I just love buying all the Christmas Cookery Magazines. It doesn't matter that I probably won't cook even a fraction of the recipes in them, if any . . . but I do love to look at all the different ideas that are presented in them each year.



Our Christmas Lunch stays basically the same each year . . . Roast Turkey, stuffing, roast potatoes, glazed parsnips, Brussels Sprouts, carrots. bacon wrapped chipolatas, cranberry sauce, bread sauce . . . and as if that weren't enough I also like to serve several desserts.



There is always a Christmas Cake and of course Christmas pudding . . . let's not forget the mince pies and I always like to make a Trifle of sorts.



One year a few years back I made a tasty Turkish Delight Trifle. You can find the recipe for that here. It was very lovely . . . sticky and sweet and almost over the top!



I often do a trial run of any new recipe I am hoping to use, ahead of the day just so that I can iron out any problems with a recipe . . . making absolutely sure that it is worthy of a place on my Christmas Lunch menu.



I was greatly intrigued by the Christmas Pudding Trifle recipe in the Nov/Dec issue of Jamie Magazine. (That's one of my favourite cookery mags.) There was a delicious article on using up your Christmas lunch leftovers. Tristan Welch, head chef of Launceston Place had what looked to be a lovely recipe for this interestingly different sounding trifle and I just had to try it.
His was beautifully presented in 200ml canning jars, each one tied up with a pretty red ribbon. I didn't have any canning jars, and I only wanted to make a half recipe for this trial and so I just used some 200ml ramekins with great success.



Without a doubt, hands down . . . this has to be the most delicious Trifle ever! There is just enough Christmas Pudding in it to give you a gentle hint of spicy flavour, without it going over the top. I don't think any die hard Christmas Pudding hater would be assaulted by it in the least . . . don't even tell them it's there. They probably won't even notice what it is, and even if they do, they will forgive you because it is that delicious that they will wonder how they ever got by in life without it thus far!



Imagine a rich custard, baked until slightly wobbly, atop some scrummy Christmas Pudding . . . chilled and then topped with crushed amaretti biscuits, brandy whipped cream, toasted flaked almonds and a few silver balls . . . yes . . . this is heaven.

All conversation will stop . . . amidst the sighs and satisfied drooling noises . . . this is a winner, pure and simple, and it will deffo be gracing my Christmas Lunch buffet! Nothing could be easier or tastier!



*Christmas Pudding Trifle*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

A delicious trifle which consists of a lovely rich custard baked over top of some crumbled Christmas pudding until wobbly. Chilled and then covered with amaretti biscuits, brandy cream, flaked almonds and silver balls, this is probably one of the nicest trifles I've ever eaten . . .

300ml of milk (1 1/4 cups)
200ml of double cream (3/4 cup whipping cream)
freshly grated nutmeg
6 large free range egg yolks
70g caster sugar (about 1/3 cup)
Leftover Christmas pudding (It's up to you how much)
12 crisp amaretti biscuits
150ml of double cream (about 2/3 cup), whipped lightly with a dash of brandy
1 TBS Toasted Flaked almonds
Silver balls

Preheat the oven to 110*C/225*F/ gas mark 1/4. Place 6 200ml containers on a baking tray. Crumble some Christmas Pudding into the bottom of each. You can use as much as you want. I crumbled about 1 TBS of the stuff into each container, so that it was about 1/2 inch deep. Set aside.

Heat the milk and double cream together, along with a grating of nutmeg, just to the boil. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until pale. Whisk in the heated milk mixture, whisking constantly. Strain this mixture into the prepared pots, dividing it equally amongst them. Grate a little more nutmeg on top. Bake in the heatred oven for 30 to 40 minutes, just until set. The centre should still have a slight wobble. Remove from the oven. Cool to room temperature and then chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.

Just before serving, whip the cream softly along with a dash of brandy, or brandy flavouring. Crumble 2 amaretti biscuits over top of each pudding, then top with some whipped brandy cream. Sprinkle some toasted almonds and silver balls over top of each and serve.

I think I must subscribe to just about every cooking magazine going. I know . . . I am obsessed. Todd thinks I'm crazy . . . but, having said that . . . he does more than enjoy my cooking efforts daily.



Usually I flag recipes from each magazine that I want to try out at some point. Of course there are far more than I could ever conceivably try in reality . . . but, at least I am well intentioned. Sometimes I get there and, well . . . sometimes I don't . . .



I flagged this pudding recipe in the October issue of Good Food magazine as one that I definitely wanted to make. It's taken me almost a month to get to it, but today was the day.



All my stars were in alignment or something coz I actually got it done! Roly Poly pudding is a favourite around this house with my old school hubby as is bread and butter pudding, and we are both nuts about anything with jam in it!



This lovely pudding combines elements of all three! Lovely little buttery roly poly bread and raspberry jam sandwiches laid on a bed of more raspberry jam, and then baked in a sweet vanilla custard, until it all souffles up in a rich cloud of baked custardy goodness . . . soft and creamy inside, with lovely buttery sweet crunchy bits on the outside.



You take a slightly trembling spoonful and place it in your bowl, licking your lips in anticipation . . . you want to dig in immediately, but daren't for fear the jam will burn your lips . . .



You finally lift a spoonful to your mouth and gently blow before you plunge the delightful mass past your trembling lips . . .



mmmm . . . ahhh . . . did you feel that?

That, my friends, was an itty, bitty taste of heaven . . .



*Roly Poly Bread and Butter Pudding*
Serves 8
Printable Recipe

Little bread butter and jam rolls baked in a delicious vanilla custard until light fluffy and scrummy yummy! You will want to use very fresh bread for this. Dry bread will not roll properly.

3 ounces softened butter, plus extra to butter the baking dish (3/8 of a cup)
12 ounces of raspberry jam (1 1/2 cups)
1 large fresh unsliced loaf of white bread
4 large free range eggs
14 fluid ounces of milk (1 3/4 cup)
14 fluid ounces of double cream (1 3/4 cup)
3 ounces of caster sugar, plus a bit extra for sprinkling on top of the pudding (3/8 of a cup)
1 tsp of vanilla paste, or the seeds scraped from one vanilla pod

Butter a deep two litre baking dish. Stir the jam well with a fork and then spoon half of it into the prepared baking dish.

Trim the crusts and rounded top off of the loaf of bread so that you have a large rectangular block of bread. Carefully cut the bread into 4 long slices lengthwise. (This is the hardest part as fresh bread is a bit squidgy, but persevere and go slowly. It will be worth it.) You can whiz all the edges and leftovers into bread crumbs and store in the freezer for something else.

Spread each of the four long slices of bread on one side with butter. Flip them over and spread the jam on the other sides. (Yes it will make the counter a bit of a mess, but again, it's worth it!) Roll up the bread slices, rolling up from the short sides, until you have 4 fat swiss rolls. Cut each in half carefully, so that you have 8 jammy rolls, and then place them, cut sides down into the jam lined baking dish.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, sugar and vanilla. Pour through a strainer over top of the jammy bread rolls, stopping to allow it to soak in, until all the mixture has been used up. Let stand for half an hour on the counter before baking,

Preheat the oven to 160*C/325*D/ gas mark 3. Place the baking dish on a baking sheet. Sprinkle the top with some more caster sugar and then place in the heated oven to bake for about an hour to an hour and a quarter until the top is lightly browned and the custard is gently set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for five minutes before serving. Delicious!

Note - I knew that there was no way that the Toddster and myself could eat a whole one by ourselves, so I cut the recipe in half. It worked out great!

My Todd is a simple man . . . with traditional tastes and values. He grew up during the War and knows well the deprivations that went along with that era, both during and after the war . . .



It does not take much to please him, and he appreciates most anything you set down in front of him . . .

Just so long as it's not pasta . . . or chocolate.



He even liked school dinners when he was growing up. Not a lot of people did. School dinners have traditionally gotten a bad rap, but not for Todd. He loved them. I suspect I would have probably have loved them too. In any case they would have been better than a cold sandwich and a bruised apple served up in a paper bag, which is what I had!



Anyways, I digress . . . Todd . . . simple man . . . traditional values.

Like bread and butter pudding, which normally has lovely sultanas studded all the way through it. They always kind of burn on the top and get all chewy and scrummy, however . . .

I am not always a traditionalist. I sometimes like to shake the tree a little bit.



Just a little bit mind . . . not so hard that all the coconuts fall out . . . just enough to give things a little bit of a twist . . .



Like your traditional bread and butter pudding. I got to thinking the other day how delicious it would be with a layer of strawberry jam added in the middle . . . kind of like souffled jam sandwiches . . .

all soft and unctuous, with a tasty layer of sweet jam in the middle . . . the custard gently flavoured with lemon zest, cardamom and cinnamon . . . oh and with a traditional dusting of nutmeg on top . . .



This was some good. Warm and comforting and delicious. School room flavours . . . with a grown up touch.

Kind of like a Queen of Puddings . . . without the meringue . . . but somehow better. With just enough spice and lemon to really bring out the lovely strawberry flavour.

It went down a real treat!



*Strawberry Bread and Butter Pudding*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

A delicious bread and butter pudding with the added twist of a layer of tasty Strawberry Jam.

1 ounce softened butter, plus extra for buttering the dish
8 thin slices of sturdy white bread
good quality strawberry jam
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
the grated zest of one lemon
12 ounces whole milk
2 ounced double cream
2 large free range eggs
1 ounce caster sugar
grated nutmeg to taste
demerara sugar for sprinkling

Butter a 2 pint pie dish with butter. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/Gas mark 4.

Trim the crusts off of the bread and butter each slice on one side. Spread half of the slices thickly with some strawberry jam, on the unbuttered side. Put together with the other half of the slices like little jam sandwiches, with the buttered sides showing on the outside of each. Cut each sandwich in half diagonally and then place into the prepared dish. Sprinkle with the cinnamon and cardamom.

Place the milk in a pan over low heat. Add the lemon zest. Scald. (Heat just until you see bubbles appearing around the edges. Do not let it boil.) Whisk in the cream.

Break the eggs into a bowl, add the sugar and beat together well. Whisk in the heated milk slowly. Strain the resulting custard into a beaker, then pour this custard over the bread mixture. Let stand for about 30 minutes so that it is absorbed somewhat. Sprinkle with some freshly grated nutmeg and a dusting of demerara sugar.

Place into the oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the custard has set and the top is a golden brown. Serve warm.

In North America, a pudding would be described as being a dessert . . . created from milk, sugar, eggs and flavouring . . . soft and spoonable . . . not quite a custard, but . . . very similar.

Over here in the UK, however . . . the term pudding is used to describe any manner of prepared sweets that would come under the classification of desserts.



In fact . . . the dessert course is, more often than not, referred to as . . . "the Pudding."



If there is one thing that the British do better than any other culture, it is puddings!

Oh my goodness, they make my head swoon . . . delicious cakes and crumbles . . . pies and tarts . . . custards and flans . . . there is no end to the variety of puddings available to drool over.



British puddings have a very long and honourable tradition. Comforting, and homely, they are a well anticipated part of any meal, celebratory or otherwise . . . and for a great many children throughout the years, they have been the best part of most School dinners!!



One of our favourite puddings has to be Queen of Puddings. A delicious, old fashioned baked pudding composed of simple and humble ingredients . . .

soft bread crumbs, eggs, milk and jam. Only the British could take such something as simple as these things, and create something totally scrumptious.

One spoonful and I think you'll agree that it is not hard to reason why this pudding is called the Queen . . .

"We" are most impressed . . .




*Queen of Puddings*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

With it's beautiful cloud of meringue floating on top, it's not hard to see why this is called "Queen of Puddings." It is certainly one of the lightest and most mouthwatering puddings ever . . certainly fit for the royalty in this house!

1 pint whole milk
1/2 ounce butter
4 ounces fresh white bread crumbs
2 ounces caster sugar, divided, plus 1 tsp.
the grated rind of one unwaxed lemon
2 large eggs, at room temperature
pinch of salt
3 TBS of raspberry jam

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Generously butter a 1 1/2 pint glass baking dish. Set aside.

Place the milk along with the lemon rind and bring just to the boiling point over medium heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the breadcrumbs and 1 ounce of the sugarsugar. Set aslide to infuse for 20 minutes.

Separate the eggs, putting the whites into a clean glass bowl, free from any grease. Beat the yolks and then beat them into the breadcrumb mixture. Pour this bread custard into the prepared baking dish, spreading it out evenly. Bake in the centre of the oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or just until set. Remove from the oven.

Heat the jam until it melts and then spread it evenly over top of the baked pudding.

Beat the egg whites along with a pinch of salt until foamy. Continue to beat, adding the remaining 1 ounce of sugar slowly, beating them until they form stiff peaks. Spoon this mixture evenly over top of the jam. Sprinkle evenly with the remaining tsp of sugar.

Place back in the oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes, until the meringue is golden brown. Serve warm to 4 lucky people!

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I am am totally in love with lemon. I just adore lemon flavoured anything.

Oh . . . I just adore a Lemon Drizzle Cake all moist and tender, with it's tart lemon drizzle crust dripping down the sides, just tempting you to dig in again and again . . .



Likewise a tasty Lemon Meringue Pie, all cold and chilled from the refrigerator, and cut into thick slices. iIt's deliciously tart lemon filling all cold and rigid . . . and standing to attention beneath that golden cap of sweet meringue . . . I know the beads of liquid that form on the meringue overnight are not to be applauded, but they've always been one of my favourite parts . . . all sweet and gooey.



And . . . don't get me started on those lovely Lemon Puff cookies . . . crisp and buttery, the sweet and buttery lemon flavoured cracker like biscuit, filled with tart buttercream. Oh, how yummy. You just cannot eat just one.

Lemon curd, especially my homemade one . . . I can eat it right out of the jar with a spoon. A secret indulgence . . . and a yummy one.



My favourite of all though . . . has to be a classic Lemon Tart. Ohh, that lovely crisp sweet pastry encasing a rich golden lemon filling . . . not quite custard and not quite pudding, but a wonderful combination of the two. Your fork digs in and it melts in your mouth in one deliciously unctuous melange of buttery lemony goodness . . . bliss in every bite.



Of course you could caramlize the sugar on top with a blowtorch . . . but in my opinion that's an extra step that's not needed. I prefer it left as is as a light sweet dusting . . . the perfect garnish for the perfect tart.



*A Classic Lemon Tart*
Serves 8
Printable Recipe

Crisp sweet shortcrust pastry filled with a deliciously tart lemon filling. Perfection.

10 large eggs
380g caster sugar
500ml double cream
the zest and juice of 8 unwaxed lemons
butter for greasing
225g sweet shortcrust pastry (see below)
Icing sugar to dust the top
To Serve:
Pouring cream

Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F.

Make the filling first. Place the eggs into a bowl and whisk them gently to help to break up the yolks. Whisk the sugar in slowly and than whisk in the cream and the lemon juice. (wait until this next step before adding the zest.) Strain the mixture through a sieve. Discard any solids left in the sieve. Whisk the lemon zest into the custard mixture.

Butter a 20cm (10 inch) loose bottomed tart tin. Place on a large baking sheet. Roll out the sweet pastry to get a thin but even depth of pastry that will overhang the tart tin. Carefully roll the pastry over the rolling pin and then lift it over the tart tin and drop it in loosely. Tuck the pastry down the sides with the back of your knuckles, pressing it into the bottom edge well. Do not trim off any excess. Line the tart case with a baking parchment and fill with baking beans, rice or ceramic baking beans. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven. Take out the beans and greaseproof paper. Return to the oven to colour the bottom, another 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the oven.

Reduce the temperature of the oven to 100*C/225*F. Pour the lemon mixture into the tart case just to reach the top. Return to the oven and bake for one hour, until the tart is only just set. Remove the tray from the oven and using a rolling pin, run it across the top of the tin to trim off the excess pastry. Leave to cool for about an hour before serving. Just before serving, dust with a good portion of icing sugar. Serve cut into slices along with some pouring cream.



*Rich Sweet Shortcrust Pastry*
makes 1/2 pound
Printable recipe

The best way to make shortcrust pastry that has a crisp crumble in the mouth texture is to do it by hand, rather than by machine. Using a machine tends to overwork the gluten in the flour and the pastry has a tendancy to end up springy and shrink when cooked.. Resting the pastry for a half hour in the fridge is also an important step because of the high proportion of butter to flour, which makes it difficult to roll out when warm.

8 ounces plain flour
4 ounces cold butter
2 ounces sifted icing sugar
2 egg yolks
2 TBS water

Sift the flour into a basin. Add the butter, cut into pieces and rub it into the flour until it resembled fine dry bread crumbs. Add the icing sugar. Whisk in well. Make a indentation in the centre of the butter mixture. Beat the egg yolks and water together. Pour into the indentation and then, using a fork, mix together to a rough dough in the basin. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for a few minutes until smooth. Shape into a ball and then place into a zip lock bag. Place in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes, while you make the filling. Proceed as per the recipe requirements for whichever recipe that you are using to fill the tart with.

One turkey, one ham, a pan full of chipolatas, two types of stuffing, swede, carrots, sprouts and parsnips . . . .



A pot of gravy, two bowls of cranberry and a lovely Christmas chutney . . .



Not to mention copious amounts of sparkling grape juice, peartizer, Christmas pudding, Christmas Cake, Eggnogg Cake and Mince Pies . . .



We are sitting here replete and stuffed to the gills . . . the last thing on our minds tonight is food . . .
and yet . . .



There's a lovely bowl of this delicious vegetable gratin sitting in the fridge . . . just waiting for me to pick at . . . if anything this only tastes better for having sat in the fridge overnight.

Seriously.



*Winter Vegetable Gratin*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

A wonderful combination of winter root vegetables, all roasted together with cream and a buttered cheese and crumb topping. Makes a tasty side dish for that meat lover of yours, or a wonderful vegetarian main! You may use the vegetables I have suggested here, or vary them according to what you have on hand. Sweet potatoes and butternut squash are also very good in this.

8 ounces celeriac, peeled and cut into cubes
1 carrot, peeled and cut into rounds
1 parsnip, peeled and cut into semi circles
1 swede, peeled and cut into chunks
2 potatoes, peeled and cut into cunks
8 ounces light cream
1 fat clove of garlic, crushed
1 tsp dry mustard powder
25g fresh rye or whole wheat bread crumbs
2 TBS freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tsp marjoram leaves
2 TBS melted butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Butter a shallow ovenproof dish. Set aside.

Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the vegetables. Cook for 10 minutes, then drain well. Place in a large bowl.

Whisk the cream, garlic and mustard powder together in a saucepan. Heat, stirring constantly, over medium heat, cooking for about 10 minutes, until the mixture is thickened like a cistard, and coats the back of a metal spoon. Remove from the heat and pou rover the vegetables in the bowl. Spread into the prepared baking dish. Season with some salt and pepper.

Mix together the bread crumbs, cheese and marjoram leaves. Sprinkle evenly over top of the vegetables. Drizzle the melted butter on top.

Bake in the heated oven for about 40 minutes, until the crumbs are golden brown and the cream around the edge of the dish has turned a golden brown and is a bit crusty. Remove from the oven and allow to cool somewhat. Serve warm. Delicious!

Tomorrow the leftovers from today's delicious repast . . . for now . . . groan, we relax . . . Oh how wonderful it is to live in the land of plenty . . .

Can there be any more comforting pudding on earth than Bread and Butter Pudding?

I think not.



Essentially designed to use up all the stale bread in the house, this quintessential British pudding was created by an epicurian of genius proportions back somewhere in the 17th century, having evolved from it's tasty ancestor . . . bread pudding. Bread pudding used up stale bread as well, and along with a varieity of sweet spices, currants and raisins was simply steamed and then devoured. When more luxurious items like eggs, butter and cream became more readily available, it was only a matter of course before they found their way into the mix, and we ended up with the deliciously tasty dessert that we have come to know and love today.



I am always one for trying and adapting things to the currant situation in my larder. I have made this lovely pudding with dates and nuts. I've also used stale brioche and studded the pud with chunks of Green & Blacks milk chocolate. After Christmas is all over, it's wonderful made with the last of the Pannetone . . . stale gingerbread and chunks of roasted apple . . . I've deliciously been there.

Essentially, it's the perfect pud to use up all sorts of stale bread, cakes and loaves . . .



Today I came home from the shops armed with several punnets of juicy, dark, ruby coloured plums . . . on offer at two punnets for three quid. How could I resist?

We just love plums in this house, and they looked so beautiful sitting there in their little baskets, just begging to be bought.



I've done plum cakes and tarts recently and today I thought . . . mmmm . . . Bread and Butter Pudding with Plums . . . why not?



*Plum Bread and Butter Pudding*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

What could be any better than Bread and Butter Pudding? Why Plum Bread and Butter Pudding of course! Rich and creamy and indulgently delicious, not to mention stogged full of tasty roasted plums. What's not to like?

1 punnet of dark red plums
(about 8)
1 cup of caster sugar, plus a bit to spoon into the plums
1/2 loaf of coarse stale bread
softened butter
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup of whole milk
4 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla paste



Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F. Wash the plums and cut in half. Remove the stones and then place them into a baking dish, skin side down. Place approximately 1/2 tsp of caster sugar into the centre of each. Bake in the heated oven for 15 minutes or so, just until the juices begin to run. Remove from the oven and set aside. Turn the oven temperature down to 180*C/350*F.

Trim all the crusts off of the bread. (I always give them to the birds) Cut the bread into 1 inch wide strips. Butter them on both sides generously. Lightly butter a 6 by 8 inch glass baking dish.

Whisk together the eggs and the sugar, whisking until the sugar is almost dissolved. Whisk the milk and the cream together in a large beaker along with the vanilla paste. Slowly whisk in the egg mixture, whisking until you have a nice creamy custard like solution. Sit aside.

Place the bread into the baking dish, by placing three strips across, almost upright, but not quite. Place a plum half on each. Place another three strips in front of the plums. Place another three plum halves on each. Repeat until all the bread strips and plum halves have been used. I also cut several strips into smaller pieces and tuck them in all the way around the pudding, kind of like a frame.

Pour the custard slowly onto the bread in the pudding, in and around the plums. Allow the bread to absorb the custard, before pouring on more. Add custard until the bread can't absorb any more. Drizzle any plum juices over top and then place into the oven. Baked for 30 to 35 minutes, until the sides of the pudding are set and the top is nicely puffed and lightly browned. The centre should still be a bit jiggly. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to warm. Cut into slabs to serve. We like to serve this with additional cream for pouring over top.