With two toddlers under two, Lilly Higgins has more on her plate in the run-up to Christmas than your average domestic goddess.

“Though on Christmas day,” chirps the raven-haired food writer and TV presenter, “it’s more about getting their nap in and bottles and solids.”

Indeed, Lilly’s eldest son, Liam, was just two weeks old for Christmas 2011 (he arrived three weeks early – she believes the labour was brought on by hauling a Christmas tree into the boot of her car), while Cathal bounced along in January 2013.

“I was like a Christmas pudding this time last year,” she jokes, in the sing-song manner she shares with her sister, comedian, Maeve Higgins. Though since starting her food blog Stuff I Make, Bake and Love in 2010, the Ballymaloe-trained cook has made her own name, thanks to her quirky, yet down-to-earth style.

This year, for example, she presented RTÉ’s Best Young Baker, while she recently released her second cookbook, Dream Deli, packed with simple and delicious cafe-style dishes, from lazy brunches to speedy suppers.

Festive feasts, however, have been a life-long “obsession”, but as one of eight children raised near Cobh, she quips there was no danger of turkey leftovers in their home.

She is evidently close to all her siblings: Maeve, who is currently based in London; Oliver, a geologist in Qatar; Ettie, who works with UNICEF in Syria; Raedi, who has returned to UCC to study for a MSC in organic horticulture; Rosie, who is a beautician; Daisy, a recent graduate who is working with the Alternative Bread Company at the English Market; and Aggy, who is still at school.(To avoid bankruptcy, they do Kris Kringle at Christmas, with a €100 budget each.)

While her father, David, is a builder who specialises in restoration work (past projects include Michael Flatley’s Castlehyde) and her mother, Monica, is a Montessori teacher, the Higgins kids were raised on a small-holding next to the family dairy and potato farm, which is run today by Lilly’s uncle, Colman Higgins.

“It’s the backbone of everything,” she says simply, of her rural childhood.

Tradition is clearly important to Lilly – albeit with a twist – especially at this time of year.

Her grandfather used to eat two mince pies for breakfast every morning in December, and it seems she has taken up the gauntlet, batch-baking from November to fill the freezer – along with whipping up intoxicating amounts of Nigella Lawson’s rum butter – for Christmas morning, when family and friends descend on the farmhouse after mass for a festive bite and a glass of mulled wine or Ballyhoura apple juice.

Christmas dinner is usually a communal effort, with a starter of Frank Hederman’s smoked salmon giving way to turkey sourced from Dan Ahern’s organic farm in Middleton and ham and spiced beef from the English Market, with both sausage and traditional stuffing, a tray of roast veg, and, of course, plenty of spuds from Lilly’s uncle’s farm.

“So there are usually three ovens going,” laughs Lilly.

This year, however, will see a bit of a change. After the morning’s mince pies, Lilly will have Christmas dinner with her partner Colm’s family.

“That will be my first time ever not being at home,” she admits, “but it’s all part of growing up.”

Still, Lilly plans to bring a bit of her own style to the table, with her favourite orange and passion-fruit cream pots for dessert. And as well as sharing this recipe with Irish Country Living (see left) she has also imparted her favourite tips for hassle-free festive preparations.

Though this real-life yummy mummy has learned that with young children – and young-at-heart adults around – things don’t always go to plan.

“Last year, I spent the bones of two days making a gingerbread nativity set for display,” she laughs. “I got a text a few minutes later to see was it all edible and I said it was – it was just demolished then.” CL

Lilly’s treat

Festive orange & passion fruit cream pots

Serves six to eight (you will need at least six 150ml ramekins

4 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

185g caster sugar

500ml milk

250ml cream

2 tbsp Cointreau

1 tsp vanilla extract

Zest of 1 orange

3 passion fruits

1 Preheat the oven to 150°C. Place a tea towel on the base of a high-sided roasting tin to prevent the ramekins from sliding around. Arrange 6x150ml ramekins on top of the tea towel.

2 Beat the eggs, yolks and sugar until thick and pale. Add the milk, cream, Cointreau and vanilla. Pour the mixture through a fine sieve to make it a little less voluminous. Stir the orange zest into the custard, then carefully pour into the ramekins. Transfer the roasting tin to the oven shelf and carefully pour boiling water in until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

3 Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until set. Once cooled, top each ramekin with the seeds from half a passion fruit. These can be made a day ahead and kept in the fridge.

Lilly’s Christmas cheats

1 I have no problem buying jars of ready-made mincemeat, but I always mix in extra raisins, flaked almonds, orange or lime zest and a splash of brandy or rum to taste. This year, I’m planning to give my mince pies a tropical twist by adding flaked coconut. If you want to experiment further, replace the pastry lid with an apple crumble-style topping with extra chopped nuts, almonds and brown sugar.

2 If you’re not a fan of traditional Christmas pudding, try making mini-tiffin puddings instead. Line a small pudding container with cling film, pack in your tiffin mixture (follow a basic chocolate biscuit cake recipe, but add extra dried fruit and nuts) and leave to set, before popping out. Tiffin puddings make a great hassle-free gift.

3 Another easy gift to make is a mulled wine sachet to accompany a bottle of red wine, just by wrapping a stick of cinnamon, a few cloves and some lemon or orange peel in a square of muslin. Minimum effort, maximum impact.

4 If you didn’t get around to baking your Christmas cake, make a tea brack instead, but ice it as you would your traditional fruit cake. Last Christmas, I asked my mother to bake 12 tea bracks as my present.

5 There are lots of ways to keep children occupied at Christmas, from stringing popcorn to decorating the tree, to making biscuit-bunting. However, I do what my mother did and give the boys pastry off-cuts and the end of the mincemeat to make them feel involved, baking their efforts in the oven – and making visitors eat them.

Lilly’s Dream Deli is published by Gill & MacMillan, RRP €22.99. Visit www.lillyhiggins.ie