Xmas plum pudding with brandy sauce
The Christmas pudding known today began life as a Christmas porridge called Frumenty, a dish made of wheat or corn boiled in milk. As time went by, other ingredients such as dried plums or prunes, eggs and lumps of meat [now replaced with suet or butter] were added to make it more interesting. When cooked, it was poured into a dish. This pudding was called Plum Pudding. The name 'Plum Pudding' continued to be used even when people used raisins, currants, sultanas and prunes. Hiding silver coins in the pudding supposedly brings wealth to whoever finds it on their plate on Christmas day.
For the X’Mas pudding:
Preparation time: 30-40 mins Soaking/maturation period: 3-4 days [optional] Steaming time : 1 hour Servings: 10
For the Pudding:
Sultanas gms 30, Almonds gms 50, Raisins gms 50, Black currants gms 30 Candid peel /Orange peel gms 30, Dates gms 50, Figs gms 50, Cashew nuts gms 30, Glazed cherries gms 30, Dark Rum ml 50, Brandy ml 50, Port Wine ml 60, Whiskey ml 50, Brown sugar gms 70, Ginger powder gms 5, Star anise gms 5, Cinnamon powder gms 5, Mace gms 2, Cloves gms 5, Nutmeg gms 2, Pepper gms 2, Bread crumbs gms 100, Lemon juice ml 10, Apple green [grated] gms 100, Eggs nos 4, Butter gms 30, Flour gms 100
For the brandy sauce: Egg yolks nos 4, Milk ml 300, Sugar gms 100, Cooking cream ml 200, Brandy/Cognac ml 60 To prepare the pudding mixture: Pre-heat the oven to 150°C. De-seed the raisins, sultanas and the date. Finely chop the dry fruits and mix all the spices separately. Mix in the bread crumbs, lemon juice, grated apple, butter, flour, eggs and the remaining liquors along with the spices into the fruit mixture. Keep it covered in a cool place or in the refrigerator. Keep mixing it from time to time. Let it steep for 3-4 days to get that spiked taste. With approximately 1200gms of mixture, grease 3 medium-sized pudding molds or 5-6 small dariole moulds. Fill the molds th and wrap the opening with a silver foil and place them in a water bath / bain-marie. Bake for at least 1 hour for the medium sized molds or 40 minutes for the small darioles. Check if it is done by inserting a tooth pick in the centre which should come out clean. These puddings can be made way ahead of time and served later, remember to store in a cool place.
To prepare the brandy sauce: Cook the egg yolks, milk and the sugar on a double boiler till light and fluffy. Let the custard cool. Whip the cream till semi-soft peaks are formed and fold it into the cooled custard. Heat a pan till hot, flame the brandy /cognac in it, let it cool and fold into the sauce. Chill slightly before serving.
To serve: Warm the pudding and before serving, flame some brandy in a hot pan and pour it over the pudding. Garnish with a holly, if available. Serve with the chilled brandy sauce. (Recipe courtesy Recipe Courtesy Olive Beach)
Crispy Chinese dessert Ingredients 16-20 wonton wrappers 1 tablespoon butter cup sugar cup honey 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted 2 tablespoons icing sugar
Method Make eight to ten long cuts on the wonton wrappers leaving the edges intact. Moisten the top and bottom edges; roll loosely as you would roll a toffee wrapper. Pinch the ends to secure. Heat plenty of oil in a wok and deep-fry the prepared wontons for a minute or until crisp and golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper and transfer to a shallow serving dish. Keep warm. Heat the butter in a pan with one tablespoon of water and the sugar. Cook until the sugar melts and turns light golden brown. Lower the heat and stir in the honey. Pour the hot sauce over the crisply fried wontons. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and icing sugar and serve warm. (Recipe courtesy Sanjeev Kapoor)