Christmas Day Brunch

Forget the boring bacon butty or the old smoked salmon and croissant combo. Go all out this Christmas and wow your guests with a brunch like no other…This is a guide to ‘Sleigh’in; Christmas Day Brunch

 

Maple Candied Bacon

This is oh so easy to make and with its sweet and salty taste it’s sheer perfection. Piled on top of some fluffy waffles it’s a real winner.

Ingredients

1 pack of streaky bacon

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup maple syrup

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Scoop the brown sugar into a shallow frying pan.

Pour the maple sugar into another shallow frying pan.

Take each strip of bacon and dunk it into the maple syrup, then the brown sugar. Place each strip on the baking sheets.

Place in the preheated oven and cook for about 15 minutes, turning once halfway through.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.

Pull each piece off the parchment paper and place on a plate to cool.

French toast bake

Transform your old sourdough into something seriously special this Christmas. Caramelised sugar and cinnamon bake to create French Toast like you never had before.

Ingredients

1 loaf sourdough bread

8 eggs

2 cups milk

½ cup double cream

¾ cup sugar

2 TB vanilla

Topping:

½ cup flour

½ cup brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. salt

½ cup cold butter, cut into pieces

Directions

Cut loaf into cubes and place evenly in a greased pan.

In a bowl, mix together eggs, milk, double cream, sugar and vanilla. Pour evenly over bread.

Cover your pan with Clingfilm and refrigerate overnight.

Mix together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl.

Cut in butter with this mixture until crumbly and place in a Ziploc bag and refrigerate overnight as well.

Take pan and Ziploc out when ready to bake. Sprinkle crumbly mixture evenly over the bread.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on how soft you like it.

 Skillet Corn

This is a great way to use up any leftover corn on the cob or even any old tins you have knocking about in the back of the cupboard. The flavour of the bacon with the corn is fabulous, toss in some butter and it’s a brunch must have.

Ingredients

1 pack of bacon cut into large pieces

4 to 6 ears of corn on the cob leftover so already cooked/ 4-6 tins corn

1/2 cup of butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat your grill to a medium heat.

On one side of the grill place the corn on the cob and allow it to char slightly. You want it to just gets bits of black here and there. Remove from grill and allow to cool slightly. Then use a knife or corn tool to remove the kernels. Place them in a bowl and set aside.

Pop the bacon in a skillet and allow to cook until it’s almost crisp, but not quite. This should take maybe 8 to 10 minutes depending on your heat.

Add the corn to the pan and stir it around to mix it in with the bacon. Allow to cook for about 5 to 8 minutes. You want it to just heat up and start to brown on the edges just slightly.

Add the butter, cook for about 5 minutes. You want to allow it to melt and mix with the corn and bacon perfectly.

Sprinkle some salt and pepper over top.

Remove carefully from the grill.

Transfer to a bowl.

 

Waffles

Jamie Oliver is the master of Christmas cooking these homemade waffles are no exception! Top them with the candied maple bacon for a brekkie like no other.

Ingredients

Two free range eggs

300ml milk

Pinch of salt

225g self-raising flour

100g unsalted butter

2 teaspoons baking powder

 Directions

To start his homemade waffle recipe, Jamie breaks two free range eggs into a large mixing bowl with 300ml of fresh milk and a pinch of salt. He whisks this all together.

Jamie then adds 225grams of self-raising flour to the mixture and continues to whisk, before adding his baking powder.

Then Jamie mixes in 100 grams of melted butter to create his perfect waffle batter.

Jamie explains that it’s best to leave the waffle batter to rest for around 30 minutes before cooking with it.

After the batter has rested and bubbles have formed, he pours it into a hot buttered griddle pan.

Jamie smooths the batter out over the entire surface of the pan and leaves to cook. He explains that you could pour smaller amounts in, creating individual waffles if you’re not happy with flipping such a large waffle.

Jamie advises that the waffle will take around 20 minutes to cook through. You should lift the edges occasionally to check for colour, and when it reaches a rich golden colour, you should flip the waffle to cook the other side.

Once the waffle has cooked through, Jamie’s tips it out of the griddle pan and spreads maple syrup generously over the top before cutting into long slices.