Stir-up Sunday happened to fall on my birthday this year, so I prepared my Christmas pudding on the following Monday instead.
I’m a bit of a fussy eater, so I often prefer to prepare my own food – like the mincemeat for mince pies and Christmas pudding. That way, I know that it’s made using vegetarian suet and contains no orange or lemon zest/juice, no candied peel and no whisky – none of which I like.
I had various packets of dried fruit and nuts already in my store cupboard so made a mixture containing raisins, sultanas, dates, dried apricots, almonds and pecans. Any dried fruit and nut combo will work – there’s no right way or wrong way. Also, I had a bottle of dark rum gifted to me by my sister last year; but brandy, sherry, Calvados or Armagnac would also be fine alternatives to the more traditional whisky and stout.
The pudding needs to be tightly sealed using a layer of parchment paper and pleated tin foil (to allow for expansion) and secured using string. A nifty little string handle is optional, but very useful for extricating the hot pudding. You can see how it’s done here.
I have a useful vintage aluminium pudding basin that has hinged fasteners and a handle incorporated into its design.
If you don’t have a steamer, put an upturned (heat-proof) saucer in the bottom of a saucepan, sit your pudding on top of it, fill the saucepan with hot water to about halfway up the sides of the basin and cover the saucepan with a lid. As the pan will be simmering away gently on the stove for about 5 hours, lift the lid every so often to check and see if the water level needs topping up.
Once cooked, the pudding should be stored away somewhere cool and dark until the big day. Some people prepare their puddings a year in advance; i.e. the one they prepared on this year’s Stir-up Sunday will be put away until Christmas Day 2020. They swear by the superior flavour that develops from giving the longer resting time.
There are as many preferred accompaniments to Christmas pudding as there are Christmas pudding recipe variations; brandy butter, pouring cream, clotted cream, custard or ice cream. Lots of people comment about having leftover pudding on Boxing day, fried in butter, with bacon or with cheese (a Northern thing, apparently).
Save my Christmas pudding recipe to Pinterest by clicking here
- 75g/2⅔oz raisins
- 75g/2⅔oz sultanas
- 200g/7oz dates, finely chopped
- 50g/1¾oz dried apricots, finely chopped
- 50g/1¾oz almonds, chopped
- 50g/1¾oz pecans, chopped
- 150ml/5¼fl oz dark rum
- 2 eggs
- 75g/2⅔oz muscovado sugar
- 50g/1¾oz butter
- 1 lime, zest & juice
- 50g/1¾oz self-raising flour
- ½tsp mixed spice
- a little fresh grated nutmeg
- 25g/¾oz vegetarian suet
- 100g/3½oz wholemeal breadcrumbs
- small cooking apple, peeled & grated
- Generously grease a 1.5 pint pudding basin with a little butter. Cut out a small disc of parchment paper an lay it on the bottom of the basin
- Spoon the mixture into the pudding basin, pressing the contents down firmly with the back of the spoon
- Lay a circle of parchment paper over the top of the filled pudding bowl so that there’s a 2cm overhang
- Cover the parchment paper with a pleated layer of tin foil, also with a 2cm overhang
- Secure the parchment/tin foil overhang with string tied around the circumference of the pudding bowl, under the lip
- Attach another piece of string to act as a lifting handle
- Simmer the pudding in a steamer (or lidded saucepan with a trivet/upturned saucer and hot water that reaches halfway up the sides of the bowl) for 5 hours topping up the water level when necessary
- When cooked, allow to cool completely, remove the parchment & tin foil cover and string and replace with new. Store in a cool dry place, ready for reheating on Christmas day. Reheating will take about 90 minutes, steaming using the same method
- Once reheated, invert on to a serving plate and remove the disc of parchment paper. Just before serving, pour over a couple of tablespoons of rum that has been warmed in a little saucepan. Carefully set it alight
- Serve with thick cream, rum or brandy butter, custard or vanilla ice cream
Cakes & Bakes: Chocolate clementine torte
A few weeks ago, we tried a great Camembert bread recipe from Jamie Oliver’s recent Christmas programme. In the same episode, Jamie made a chocolate clementine torte. Justin immediately put in a request for me to make it.
Like many of his recipes, there are a mere 5 ingredients – all readily available and most you’ll probably already have to hand.
The cake is luxuriously decadent – you’ll only need a small slice to be sated.
Finishing with the little drizzle of clementine syrup adds a lovely tangy note to the rich, intense chocolate. If clementine doesn’t grab you, you could always serve the torte alongside a raspberry, strawberry or mango or coulis… or simply on its own!
It’s a perfect dinner party dessert which can be prepared well in advance.
Click here to save the recipe to Pinterest
Chocolate clementine torte
Ingredients
- 175g/6oz dark chocolate (70%)
- 115g/4oz unsalted butter cubed
- 3 free-range eggs
- 125g/4½oz caster sugar
- 100ml/3½ fl oz fresh clementine juice approx. 5 clementines
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 120°C/250°F/Gas mark ¾
- Snap the chocolate and melt it in a heatproof bowl with the butter and a pinch of salt over a pan of gently simmering water (do not allow the bottom of the bowl to come into contact with the water) until smooth and glossy, stirring occasionally
- Whisk the eggs and sugar in a stand mixer on a high speed until light, fluffy and tripled in size
- Grease a 20cm/8" round cake tin all over with a little butter and line the base and sides with greaseproof paper. If you're using a spring-form tin, also wrap the outside if the tin with tin foil to prevent the water seeping into the tin
- Remove the chocolate from the heat, allow to stand for a couple of minutes prior to pouring it into the egg mixture
- Whisk on a medium speed to combine, then pour the batter into the lined tin
- Give the tin a few gentle taps on the work-surface to bring the air bubbles to the surface, then place the tin into a shallow roasting tray
- Place the tray into the oven and carefully pour enough boiling kettle water into the tray to come halfway up the side of the cake tin
- Gently slide the shelf back in and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until set but with a slight wobble
- Squeeze the clementine juice through a sieve into a small pan and simmer over a low heat for 20 minutes, or until syrupy enough to coat the back of a spoon
- Carefully pour it into a bowl and leave to cool
- Remove the torte from the oven and leave to cool in the water-filled tin for an hour
- Gently loosen the edges with a butter knife, then carefully turn it out onto a serving board/plate and peel off the paper
- Slice and serve with a drizzle of the clementine syrup
Cakes & Bakes: Coffee and walnut swiss roll
Have you watched the first episode of Britain’s Best Home Cook on the Beeb yet? One of the contestants, Katie, made this gorgeous coffee and walnut swiss roll as her second-round, improvised dish.
I shared a swiss roll as a Cakes & Bakes recipe last year. However, coffee and walnut is such a favourite cake combo, I just had to make this version!
The trick to getting a perfect, tight spiral… and an un-cracked sponge, is to score the inner edge and give it a pre-roll in parchment paper while it’s still very warm.
I did this, but my sponge was a little thin and lacked the required flexibility – so there was still some cracking. I need to get a proper swiss roll cake tin and then that problem should be solved for next time.
As expected, the flavours all worked really well together and we’ve thoroughly enjoyed it… cracks and all!
Click here to save the recipe to Pinterest
- 160g/5½oz walnut halves
- 140g/5oz caster sugar, plus extra for dusting
- 4 eggs
- 140g/5oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 30g/1oz unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing
- 2tsp instant coffee granules
- 2tsp boiling water
- 170ml/6fl oz double cream
- 25g/1oz icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
- Preheat the oven to 200˚C/180˚C fan/Gas mark 6
- Grease a 34 × 22cm/13 × 8½" Swiss roll tin and line it with baking parchment
- Roast the walnuts in the oven for 5 minutes, until a shade darker and aromatic. Allow to cool, then finely chop half of the walnuts
- Using an electric whisk or stand mixer with whisk attachment, whisk the sugar and eggs together until pale, thick and creamy and at least doubled in volume (this will take 8-10 minutes)
- Sift a few tablespoons of flour at a time into the bowl, and very gently fold into the mixture. When all the flour has been incorporated, gently fold in most of the chopped walnuts and the butter. Be patient and do not knock out too much air
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared tin and smooth out using the back of a spoon
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown and slightly springy to the touch. Don't leave to cool
- While the sponge is still warm, place a large sheet of baking parchment on your work surface and dust liberally with caster sugar. Supporting it with your hand, carefully invert the sponge onto the parchment. Gently peel off the top layer of parchment. Trim the very outer edge of the sponge with a sharp knife. Score a line 2cm/¾" in from the short end of the sponge closest to you, but don't cut all the way through. Using the parchment, tightly roll up the sponge and leave to cool, seam side down
- Mix the coffee and boiling water to form a paste
- In a large bowl, whisk together the cream, icing sugar and coffee paste until soft peaks form. Cover and refrigerate until needed
- Gently unroll the cooled sponge. Spread the cream over the surface, leaving a 1-2cm/½–¾" border all round
- Scatter over the remaining chopped walnuts. Roll up the sponge again and place on a serving plate, seam side down
- Arrange the whole walnuts on top and dust with icing sugar before serving
Wednesday Wish: Village cake tin
Village cake tin: £40.00, Culture Vulture
Christmas isn’t far around the corner – less than 3 months away. I came across this village cake tin on the Culture Vulture website and thought that it would be perfect for making special festive cupcakes. Something like the lovely ginger cupcake recipe from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook… with white glitter icing dribbled down the roofs to look like snow! Mmmm… I can taste them now!
If I’ve whetted your appetite, here’s the recipe! (Makes 12)
120g plain flour
140g caster sugar
pinch of salt
40g unsalted butter at room temp
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp allspice
120ml whole milk
1 egg
¼ tsp vanilla essence
200g stem ginger in syrup, finely chopped
- Pre-heat the oven to 170°C/325°F
- Lightly grease the cake tin with butter or vegetable oil
- Combine the dry ingredients and butter into a mixing bowl and beat with an electric whisk (or free-standing mixer) on a slow speed until you get a sandy consistency and everything is combined
- Slowly pour half the milk into the mixture, beating until all the ingredients are well mixed. Beat the egg, vanilla essence and rest of the milk together and add to the batter
- Scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side with a spatula and mix until everything is well combined
- Add the chopped ginger to the batter and stir through
- Spoon the mixture into the paper moulds until ⅔ full and bake for 20 minutes
- While the cakes are cooking, add an equal amount of water to the ginger syrup, then boil down to half quantity. When the cupcakes come out of the oven, turn out of the moulds and spoon some of the ginger syrup on top of the still hot cupcakes (you could pierce the cupcakes a few times with a toothpick to aid absorption!)
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