Abercrombie & Feast

I am a little late with this post, aren’t I? 

I’m sure you’re like, “Who needs Christmas goody recipes, lady??  My holly jolly goodies have been baked for WEEKS.  Slacker.”  Wow.  You’re kind of angry and well-prepared.  Here… look at my tree and breathe deeply. 

Yet, no matter how tardy I am, I urge you to give these ever so merry recipes a go in the next few days.  Actually, the gingerbread could be made any old time… it’s not really Christmas specific.  But it’s goooooood.  And the Christmas pudding truffles?  Too cute, too easy, too tasty.  I brought them to my work Christmas party and they were gone in a flash!

Christmas pudding truffles
adapted from Nigella’s Christmas Kitchen

For the truffles
125g best-quality dark chocolate, finely chopped
350g leftover, or freshly cooked and cooled, Christmas pudding
60ml sherry or port
2 tablespoons golden syrup

For the topping:
100g white chocolate, finely chopped
red glacé cherries

Line a baking sheet (that will fit in the fridge) with parchment paper or baking paper and set it to one side while you make the truffles.

Melt the dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl suspended above a pan of simmering water, or in the microwave according to the manufacturer’s guidelines.

Crumble the cold Christmas pudding into a bowl, add the sherry and golden syrup and stir briskly till all is incorporated.  A strong wooden spoon is good for this. 

Pour the melted dark chocolate into the pudding mixture and stir again: this will make the mixture much more cohesive.  If you feel your mixture is still too wet to form small balls, crumble in a bit more of the pudding.  Mine was a bit wet, so I added a tiny bit more pudding and it was much better. 

Now, get ready to roll!  To make this step easier, put on a pair of those disposable vinyl gloves sold in hardware stores and supermarkets, pinch out small lumps of mixture and roll so that you have little rounds about the size of a chocolate truffle. You should get about 30 out of this mixture; fight the impatient urge to make these balls larger as you go.

As you roll the balls place them on the sheet covered with parchment paper, or put them into small candy cups.  Cover with clingfilm and slot into the fridge to firm up.

To decorate, melt the white chocolate either in a heatproof bowl suspended over a pan of simmering water, or in the microwave according to the manufacturer’s guidelines, then let it cool for about 5 minutes, to make it easier to work with, while you chop the red cherries into small pieces (to evoke berries.)

Using a teaspoon, drip a little of the melted but slightly cooled white chocolate on each bonbon, then arrange the pieces of cherry on top.

Ultimate gingerbread
adapted from jamieoliver.com

400g shop-bought shortbread
170g coarse demerara sugar
3 level teaspoons ground ginger
40g mixed peel, chopped
40g crystallized ginger, chopped
70g plain flour
a pinch of baking powder
40g golden syrup
40g treacle
70g unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 170ºC/325ºF/gas 3 and find a baking tray about 20x35cm.  If you don’t have a tray this size (and I don’t) you can use a pie plate or a loose-bottom tart pan.  

Put the shortbread, sugar and 2 teaspoons of the ground ginger in a food processor and whiz until you have crumbs. Remove 100g of the mix and keep this to one side.

Add the remaining teaspoon of ginger to the processor, along with the mixed peel, crystallized ginger, flour and baking powder, and pulse until well mixed.

Melt the syrup, treacle and butter together in a saucepan big enough to hold all the ingredients.

When melted, add the mixture from the food processor and stir with a wooden spoon until everything is thoroughly mixed together. Tip into the baking tray and spread out evenly. Press the mixture down into the tray, using your fingers or something flat and clean like a potato masher or a spatula. When the mix is a flat, dense and even layer, pop the tray in the preheated oven for7 minutes.

Take the tray out of the oven and sprinkle the hot gingerbread with the reserved crumbs, pressing them down really well with a potato masher or spatula. Place the mixture back into the oven for a further 3-4 minutes or until the crumbs are slightly golden.  Don’t over cook. 

Carefully cut into good-sized pieces with a sharp knife, and leave to cool in the tray before eating.