Delectable Desserts, Christmas Style

Lindy’s ice cream pudding

No recipes for these (although I can put in a request from my mum for the cheesecake one if you want it, but I think the ice cream plum pudding is a family secret of my step-mum’s!), but I just wanted to share these pictures of some of the sweet goodies we enjoyed on Christmas Day.

I don’t usually eat sweet stuff much, but I could not resist the ice cream pudding, and boy was it amazing!

Hedgehog (above, on the same plate as the Christmas cake) is a staple sweet thing in my family – my mum is famous for hers. I thought I’d shared that recipe with you but I can’t find it, so I must not have…yet. And the Christmas cake is the dead easy low-fat one you can make at the last minute (we did pour some booze over it a few days before!).

Fruit salad is….well….fruit salad! And of course we had chocolates, chocolates and more chocolates. We totally forgot to get out the mince pies (bought ones, cos’ sometimes you just have to be lazy about things) and I don’t think we even had any shortbread this year. There’s always plenty to go around though, no one ever goes hungry on Christmas Day!!!

Happy Post-Christmas Fooding!

Still Sharing Christmas With You….

Although it is now January and I am fully expecting Easter eggs to arrive in the supermarkets any minute (!), I am still half in Christmas mode (why doesn’t it go for longer than 1 day??!!)……here is the microwave Christmas pudding recipe that I have been making for about 20 years – I was given the recipe by a nurse where I worked, many years ago. Actually I haven’t made one at all for the last few years, so I wondered if I still had the knack, but never fear it did turn out very well!

I make this on Christmas Eve, and then on the day itself just cut slices and reheat them individually.

The Parisian essence is included to make the pudding a lovely rich chocolatey-brown colour, like a baked one – you can get this where the vanilla essence etc is in the cake baking section of the supermarket. Failing that, you could actually leave it out altogether, as it won’t affect the flavour but the pudding will be paler in colour.

Microwave Christmas Pudding

4 slices of plain white bread, crusts removed

4 tbsp brandy, sherry or port

125 gms butter

125 gms brown sugar

pinch of salt

3 eggs, beaten

2 tbsp Parisian essence

375 gms mixed dried fruit

50 gms blanched almonds, chopped

1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground mixed spice

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 cup plain flour

Finely chop or crumb the bread; soak in the brandy (or sherry or port) for a few minutes. Cream the butter with the sugar and salt; add the eggs and Parisian essence. Add the bread mixture, then fold in the dried fruit and almonds alternately with the sifted dry ingredients.

Spoon into a greased, 18cm microwaveable pudding-shaped basin (Starmaid used to have one in their range, and Pyrex make a glass one). Cover with plastic wrap.

Microwave on REHEAT for 7 minutes, then reduce to MEDIUM for a further 8 minutes. Turn out onto foil and completely enclose until cold.

Slice and reheat as needed, and serve with brandy sauce, cream or custard (or all 3!!).

Happy Post-Christmas Fooding!