Steamed Mincemeat Roly Poly Pudding

I do love steamed puddings! To me, they represent so much about what food can be; warm, comforting, sustaining and delicious. There is no doubt about it though; they can be rich and heavy to eat, so you really do need to have a built up an appetite in order to fully appreciate them. Also, you don’t tend to eat pudding on its own – it is almost mandatory that they should come with a rich, sweet sauce, loads of custard or if you’re feeling a little restrained, just some softly whipped cream! This is not food for the faint-hearted (or for those counting calories).

Steamed puddings are definitely winter dishes - I’d be hard-pushed to think of one that you would eat at the height of summer - but like so many foods that are seasonal, I think you enjoy them all the more because of the fact that they are not available throughout the whole year.

Although most recipes for steamed puddings these days seem to be for sweet versions, historically, many were actually savoury puddings containing meat and vegetables. A traditional steak and kidney pudding, which is still very popular today, is exactly that – a pudding which is encased in a suet pastry and steamed for a number of hours, during which time the meat is tenderised and a delicious gravy is created.

The most popular steamed pudding must be Christmas pudding, but as I have noted in previous posts, it is not to everyone’s taste as it is laden with dried fruit and is incredibly rich. Personally, even though I absolutely love it (especially when served with brandy butter), it is a rather challenging dish to eat after a large meal and all the feasting on Christmas Day. I often serve a pavlova instead, which is much lighter on the stomach and still finishes off the meal on a sweet note without being so rich. I top the pavlova with clementines or pears poached in spicy mulled wine to follow through with the festive flavours.

 

There are a number of recipes for steamed puddings using mincemeat (the stuff you use in mince pies at Christmas) and they have always appealed to me because they are less- fruit laden than traditional Christmas puddings but still have all the tastes you associate with Christmas.

 

This recipe is based on one by the British food writer Simon Hopkinson, who has written a number of fabulous cookery books including one called Roast Chicken and Other Stories which he wrote with fellow food writer Lindsay Bareham and which is regularly cited on lists of the best cookery books. Simon calls this his Swirly Mincemeat Suet Roly-Poly Pudding. The pudding is made by making a suet pastry, rolling it out, spreading with mincemeat and then rolling up again like a traditional jam roly-poly pudding. However, the mincemeat roly-poly is then cut into slices and these are used to line a well-greased pudding basin before being covered and steamed. The slices of rolled pastry make a lovely pattern when turned out and given the fact that steamed puddings, by their very nature don’t tend to be the most elegant looking desserts, I was very pleased with the end result.

 

As already stated, this is my tweaked version of a recipe by Simon Hopkinson which I found in the on-line version of The Independent. The original recipe can be found here.

Ingredients:

25g butter, softened
50g light brown muscovado sugar
250g self-raising flour
125g suet (I used Atora)
60ml cold water

300g mincemeat
 

Method:

1. Grease a 1 litre pudding bowl with the butter making sure that the entire surface, particularly the base of the bowl is well buttered. Use a little extra butter, if necessary (you do not want your pudding to stick when you come to turn it out).

2. Sprinkle the buttered surface of the bowl with the sugar, making sure that it is well coated and set aside.

3. Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl and add the sugar, mixing it through the flour so that it is well distributed. Make a well in the centre and add the water. Mix with a fork until, the mixture comes together into a soft dough – if you need to, add an extra tablespoon or so of cold water to achieve the correct consistency.

4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work-surface and roll into a large rectangle about 30cms x 20cms. Spoon the mincemeat onto the suet pastry and spread out to within 4cms of the edge using a palette knife. Roll up neatly, nut not too tightly along the long edge to create a long ‘roly-poly’.

5. Use a sharp knife to cut the roly-poly into equal sized slices about 1.5cms thick. Use to line the sugared bowl, pressing them well into the sides of the bowl.  Pack the remaining slices into the centre of the bowl.

6. Cover the bowl with a sheet of pleated non-stick baking parchment and then a sheet of pleated aluminium foil and secure both in place around the lip of the bowl with twine.

7. Steam for 2 hours, either in a proprietary steamer or in a large saucepan with simmering water, making sure to keep the water levels topped up so that they come half the way up the edge of the bowl.

8. After the steaming time has elapsed, remove the pudding from the steamer/saucepan and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Remove the aluminium foil and baking paper and upturn the pudding on to a serving plate. Serve whilst still hot with warm pouring custard.
 

Serves 6-8.

Stollen

Christmas baking is very much about spices and dried fruit as evidenced by all the cakes, puddings pies, biscuits and preserves containing these ingredients during the festive season. I love nothing more at this time of year than finding a quiet moment to myself, sitting down with a hot cup of tea, nibbling on something sweet and spicy and just relaxing! Although I am a huge fan of traditional fruit cakes, they can be a little heavy and mince pies can be very rich, so I have been looking for something a little lighter to eat but still sweet and encompassing typical Christmas flavours.

 

Stollen is a bread-like fruit cake of German origination which also often contains candied citrus fruits and marzipan. The only stollen I have eaten before was the shop-bought, mass-produced variety and I have to admit that despite my great love of marzipan (which all versions I’d previously tried, had contained) I was distinctly underwhelmed! I couldn’t understand why it was considered one of THE classic Christmas bakes.

 

Those who read my blog regularly will know that I recently re-discovered a love of bread making and that I have been furiously experimenting… baking a whole range of breads and buns recently. Without sounding completely pretentious, there is something so fundamentally life-affirming about baking your own bread and despite the energetic kneading and the time spent waiting for the bread to prove, I hugely enjoy it. Also, of all the things that I cook and bake, the breads that I have made have been the most popular with my three children, who, it sometimes seems to me, are the fussiest eaters on the planet. When you see the people you love enjoying the food that you have made, you feel like a million dollars!

 

The other day I had quite a lot of homemade marzipan left over from icing and decorating my Christmas cake and wanted to use it up and not let it go to waste.  Without any great level of great enthusiasm, I decided that I would try making my own stollen, merely to see if I could produce something that came near to deserving such popularity…. And let me tell you, I am now a convert! The stollen was SO delicious and will definitely become a staple in my house each year.

 

As I do when making any fruit cake, I soaked the dried fruit in a little brandy and let it sit overnight to plump up a little and become juicy. If you prefer, you can soak the fruit in the same amount of extra orange juice or even a little bit of tea, but at this time of year, brandy is king as far as I am concerned. In addition to the usual raisins, sultanas and currants, I also added some dried cranberries for some extra Christmas flavour. Dried cranberries have a slightly sour taste, but this is almost welcome when contrasted with the sweetness of the marzipan and the icing sugar with which the finished stollen is dredged.

 

I made my own marzipan and have included a link to a recipe for it that I previously posted, but to be honest, you can use a store bought version.

 

I worked and kneaded the dough by hand and whilst it initially feels quite soft, with continued stretching and kneading, it will eventually come together – persevere! You can always mix it using the dough-hook attachment on a stand mixer, but with bread I prefer working the dough with my own hands.

Ingredients:

Fruit:
100g raisins
100g sultanas

50g currants

25g dried cranberries

25g candied orange peel, chopped into small pieces

50g glacé cherries, halved

Juice and finely grated zest of 1 orange

30ml brandy

Dough:

275g strong white flour

25g caster sugar

½ tsp mixed spice

½ tsp fine sea salt

12g fresh yeast or 7g dried active yeast

125ml whole milk

50g butter, melted

1 large egg, lightly beaten

To finish:

125g marzipan, homemade or pre-bought
Icing sugar, to dredge

 

Method:

Fruit:

1. Place all the fruit, the orange juice and zest in a small saucepan and heat up until the liquid is just beginning to bubble. Immediately remove from the heat, place a lid on the saucepan and set aside overnight to allow the fruit plump up a little. Make your dough the following day after the dried fruit has soaked overnight.

Dough:

2. Place the flour, sugar, mixed spice and salt in a large mixing bowl and mix together with your hands so that everything is evenly distributed.

3. Crumble in the fresh yeast or sprinkle in the dried yeast and mix through. Make a well in the centre and add the milk, melted butter and egg. Using your hands, start mixing the flour into the wet ingredients until everything starts to come together.

4. Turn out on to a clean work-surface and knead for ten approximately ten minutes until the dough starts to come together and becomes smoother and more elastic and is not sticking as much, (I find a dough-scraper an essential piece of equipment when doing this).

5. Place into a clean, lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling film and set aside to prove for about 1 hour or slightly longer, if needed until almost doubled in size.

6. Turn out the risen dough onto a clean work-surface and start to incorporate the fruit which you has soaking overnight buy gently kneading into the dough. You can lightly flour your work-surface if needed. Once all the fruit has been incorporated, roll it out into a rectangle, roughly 30cms x 20cms.

7. Separately, take the marzipan and form into a long cylinder about 25cms long. Place in the centre of the dough. Brush one long edge of the dough with milk and fold it over the marzipan, encasing it completely. Press the edges together to seal it. Tidy up the stolen by gently shaping it into a soft oval shape and gently life onto a large baking tray lined with non-stick baking parchment. Cover loosely with oiled cling-film and set aside to rise for about 1 hour to rise again until almost doubled in size.

8. Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan Oven 160C/Gas Mark 4. Remove the cling-film and bake the stollen for approximately 30 -35 minutes until well risen and a deep golden colour.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool on baking tray for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

9. Dredge with icing sugar before serving cut into slices.

Makes 1 large loaf.

 

 

 

Creamy Brussels Sprout Soup

Here is a recipe using brussels sprouts which I believe even vociferous objectors might find palatable. Personally, I love sprouts and look forward to eating them each year when they are in season… but I am the only one in my household who will eat them and despite the fact that my gang detest them, I still insist on serving them for Christmas dinner.

In my opinion, the problem that most people have with sprouts is the fact that the only way that they have ever eaten them is when they are overcooked and unpleasantly slimy. Sprouts that are just cooked and still retain a little bit of bite are quite different and incredibly tasty, possessing a subtle sweetness that I just adore. This sweetness translates very well to this soup and is enhanced by the addition of some sweated onions.

 

Because this is a subtle soup, I recommend using a light chicken or vegetable stock. For an added layer of flavour, I have also suggested using a little caraway and a good grating of fresh nutmeg. These are both underused spices in my opinion, and caraway in particular gives an extra layer of flavour that complements the sprouts perfectly. Nutmeg is often used in sweet dishes and in particular milk-based puddings, but it can also be used in many savoury dishes too. I always include it when making cheese, milk or cream sauces. It also goes very well with iron-rich green vegetables such as spinach and I think it works a treat here.

 

Some people recommend cutting a small cross in the bottom when boiling or steaming sprouts, but to be honest, I don’t think that this is absolutely necessary and they cook perfectly fine without it.

 

This is a delicious soup, is incredibly easy to make and is something a little different to serve at Christmas or in the days after when you may have a few leftover vegetables.

 

Garnish simply with a few sliced cooked sprouts or merely some single leaves; - this is a very pretty and elegant looking soup.

Ingredients:

900g brussels sprouts, trimmed and sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
25g butter

A small sprig of thyme

½ tsp caraway seeds

50ml dry white wine

600ml light chicken or vegetable stock

250ml single cream

Sea salt, freshly ground black pepper

Freshly grated nutmeg

To serve: (optional)

Some sliced cooked brussels sprouts

A few chopped chives
 

Method:

1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over a moderate heat and add the chopped onion. Sweat until soft and translucent (about 5 minutes) but do not allow to colour. Add the thyme and caraway seeds and allow to cook for a further minute.
2. Add the wine and let reduce a little and then add the brussels sprouts and stock. Let simmer gently for 10 minutes until the sprouts are tender. Remove the sprig of thyme and then liquidise in a blender or food processor until smooth. For a silky smooth soup, pass through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan. Add the cream and heat gently until hot.

3. Serve garnished with some thinly sliced cooked Brussels spots and a sprinkling of finely chopped chives.

Serves 6.

 

 

Baked Cranberry & Cointreau Cheesecake

I love cheesecakes and I know that they are very popular with many people so it is perhaps surprising that I rarely make them. This is one cheesecake that I think is absolutely delicious, and although rich, it is perfect to serve at this time of year with its festive but fresh flavours. This is something a little different to the normal fruit-laden puddings that are traditionally served at this time of year yet it is still Christmassy in character.

There are two main types of cheesecake; one which is uncooked and where the cheese is often set with gelatine and the cooked variety which are baked in the oven. Both are normally served chilled, cut into wedges. Although I like both, they are quite different from each other. I think the set, uncooked type are great for serving in the summer as they are a little lighter, but the baked kind, although heavier and creamier can be served all year around.

 

Due to the amount of cream cheese and the addition of eggs, this is quite a rich dessert, but in my opinion, Christmas is the one time when you can really allow yourself a little indulgence and spoil yourself a bit.

 

The cheesecake keeps extremely well covered in the fridge and will easily keep for two or three if it is not gobbled up immediately.

 

Orange is a perfect partner for cranberries, so I decided to extend this theme a little and include some Cointreau, which is an orange-flavoured liqueur. The addition of the alcohol really intensifies the orange flavour without being overpowering. If you prefer you can omit it and use some freshly squeezed orange juice instead.

 

I hope you try making this cheesecake because it is incredibly delicious and relatively simple to make. If you really want to go all out, you could serve it with some lightly whipped cream on the side.

 

Ingredients:

Base:
200g digestive biscuits, finely crushed
100g butter, melted

Filling:

675g cream cheese (I used Philadelphia)

250g sweetened condensed milk

Juice of half a lemon

25ml Cointreau

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

125g fresh cranberries roughly chopped

Finely grated zest of 1 orange

To decorate:

Some fresh cranberries, dipped in egg white and sprinkled with caster sugar

A few strips of orange peel
 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 160C/Fan Oven 140C/Gas Mark 2.  Grease a 20cm springform cake tin with butter and set aside.

2. Place the crushed digestive biscuits in a mixing bowl and add the melted butter, Mix with a wooden spoon until well combined. Press the butter-covered crumbs into the base of the prepared springform tin and refrigerate and allow to firm up.

3. Place the cream cheese and condensed milk in a large mixing bowl and using a hand-held electric mixer, beat together on a low speed until well mixed together. Gradually add the eggs and mix in thoroughly. Add the lemon juice and Cointreau and then fold in the chopped cranberries and orange zest.

4. Pour the mixture onto the biscuit base, place on a large baking tray and bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes until the cheesecake is just beginning to colour around the edges, but still has a slight wobble in the centre.

5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the tin. Carefully run a thin knife around the edge of the tin to loosen it and then refrigerate overnight. Serve decorated with the sugared cranberries and some thin strips of orange peel.

Serves 10-12.