An Irish Christmas table is built over weeks, not on the day. The cake goes in the oven at the start of November, the pudding is made by Stir-up Sunday, and the brandy butter waits in the freezer until it is needed. Here is every dish we bake and cook for Christmas, in the order to make them, with a link to the full recipe for each one.
When to make what: an Irish Christmas timeline for 2026
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| Sunday 1 November | Bake the Christmas cake and start feeding it every fortnight |
| Early to mid November, by Sunday 22 November (Stir-up Sunday) | Make the Christmas pudding so it can mature |
| Start of December | Make the brandy butter and freeze it |
| Up to two weeks before | Bake shortbread fingers for gift tins |
| About 16 to 20 December | Marzipan, then ice the Christmas cake |
| Christmas week | Bake mince pies, defrost the turkey in the fridge in good time |
Irish Christmas cake
Chris bakes the cake at the start of November, wraps it in greaseproof paper and foil, and feeds it with a tablespoon or two of whiskey every fortnight; about four feeds are enough. The marzipan goes on around 16 December and the icing around 20 December. Get Chris’s Irish Christmas cake recipe and feeding schedule.
Traditional Irish Christmas pudding
The pudding needs weeks to mature, which is why families make it by Stir-up Sunday, the last Sunday before Advent (22 November in 2026), when everyone in the house gives the mixture a stir and makes a wish. It is steamed, wrapped tightly, and steamed again on Christmas Day. Get the traditional Irish Christmas pudding recipe, or try our homemade Irish Christmas pudding.
Porter cake
If a rich iced cake is too much, porter cake is the plainer Irish fruit cake: the dried fruit is soaked overnight in stout, so the cake comes out dense and moist. Get the porter cake recipe.
Brandy butter
Brandy butter keeps for up to two weeks in a covered dish in the fridge and freezes well for up to three months, so make it at the start of December and move it to the fridge the day before you need it. Serve it with the pudding, warm mince pies or a slice of cake. Get the brandy butter recipe.
Mince pies
Most Irish bakers have their own pastry. The Irish Baker Abroad’s recipe makes about 24 pies with a buttery shortcrust. Get the mince pie recipe.
Roast turkey
Defrost a frozen turkey in the fridge and check its weight early, because a big bird takes days to thaw. Cook it until the thickest part, between the breast and the thigh, reaches at least 70°C for 2 minutes, then rest it under foil for 30 minutes before carving. See the roast turkey method and the official cooking-time chart.
Shortbread fingers
Shortbread keeps for up to two weeks in an airtight tin, which makes it one of the easiest Christmas gifts to bake ahead: layer the fingers between sheets of baking paper and tie the tin with ribbon. Get Chris’s shortbread fingers recipe.
More about Christmas in Ireland
Read what belongs on an Irish Christmas table, see Ireland’s favourite Christmas desserts, as our readers voted, and find out how the Irish Christmas traditions have changed, from the candle in the window to midnight Mass.
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