GERMAN kitchens are the place to be during December, as Anja Dunk’s Advent testifies. Beginning with seasonal “almost unbearable” expectation and the tradition of baking a “saltbread” Advent wreath, the book segues effortlessly into the Bunter Teller, a plate of assorted bite-sized cakes and biscuits always on hand to offer friends and relatives who call by during the “magic time” of the Advent weeks.
Arranged like an Advent calendar itself in 24 chapters, the book offers recipes with marzipan (including how to make your own), Stollen, cinnamon roast almonds, the Christbrot dried-fruit Christmas bread, truffles, spiced chocolate and prune fudge cake, hearts and swirls, rusks and rolls. There are notes on vegan and gluten-free bakes, too.
It’s likewise a manual for cooking with children, with plenty for them to get stuck into. With Dunk’s own homely photographs and stylish linocuts, this visual feast will help any kitchen find Advent meaning.
The Revd Simon Walsh is a Church Times cookery writer.
Advent: Festive German bakes to celebrate the coming of Christmas
Anja Dunk
Quadrille £25
(978-1-78713-726-4)