4 Christmas Unwrapped Welcome


It’s that time of year again — with a chill in the air, out come the jumpers, scarves and gloves and our thoughts turn to Christmas. And of course, that means agonising over what presents to buy. But never fear, we’ve pulled together some great gift ideas. For her, our suggestions range from spa days to timeless jewellery, while our gifts ideas for men include spiced gin and a smart speaker. We also reveal some great ways to fill your Christmas diary — from a Harry Potter studio tour to the UK’s best pantos, plus we review a family ski trip to France’s Alpe d’Huez. Finally, to help you stay healthy over the festive period, we’ve a round-up of natural remedies. Happy Christmas!


Inside


Gifts for her Page 10


Gifts for him Page 12


Gifts for children Page 23


Food & drink Page 26


Festive travel Page 38


Days & nights out Page 46


Christmas Unwrapped is distributed with The Guardian on behalf of APL Media Limited. The following content is provided by advertisers, and while every care is taken while compiling the contents, the publishers assume no responsibility in the effect rising therefrom. Readers should seek professional advice before acting on any information that is contained in the publication. Neither APL Media nor The Guardian accept any liability for views expressed, pictures used or claims made by advertisers. Interviewees or journalists are not associated with the advertisers featured in Christmas Unwrapped.


Lemon Yule log Extract from Le Cordon Bleu Pastry School, published by Grub Street. RRP: £35


INGREDIENTS Serves 10


Meringue decoration: • 1½ egg whites (50 g) • 50g sugar • 50g icing sugar, sifted • Zest of ¼ lemon


Lemon cream: • 1 gelatine leaf (2g) • 5 egg yolks (100g) • 1 egg (50g) • 50g sugar • 110ml lemon juice • Zest of 1 lemon • 250ml cream


Lemon ‘biscuit’ sponge: • 170g unsalted butter • 3 eggs (150g) • 165g sugar • Zest of 1 lemon • 50 ml lemon juice • 170g plain flour • ½ tsp baking powder • 200g chocolate- hazelnut spread


Lemon syrup: • 150ml water • 100g sugar • 30ml lemon juice


Decoration: • Unsweetened cocoa powder


Saturday 3rd November 2018


METHOD Meringue decorations Of the three types of meringue — French, Italian, Swiss — French meringue is the easiest to make. Unlike the others, you can use it to make entremets and cake deco- rations, such as small shells and batons, or use a biscuit cutter to cut out the shapes of your choice. It i It’s a simple way of adding a final flourish to your creations.


For the meringue decorations 1 Preheat the oven to 110C (gas


mark ¼). Line a baking tray with baking parchment. Grate the zest and add it to the French meringue


(see page 486). 2 Fill a piping bag fitted with the plain nozzle and pipe lines length-


ways over half of the baking tray. 3 Spread a layer of meringue about


3mm thick over the other half of the tray. Smooth with a palette knife, then use the biscuit cutter to cut out meringue stars. Bake for 1


hour 15 minutes. 4 For the lemon cream, soften


the gelatine leaf in a bowl of cold water. Whisk the egg yolks, egg and sugar in a bowl. Add the lemon juice and mix. Transfer to a pan and grate in the lemon zest. Cook, whisking constantly, until the


mixture comes to the boil. 5 Remove the pan from the heat.


Squeeze the gelatine to drain and incorporate into the mixture in the


pan. Refrigerate for 1 hour. 6 Whip the cream until it clings


to the tip of the whisk. Whisk the lemon cream to smooth, then fold in the whipped cream. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle.


For the lemon syrup 7 Combine the water, sugar and lemon juice in a pan and bring to


the boil. Leave to cool. 8 For the lemon ‘Biscuit’ sponge,


preheat the oven to 180C (gas mark 4). Melt the butter in a pan. In a bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar and lemon zest until the mixture turns pale and thickens. Add the lemon juice, then the flour and


baking powder, mixing well. 9 Add the warm melted butter.


10 Line the log mould with baking parchment and fill with the lemon ‘biscuit’ sponge mixture. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Leave to cool.


Assembly and decoration 11 Turn out the log and remove the


baking parchment. Slice the lemon ‘biscuit’ sponge across the middle and lay the two halves on a sheet of baking parchment. Brush the surface of both pieces with lemon


syrup to imbibe. 12 Pipe a line of lemon cream on


the cardboard cake board and lay the bottom lemon ‘biscuit’ sponge layer on top, with the cut side


facing upwards. 13 Use a silicone spatula to spread the chocolate-hazelnut spread over


the sponge. 14 Cover the sponge with a layer of


lemon cream. 15 Close the log by covering with


the other half of the lemon ‘biscuit’ sponge. Imbibe the surface with lemon syrup. Pipe lines of lemon cream lengthways over the entire surface of the log, and mask both ends. Finish by piping three small


balls of cream on the surface. 16 Break the meringue batons into


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pieces and decorate the Yule log. 17 Put the cocoa powder into a small bowl and use a brush to dust


the log. 18 Arrange the meringue stars over


the Yule log. Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.


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