Christmas Day Pud

[dmudbur]

What are you planning for pudding this year?

I'm determined to make something delicious as last year's pud was a complete failure! I ended up burning the brownie in a trifle... I thought it would be OK but it honestly tasted like we were chewing on fag ash...

We usually have something like profiteroles with hit chocolate sauce

DD has requested pumpkin pie, I'll make it Christmas Eve so just the cream to whip on the day. We still haven't eaten last year's Christmas pudding everyone is always too full.

Last year I made a lemon sponge cake, with layers of lemon curd, lemon buttercream. Was so light and refreshing. Also had too many M&S puddings!

This year I’m making cookies, brownies and cupcakes.

@Mindyourbusiness22

Last year I made a lemon sponge cake, with layers of lemon curd, lemon buttercream. Was so light and refreshing. Also had too many M&S puddings!

This year I’m making cookies, brownies and cupcakes.

Do you have the recipe please? Sounds delicious.

I haven't had a sticky date pudding in years. Must make one soon.

I don't really like Christmas plugging, so would make a trifle or a white chocolate mousse.

Or just bow to the inevitable and have body weight in Quality Street

Weird DYAC

Pudding, of course!!

I don’t have a recipe as such, I do the egg weigh method 😄

I make profiteroles with hot chocolate sauce every year and a pavlova in the shape of a Christmas wreath with loads of fresh fruit on top. Never bother with Christmas Pudding as not enough people like it.

I make tiramisu every year. We all love it, it’s very rich though. Also buy a smaller Christmas pudding for Boxing Day as not everyone likes it.

I buy M&S puddings every year, they're delish and look fab!

BUT I want to start making my own. Everyone likes different things and the only thing we can agree on is fudge cake. So I'm going for Nigella's fudge cake- will be giving it a practise run next week, I'm not a great baker so fingers crossed for me!

Love the idea of buying decorations and using them every year- been looking on eBay and the little plastic figures etc are brilliantly retro!

I usually do a variation on nigella’s Yule log, and a poached pear trifle. This thread has inspired me to try a pavlova - does anyone have a good way to use frozen or seasonal fruits to make a UK Christmas version??

What sort of fruit are you planning frenot ?

I' not keeem on Pavlova ( i think the soft in the middle meringue , like marshmallow puts me off ) - I know Nigella does one with PassionFruit scooped over the top .

I quite fancy am Eton Mess-ey compote of red fruits , smalll meringues with the chewy middles crushed up and cream .
Fruit and meringues could be done a day before easily .

Meredith what about Brownies ? They need to be made 24 hours + before you eat them so you can bake them and put them away .
Ice cream , cubes of brownie , hot chocolate sauce , cream, caramel sauze - the Carnation Caramel Drizzle is nice , add a Flake .

Not sure on the fruit @70isaLimitNotaTarget can picture something cranberry/figgy/citrusy but lacking any kid appeal So maybe a kind of frozen summer berry coulis…?

@MeredithMae if you don't get on with that recipe, here's the one I use - www.nigella.com/recipes/old-fashioned-chocolate-cake

Hope this pic comes out, it's the one from Christmas 2020.

@fretnot I sound like the Nigella groupie here, but here's her midwinter pavlova made with canned or frozen fruit. I'm not keen on lychees, and I love just passion fruit on a pavlova, so I've never felt like trying this in real life tbh. thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/prodigious-pavlova/

Personally I'd use a summer pudding recipe to prepare the fruit topping, which you can make with frozen berries. You gently sieve it to separate the juice, so you could add juice drips if you wanted for decoration. You'd end up with a sharpish fruit mix to contrast well with the whipped cream and meringue.

Actually summer pudding on Christmas day could be really fun, it's in the shape of a Christmas pudding but not a Christmas pudding....

@Callmecordelia that looks fantastic and so festive! I love Nigella but have never made this - definitely going to give it a try this year. Thanks for sharing.

@FrancisCross thanks so much, I've been collecting the decorations for years! It's such a good recipe, it's great for birthday cakes too, and I think there's a version for muffin cases as well somewhere. I hate last minute faffing with party bags, so I make those and stick them in ahead of time rather than fiddling with napkins and trying to cut even slices in the last frantic few minutes.

We usually have this torta caprese, it's easy, keeps well and is delicious with coffee. We've also been known to eat it at breakfast the next day (it is Christmas...)

food52.com/recipes/64554-torta-caprese-chocolate-and-almond-flourless-cake

We always do a few options, normally apple crumble, tiramisu, Christmas pudding and either pavlova or individual meringue nests.
All offered with every conceivable side
As for everyone saying afters doesn’t get eaten until the evening/next day… yea okay then

If you like the flavour of Christmas pudding but find it too heavy, you might like this. www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/christmas-pudding-ice-cream-0

I strongly recommend Nigella's chocolate raspberry pavlova. It's very simple to make but looks impressive and festive and has always received rave reviews when I have made it. Also would be good for Christmas day as you can bake the meringue in advance and then top with cream and fruit just before serving. I make the version from smitten kitchen. Also recommend other things on the site, it's fantastic. smittenkitchen.com/2016/09/chocolate-pavlova/

@Callmecordelia that looks FAB and exactly what I'm going for, in fact those are pretty much the figures I've ordered from eBay! thanks for the recipe- I'll make that one too and compare which is best.

Thanks for the pavlova ideas - that summer pudding recipe tip is a good’un!