Well, we made it past Halloween and now we can take a break from candy for a while … Or not, because the grocery stores are stocked floor to ceiling with Christmas goodies! The Quality Street has arrived in epic quantities. I’m suprised they don’t have their own plane, or at least a dedicated container on a ship. It would be fun to see them docking on Front Street — and maybe we could ask customs to reject all the weird blue ones that nobody likes. Not a fan of the green triangles either honestly!

But what happened to Christmas starting in December? Admittedly my fingers have been hovering over Michael Bublé on my playlist for a while, but I’ve managed to hold out so far. Partly because I feel like we need to get through Thanksgiving first, and partly because my eye-rolling teens simply won’t allow it.

Christmas is, without a doubt, my favourite time of year. And although I’ve always loved Bermuda, it took me a long time to acclimatise to a sunny Christmas on the beach. There’s something about freezing weather, the possibility of snow and cosying up inside with a fire that just makes things more … Christmassy! Still, we put the fire on the TV these days and I have to say, the glow, crackle and pop of the You Tube version is surprisingly festive.

I worry that if we start Christmas way too early, it stops feeling so special. However, I had a ton of comments last year that my Christmas recipes came too late in the day! So, for you early birds out there, here are two of my favourites. The Christmas morning muffins will make your kitchen smell amazing! Have some scrambled eggs for breakfast and then one of these for your carbs. The Christmas cake is a labour of love but as gluten-free recipes go, it is the most moist and tasty recipe I have ever tried! I only began liking fruit cake as an adult, but this one is delicious with a cup of Rooibos tea (feeling a little old as I type this!) Trust me, make them both and enjoy!

Gluten-free, dairy-free Christmas cake

Ingredients

175g Earth Balance vegan margarine (Down to Earth, Lindo’s)

110g molasses

75g Sucanat or soft, dark brown sugar

150ml soy, hemp or almond milk

110g dates, pitted and chopped

300g raisins

200g dried plums, chopped

110g dried or glace cherries, chopped

225g brown rice flour (Down to Earth, Harrington Hundreds, Lindo’s DV, ABC store)

2 tsp gluten-free baking powder (widely available)

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

110g ground almonds

2 lemons, the grated rind of

3 eggs

Method

1, Place the margarine, molasses, sugar and “milk” in a large pan along with all the dried fruit. Heat gently and stir until all the margarine has melted.

2, Simmer for 1 minute and then take off the heat and cover. Leave the fruit to “swell” for at least 2 hours – even overnight if you have time.

3, Line the base and sides of a round (8”) or square cake tin (7”) with baking paper. Make sure that the paper rises at least 5 cm above the rim of the tin.

4, Put all the other ingredients into a large mixing bowl and mix roughly.

5, Add the fruit mixture and mix by hand or using an electric mixer (not a blender!) on low speed. Mix well.

6, Pour the cake mix into the tin and smooth the surface with a wet knife.

7, Bake for 2 hours and 40 minutes at 250F.

8, Leave to cool in the tin until cold.

9, Ice as you would an ordinary Christmas cake, or make a “butter” icing using Earth Balance margarine, icing sugar and a little Goslings rum.

Christmas morning muffins (gluten and dairy free)

Ingredients (makes approx. 30 mini muffins)

5oz almond flour or ground almonds

3oz brown rice flour

1oz linwoods ground seed mix (from Miles – I used the ground sunflower, sesame, pumpkin, flax and goji mix)

2 ½ tsps baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

4oz Sucanat or brown sugar (plus extra for the topping)

4oz (weight) apple sauce (unsweetened)

1 tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

2 clementines/satsumas

Approx 350ml milk (I used Hemp, you could use any – obviously use dairy free if need be)

¼ cup melted coconut oil

2 eggs

4oz dried cranberries

Method

1, Get the eggs and “milk” to room temperature. Melt the oil in a small pan over a very low heat if yours isn’t already liquid.

2, Preheat the oven to 390F. Line the pan with muffin liners and spray lightly with coconut (or other) oil.

3, Mix the flours, seed mix, baking powder, bicarb soda, sucanet, cinnamon and nutmeg into a large bowl. Stir in the dried cranberries.

4, Zest the two satsumas over the flour mix, catching as much as you can.

5, In a large measuring jug, squeeze in the juice of the two satsumas. Now top this up with your milk until the 200ml mark. Whisk in the melted coconut oil, apple sauce and eggs. Make sure everything is at room temperature otherwise the coconut oil will harden. Whisk quickly!

6, Pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well but lightly.

7, Spoon into muffin cases and sprinkle the tops with a little sucanet.

8, Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes (seems a long time but they will need it) or until the tops are firm but springy.

9, Cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then move to a rack to cool.