Some recipes only seem to come out of the cupboard once a year. Christmas has a way of bringing back cakes, biscuits and desserts that we may rarely prepare during the other eleven months.

Part of this comes from tradition. A handwritten family recipe, an old cookbook or a particular set of biscuit cutters can become associated with December simply because they have been used at Christmas for years.

Seasonal ingredients play their part too. Orange, cinnamon, ginger, nuts, chocolate and dried fruit immediately find their way back into the kitchen. A simple cake can become a Christmas dessert with citrus and spice, while familiar biscuit dough can be cut into stars and trees.

These recipes are also closely connected to place. Gingerbread appears in different forms across northern and central Europe, panettone belongs to the Italian Christmas table and the French bûche de Noël has countless regional and family variations. Travelling introduces us to still more traditions that can eventually find their way into our own kitchens.

Not every Christmas recipe needs to be elaborate. Baking biscuits with children, making a cake for afternoon coffee or preparing something from an old family cookbook can become as much a part of Christmas as the main festive meal.

Over time, the recipes we repeat become part of how we remember Christmas and sometimes the ones we pass on to the next generation.

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