Your Christmas baking ingredients checklist

This has to be my favourite baking time of the year.

Fresh mince pies, golden and with a hint of citrus, hot from the oven. Perhaps eaten with a dollop of cream.

Or the crunch of a spiced gingerbread biscuit, perfect with a cup of tea as an afternoon treat.

Perhaps you’re already planning to bake plenty of festive treats in the run up to Christmas.

Or you’d like to start and want to get organised.

Each year I make a wishlist of bakes and begin working out what ingredients are needed.

There’s nothing more annoying than getting halfway through a recipe only to find a key ingredient missing, with no substitute to hand.

So to help you plan ahead I thought I’d share with you my list of cupboard staples – the most common ingredients used across many Christmas bakes.

Then you can enjoy baking a delicious treat at home – a perfect activity for colder, darker days in winter.

1. Make a list and check it twice

In fact, make a couple of lists.

First up, make a list of what you’d like to bake – a favourite afternoon of mine is spent looking through recipe books, magazine and online for some inspiration. 

Then list out what ingredients you need for each recipe.

You’ll probably find that there are a number of ingredients you can use across several recipes.

To help, below is a list of common cupboard staple ingredients I use across a range of Christmas bakes.

Start with this and add in anything else you need, including perishable items such as eggs, butter and milk.

Plain flour

Self-raising flour

Baking powder

Dried yeast

Caster sugar

Light brown sugar

Muscavado sugar

Vanilla essence

Raisins

Sultanas

Currants

Dried chopped mixed peel

Glace cherries

Ground cinnamon

Ground nutmeg

Ground mixed allspice

Ground ginger

Cocoa powder

Dark and milk chocolate

Golden syrup

Honey

Icing sugar

Sprinkles to decorate cakes and biscuits with

Walnuts, pecans

Ground almonds

Marzipan

Mincemeat

Brandy, rum or whisky (optional – to soak your Christmas cake or stollen fruit)

2. Take stock

Once you’ve made your list, go through your cupboards and see what you’ve already got.

You might find that you’ve already got many of the ingredients you need.

Have a check that everything is still in date – it’s a great time for a cupboard clear out – and update your list with what you still need to buy.

If you’re not planning to bake straight away, you could still start to buy ingredients with longer shelf lives. Keep an eye out for discounts on baking ingredients, for example around Stir-up Sunday towards the end of November. 

3. What about baking equipment?

Then check the baking equipment you’ve got.

You shouldn’t need anything too out of the ordinary.

Baking trays and tins are often enough for most Christmas bakes.

Below is a list of key equipment that I use time and again in the kitchen for my Christmas bakes. 

Baking tray

Mince pie tray

Scales

Bowls

Spatula

Rolling pin

Baking paper

Paper muffin and cupcake cases

Measuring jug

Grater

Cooling racks

Pastry and biscuit cutters

4. Get baking!

Once you’ve stocked up on all the ingredients and equipment, it’s time to get baking!

Why not try this recipe for stollen bites on my blog? Packed with rum-soaked fruit and a delicious sweet taste, baking it will fill your home with wonderful festive scents!