Dessert - Old English Christmas Pudding
Here is the Yuletide dish that is celebrated in all those holiday songs and tales, Old English Christmas Pudding!
Ingredients:
225 grams or 8 ounces of Flour
2 teaspoons of Baking powder
1 teaspoon of Mixed spice (allspice)
1 half of a teaspoon of Nutmeg
225 grams or 8 ounces of Currants
115 grams or 4 ounces of Raisins
115 grams or 4 ounces of Sultana raisins (white)
225 grams or 8 ounces of Breadcrumbs
225 grams or 8 ounces of Raw carrots, grated
225 grams or 8 ounces of Raw apples, chopped
170 grams or 6 ounces of Suet
225 grams or 8 ounces of Brown sugar
1 tablespoon of Marmalade
1 tablespoon of Molasses or corn syrup
125 milliliters or 1-quarter of a pint or 4 ounces of milk or ale
1 or 2 well-beaten eggs
Directions:
Sift together the flour, baking powder, allspice and nutmeg. Add the currants and raisins (both kinds). Blend well. Add the breadcrumbs, carrots, apples, suet and brown sugar and blend until well mixed. Stir together the marmalade, molasses/corn syrup, milk (or ale) and eggs. Mix thoroughly to a soft dropping consistency. Cover tightly and steam for 7 hours. If you make ahead, steam for 2 hours the day of the serving. Serve with Hard Sauce.
Dessert - Russian Gingerbread
Here’s a festive holiday treat from the land of the Nutcracker ballet, onion-domed churches and riding through sparkling snowy forests on a three-horse sleigh called a troika!
Ingredients:
30 grams or 1 ounce of butter
175 grams or 6 ounces of honey
175 grams or 6 ounces of Jam
1 egg
225 grams or 8 ounces of plain flour
60 grams or 2 ounces of icing sugar
1-quarter of a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
1-quarter of a teaspoon of ground cardamom, ginger and cinnamon
1 tablespoon of crushed blanched almonds
2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice
Directions:
Cream the butter and honey in a bowl. Add in the egg then beat. Stir in the bicarbonate of soda, spices and almonds, mix well. Add in enough flour to make a soft dough. Cover with grease-proof paper, and refrigerate for 60 minutes. Preheat oven to (180 DEGREES CELSIUS ), (350 DEGREES Fahrenheit ), Gas Mark 4. Lightly flour a board, turn dough out, roll out to 1-third of a centimeter or 1-eighth of an inch thick. Cut out rounds with a 6centimeter or 2 & 1 half inch biscuit cutter. Split the circles up into two. Spread jam on one half, and cover with the other half. Seal the edges with finger tips. Place on a greased baking tray, bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to (170 DEGREES CELSIUS ) or (325 DEGREES Fahrenheit ), Gas Mark 3 bake for 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Mix the lemon juice with the icing sugar, then pour over cooled biscuits.
Dessert - Ice Cream Christmas Pudding
Ingredients:
275 grams seedless maraschino cherries
2 tablespoons Cherry Marnier
2 litres vanilla ice cream
100 grams (3.5 oz) round white marshmallows
1 Violet Crumble bar, chopped
200 grams (7 oz) Vienna almonds, finely chopped
1 Cherry Ripe, chopped
Instructions:
1. Drain the cherries and reserve the liquid. Put cherries into a small bowl and add cherry marnier(don’t be tempted to add too much liqueur as it will stop the ice cream from freezing). Soak overnight.
2. Next day, remove the ice cream from the freezer to soften. Cut marshmallows into quarters and add to the cherries. Transfer the ice cream into a large mixing bowl. Stir through all the remaining ingredients plus sufficeint reserved cherry liquid to color the ice cream a pretty pale pink (add a few drops of pink color if necessary). Put the mixture into a lamington tin and freeze until firm. Cover with two thicknesses of foil and store in freezer until Christmas day. Cut into squares. Serves 8.