Benjamina Ebuehi’s coffee caramel and rum choux tower Christmas showstopper – recipe

Christmas is the perfect time for something a bit more extravagant and theatrical. And a very good way to achieve this is to bring a tower of puffy choux buns to the table and pour over a jugful of boozy chocolate sauce and coffee caramel while everyone looks on in awe. To help avoid any stress on the day, most of the elements can be made ahead: the chocolate sauce and caramel can be gently reheated before pouring, while the choux shells can be baked the day before and crisped up in the oven for 10 minutes before filling.Prep 10 min Cook 1 hr 15 min Serves 10-12120ml milk 120g butter ½ tbsp sugar A pinch of salt 160g strong white flour 4-5 large eggs, beatenDemerara sugar, for sprinkling400ml double cream ½ tsp vanilla bean paste ½ tbsp icing sugarFor the coffee caramel140ml double cream 2 tsp instant coffee or espresso powder110g sugar 50g unsalted butter A big pinch of flaky sea saltFor the chocolate sauce 150g dark chocolate 1½ tbsp brown sugar 2-3 tbsp rum A pinch of saltHeat the oven to 210C (190C fan)/410F/gas 6½ and line two large baking trays with baking paper. To make the choux, put the milk, 120ml water, butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan and bring to a rolling boil

Facing burnout, she chased her dream of making pie - and built an empire: ‘Pie brings us together’

Thanksgiving may be a holiday steeped in myth and controversy – but there’s still something Americans largely agree on: there’s nothing wrong with the holiday’s traditional dessert. So says Beth Howard, expert pie maker, cookbook author, memoirist, and now documentary film-maker.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more

Yes, there are reasons to be cynical about Thanksgiving. But there’s also turkey …

It’s easy to be cynical about Thanksgiving. The origin story that we’re all told – of a friendly exchange of food between the pilgrims and the Native Americans – is, at best, a whitewashed oversimplification. And then there’s Black Friday, an event that has hijacked one of our few non-commercialised holidays and used it as the impetus for a stressful, shameless, consumerist frenzy.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link

Wine magnums aren’t just for Christmas – or even champagne

There are many reasons you may want to buy a magnum, and those reasons multiply and proliferate around this time of the year. Your usual night in with your partner becomes a party for six. Dinner with the family becomes an enormous pre-Christmas do, with thirsty adults and kids in the way everywhere. And watering the masses can get expensive, not to mention cumbersome.The Guardian’s journalism is independent

Danish delight: Tim Anderson’s cherry marzipan kringle recipe for Thanksgiving

Kringles are a kind of pastry that’s synonymous with my home town of Racine, Wisconsin. Originally introduced by Danish immigrants in the late 19th century, they’re essentially a big ring of flaky Viennese pastry filled with fruit or nuts, then iced and served in little slices. Even bad kringles are pretty delicious, and when out-of-towners try them for the first time, their reaction is usually: ”Where has this been all my life?”We eat kringles year-round, but I mainly associate them with fall, perhaps because of their common autumnal fillings such as apple or cranberry, or perhaps because of the sense of hygge they provide. I also associate kringles with Thanksgiving – and with uncles. And I don’t think it’s just me; Racine’s biggest kringle baker, O&H Danish Bakery, operates a cafe/shop called “Danish Uncle”

How to turn the dregs of a jar of Marmite into a brilliant glaze for roast potatoes – recipe | Waste not

I never peel a roastie, because boiling potatoes with their skins on, then cracking them open, gives you the best of both worlds: fluffy insides and golden, craggy edges. Especially when you finish roasting them in a glaze made with butter (or, even better, saved chicken, pork, beef or goose fat) and the last scrapings from a Marmite jar.I’ve always been fanatical about Marmite, so much so that I refuse to waste a single scoop. I used to wrestle with a butter knife, scraping endlessly at the jar’s sticky bottom, until I learned that there’s a reason the rounded pot has a small flat spot on each side. When you get close to the end of the jar, store the pot on its side, so the last of that black gold inside pools neatly into the side for easy removal