At this time of year there is a panoply of gorgeous hampers available, full of carefully-sourced treats, in irresistibly beautiful containers and packaging, and in all price ranges. You only have to look at Abraham’s Vini e Capricci website to be tempted into a seasonal splurge.

However, on the off-chance that you might have a free afternoon between now and Christmas, I offer you a few recipes for home-made sweet treats that will appeal to your friends – and won’t put Abraham out of business, I’m sure. Jars of unusual preserves, caramels and a rich golden cake, will make stocking-fillers as well as most acceptable hostess gifts. Hunt out some pretty tins and elegant jars and ribbons, gather together some friends or family to help you and while you are at it, perhaps make a batch of mince pies too, for a pleasurable few hours which, in turn will give pleasure to the recipients.

If you can get fresh or frozen cranberries, they make one of the easiest of all preserves, setting very readily because of the amount of pectin in the berries.

I find they combine best with orange flavours, anything from kumquats to bitter oranges, but most of all I like the deep fragrance and flavour of mandarins, in season at the same time of year.

Turkey is not the only thing that likes cranberry sauce. It accompanies any game or poultry and is also rather good with cheese and makes an unusually good filling for chocolate cake.

I learned how to make saffron cake when I wrote and presented a television series in the west country some years ago, visiting Warren’s bakery in the far-flung west of Cornwall, in Poldark country. It makes a lovely addition to the Christmas baked goods with its bright colour, heart-warming flavour and rich texture. This rich yeast bread is excellent for tea, for breakfast, when it toasts well or for packed lunches spread with curd or cream cheese and sprinkled with chopped walnuts. In Cornwall it is toasted and spread with clotted cream and then a trickle of treacle, a local treat known as ‘thunder and lightning’. Some use golden syrup, others use black treacle, which the name would seem to suggest. Nice with local honey too.

Saffron cake

(Makes a 1 kilo loaf or 2 smaller loaves)

few strands of saffron
150ml boiling water
750g strong white flour
1 ½ tsps Gozo salt
1 sachet (7g) fast action dried yeast
75g unsalted butter, diced
250ml cold water
200g seedless golden raisins or sultanas
75g mixed candied peel
1 to 2 tbsps orange flower water or rosewater (optional)

Put the saffron in a bowl and pour on a little of the boiling water. In another bowl mix the dry ingredients, rub in the butter and then add all the liquids, including the saffron liqueur, then the dried fruit and peel, plus the flower water if using it and mix together. When the dough is thoroughly mixed, knead it for 10 minutes on a floured surface until smooth and elastic. Divide and shape as appropriate and place in greased tins or, if making buns, a cottage loaf shape or plait on a greased baking sheet. Cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rise until doubled in volume. Bake in a preheated oven, 200°C, gas mark 6 for about 35 to 40 minutes if a large loaf, 30 minutes if two small ones and 15 to 20 minutes for buns.

Cook’s note: if making the dough in the food processor, do not add the fruit and peel until you have turned the dough out onto the work surface, otherwise you will have a sticky mass of broken up fruit and peel.

Cranberry and mandarin preserve

(Makes about 4 x 400 jars)

6 or 8 mandarins
450g fresh or frozen cranberries
500g granulated or preserving sugar

Peel the mandarins and cut the peel of two of them into thin shreds – the rest can be discarded or used for marmalade. Put the peel in a saucepan, cover with water and simmer until almost tender. Transfer to a larger saucepan, together with the cranberries and the chopped segments of all the mandarins. Add about 300ml water and cook gently until all the cranberries have popped. Remove from the heat and stir the sugar into the hot fruit. Once the sugar has dissolved, bring the mixture to the boil and keep it boiling until it reaches setting point, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and pot the sauce in hot, sterilised jars, seal and label.

Chocolate salt caramels and salt caramel sauce

150g salted butter
1 spoon Gozo sea salt
60g Gozo honey
300g granulated sugar
150ml double cream
100g bar 70 per cent or 85 per cent chocolate, according to taste

A sugar thermometer is very useful for this recipe, as for any other confectionery recipes. Line a 20 cm x 20 cm baking pan with baking parchment or container of similar dimensions.

Mix 30g butter with the sea salt and put to one side. In a heavy-based saucepan heat the honey and sugar with three tablespoons of water until the sugar has dissolved, then cook briskly until you have a light brown caramel. Stir in the cream and the rest of the butter, cook for eight to 10 minutes until the mixture reaches between the ‘soft ball’ stage and ‘hard ball’ stage; 120°C to 122°C is just right. Remove from the heat, stir in the remaining salt and butter mixture and pour into the prepared pan. Leave the caramel to set at cool room temperature for 24 hours then cut into squares or rectangles.

It is an easy matter to make chocolate caramels once cooled. Melt the chocolate in a small bowl and using two thin forks dip in the caramels one at a time, turning them and letting the excess chocolate fall back into the bowl. Carefully place on an oiled marble slab to set or on greaseproof paper set on the work top.

Salt caramel sauce

Cook the mixture to only 104°C, the same temperature as required for jam making. Remove from the heat and pot it in sterilised jars. Once cool, refrigerate the jars and use it as a marvellous sauce for apple tarts or vanilla ice cream.

Cook the same mixture little further, to 120°C, you will have salidou, something like a salt caramel preserve which is made in Brittany. Pot it in sterilised jars, seal and label. Once opened, it should be refrigerated and used within three to four weeks. This makes the best possible filling for a coffee caramel walnut cake. And, of course, you can make flavoured salt caramel jam, adding a tablespoon or two of strong espresso coffee or a few squares of strong dark chocolate; 85 per cent works very well.