Some of you may be thinking "Oh no, not Christmas already!" Well, bah humbug, I love it! I've been busy in the Yummy Mummy kitchen filtering some sloe gin and making some boxing day pineapple chutney. I love the smell of the house when I've been making chutney, defiantly feels like Winter is on it's way. And of course, chutney jars have to be properly dressed and I had a lovely time shopping with my little man yesterday for some Christmassy fabric and ribbons.
After Clare's suggestion we also had a go at making some Christmas Pudding Truffles based on Nigella's recipe (got to try these things ahead of time to check they are OK of course). If you like Christmas pudding, chocolate and sherry then you will love these bad boys and they are soooooo easy to make. You could easily leave out the sherry too if you are making them to share with children, pregnant friends or those with alcoholic tendencies (I'm naming no one....!)
Christmas Pudding Truffles
350g Christmas pudding, broken in pieces (you can either use leftover after Christmas or buy a shop bought one, chuck it in the microwave and leave to cool)
125g dark chocolate
2 tablespoons of golden syrup
60ml of sherry (you could substitute this for another favourite festive tipple, Cointreau, Disarrano etc.) I would add it a bit at a time as I found the full 60ml left mine a bit sticky and would use less next time.
100g white chocolate
Either green and red icing pens or green and red glace cherries/angelica to be cut into holly and berry shapes (I went for the easier and less sticky option of icing)
1. Melt the dark chocolate in a bowl over a pan of hot water.
2. Stir into the Christmas pudding and add the golden syrup and sherry if using.
3. Mix together well until it can be formed into balls (I found it benefited from half an hour in the fridge before step 4).
4. Roll into 30 balls (I only got 20 and some didn't make it to the picture- greedy guts!) and put into the fridge to set.
5. Once they are set, melt the white chocolate in a bowl over a pan of water and dollop on the top to represent icing.
6. Return them to the fridge to set and then add your holly and berries (in less of a rush than I did mine!)
I found going back in the fridge over night helped them firm up better and they are delicious. A bite of one of these rich truffles really evokes the tastes of Christmas and they would make perfect gifts in little boxes, or be divine with coffee after dinner during the festive period!
And of course, a bit of Christmas baking isn't complete without stirring up the Christmas pudding. Stir Up Sunday isn't traditonally until the last Sunday before Advent but I think that Christmas puddings and cakes need longer than 4 weeks to really mature and is something we've always down at half term or in the weeks running up to it. A lovely afternoon was spent in Yummy Grandma's kitchen mixing up the Christmas pudding, helping my little man make a wish and getting it ready to steam. Brings back so many childhood memories of stirring the Christmas pudding with my Mum, so special to do it now with my little boy and his Grandma.
xxx
Gorgeous little man helping with the christmas pudding :) def want to try making the truffles. They look scrummy :) XX
ReplyDeleteThey are delicious and so easy. I would recommend adding the alcohol slowly as I think the full amount makes them too sticky to roll into perfect pudding shapes! Let me know how you get on hun! xxx
ReplyDeleteThis is making me feel all festive - I want to try the truffles with Disaronno!! Also loving your mum's pink kitchen bits!xx
ReplyDeleteI reckon they would be yummy with Disaronno, you could even roll them in ground almonds to be totally decadent! Me too, especially her pink Mason Cash bowl! xx
ReplyDeleteThe Christmas pudding truffles are fantastic - well done yummy mummy!!
ReplyDeleteThey look lovely i just might give them a go,i will always do some taste testing for you xXx
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