A Season of Sweet Traditions: The Story Behind Our Festive Bakes
- Stergios Kozakis
- Nov 15
- 6 min read
“There’s a moment each year, just as the days grow shorter and the fairy lights return, when the scent of winter begins to settle into the air.”
London glows a little warmer, coffees taste a little sweeter, and suddenly we’re craving the familiar comfort of bakes that feel like a warm hand wrapped around a hot cup of coffee.
This is the season when baking becomes more than a craft. It becomes a story, one woven through families, memories, and the small rituals that make Christmas feel like Christmas.
At Simple Bakes, our own story blends Mediterranean heritage with London’s vibrant culinary culture, turning festive traditions into modern bakes designed for cosy homes, bustling coffee shops, and every sweet moment in between.
Why We Bake at Christmas
Long before Christmas became a glittering season of lights and gifts, winter was a time when people gathered to celebrate warmth and survival. Baking became a way of honouring the year’s final harvest, using precious ingredients like nuts, dried fruits, spices, and honey, foods reserved for special occasions.
Spices such as cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg were once treasured luxuries brought from far-off lands. To bake with them was to celebrate abundance and mark the turning of the year with hope and joy.
Today, even with cupboards full of ingredients, the ritual remains the same:
festive baking is our way of slowing down, sharing sweetness, and gathering the people we love around the table.
Whether you’re brewing a morning espresso in a café or sharing a traybake with friends at home, festive baking still carries that same sense of gathering, gratitude, and hope for the year ahead.
British Traditions We’ve Come to Love
Here in the UK, Christmas is truly a baker’s season. From mince pies to Christmas puddings, each recipe carries centuries of history and a flavour that feels like pure celebration.
Mince Pies
Originally savoury, fortified with meat and spices, mince pies slowly transformed into the sweet, fruit-filled beauties we enjoy today. Their rich mixture of dried fruits, peel, warming spices and, of course, a splash of something spirited has become a defining taste of the British festive season.
Whether enjoyed with a flat white or after dinner with mulled wine, they are the flavour of December itself.
Christmas Cake & Christmas Pudding
Slow-baked, fruit-rich, dark and beautifully spiced, these are true winter celebrations. Stirring the fruit mix, feeding the cake, and serving the first slice are rituals that bring a sense of heritage to every café counter and family table.
Mediterranean Traditions That Warm the Season
Coming from Mediterranean heritage, we carry our own festive flavours: orange, almond, honey, walnuts, pistachios, rose water, mahlep, masticha, ingredients that turn every bite into sunshine, even in winter.
Melomakarona & Kourabiedes
Greek Christmas tables glow with these classics: honey-soaked cookies scented with orange and spices, and snowy almond butter biscuits that melt on the tongue. They are as much about celebration as they are about togetherness.
Baklava & Festive Pies
Layers of crisp filo, toasted nuts, and syrup infused with citrus or spice bring lightness and indulgence to the cold months. These flavours have inspired many of our own Christmas creations at Simple Bakes, marrying the comfort of tradition with the curiosity of modern baking.
Where Traditions Meet Modern Creativity
Our favourite part of festive baking? The moment old recipes meet new ideas.
London has taught us to think playfully, to take timeless flavours and reimagine them with unexpected ingredients and lighter, more inclusive recipes.
That’s how our mince pies developed into:
✨ Pistachio Baklava Mince Pies with Orange Crumble
✨ Chilli Chocolate & Rum Mince Pies with Matcha–Beetroot Pastry
✨ No-Alcohol Matcha Pastry Mince Pies
and many more.
Christmas baking is an evolving language.
While we honour classic recipes, we also embrace creativity, pairing British favourites with Mediterranean notes, bringing unexpected colours, textures and flavours to festive menus.
We also believe tradition should be inclusive.
That’s why many of our festive bakes are now crafted in gluten-free or vegan versions, not as afterthoughts, but as recipes developed with care and respect.
Because everyone deserves a moment of festive sweetness,
and our cafés and customers deserve bakes that taste just as rich, tender and flavourful as the originals.
Some traditions remain beautifully classic, others are reinvented, but every recipe begins with the same intention: joy.
Festive Bakes for Coffee Shops & Cosy Homes
Whether you’re a coffee shop looking to fill your counter with bakes that spark conversation, or an individual customer wanting something special for the season, festive treats carry a kind of magic:
The way a Christmas loaf pairs perfectly with a flat white on a cold morning.
The way a spiced traybake makes a rainy London afternoon feel brighter.
The way a mince pie, warm, flaky, sweet, can turn even the busiest day into a moment of calm.
These bakes invite people to pause, gather, and enjoy something made with care.
The Heart of Christmas Baking
More than anything, Christmas baking is about connection.It’s sharing slices, stories, memories, passing plates around family tables or café counters where strangers become regulars, and regulars become friends.
Each festive bake we create carries the warmth of the Mediterranean, the charm of British tradition, and the creativity of modern London. These flavours tell our story, and we’re honoured to share it with every customer, every café and every festive table we’re welcomed into.
Because in the end, Christmas isn’t just a season.It’s a feeling, and every bake is a reminder of how sweet that feeling can be.
Introducing Our Christmas Collection
This year, our festive kitchen has been busier, and more magical, than ever. We proudly present a Christmas collection shaped by British tradition, enriched with Mediterranean warmth, and touched with the creativity of modern London baking.
Each bake is crafted in small batches using carefully sourced ingredients, rich spices, sun-soaked fruits and nuts, and the kind of slow, thoughtful methods that make the season feel special. We bake freshly, slowly, thoughtfully and without shortcuts, the way festive treats deserve to be made.
Our Festive Line-Up Includes
British Classics, Reimagined
Mini Christmas Loaf Cakes, fruit-packed, brandy-soaked, soft and deeply spiced, topped with icing and delicate marzipan decorations.
Classic Mince Pies, buttery, aromatic and beautifully rich, crafted with our signature fruit mix and no alcohol options.
Christmas Pudding Bars, rum-soaked fruits, toasted nuts and warming spices, finished with festive marzipan touches.
Spiced Christmas Traybake with Kahlúa & Rose Water, fragrant, soft and bright with citrus, nuts and a gentle hint of rose.
Marzipan Blondies (No Alcohol), fudgy, fragrant squares filled with orange-soaked dried fruits and topped with marzipan decoration.
Greek Festive Favourites
A celebration of heritage, warmth and golden sweetness, these are the flavours of a Mediterranean Christmas:
Melomakarona, soft, spiced, walnut-studded biscuits dipped in fragrant honey syrup.
Kourabiedes, buttery almond biscuits dusted with a snowy layer of icing sugar.
Greek Baklava, crisp filo, toasted nuts and aromatic syrup layered into festive perfection.
Karydopita (Walnut Cake), moist, syrup-soaked and gently spiced with citrus and cloves.
Ekmek Kataifi, layers of kataifi pastry, custard and whipped cream for a luxurious festive treat.
Revani (Semolina Cake), light, citrusy, syrup-kissed and beautifully comforting.
Tsoureki/Vasilopita, soft, aromatic braided bread flavoured with mahlep and orange, perfect for holiday mornings.
Spanakopita & Greek Pies (Savory Selection), for cafés seeking festive savouries alongside their sweet offering.
A Collection Made for Coffee Shops, Festive Tables & Gifting
Our Christmas range is designed to shine on café counters, elevate festive gatherings, and bring a touch of handcrafted luxury to gifting. Whether you're a business creating a seasonal menu or a customer filling your home with winter sweetness, these bakes bring the spirit of Christmas to every bite,
a charming blend of London’s cosy traditions and the sunlit flavours of the Mediterranean.
Whether enjoyed with a morning coffee, shared at a festive gathering, or gifted to someone you love, our Christmas bakes are crafted to bring warmth, joy and a touch of Mediterranean sunshine to your winter days. This season, we invite you to celebrate with us, one handcrafted slice at a time.
Explore our full Christmas Collection online, or contact us for wholesale availability and seasonal orders.
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