I always send a Christmas pudding to my family in France each year and they love it, as it is something completely different for them. The French still don’t understand the concept of mincemeat!
My recipe is a little different to the traditional one, as I don’t soak the fruit first. Instead I rest the whole pudding mixture before steaming, during which time the fruit can plump up and infuse with the rest of the flavours.
Although rum or brandy butter is the traditional accompaniment, most of my family like it with cream, but I make crème anglaise for myself!
The pudding should be made at least three weeks in advance, but can be stored for up to a year.
MAKES 1 × 2-PINT PUDDING (SIZE 3)
100g currants
200g seedless raisins
200g sultanas
60g mixed chopped candied peel
60g glacé cherries
90g blanched almonds, sliced into slivers
½ medium cooking apple, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped
½ small carrot, peeled and grated
zest and juice of ½ an orange
zest and juice of ½ a lemon
115g finely chopped suet
115g plain flour
60g white bread or brioche crumbs
115g soft brown sugar
½ teaspoon mixed spice
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ nutmeg, grated
½ teaspoon salt
3 medium eggs
½ can of Guinness
2 tablespoons brandy
Put all of the ingredients apart from the orange and lemon juices, eggs, Guinness and brandy in a large bowl and mix together well.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until frothy, then add the Guinness, brandy and orange and lemon juices. Add to the bowl containing the rest of the ingredients and mix well until all incorporated.
Fill your basin with the mixture, press a circle of greaseproof paper firmly over the top and put into the fridge for at least 12 hours, but up to 48 hours.
Wipe the outside of the basin clean of any mixture, if necessary, and cover with clingfilm.
Place the pudding on a trivet in a large pan on the hob and pour in enough boiling water to come about three quarters of the way up the side of the basin. Bring the water back to the boil, cover the pan tightly with a lid, and then turn down the heat and steam for 3 hours. Check the water level regularly, and top up with boiling water from the kettle as necessary.
Take the pan off the heat and, when cool enough to touch, carefully lift out the pudding. Leave to cool and store, still covered in the clingfilm, until you are ready to re-steam for another 3 hours.
To turn out, take off the clingfilm, and carefully slide a table knife around the edge of the basin to loosen the pudding. Place a serving plate on top of the basin and using both hands firmly grip the plate and basin and turn both over together. The pudding should slide easily onto the plate.
To serve, warm a glass of brandy in a small pan over a low heat, ignite it with a match and pour it while it is flaming over the pudding. Serve immediately.
Sometimes fruit cakes can be really dry, but this is a recipe that is very moist, full of fruit and nuts. It can double up as a wedding cake, or you can eat it un-iced at any tea time.
When I line my tin, so that the cake cooks evenly and doesn’t have any burnt or crunchy bits around the edge or the base, as well as lining it inside with baking paper I tie a folded strip of brown paper around the outside.
Of course you can decorate your cake as you like. Some people like to simply brush the top with melted apricot jam and cover it with assorted nuts and dried fruit, then glaze these with a little more jam. You can then just tie a ribbon around the cake. However, if you want to cover it with marzipan and icing, ideally start doing this around 10 days before Christmas.
As with my Christmas pudding, I don’t soak my fruit in advance, but instead leave the cake mixture to rest as a whole before baking.
MAKES 1 × 23CM CAKE
245g flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ level teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons mixed spice
½ level teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ level teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ level teaspoon ground cloves
85g ground almonds
320g currants
320g raisins
320g sultanas
150g glacé cherries
150g whole mixed peel
85g blanched almonds
210g soft dark brown sugar
250g unsalted butter
grated zest and juice of 1 medium lemon
6 large eggs
8 tablespoons brandy
a little butter, for greasing the tin
TO ICE THE CAKE:
2 tablespoons clear apricot jam
500g good natural marzipan
4 medium egg whites
750g icing sugar, sifted, plus extra for dusting
4 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons glycerine
small edible silver balls, to decorate
Butter a 23cm round (or equivalent square) tin (about 9cm deep), and line with a double layer of baking paper.
With string, tie a double layer of brown paper around the outside of the tin – the paper needs to be tall enough to rise well above the edge of the tin (about 8–9cm).
Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, spices and ground almonds in a large bowl, then stir in the fruits, mixed peel and almonds.
In a separate bowl, cream together the sugar, butter and grated lemon zest until pale and fluffy, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir this mixture into the flour and fruit, followed by the lemon juice and half of the brandy. The mixture should be soft and moist.
Spoon the mixture into your prepared tin, level the top and leave to settle at room temperature for 2–3 hours before baking. Preheat the oven to 150°C/gas 2 and adjust the shelf to just below the centre.
Bake the cake in the preheated oven for an hour then turn down the heat to 130°C/gas 1 and bake for a further 2½–3 hours, covering the top with a sheet of baking paper for the last two hours to prevent it from burning. The cake is ready when it begins to shrink from the sides and the top is no longer spongy if you press it with a fingertip.
Take the cake from the oven and leave it to cool a little in the tin before turning it out onto a wire rack. When completely cold, wrap it tightly in foil. Once a week make some holes in the cake using a skewer, then drizzle a little brandy over it and allow it to soak in. Re-wrap and repeat the following week.
Heat the apricot jam until liquid and brush it all over the surface of the cake.
Dust your work surface lightly with icing sugar and then roll out the marzipan into a circle big enough to cover the entire cake.
Roll the marzipan around your rolling pin, then lift and drape it over the cake, and with your hands gently smooth and press it against the top and sides of the cake. Trim it around the base.
Wrap the cake in foil again and leave for three days.
To make the royal icing, beat the egg whites until frothy then fold in the icing sugar a spoonful at a time, stir in the lemon juice and glycerine, and then beat until the mixture is stiff enough to form strong peaks.
With a palette knife, spread the icing all over the cake, lifting the knife up and down as you go to form little peaks that look like snow. Decorate the top with the silver balls.
There are Yule log traditions all over northern Europe, and some say its history goes back to Celtic times when people would burn a huge log at the end of December to see in the Winter solstice, then they would keep the ashes for good luck throughout the following year. Others say it was fashionable in rich houses to burn such a log each Christmas Eve, but keep a piece of it back with which to light the next one. When coal began to be burned instead of logs, these cakes were made as a reminder of the old custom.
As a variation on the hazelnuts in the cream filling you could mix in some chestnut purée instead. You can buy this in small tins, and you will need about 150g. Mash it a little with a fork to loosen it before mixing into the crème au beurre.
Of course you can decorate your log as much as you like, but I think it looks most elegant with just a dusting of cocoa powder, a touch of edible gold leaf, and a little rolled or shaved chocolate.
MAKES 1 LOG
50g hazelnuts in their skins
1 quantity crème au beurre (see here)
1 quantity chocolate genoise sponge (see here)
a little icing sugar, for dusting
500g good natural marzipan
400g good quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken into pieces
FOR THE KIRSCH SYRUP:
100g sugar
200ml water
2 tablespoons kirsch
FOR THE DECORATION:
dark chocolate curls or ‘pencils’ (see here)
cocoa powder, for dusting
1 small sheet edible gold leaf (optional)
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4. Spread the hazelnuts out over a baking tray and put into the oven for 15–20 minutes, shaking the tray occasionally so that they toast evenly. Take out of the oven, leave to cool, and then grind to a paste using a coffee grinder or pestle and mortar. Mix this into the crème au beurre, and keep to one side.
To make the syrup, put the sugar in a pan with the water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the sugar has dissolved and you have a colourless syrup. Take off the heat, stir in the kirsch, and leave to cool.
Have ready a large sheet of baking paper. Turn the genoise sponge onto it so that the top is downwards. Brush with two thirds of the syrup, then spread the hazelnut crème au beurre on top.
Now roll up like a swiss roll. Lift up the baking paper and as the sponge starts to roll, help it to tuck in with your fingertips, then continue to lift the paper and it will continue to roll.
Lightly dust your work surface with icing sugar and roll out the marzipan – I like it quite thin, about 2mm, but you can make it a little thicker if you prefer. Cut out a rectangle just large enough to wrap the log in and keep the trimmings to one side.
Brush the log with the remaining syrup, then lay the log on top of the rectangle of marzipan, off centre, with the seam side upwards.
Bring the marzipan over the top and press down lightly, so that it fits snugly.
Tuck in under the log and fold in the ends.
Take pieces of the marzipan trimmings and soften into balls between your fingers. Roll out into long sausages, then snake them over the top of the log, pressing them down lightly so they stick. This will give a bark-like texture once the log is covered in melted chocolate.
Have ready a rack over a tray or sheet of baking paper. Using a palette knife or fish slice under each end of the log, lift it onto the rack. Leave these in position so you can easily lift the log up again.
Put the chocolate into a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water – make sure the water comes close to the bottom of the bowl but doesn’t actually touch it. Keep the heat very low so that you don’t get steam into the bowl, as this can make the chocolate become dull-looking and stiff. Keep stirring all the time and let the chocolate melt slowly, then remove the bowl from the heat.
Take off the heat and, a little at a time and with the help of a spoon, pour the chocolate over the top of the log until it is all covered.
As it begins to cool and set a little, use the tip of the spoon or a fork to make rough bark-like marks in the chocolate. When it is set enough to stay in position, lift it off the rack and onto a board or plate.
Decorate with a dusting of cocoa powder, chocolate curls or ‘pencils’ and some gold leaf, if you like.
Leave for 3–4 hours at room temperature, then put in the fridge, if necessary, in a plastic or cardboard box, and it will keep its shine.
The famous French celebratory tower of choux buns ‘cemented’ together with caramel is easier to make than you might think. The key is to be organised and have two pans of caramel on the go at the same time, so that when you take the first one off the heat to begin dipping your buns into, you have a second keeping warm, ready to swap over when the first cools down and the caramel starts to solidify.
As long as you keep the finished Croque en Bouche somewhere cool and dry, it will hold together for 2–3 hours, but beware that any humidity will soften the caramel.
MAKES A CELEBRATORY TOWER FOR 12 PEOPLE
triple quantity choux pastry mixture (see here)
a little butter, for greasing the baking sheet
4 tablespoons kirsch
double quantity crème pâtissière (see here)
800g sugar
8 tablespoons water
FOR THE NOUGATINE BASE:
200g flaked almonds
500g caster sugar
225ml glucose syrup
Preheat the oven to 190°C/gas 5.
Lightly grease a non-stick baking sheet or have ready a silicone mat.
Snip off the corner of a piping bag, if using a disposable one, insert a plain nozzle about 1cm in diameter, then fill with the choux pastry mixture and pipe as many dots (about the size of a £1 coin in diameter) as you can onto baking trays or silicone mats – make sure they are spaced well apart.
Bake in batches in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes until golden and puffed up. For the last 4 minutes of baking, leave the oven door slightly ajar to allow the steam to escape, and help the drying process. Remove the tray from the oven and leave to cool.
Turn down the oven to 160°C/gas 3.
Lay the flaked almonds on a baking tray and put them into the oven for about 5–6 minutes until golden, turning them halfway through. Remove and keep to one side.
Put the 500g of sugar and the glucose in a pan over a medium heat and bring to the boil, then continue to boil until golden brown (if you have a sugar thermometer, the temperature will be 140°C). Add the toasted almonds and mix thoroughly, then take off the heat and spread over a silicone mat.
Let it set a little, then using a tart ring (about 22cm) as a guide, cut around it. Cut the trimmings into little triangles to use for decorating the croque en bouche later. Leave to set fully.
Mix the kirsch into the crème pâtissière. Make a hole in the base of each choux bun. Fill a new piping bag fitted with a small plain nozzle with the crème pâtissière and pipe a little into each bun. Keep to one side.
Have ready a bowl of cold water. Divide the 800g of sugar between two pans and add 4 tablespoons of water to each. Put both on the hob at the same time, and bring to the boil, then continue to boil until golden brown (if you have a sugar thermometer, the temperature will be 140°C). The caramel will be really hot, so be careful.
Turn off the heat beneath both pans. Take the first one off the heat and lower the base into a bowl of cold water, to cool it down enough to work with safely. Leave the other pan on the hob, but with the heat turned off.
Now you are ready to start building your tower. Have ready your nougatine base. Take your first bun and carefully dip the top (the opposite side to the one you pierced to fill with cream) into the caramel, then place it on the outside of your nougatine base, with the caramel facing to the left.
Working as quickly as you can, dip the next bun into the caramel in the same way, and butt it up against the first one (facing in the same direction) and press very gently, so that the caramel sticks the two together. Repeat, inserting your reserved little triangles of nougatine in between the buns at equal intervals as you go, until you have a complete circle of buns.
Now you are going to start tapering the tower up to a single bun. So, for the next layer, as if you were laying bricks, stick each bun over the join in the previous layer, but in a slightly smaller circle.
As soon as the first pan of caramel starts to set, put it back on the hob, turn the heat to very low (but keep an eye on it) and move on to the second pan.
Keep layering in ever smaller circles, pressing the buns gently so that they stick to each other, and swapping pans, until finally you can finish with just one bun. Keep the remaining caramel warm on the hob.
As soon as the tower of buns has set firmly lift the whole thing up very gently and transfer to a serving plate.
Now, bring the pan of caramel that you are keeping warm close to the croque en bouche, take a spoon or fork and dip it in, then pull and swirl the caramel in thin strands round and round the tower, finishing it in a ball at the top – you can be as crazy as you like with it! Again leave to set firmly.
To serve, let people just break off buns as they like – preferably working from the top downwards!
