Christmas Archives - Miss Foodwise

Figgy Pudding for my ‘National Trust Book of Puddings’

Regula — Sun, 24 Nov 2019 12:49:52 +0000

Today is Stir-up sunday and the most important day on the pudding calendar. Today is the day to prepare the Christmas pudding, or plum pudding. Why this should be done a month before Christmas is something I’ve written about in a previous posting here and in my book Pride and Pudding. But this year I wanted to give you an alternative to the traditional plum pud.

A figgy pudding is just another name for a plum pudding – and both of them generally refer to puddings made with raisins or currants and no figs at all. However there have been recipes for figgy pudding in the late 19th century, but those recipes did refer to puddings made with figs and didn’t give a recipe for plum pudding. Using dried figs, this results in a dark and luxurious winter pudding. Why not have this as your pudding on Christmas day for a change this year?

This is a recipe from my little book the ‘National Trust Book Of Puddings‘ which was published in april (2019).

Maybe you have noticed on instagram or you have spotted one of my previous post about the copper pudding basin I developed with the people from Netherton Foundry? It creates a perfect pudding because copper holds the heat much better than ceramics do. It is a pudding basin for life, and one to pass on to your sons and daughters, because this is seriously durable and also incredibly pretty. To find out more about the copper pudding pot, go over to Netherton Foundry’s website here.

Figgy Pudding – from my book ‘The National Trust Book of Puddings’

400g dried figs
3 tablespoons golden syrup
120ml red wine
20ml Cointreau
60g currants

For the pudding

110g plain flour
60g shredded suet
120g brown sugar
60g fresh breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon mixed spice
Pinch of salt
2 eggs
75ml stout or porter beer

Method

Start the day before you want to make the pudding. Put the figs and golden syrup into a saucepan with the red wine and Cointreau and bring to a simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring to immerse the figs in the liquid. When the figs have softened, remove them and set aside while simmering the liquid until it becomes syrupy. Cut any tough stems off the figs, then halve the figs and put them in the syrup to soak overnight. Soak the currants separately in a little water. It is also best to mix the pudding a day or a few hours in advance. Mix together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, then add the eggs, currants and stout and mix well by gently stirring with a wooden spoon.

Prepare a 1.1-litre pudding basin for steaming and preheat the oven to 160C. See how to prep a pudding basin on this post about Christmas pudding here >

Arrange the halved figs all around the basin. Chop any leftover figs and fold them into the pudding mixture then spoon the mixture into the basin, cover and steam in the oven for 3 hours.

When done, turn the pudding out on to a plate. Warm any leftover syrup and drizzle over the pudding. Slice and serve with custard or clotted cream.

The post Figgy Pudding for my ‘National Trust Book of Puddings’ appeared first on Miss Foodwise.

When it comes to Mincemeat, you have to plan ahead

Regula — Fri, 11 Oct 2019 11:00:51 +0000

Mincemeat is an ancient recipe that gives you a taste of Medieval times gone by when the usage of this mixture was widely common for sweet as well as savoury dishes. That is if you were well off, dishes with these rich ingredients were the privilege of the very rich and one of the first recipes dates from the 14th century scroll presumably written by the chef of King Richard II.

Mincemeat is best made at least a month in advance so that the flavours can mature. You can use it for different recipes: as a filling for Mince pies of course but also for Eccles cakes and a couple of other British bakes.

The combination of fruits and spices for mincemeat is often diverse, but raisins, currants and candied lemon, cedro and/or orange peel are standard. Some old recipes also contain prunes, dates, figs or candied ginger. Spices are usually cinnamon, cloves, mace and nutmeg. There is always grated apple or pear and sometimes also lemon or orange juice – mostly from Seville oranges (these are very acidic and also the basis for English marmalade – see recipe here).

You can make the mincemeat in this large quantity and store it in the fridge for up to 6 months in sterilised preserving jars.

And then for a little joyeus news: my new book ‘Brits Bakboek‘ has been nominated for ‘Het Gouden Kookboek’ a prestigious kookbook award in the Netherlands. I’m absolutely chuffed and honoured to be nominated as the only Belgian on the list!

Check back around Christmas for my Mince pies recipe (or check my book ‘Brits Bakboek’)

For the mincemeat – makes 880 g/1 lb 15 oz

175 g (6 oz) currants
175 g (6 oz) large dark raisins
175 g (6 oz) stewing apple, coarsely grated
50 g (1¾ oz) candied orange peel
50 g (1¾ oz) prunes, pitted and chopped
115 g (4 oz) shredded suet or butter, frozen and grated
115 g (4 oz) soft brown sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground mace
½ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp ground ginger
pinch of sea salt
½ lemon or Seville orange, juice and zest
250 ml (9 fl oz) brandy or rum (or half sherry, half rum)

Put all the ingredients for the mincemeat in a bowl and add the brandy or rum to cover the fruit. Stir well, then let it rest overnight. The next day, stir again and then divide among sterilised preserving jars.

The post When it comes to Mincemeat, you have to plan ahead appeared first on Miss Foodwise.

Stir-up Sunday, History and Plum pudding

Regula — Fri, 18 Nov 2016 14:45:06 +0000

Let me start with blowing my own trumpet, it’s my blog so I’m allowed! I’m pleased to have tracked down a copy of Delicious Magazine while in Budapest because in it they have elected my book Pride and Pudding as one of the best books of 2016! After the hard work creating this book I am of course flattered and beyond happy to get this kind of news! So thank you again Delicious Magazine UK!!

Now on to the news of the day!

This weekend will mark the last Sunday before advent which is traditionally Stir-up Sunday. According to (rather recent) tradition, plum pudding or Christmas pudding should be made on this day. It is a custom that is believed to date back to the 1549 Book of Common Prayer (though it is actually not); where a reading states ‘stir up, we beseech thee’. The words would be read in church on the last Sunday before Advent and so the good people knew it was time to start on their favourite Christmas treat.

It was a family affair: everyone would gather to stir the pudding mixture from east to west, in honour of the Three Kings who came from the east. Sometimes coins or trinkets would be hidden in the dough; finding them on Christmas Day would bring luck and good fortune.

There are a lot of legends and claims made about the origins of the plum pudding. Some say it was King George I who requested plum pudding as a part of the first Christmas feast of his reign, in 1714. George I was christened ‘the Pudding King’ because of this myth but there are no written records prior to the twentieth century to tell us that this king deserved this title.

The first written record of a recipe for plum pudding as we know it today can be found in John Nott’s The Cooks and Confectioners Dictionary from 1723. There is, however, no suggestion that the pudding is associated with George I, the practice of Stir-up Sunday, or the Christmas feast.

In this era, plum puddings were a common companion to beef on festive days; they were eaten before or along with the meat, not after the meal topped with plenty of cream as we know it today. A plum pudding would often be sliced up and arranged under the dripping of a roasting joint of meat in front of the fire.

The ‘Hack’ or ‘Hackin’ pudding (recipe also in my book Pride and Pudding), a relative of the haggis and plum pudding from the north of England, was eaten in the same fashion. It is possible that the tradition of eating a plum pudding with roast beef on festive occasions evolved to it becoming the highlight of the Christmas feast, inspired by customs in the north of England.

By the Victorian era the Christmas pudding was well and truly the symbol of Christmas, although the Christmas tree would soon take its place. Printing methods improved and it became possible to print in various colours so Christmas cards became popular. Many of these depicted puddings as centrepieces on the festive table and cards featured puddings dressed up like little men.

The whole history of plum pudding is too long for a single posting – but you can read more about how it became the food to show your patriotism to Britain in the pages of my book. One thing seems for sure to me, Stir-up Sunday is a fairly recent tradition. But even though it’s not as old as the 16th century reading in the Book of Common Prayer, it has been around since Victorian times which makes it part of traditions today.

This recipe is based on early Plum pudding recipes but it evolved in my kitchen over the years. It really is no trouble at all making it so maybe this year you’ll give that M&S Christmas pud a miss and try your hand at your very own. In my book you’ll also find a war-time Christmas pudding, maybe I’ll share that recipe with you another year – or… get the Christmas issue of Vintage Life Magazine where you’ll find it!

Also listen to the Delicious Mag podcast here > to hear @deliciouseditor Karen Barnes talk about her mother’s recipe for Christmas pudding!

Or take a look at Jamie Oliver’s nan’s recipe here > with Vin Santo.

Hate Christmas Pudding (what’s wrong with you!!) then maybe this ‘Chocolate pudding for Christmas pudding haters’ by Nigella Lawson is your thing! It has hot chocolate sauce. One persons food hell is another person’t delight!

Not sure what to cook for Christmas dinner? I’ll share with you a traditional meal very soon! Here you’ll find some vegetable preparations that could come in handy.

Please note: This text is mostly taken from my book Pride and Pudding – The History of British Puddings savoury and Sweet (Murdoch Books 2016 – Davidsfonds 2015), as is the recipe below.

What you need

Makes 2 puddings using 16 cm (61/4 inch/No. 36) basins (moulds), or 6–7 mini (150 ml/5 fl oz) puddings.

200 g (7 oz) shredded suet
75 g (2. oz) plain (allpurpose) or spelt flour
150 g (5. oz/2. cups) fresh breadcrumbs (no shortcuts here!)
150 g (5. oz) muscovado (dark brown) sugar
150 g (5. oz) currants
150 g (5. oz) raisins
40 g (1. oz) candied orange peel
1 small dessert apple, grated
2 teaspoons mixed spice
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3 large eggs
150 ml (5 fl oz) brandy or dark rum
75 ml (2. fl oz) stout (beer)
butter, to grease the pudding basins

Prepare the pudding basins for steaming

Generously grease the pudding basin (mould) with butter and cut a circle of baking paper the same size as the base of the pudding basin. Place the paper circle in the basin; it will stick perfectly to the butter. This will make it easier to get the pudding out of the basin.

Spoon the batter into the pudding basin, then cut another two circles of baking paper with a diameter about 8–10 cm (3–4 inches) larger than the top of the basin. Make a narrow fold across the middle to leave room for the paper cover to expand slightly. I like to use two layers of paper. Tie securely around the top of the basin with kitchen string, then cover with foil and tie kitchen string to create a handle so it will be easier to lift the basin out of the pan after steaming.

Now get yourself a pan large enough to hold your pudding basin(s) or, if you are steaming little ones all in one go, a large baking dish. I prefer to use the oven for this as I do not like to have a pot of boiling hot water on the stovetop for 2 hours or more, depending on the recipe.

Preheat the oven to 160C (315F) or the temperature suggested in the recipe.

Stand the pudding basin on an inverted heatproof saucer, a jam jar lid or trivet in the base of a deep ovenproof saucepan or pot.

Pour in boiling water to come halfway up the side of the basin. Cover the pan, either with its own lid or with foil, in order to trap the steam.

Place in the preheated oven and leave for as long as your recipe states. This can be between 30 minutes and 7 hours depending on the size of your pudding. See the recipe below.

When you are steaming little puddings, it is sufficient to place the puddings in a deep baking dish and fill the dish with boiling water once you have put them in the oven. Cover the dish with foil and steam for as long as your recipe states.

The pudding

Mix together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, then add the eggs, brandy and stout and mix well by gently stirring with a wooden spoon. You can stir from east to west if you fancy it. If you have the time, leave the mixture to rest overnight.

Preheat the oven to 160C (315F). Spoon the batter into the prepared pudding basins. Steam for 3–4 hours for small puddings and 5–7 hours for large ones.

After the puddings are steamed you can either serve them straight away or, if Christmas is still a while off, cool the puddings in their basins, change the baking paper covers for clean ones and tie up. Store the pudding in a cool cupboard and, if you like a boozy pudding, feed it with a couple of teaspoons of brandy or rum once a week. This will also help preserve the puddings.

To serve on the day, steam for 1 hour and serve with custard sauce , clotted cream (see recipe in my book Pride and Pudding) or brandy butter and enjoy.

You might also like

Prune tarts at Tudor court >

Bun and butter pudding >

Kentish cherry batter pudding >

The post Stir-up Sunday, History and Plum pudding appeared first on Miss Foodwise.