Above all, she reminds the reader how much pleasure there is to be had in real food and in reclaiming the traditional rhythms of the kitchen. Lawson attended Godolphin and Latymer School and Westminster School before graduating from Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, with a degree in Medieval and Modern Languages. Her cakes, as always, gladden the heart, and her ‘At-a-Glance Christmas Dinner Countdown’ helps take the stress and strain out of the Big Day itself. Discover the joy of reading with us, your trusted source for affordable books that do not compromise on quality.

I really love this cookbook and it would make such a great Christmas gift for the cook or aspiring cook on your list. She has also co-hosted, with David Aaronovitch, Channel 4 books discussion programme 'Booked' in the late 1990s, and was an occasional compere of BBC2's press review 'What the Papers Say', as well as appearing on BBC radio. Whatever the opposite of the currently still fashionable genre, the misery memoir, might be, this is it: a comfort chronicle.Just in time for Christmas, Nigella Lawson has brought us a wonderful Christmas gift in her new cookbook Nigella Christmas. In which Nigella wraps her mouth-hole around the impossible task of cooking everything that begins with an 'F' in a demented Scrabble instruction manual. Her Furby recipe is to die for, but her attempt to BBQ the cast of Friends leads to multiple lawsuits. From the wonderful German Baking by Jürgen Krauss, I bring you with great cheer his Apple Marzipan Tart and splendid Stollen, Dresden-Style. Oh dear: I am trying to keep this brief, but am finding it difficult as there is just so much food to celebrate at Christmas.

Nigella’s note: “I’m happy with it unfrosted, just left plain or perhaps snowily dusted with icing sugar, but if you want you can (as I do if it is for a bake sale) make a sharply contrasting icing by sieving 175g icing sugar and mixing it till thick and spreadable with a tablespoon of lemon juice and one of warm water. With her no-nonsense approach and inspirational ideas, combined with reassuring advice and easy-to-follow, reliable recipes, Nigella Christmas is guaranteed to bring comfort and joy, and make sure the season of goodwill stays that way.I'll admit that I'm not overly keen on fruit cake, but having declared I would bring dessert to my in-laws for Christmas I decided on this.

As will Sam Dixon’s Very Vegan Christmas, a beautiful little book with so much in it, from which, I’m happy to bring you her Vegan Christmas Cake and Vegan Mincemeat Pancakes.

About the Author: Nigella Lawson has written eleven bestselling cookery books including the classics How to Eat and How To Be A Domestic Goddess - the book that inspired a whole new generation of bakers. There is even a schedule on how she handles Christmas Eve and Day and also alternatives to the traditional turkey if you're looking for that. Rich rich chocolate pudding and sauce- would benefit from creme fraiche or ice cream to cut through . I could distinctly "hear" her speaking the introduction while I read it, and that made the words even more enjoyable.

And my Christmas tradition – which for me marks the start of my own festive season – involves making up a batch of Edible Christmas Decorations with my children.After a pomegranate, the lychee feels the most seasonally celebratory of fruits, and it didn’t seem fair to leave it out of the Christmas canon, just because of its unfestive pallor.