This year, Stir-up Sunday is on Sunday November 22 which means it's time to prepare your Christmas pudding.
Stir-up Sunday, which falls on the last Sunday before advent, is the day that you traditionally get the family together to all have a go at stirring up the mincemeat and Christmas pudding mix in order to create a great finished product.
The tradition originates from an Anglican prayer featuring the words “stir up” to remind families to get their fruits maturing ahead of the big day.
Get your children involved and as it's part of tradition, when it's their turn to stir tell them to make a wish!
Here are some great Christmas pudding recipes which are indulgently delicious and not too difficult to follow.
1. Place the dried fruits in a large bowl, pour over the brandy and stir well. Cover with clingfilm and leave to soak overnight.
2. Add the remaining pudding ingredients and stir well.
3. Grease a 1.2 litre (2 pint) pudding basin with butter. Fill it three-quarters full with pudding mix. If you are using a lidded basin, secure the lid. If you are using a traditional ceramic pudding basin, cover with a double layer of buttered, nonstick baking paper that's pleated in the middle, followed by a layer of foil. Tie the string tightly around the rim and make a loop of string to use as a handle.
4. Put an upturned, heatproof saucer in the base of a large pan and sit the pudding basin on top. Pour boiling water into the pan so it comes halfway up the side of the basin. Cover the pan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 hours, topping up with boiling water when necessary, until a skewer comes out clean.
5. Invert the pudding onto a serving plate, dust with icing sugar and top with holly. Serve with the brandy butter.
1. Grease 6 dariole moulds and 6 small squares of tin foil. Add water to a large pan with a steamer attachment and bring to the boil.
2. Spoon the mincemeat into a large bowl and stir in the orange zest, then pour over the juice of half the orange.
3. Stir in the remaining ingredients, making sure you add the self-raising flour last. Combine well. Divide the mixture between the moulds and cover well with the foil, curling it under the rim of each mould.
4. Put the puddings in the steamer, turn the heat down and steam for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. They will keep warm in the steamer for up to 45 minutes (or make them the day before, then reheat in the steamer for 30 minutes). Serve with thick cream and orange zest.
If you prefer making individual Christmas puds, you can shop the ingredients at realfood.tesco.com .
Aldi Christmas Day pudding sauce (Serves 4-6)
Ingredients:
568ml double cream
1 tsp mixed spice, optional
115g unsalted butter, cubed
140g light brown soft sugar
100ml (small glass) brandy
Method:
1. Place the cream, spice, butter and sugar into a saucepan and gently warm.
2. Stir all the time until the mixture comes to the boil, then add the brandy and stir well.
3. Re-boil and serve with Christmas pudding or even mince pies.
Top Tips
If the sauce boils and becomes too thick, do not add cream, add water until you have the right consistency. Cream will only make the sauce thicker.
Brandy can be omitted if you are not a brandy lover.
If you don't fancy making your own Christmas pudding but fancy the flavours of one, try these alternatives.
Dan Lepard’s Merry Sherry Christmas Cake for Sainsbury's
Dan Lepard's Merry Sherry Christmas Cake for Sainsbury's
Ingredients:
For the cake
750g mixed dried fruit
350g chopped pitted prunes
200ml Sainsbury’s sweet rich cream sherry
200g unsalted butter, chopped125ml
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference crème fraîche AOC
50ml Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Pedro Ximenez sherry
1 egg yolk
200g ground almonds
For the sherry royal icing
1 egg white
75g caster sugar
200g icing sugar
3-4 tsp Sainsbury’s sweet rich cream sherry to finish or the same quantity of Pedro Ximenez
Method:
1. Line the base of a 25cm round deep springform cake tin with a disk of non-stick baking paper. Then cut a few strips of baking paper to line the sides, so that they extend about 2 or 3 cm above the top of the tin.
2. Put the fruit, prunes and sherry in a large saucepan and warm gently, stirring often, until the fruit absorbs the sherry then remove from the heat and tip into a very large mixing bowl.
3. In the same saucepan put the butter, crème fraîche, sugar, spices, honey and treacle. Bring to the boil, stirring occasionally then pour this over the fruit.
4. Add the extracts and eggs then stir well. Stir in the ground and whole almonds, and the cherries.
5. Stir in the flour and bicarb, spoon into the tin then bake at 170°C/150°C fan/335°F/gas 3 for about 90 minutes then check if it’s cooked by poking a skewer in: if it pulls out cleanly it’s ready, but if there’s cake mixture on it let it bake longer and test after another 15 minutes.
6. Leave to cool then, while the cake is still warm, spoon 3 – 4 tablespoons of cream sherry over the top. Cover then leave overnight until cold.
7. Have the cake ready on its serving board. Stir all the almond paste ingredients together in a non-stick saucepan then heat until piping hot on the hob, stirring constantly, till it forms a big hot ball in the pan. Scoop the paste onto the top of the cake and spread it roughly over just the top of the cake. It will look rough but once it’s cooled a little you can smooth it with a butter knife and rolling pin.
8. Have an electric hand whist ready and the cake ready with the almond paste on top. Place the egg white and caster sugar in a saucepan and heat gently, stirring all the time, until piping hot and the sugar almost dissolved. This simply heats the egg whites to kill any bacteria.
9. Then immediately pour into a mixing bowl and beat until the whites form a very soft meringue. Spoon in all the icing sugar with two tsp sherry and stir well until thick and creamy, adding a little more sherry if it needs it to be spreadable.
10. Immediately scoop the icing onto the almond paste, swirl with a spatula right up to the edge then leave to set.
Asda gooey Christmas pudding cookies (Makes 32)
Ingredients:
100g Extra Special Somerset Butter
150g demerara sugar
2 small free-range eggs
½ tsp Extra Special vanilla extract
200g plain flour
Pinch of salt
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
75g chopped walnuts
2 Extra Special clementines, zest of
250g Extra Special mulled port, cherry & orange Christmas pudding
2 tbsp Chosen by you maple syrup
Icing sugar, for dusting
Method:
1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C/160°CFan/Gas 4. Line two baking trays with parchment paper.
2. Cream the butter, sugar and eggs together. Beat in vanilla extract.
3. Sift the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda together. Add to butter mixture and blend well.
4. Stir in the nuts, zest, pudding and maple syrup. Mix well.
5. For each biscuit, drop 1 tbsp of mixture on the baking tray. Press to an even thickness with a fork dipped in flour, leaving a gap between biscuit.
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes until light, golden brown. Cool on a rack. Dust with icing sugar.
Are you tempted by these Christmas pudding cookies? You can buy the ingredients at recipes.asda.com
Asda Christmas pudding ice cream (Serves 10)
Ingredients:
150g sultanas
100g dried cranberries
150g glacé cherries quartered
150g ready to eat dried apricots, cut into pieces the size of a sultana
6 tbsp Cointreau
100g pistachio nuts
150g Asda dark chocolate
3 large eggs, separated
75g icing sugar
300ml double cream
Method:
1. Put the sultanas, cranberries, glace cherries, apricots and Cointreau in a bowl and cover with cling film. Soak for 1-3 days.
2. Line 10 ramekins with a double layer of cling film. Chop the nuts.
3. Break the chocolate into squares and melt in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Don't let the bowl touch the water. Remove the bowl.
4. Whisk the egg whites until stiff. Gradually whisk in the sugar, 1 level tablespoon at a time, whisking well after each.
5. In another bowl, whip the cream until it holds its shape. Beat the yolks with a fork to break them up.
6. Fold the fruit and soaking liquid, nuts, melted chocolate and yolks into the cream, using a large metal spoon. Gently fold in the whites, turn into the ramekins and cover. Freeze for at least 4 hours.
Do you want to give this Christmas pudding ice cream a go? You can buy the ingredients at recipes.asda.com
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