gift for someone! ☺️
I’d love to see you there! I’m thrilled that quite a few of you have signed up already. ☺️
If you want to know more, click here and, if you buy, then I’ll send you the non-redacted version of this image/pdf if you’d like to print it as a gift. 😊
On to this week’s Delicious Things!
Thanks for bearing with the long preamble.
I’ve tried 28 mince pies (actually 31 if you count varieties from the same place) since the beginning of December and a bunch (more than 30) of other Christmas items.
I wanted to share some of my favourites.
The top mince pies are behind the pay wall. Soz. 😘
But…
here are the Christmas bakery and chocolate items for your list:
Please do seek out Sourdough Sophia’s Bailey’s Cruffin (video link to recent video of it and inside the bakery).
The Jolene Mince Pie croissant was on the sweeter side of how I prefer filled croissants, but it didn’t stop me eating and enjoying it all.
I haven’t tried (it wasn’t out when I went) the Trifle Bun from Fortitude Bakehouse but I’m intrigued by it. Have you had it?
I also didn’t make it to Chatsworth Bakehouse to try their Mince Galette but my friend
recommends it.I did love Popham’s boozy mincemeat and cream filled pastry made with The King’s Ginger Liquor.
I enjoyed the Stollen Bun from Maya’s Bakehouse and the mini stollen at Claridge’s Art Space, plus the light stollen slice at Le Cordon Bleu Café.
I loved the mini Blackforest Yule Log (Bûche de Noël) from Le Deli Joel Rubuchon and I’m coveting Le Choux’s Yule Logs which they’re also selling by the slice in the lead up to Christmas. I don’t think there’s a product that founder Abigail Scheuer makes that I haven’t loved.
What’s with Bûche de Noël / Yule Logs at Christmas?
It was apparently both a Celtic and a Norse winter solstice tradition to carefully select an enormous log to light and keep burning - whether for three days or twelve, or something in between, I couldn’t determine for sure. (Would anyone even know for sure?)
This was a symbol of light coming from darkness, as the days tipped into growing longer.
Before lighting the log, it would be sprinkled with water, wine, salt and/or holy water, to encourage good harvests and good health for the following year.
The ashes were supposed to ward off lightening strikes and were even used in medicines throughout the year.
At first these were lit in communal fire pits in the forest, then they moved to the hearth of people’s homes and, as it became less common to have a wood fire, people would often bring in a ceremonial log or display a model of one.
As Christianity spread, the tradition was absorbed as a symbol of Christ bringing light into the world.
Supposedly, the first recorded Swiss Roll (or jelly roll, if you’re in North America) which was decorated and served as a Bûche de Noël - or Yule Log - was in the 19th Century in France.
You’ll see them as a cake or dessert everywhere across the U.K. and Europe now - in individual portions and larger ones to share, but they are most easily found in France.
My favourite Harrods Christmas chocolate from their collection of three was the Mandarin and Gingerbread one that chocolatier Bastien Carriou gave me to try.
Both the Harrods and the Connaught Christmas patisserie range looks beautiful.
I only managed to try the Harrods chocolate Yule log slice (wonderful, as you’d expect from my favourite chocolate cake maker in London) and the panettone bread and butter pudding which I was initially nonplussed by, until I discovered the whisky-laced chocolate cream at the bottom of it, which totally elevated it into a standout dessert. It probably would have been even better warm.
My Instagram friend Poppy who runs themunchbrunchkids created a reel of her Festive Favourites here. Despite all I’ve tried, I’ve only tasted one of the things in her list. 🤣
London is vast. 🤷🏻♀️
If you’ve seen something I haven’t mentioned and are curious as to whether I tried it but it didn’t make the cut, or if you want to let me know of something you have tried and love (it’s totally ok if you’re the baker that created it! 😄), then please let me know:
in the comments,
by restacking this on Notes (I think if you try to select a section then Substack gives you the option to share it in Notes?), or
by replying to this email!
2023 London Mince Pies
In case you’re new, or forgot, you might be interested to know that Felicity Cloake, Calum Franklin and I sat down last December to discuss 12 mince pies and the history of mince pies and how to make better ones. You can watch it on YouTube here or listen on any Podcast app (links to the episode for most of the major apps are on this page). (The podcast is also called The Next Delicious Thing.)
This is the full (I think! 🤪) list of mince pies I’ve tried in the last three weeks:
In no particular order…
Toad Bakery
Seasons
Dirty Blonde Bakery
Jolene
Pomme
Blondie’s Cookie Kitchen
Sourdough Sophia
E5 Bakehouse
St John’s Bakery
Bread Ahead
Fortitude
Ottolenghi
Harrods (not the ones they bake in house, sadly)
Taylor’s
Toklas
Oreé
The Proof
William Curley
Kuro Bakery
Selfridges mini ones x 4 varieties
Pump Street Bakery
Watchhouse
Ladureé
Bageriet
Ole & Steen
Gail’s
La Bakerie, Wanstead
Tarn Bakery
Populations
Would you believe I’m not sick of them yet? 😄
✈️
Next week - and for most of January - I’ll be in Melbourne (Australia)
I wrote four posts from my last visit to Melbourne in January this year, so I’ll probably only share one post about the new things I’ll try this time.
Here are the links to the Melbourne posts:
The best Melbourne Bakeries Part 1
The best Melbourne Bakeries Part 2
I’ll still be emailing each week!
Did you think you were getting rid of me so easily? 😜
I’m going via Kuala Lumpur for 24 hours and I’m not sure I’ll get to sample much, but would you still like me to share the places I had recommended to me from people I trust?
If you have anywhere to recommend please let me know!
Either for KL or for Melbourne!
If you’re not able to comment please email me at jenniferearle@substack.com or reply to this if it’s landed in your inbox!
I may have some more London items to catch up on to share with you, as well.
Not least that Tarn Bakery is open!
Yes, you might have seen them in the mince pie list (and it was fantastic!).
Today was their first day! They’ll be open until Saturday 23rd January and then closed again until the 10th January when they’re planning to open Wednesday to Saturday.
I popped by this morning, but this email is long enough already so I will tell you all about it next week - or keep an eye on my social media to see a video I’ll create.
For now all you need to know is that it’s as brilliant as we all hoped and expected!
📌 83 Hazellville Rd, N19 3 NB
NEAREST STATIONS: Crouch Hill and Archway
What I will definitely be doing whilst I’m away is…
sharing some of my fellow food obsessive’s answers to some questions.
🎉
If you have particular questions you want me to ask, or people you want to hear from, please let me know! (Again, my email - jenniferearle@substack.com or by reply, or commenting).
Next week we’ll hear from my friend and fellow semi-vegetarian, dessert-obsessed friend and food writer,
.If you’re not a paid subscriber then I’m going to wish you a happy and safe Christmas break now and I look forward to being back in your inbox next week!
lots of love and thanks for being here,
Jen xx
Read on for…
My 6 favourite Mince Pies for 2023
An initial caveat: This year I haven’t …