Only 12 more sleeps until Christmas! But that doesn’t mean bakeries are finished for the festive season. There’s a host of NPD yet to be explored.
Most retailers revealed their festive ranges in the summer, but Morrisons added to its offer this week by whipping out a surprise treat of a three-course Christmas dinner in a pasty.
Here’s a sample of what else is in store before the big day:
Crosstown Doughnuts
Dough-not miss out on Crosstown’s four-strong festive range, including vegan-friendly options, which tap into classic festive flavours but with a twist.
There’s the Gingerbread Cake doughnut, made with gingerbread dough filled with cranberry compote and topped with clementine icing, a candied clementine and gingerbread crumble. Also joining the range is the Christmas Crème Brûlée doughnut, filled with vanilla and calvados cream custard with a sprinkling of Christmas pudding.
Vegans can indulge in the Vegan Winter Fruit Crumble, filled with a spiced apple, pear and quince compote topped with quince icing and a maple pecan crumble. Plus, Crosstown has created a vegan-friendly version of its Mince Pie bite-sizeddoughnut, with fruit mince and brandy icing.
Lily Vanilli
East London bakery Lily Vanilli has teamed up with Branston Pickle to create an alternative festive range. Following the success of its Cheese & Pickle Mince Pies last year, the firm has created Picklebread Men – a savoury twist on the festive favourite gingerbread men. The men are made from flour, butter, Cheddar and Branston Pickle, topped with a pickle glaze. Also joining the menu is a Branston Pickle Christmas Pudding with a melt-in-the-middle mozzarella ball.
Abuelo
London’s Antipodean-meets-South American coffee house and kitchen is celebrating the Christmas festivities with two limited-edition cakes. First up is The Dirty Chai (right) – a chai sponge with espresso buttercream, decorated with rosemary, berries and flowers. Also available is The Rum Ball (left) which features a chai sponge with vanilla buttercream and salted caramel topped with rum balls.
Doughnut Time
Let’s get glazed – that’s Doughnut Time’s attitude to Christmas! It has certainly got creative, as expected, when it comes to naming its festive fare as well. There’s the vegan Santa Bae Bae, with vanilla buttercream, dark chocolate cookie pieces and chocolate chip cookie dough, the Nutella-filled Make It Rein, topped with white chocolate buttons, pretzels and a gummy sweet nose, and the vegan-friendly Sleigh My Name, with vanilla frosting and chocolate sprinkles.
Doughnut Time has also introduced Lindt Eastwood with chocolate salted caramel, chocolate ganache, gold sprinkles, gold leaf and a Lindt reindeer. Sticking with the animal theme there’s P.I.G Actually topped with strawberry glaze, Christmas sprinkles and Percy Pigmas.
Hummingbird Bakery
Christmas cake is evolving – fruit cake is no longer compulsory, neither is fondant icing. For proof, look no further than Hummingbird Bakery’s Christmas range, which includes the Christmas Unicorn Rainbow Cake, with vanilla sponge cake and frosting, as well as the Christmas Chocolate Orange Cake, with chocolate orange sponge and frosting. Red velvet and ginger variants are also available.
The bakery is also offering festive cupcakes, including the Christmas Spice Cupcake that combines spices and mixed fruits with a splash of brandy, topped with a chai frosting.
There’s even a vegan-friendly Christmas Cupcake Box at Hummingbird Bakery, with two red velvet, two vanilla and two chocolate cupcakes with festive designs.
Dawn Foods
Dawn is helping bakers get in the spirit with two easy-to-use festive decorations – Dawn White Chocolate Flake bars and Dobla-branded Christmas White Chocolate Donut Toppers (pictured).
The flake bar can be used to top cakes, desserts or hot drinks, while bakers simply place the topper on a warm doughnut and watch the decoration melt for an eye-catching finish. These ‘transfers’ are made using a natural source colour and are vegetarian-friendly.
Subway
Subway is getting in on the Christmas sandwich action this year with its Christmas Cracker Sub (pictured), filled with turkey, streaky bacon, cranberry & orange chutney, pork & sage stuffing, and gravy. Shoppers can also get the fillings in a Christmas Cracker Signature Loaded Wrap as well. For a sweet finish, there’s the Chocolate & Orange Cookie.
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