Christmas Canapés in a Mini Muffin Tin: Four Make-Ahead Bites

Header picture: illustration.

How many people are you feeding before Christmas lunch? And how many more turn up on Boxing Day, or for drinks the weekend before? Canapés are the food that gets eaten fastest and planned least. They are also where a lot of December stress comes from, because they all seem to need doing at the last minute.

A mini muffin tray fixes most of that. Each tray turns out 24 bites at once, every one the same size, and the cup shape holds a filling in place so nothing slides off on the way round the room. Below are four canapés that suit the tin, how much to put in each cup, how long they take, and which ones you can make a week or more ahead.

Every quantity here is for one 24 cup tray with cups of about 30ml (roughly two level tablespoons each, filled to the brim). The method and timings come from tried and tested recipes for mini tins, not from a single test bake of our own, so check the first tray a minute or two early.

Why a mini muffin tin works for party food

A cup about 4.5cm across makes something people can eat in one bite while holding a glass. Twenty-four identical cups bake at the same rate, and heavy carbon steel spreads the heat evenly, so you are not picking pale ones and burnt ones out of the same tray. Two trays on two shelves give you 48 canapés in one go.

1. Mini Yorkshire puddings with beef and horseradish

A Sunday roast in one bite. They freeze well, so they are the best one to make early.

Batter (makes about 24): 70g plain flour, 2 medium eggs, 100ml milk and a pinch of salt. Whisk until smooth and rest it for at least 30 minutes. Our guide to Yorkshire pudding batter ratios explains how the balance of egg, flour and milk changes the rise.

Bake: heat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan). Put half a teaspoon of sunflower or vegetable oil in each cup and heat the tray in the oven for 10 minutes. Pour the batter into the hot oil, filling each cup a third to half full (about two teaspoons). Bake for 10 to 12 minutes and do not open the door before 10 minutes. They should be puffed, crisp and deep golden.

Fill: just before serving, add a sliver of rare roast beef and a small spoon of horseradish cream to each one. If your puddings tend to cling to the tin, our page on how to stop Yorkshire puddings sticking covers the usual causes: the oil not being hot enough is the most common.

2. Mini quiches

Mini quiches can be made ahead, eaten warm or at room temperature, and changed to suit whoever is coming. The one thing that goes wrong is a soggy base, and that is easy to prevent.

Pastry: one 320g sheet of ready-rolled shortcrust. Cut 6cm rounds and press one into each cup so the pastry comes just up to the rim. Prick each base with a fork.

Blind bake: bake the empty cases for 8 minutes at 200°C (180°C fan). Baking beans are fiddly in cups this small, so if the bases puff up, press them down gently with the back of a teaspoon as they come out. This short bake is what stops the filling soaking into the pastry.

Filling: whisk 2 eggs with 100ml double cream, 40g grated mature Cheddar, salt and pepper. Put a little filling in the bottom of each case first, such as a few cooked bacon lardons, a crumb of Stilton with a dot of cranberry sauce, or some soft fried leek. Then spoon the egg mix over, stopping just below the rim, because it puffs as it bakes.

Bake: turn the oven down to 180°C (160°C fan) and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the filling is just set with no wobble in the middle. Leave them in the tray for five minutes before lifting them out.

If you would rather make slightly larger tartlets with a shallower, wider shape, a mince pie tin works with the same pastry and filling. Allow a few minutes more in the oven.

3. Crisp filo cups

Filo cups are the quickest of the four and the easiest to fill at the last minute. Bake the cups ahead, keep them in an airtight tin, and fill them just before people arrive so they stay crisp.

Make the cups: cut filo pastry into 7cm squares and keep the rest covered with a damp tea towel while you work, because it dries out fast. Brush a square with melted butter, lay a second square on top at an angle, brush again, then press the pair into a cup so the corners stand up like petals. About 50g of melted butter does a full tray.

Bake: 8 to 10 minutes at 180°C (160°C fan), until golden. Filo goes from golden to too dark quickly, so watch the last two minutes. Let them cool in the tray, then lift them out with a small palette knife.

Fill: soft goat's cheese with a little cranberry sauce; smoked salmon with crème fraîche and dill; or a cube of Brie with cranberry, warmed for three or four minutes just before serving.

4. Mini toad in the hole

The same batter as the Yorkshire puddings, with a piece of sausage in the middle. A good one for anyone at the party who would rather skip the horseradish.

Cut cocktail sausages into 2cm pieces, put one piece and half a teaspoon of oil in each cup, and bake for 10 minutes at 220°C (200°C fan) so the sausage browns and the oil gets hot. Pour in the batter, about two teaspoons per cup, and bake for 12 to 15 minutes until puffed and golden. A little wholegrain mustard or onion chutney on the side is all they need.

How to get them out of the tin cleanly

Mini cups have a lot of surface for their size, so a little care goes a long way:

• Grease for anything with egg or batter. A non-stick coating helps, but a light brush of oil or butter is what makes quiches and batter lift out cleanly every time.
• Rest them for a few minutes. Two to five minutes in the tray lets steam loosen the base. Straight out of the oven, they are at their most fragile.
• Lift, don't scrape. Use a small palette knife or a wooden or plastic tool rather than a sharp metal one. It is kinder to the coating.
• Wash and dry. Wash the tray by hand in warm soapy water with a soft sponge, then dry it thoroughly before putting it away.

Our tins carry a 10-year guarantee, but treating the coating gently is still what keeps a tray releasing well for years.

The same tray makes one-bite mince pies for the sweet end of the evening. Our make-ahead mince pies guide covers freezing them unbaked and baking from frozen, which fits neatly into the same plan. And if you want to turn a favourite muffin recipe into mini ones as well, here is how to use a regular muffin recipe in a mini muffin tin. The rest of our muffin tray range is there if you need bigger cups for the main event.

The short version

Make the Yorkshires and quiches early and freeze them, bake the filo cups a couple of days ahead, and fill everything as people arrive. One mini muffin tray, four canapés, and most of the work is done before anyone rings the bell.