When Christmas is on the horizon, you start to look for typical Christmas flavours. There’s something comforting about them that helps to get you in the mood for the big day!
When thinking about a sweet treat that sums up the season, we created our Christmas Tiffin -and not just any Christmas Tiffin, but a boozy Christmas Tiffin! (Optional, of course…).
Not only does our Christmas Tiffin have the tastes and flavours that capture the time of year as well as any hallmark card, but it also has a kick to it that is reminiscent of a Christmas pudding or cake.
Ok, so it may not be a mince pie or a Christmas pud, but enjoying a square of boozy Christmas Tiffin will undoubtedly put you in the mood, make you yearn for a carol or two and start the debate about the best Christmas movie.
In our house, it’s Love Actually, in case you’re curious.
What is Tiffin?
Before we help you make a Christmas Tiffin with a kick, we thought we’d explain what exactly Tiffin is. For Scots, it’s very simple; Tiffin is a homemade treat enjoyed in cafes and homes across the country.
I myself didn’t know the actual name of this treat, but I’d been eating it for years in England and New Zealand. I’d always heard it called Fridge Cake, which is a blunt name, to say the least.
It was a happy day when I discovered its real name!
So, why do we call it Tiffin, and why is it Scottish? When you search for the term, you might find it refers to a lunch in India or even a container to hold it.
However, in Scotland, it specifically refers to a tasty traybake made from crushed biscuits, butter, sugar, and raisins or cherries, all topped with a layer of melted chocolate.
Chocolate Tiffin is said, by Wikipedia at least, to have originated in Troon, Scotland, in the early 1900s, though I haven’t found any concrete evidence to support this claim.
We do know that it has been enjoyed and accepted here as Scottish for as long as anyone can remember, and that’s good enough for us!
We’ve shared our classic Chocolate Tiffin recipe before, as well as a variation in our Biscoff Tiffin. With the Christmas season upon us, we thought it was time for a Christmas version!
What is boozy Christmas Tiffin?
Boozy Christmas Tiffin is a simple invention, taking our own delicious Chocolate Tiffin recipe and mixing it up a little. We have added spices to make sure it has that Christmassy flavour, plus dried cranberries, and on top of all of that, we’ve added a good measure of spiced rum.
We chose spiced rum for this recipe because of the extra flavours it provides on top of the slight taste of the alcohol itself. You can, of course, use whisky, and this works just as well. But if you’re a fan of spiced rum, then pick the one whose flavour works best for you and enjoy!
We used Red Leg Rum in this batch due to its Vanilla and Ginger flavouring, but Dark Matter, a Scottish Spiced rum, also works well with its peppercorn, ginger, and allspice berry flavouring.
We soak the raisins in the rum so that they absorb the flavour and then tip them all into the mix.
If you’d prefer to leave out the alcohol, then that’s no problem! The spices added still help to give it the flavour of Christmas.
And that, as they say, is that. Our Christmas Tiffin is the treat with a kick that, for many, sums up the holiday period perfectly!
It’s the gift that keeps on giving. Enjoy!
Things you’ll need to make Boozy Christmas Tiffin
- 8x8inch cake tin (or 9inch for a thinner slice) – we like this one
- Microwave safe jug
- Ziplock bag and rolling pin for crushing the biscuits
- Baking paper for lining the tin
- Large saucepan
- Wooden spoon
Ingredients for Boozy Christmas Tiffin
- 300g Gingernuts (approx 30 biscuits)
- 150g Unsalted Butter (2/3 Cup or 5.3oz)
- 50g Golden Syrup (2.5 tbsp)
- 40g Cocoa Powder (5 tbsp)
- 40g Caster Sugar (3 tbsp)
- 100g Raisins (approx 3/4 Cup)
- 100g Dried Cranberries (approx 3/4 Cup)
- 200g Milk Chocolate (7oz)
- 50g White Chocolate (1.7oz)
- 3-4tbsp Spiced Rum
- 1 tbsp Mixed Spice (usually includes cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger if not available to you)
How to make Boozy Christmas Tiffin – Step-by-step Method
Place the raisins in a wide bowl with the spiced rum, cover with cling film and place in the fridge overnight or for a couple of hours before. If you don’t have time for this, then you can add them both to the recipe, but it helps to not make the cake too wet if the raisins have had some time to absorb the rum.
Grease and line a 20cm/8″ square tin with baking paper.
Put the gingernuts in a ziplock bag and crush them with the rolling pin, leaving some bigger chunks.
Melt the butter, sugar, golden syrup, and cocoa together in a large saucepan on the stovetop.
Once the mixture is melted together, remove from the heat and add the biscuits, raisin/rum mix and cranberries, ensuring they are well coated.
Transfer the mixture to your prepared tin and press it down into a compact, even layer with the back of a spoon.
Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30-second bursts on medium heat, stirring in between. Pour the melted chocolate over the top of the tiffin base, smoothing it out into an even layer by tilting the tray.
Melt the white chocolate and pour in 3-4 lines over the top, then take a skewer or toothpick and use it to swirl the white chocolate into the milk chocolate (optionally, just use all milk chocolate).
Place in the fridge for at least two hours to set.
Slice with a sharp knife and enjoy!
Simple Christmas Tiffin Recipe
This easy Christmas Tiffin Recipe combines all the flavours of Christmas in a simple traybake! Add spiced rum to make it a Boozy Christmas Tiffin!
Ingredients
- 300g Gingernuts (approx 30 biscuits)
- 150g Unsalted Butter (2/3 Cup or 5.3oz)
- 50g Golden Syrup (2.5 tbsp)
- 40g Cocoa Powder (5 tbsp)
- 40g Caster Sugar (3 tbsp)
- 100g Raisins (approx 3/4 Cup)
- 100g Dried Cranberries (approx 3/4 Cup)
- 200g Milk Chocolate (7oz)
- 50g White Chocolate (1.7oz)
- 3-4tbsp Spiced Rum
- 1 tbsp Mixed Spice (usually includes cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger if not available to you)
Instructions
- Place the raisins in a wide bowl with the spiced rum, cover with cling film and place in the fridge overnight or for a couple of hours before. If you don't have time for this, then you can add them both to the recipe, but it helps to not make the cake too wet if the raisins have had some time to absorb the rum.
- Grease and line a 20cm/8″ square tin with baking paper.
- Put the gingernuts in a ziplock bag and crush them with the rolling pin, leaving some bigger chunks.
- Melt the butter, sugar, golden syrup, and cocoa together in a large saucepan on the stovetop.
- Once the mixture is melted together, remove from the heat and add the biscuits, raisin/rum mix and cranberries, ensuring they are well coated.
- Transfer the mixture to your prepared tin and press it down into a compact, even layer with the back of a spoon.
- Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30-second bursts on medium heat, stirring in between. Pour the melted chocolate over the top of the tiffin base, smoothing it out into an even layer by tilting the tray.
- Melt the white chocolate and pour in 3-4 lines over the top, then take a skewer or toothpick and use it to swirl the white chocolate into the milk chocolate (optionally, just use all milk chocolate).
- Place in the fridge for at least two hours to set.