The new year has firmly entrenched itself and 3 weeks have just flown past in a blur. Here in the Western Cape where I live we have been overwhelmed by a heatwave of massive proportions. I have not been able to bear spending any time in my kitchen during the days. Nights are oppressive and everyone is battling to sleep. I think airconditioning companies have been benefiting from it all. In the bowels of my freezer I came across a bag of ClemenGolds this past week that I had popped in there towards the end of the 2011 season. As I was contemplating them the idea of using some for a tarte tatin  came to mind. Using my favourite spices of course for my ClemenGold goodness. It ticked all the right boxes for me….quick and easy to prepare and delicious with a big scoop of icy cold vanilla ice cream! I was sold on the idea and this is what I came up with…

A slice of spicy niceness - Spiced ClemenGold Tarte Tatin with Vanilla Ice Cream

SPICED CLEMENGOLD TARTE TATIN WITH RICH BUTTER PUFF PASTRY

Serves 4-6

Easy to prepare

Ingredients:

1 roll good quality Butter Puff Pastry – thawed but still cold

2 ClemenGolds (or other clementine/mandarin if you cannot get the ClemenGolds)

125 g butter

100 g Light Brown Sugar

½ Lemon – juice only

5ml NoMU Sweet Rub

1 Vanilla Pod – split and seeds removed with the tip of a sharp knife

2 star anise

1 Egg – lightly beaten for brushing the pastry

Method:

Wash and slice the ClemenGolds thinly (leaving the delicious peel on) and set aside. I am so in love with my new Lassar ceramic knife that is perfect for this job

Unroll the puff pastry and, using your skillet as a measure, cut out a circle  about an inch wider all round than the size of the skillet that you are using. Set aside in the fridge until needed

Place the skillet (it needs to have an oven proof handle) onto the hob over a low to moderate heat

Place the butter, sugar, sweet rub and lemon juice into the skillet and melt all together without stirring

Add the vanilla seeds and pod and star anise

Allow the mixture to caramelize and turn a medium golden colour giving it a bit of a shake every now and again.  Don’t allow it to go any darker than that as it can burn very easily

Remove the pan from the heat and place the ClemenGold slices in the caramel in circles, overlapping the slices slightly and placing the last one in the centre of the pan so the whole base is covered

Set aside to cool for 10 – 15 minutes

Preheat oven to 200C while the caramel is cooling

Remove puff pastry from the fridge and place it lightly over the top of the caramel in the skillet. Fold and tuck the extra bits down the sides carefully as the caramel might still be hot enough to burn your fingers

Brush lightly with the egg wash and bake on the middle shelf in the oven until the pastry is puffed up  and a deliciously medium golden brown colour

Remove from the oven then place a large flat serving plate over the top of the skillet

Using oven gloves or a couple of folded dish towels hold the plate and pan tightly together and in a quick motion flip them over and place plate down  on to the counter

Remove the pan – if any slices have remained behind gently lift with a spatula and place back into position

Allow to cool slightly then remove the star anise and vanilla pod and cut into wedges

Serve with whipped cream, crème frâiche or ice-cream (personally I prefer the iciness of ice cream with the still slightly hot tarte tatin!)

browniegirl tip: Wash the stickiness off the vanilla pod then let it dry thoroughly on your windowsill in the sunlight. Once dry pop it into a jar of sugar and cover tightly. In a week or two you will have delicious vanilla sugar for all your baking needs

To interact with Lassar ceramic knives visit their facebook page or take a peek at the Essentials page in the latest Crush online magazine edition to see how to slice and dice an onion…the Lassar way!

Enjoy!

browniegirl xx

I think that chocolate cures just about anything! And yes, there is a reason that I am known as browniegirl……..and here it is! My signature dish Cheesecake Swirled Brownies – deliciously moist, heavy and fudgey. Delightful on their own straight out of the fridge….but best at room temperature a day or so after they have been baked. By this stage the texture has settled into darkly deliciously fudge like and moist. We love them as a dessert with a dollop of creme fraiche to cut through the richness and some fresh berries in season. But equally delicious with a scoop of Vanilla ice cream! Enjoy them however you choose to…..but do make these!

Cheesecake Swirled Chocolate Brownies

DECADENT DARK CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE SWIRLED BROWNIES

a decadently dark, rich, fudgey and dense chocolate brownie, swirled with cheesecake. What more could you want?

Original Recipe taken from “Cookies & Brownies” by Alice Medrich; Adapted by me!

Recipe type: dessert

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Serves: 16 squares (depending how you cut them)

Ingredients

Brownie Layer:

125 grams Lurpak unsalted butter, cut into pieces

150 grams 80% dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

250 grams granulated white sugar

Fresh Vanilla Bean – split and seeds scraped out with the tip of a sharp knife

2,5ml pure vanilla extract

2 Jumbo Free Range eggs – at room temperature

90 grams Cake (or all purpose) Flour

2.5ml Salt

5ml Finely Grated Orange or Clementine Zest (optional)

Cream Cheese Layer:

250g Philadelphia Cream Cheese at room temperature

50ml Fresh Cream

70 grams granulated white sugar

2,5ml pure vanilla extract

1 Jumbo Free Range egg – at room temperature

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C and place the rack in the center of the oven.

Melt a little regular butter then brush base and sides and line a 23 x 23 cm square baking pan with 2 sheets of baking paper across the bottom and up all four sides of the pan. The paper needs to come above the edges of the pan as you will use it to lift the baked brownies out of the pan. Brush the paper as well. Set aside.

In a large glass bowl melt the butter and chocolate in the microwave – you can do this over simmering water but I prefer the micro method. It only takes 1 -2 minute at about 50% power. Remove from microwave, stir well then stir in the sugar and vanilla extract and seeds and the zest if using.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well (with a wooden spoon) after each addition.

Stir in the sifted flour and salt and beat, with the wooden spoon, until the batter is smooth and glossy and comes away from the sides of the bowl (about one minute).

Remove 1/2 cup of the brownie batter, cover with cling film and set aside.

Pour the remainder of the brownie batter evenly into the prepared pan.

Then in the bowl of your mixer or processor (or with a hand mixer), beat the cream cheese & cream until smooth.

Add the sugar, vanilla and egg and blend until creamy and smooth.

Spread the cream cheese filling evenly over the brownie layer.

Spoon small dollops of the reserved brownie batter evenly on top of the cream cheese filling. Then with a table knife or wooden skewer, swirl the two batters a little bit (without mixing them together) to make a marbled effect.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until the brownies just start to pull away from the sides of the pan and the edges are just beginning to turn golden.

Remove from oven and place pan on a wire rack to cool.

Once cool refrigerate the brownies (still in the pan covered with foil or cling film) for at least 2 hours but preferably overnight.

Once chilled, remove the brownies from the pan by lifting with the ends of the paper and transfer to a cutting board.

With a sharp hot dry knife, cut into 16 squares. It is a good idea to have a damp cloth handy to wipe your knife between cuts.

These brownies can be stored in the refrigerator for several days. Bring to room temperature before serving if you want the fudginess! Dust with icing sugar before serving.

Delicious with a scoop of ice cream or creme fraiche, mascarpone and fresh berries in season – or just alone straight from the container

browniegirl Notes

Don’t use a mixer when you make brownies….you don’t want to incorporate any air into the batter which will not result in fudgy dense brownies

Don’t use any leavening agent in your brownie mixture

Don’t over bake – You want your brownies to be a little bit moist in the middle when you take them out of the oven

Do use the best quality ingredients that you can afford to buy. These days you can get a very good comparable local cream cheese called Lancewood Superior (South Africa) which I have started using.

Pegs come in very handy in my kitchen. Use them to peg the paper firmly into place onto the edges of the pan. Once the batter is in the pan you can remove the pegs but if you use wooden pegs you can put the pan into the oven with the pegs attached

Enjoy!

browniegirl xx

This recipe was featured in Issue 13 of Crush! Online Magazine. If you are not already subscribed to this fabulous, classy food and wine magazine go on over and subscribe. It is free and is delivered monthly to your inbox!

The festive season came and went in a blur….I had intended to do a lot more blog posts about holiday food but time ran away with me. You can catch some of my ClemenGold blogging here

We had a wonderful Christmas celebration on Christmas eve with family. The festive table groaned with all the wonderful food and we were also graced with a visit from Santa who left lovely gifts under our tree! The grandsons had great fun handing out and tearing open gifts! Christmas Day was spent quietly, we started off with our regular church service and then went and opened up more gifts at daughters house while enjoying some coffee and mince pies. Later in the day we fired up the braai and enjoyed a fantastic laid back crayfish and prawn braai. It was a wonderful sunny day and we all caught some rays. The boys had so much fun jumping in the jacuzzi and splashing about. Christmas eve we heard that my 86 year old Mother-in-law had taken ill, which was a bit worrying as she is rather frail and is visiting in Cape Town from the Eastern Cape.

Boxing Day we braved the hectic traffic and all traipsed behind the Boerewors Curtain for a big family get together at my sisters’ home. Everyone brought their left overs from Christmas Day and enjoyed a left over pot luck lunch around the pool while the boys had tremendous fun once again in the water.

We kept in touch with my Sister-in-law and heard that Gogo (great grandmother in Zulu) was resting comfortably but not showing signs of improving. On the 27th she was taken to the local hospital where she was fed intravenously and put onto a whole slew of medication. She was discharged 2 days later and came home to the brownie household and I took care of her until yesterday when she returned to my SIL’s home in a seaside village close by. It has been a while since I had to do such intensive care work 24/7 but I have to say that it was most rewarding to see how Gogo responded to some good home nursing and love. We spent some really special times together, her and I in the small hours of the night. Most notably on Old Years Eve when hubby walked (told you it was a beautiful evening) over to sweet daughter and son in laws house to enjoy a celebratory drink with them and a few friends. I sat by Gogo’s bedside and, after a meaningful prayer time, she began telling me the most amazing stories…from her youth. And the reason why she refuses to eat red jelly! For 80 years she has carried a picture in her mind that she saw in a book of war stories of a young soldier who had been killed in battle…a colour photograph that must have been particularly gory to a small child. She got ill and has never been able to eat red jelly to this day! She could not remember if she had just eaten red jelly or if it was just the association with the colour of the jelly that she could not tolerate. Found out that little tidbit as I was going to make her some jelly and custard and in her frail, sick state she asked me what colour and I replied red…to which she replied “No thank you darling….not red”! And I wondered why………maybe aloud because I got the reason when she was feeling better and had enough air in her lungs to chat! I spent 2 1/2 hours on the chair beside her bed…..fascinated while she chattered away and totally unaware of the spasm that was forming in my back muscles from sitting in that uncomfortable position for so long until much later when I got up. A very special thumbs up and thank you to Afrox who delivered an oxygen cylinder to my home on Old Years Eve so that Gogo (and I) could have an easier night! I am happy to say that she is on the mend from this current illness! I just love this photo of her with my sweet daughter taken on New Years Day…..

Siobhan and her beloved Granny Joan

I would like to wish all of you a blessed, healthy and prosperous 2012.
I hope that your hearts desires and dreams are fulfilled and hope you achieve all that you set out to do.

borrowed from Google Images

And once again I would love to share with you this poem that I love and read every year on old year’s eve. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I always do…….

And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year ”Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown”

And he replied: “Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”

So I went forth and, finding the hand of God, trod gladly into the night.  And He led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone east.

So heart….be still! What need our little life, our human life, to know if God hath comprehension?

In all the dizzy strife of things, both high and low, God hideth His intention.

God Knows. His will is best.The stretch of years which wind ahead, so dim to our imperfect vision, are clear to God. Our fears are premature; In Him all time hath full provision.

Then rest, until God moves to lift the veil from our impatient eyes when, as the sweeter features of life’s stern face we hail,

Fair beyond all surmise God’s thought around His creatures our minds shall fill.

Written in 1908 by the British poet Minnie Louise Haskins

Thank you to each and every one of you who enriched and filled my year with love and support. I could not have done it without you and I value and appreciate all of you!

I look forward to a great 2012 and planning the next Indaba which will, God willing, be happening in June 2012!

With love and hugs and the very best of wishes to each and every one of you,

browniegirl xx

How do YOU set the scene for your Christmas festivities? When I was asked by the folk from ClemenGold to do a blog post on Christmas table settings I had a momentary feeling of panic as interior design is not something I have studied and felt quite out of my depth. So I decided that I would just share with you some personal tips that I have learned over the years and show you all how I set my festive table for loved ones. My personal tastes lean toward simple, with crisp white linen and red and silver accents. Every year those two colours, along with plain white flashing fairy lights, adorn our Christmas tree at home and I bring these same colours to my table with a touch of green.

Tips:

1. Go cheap and cheerful! A bit of time and effort works wonders.  A search through cupboards will reveal most of what you need. You can turn to nature and the garden/neighborhood for other stuff. Flowers and foliage from the garden look adorable in recycled tin cans wrapped with pretty tissue paper!
2. I think that white works best as a backdrop to the festive colours of Christmas. This year I am dressing my table with a piece of plain white cotton fabric with a sheer white organza overlay. Both were off cuts that I purchased at the local fabric shop for a nominal amount of money and which I use as backgrounds and light filters when I take food photographs!
3. For the centre table runner I bought some lovely soft white tissue paper with Merry Christmas written all over it and dotted pretty silver and black star confetti over the centre of the table.
4. Less is more! A very busy table will detract from the feast itself. Rather have one low centerpiece that is the focus and build on that. This year I have chosen a short clear glass vase, filled it with red and silver baubles and decorated with a few fir leaves from the tree outside our bedroom door. It never cost me anything as the baubles decorate our home from year to year and the vase I dug out of the cupboard. Another idea is to half fill a clear wide bowl with water to which you have added a couple of drops of food coloring and floating small white tea lights and a couple of flowers in the bowl. Instant WOW factor and a low budget centerpiece.
5. Lights! I love the soft mellow glow of candles and always use collections of these to set the scene!  This year I found a lovely little inexpensive set of LED lights that works really well with the soft glow of the candles so that will be laid down the centre of the table.
6. White crockery is very elegant and mismatched items are very in right now so if you don’t have matching plates it really doesn’t matter! Just make sure they are shiny and clean. Same with glass ware! Old glasses can be rinsed in warm water to which some white vinegar has been added. Let them drip dry then shine with a dry lint free cloth and they will add wonderful sparkle to your table. If some of them need buffing use a toothbrush kept for the purpose and buff up with a bit of Bicarbonate of Soda before rinsing in the vinegar water. I have even heard that white toothpaste works well in bringing new life to tired glassware!
7. Use the best cutlery you have and make sure that each piece is also shiny and clean. Cutlery sets can be tied together or placed traditionally on each side of the place setting.
8. If you are using linen napkins just rolling them simply and fastening with festive bows, pinecones and pipe cleaners adds a lovely finishing touch to each place setting. If you want to add a personal touch you can add each guests name either to the serviette tie or as a name tab on the table. You can use gift tags or make your own by cutting out shapes from coloured board to match your theme, writing the name in silver or gold pen and propping them into pinecones placed at each setting. Or maybe a small gift with name tags attached at each place setting.
9. Christmas Crackers – these range from dirt cheap with trashy toys, to deluxe. It really is a personal choice which route you go but make sure the colours you choose match your theme. And be sure to make everyone wear those dreadful hats and tell the corny jokes or guess what questions that fall out of each one!
10. Above all things have a good time, give thanks for the feast laid out on the table, savour the flavours slowly and take great joy in seeing happily satiated family and friends lazing around after lunch or dinner, too lazy to do anything but offer up some snippet of humour or wisdom to the conversation in between dozing off! Before you know it, it’s time for mince pies, Christmas cake and coffee!

And there you have it! A simple but festively decorated table fit for the feast that awaits!

Merry Christmas to all my readers out there who celebrate the birth of Jesus and Happy Holidays to those who don’t!

May your day be filled with the joy and peace of this special season!

browniegirl xx

Also blogged here 

Edit: Wynand who authors Kitchen Boy in Taiwan blog does a monthly cook-along challenge and his chosen them for this month is Christmas lunch or dinner…it may be what you eat, what you have prepared, the company around the table, the table setting or decorations. So I am submitting this blog post to the Kitchenboy’s challenge! Thank you Wynand for the effort  and thought that you put into your monthly challenges. Although I have not as yet participated I have enjoyed reading about them.

BAY AND CITRUS SHORTBREAD

Ingredients: 

125g Lightly Salted Butter – at room temperature

60g Castor Sugar

160g Cake Flour (or all purpose flour)

25g Maizena (Corn Flour)

20g Custard Powder (the old fashioned kind not instant custard powder)

5ml Orange  Zest

Pinch Salt

1 fresh Bay Leaf

Method:

Preheat the oven to 170°C.

Line some cookie sheets with baking paper or parchment and set aside.

Grind the bay leaf together with a little bit of the sugar in a pestle and mortar then add to the rest of the sugar.

Using a mixer or wooden spoon cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.

Add the ClemenGold zest and beat in.

Sift together the flour, corn flour, custard powder  and salt then sprinkle onto the butter mixture and mix  well just until the dry ingredients are incorporated and come away from the sides of the mixing bowl.

Lightly dust a work surface with flour and turn the dough out onto the counter.

Roll out the dough with a flour dusted rolling pin about ½ – 1cm thick.

Cut out the dough into shapes with cookie cutters.

Place the shapes onto the prepared cookie sheets and bake for between 10 – 15minutes  or until very pale brown and crispy.

Sprinkle hot shortbread  with extra castor sugar and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container.

Package and tie with ribbon to make wonderful home baked Christmas gifts!

TIP: You can use all flour if you prefer but the secret to light crispy shortbread is to use a fine product like corn flour and custard powder.

Enjoy… and to all of my readers finishing off work today and travelling on holiday, I wish you safe travels and a wonderfully blessed and happy Christmas season from my home to yours!

browniegirl xx

CHRISTMAS FRUIT MINCE PIES 

Makes 12 – 18 (depending on size of your pan)

Ingredients:

500g Fruit Mince

½ ClemenGold – zest and juice

For the shortcrust pastry

200g Cake Flour

100g very cold butter, cut up into small blocks

65ml castor sugar

2,5ml Salt

30+ml ice cold water (I float a few ice blocks in it to ensure that it is very cold)

1 Egg – beaten for egg wash

Method:

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl, add the sugar.

Rub in the butter cubes, using only the tips of your fingers until you have a breadcrumb consistency. (I like to use my Kenwood chef with the dough hook on medium speed for this).

Mix in 15ml water with a knife (or the dough hook on your machine) and start bringing the pastry together (of course use your finger tips again if you don’t have a machine).

Try not to handle the pastry too much, you want it to remain as cold as possible.

Add a bit more water as needed until you have the right consistency to mould the pastry into a ball without it being sticky. If it is too dry it wont roll out nicely.

Wrap the dough in some cling film and let it rest in the fridge for about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Mix the finely grated zest and juice (or you can go for 15ml brandy or rum if preferred) into the prepared fruit mince and set aside.

Cut rounds to fit into a muffin pan. The tops of my muffin pan moulds are 70mm wide so I use an 85mm cookie cutter but any round shape from 85-100mm diameter with a sharpish cutting edge will work. Just remember the deeper your pie the more filling you may need to add!

Cut out an equal amount of stars to fit the top of each pie.

Place pastry rounds into the lined or greased muffin pans, fill with a heaped teaspoon of the mincemeat.

Brush the edges with beaten egg and place the stars on top.

Brush the tops with the egg wash then bake for about 15 minutes until golden brown.

Remove from pans onto a wire rack to cool down a bit.

Dust warm pies with sifted icing sugar and serve with a dollop of brandy butter, mascarpone or crème fraiche.

Enjoy,

browniegirl xx

Also blogged here

These holiday fruit mince bars make a great treat for kids and grown ups. They take me back to my childhood when my mom used to make these and fill the metal tins that stood high on a shelf in the pantry! You can, of course buy ready-made fruit mince from the store and jazz it up a  bit by adding some orange zest, a grated Granny Smith apple and a bit of orange juice. But I prefer to make my own.  See my recipe here

HOLIDAY FRUIT MINCE BARS

Makes about 15 bars or 25 squares 

Ingredients:

100g (½ Cup) Sugar

1 Egg

120g (½ Cup) Butter

1 ClemenGold – Finely grated zest of half  – reserve the other half zest and all the juice for the mince

280g (2 Cups) Cake Flour

5ml (1tsp) Baking Powder (level)

2.5ml (½ tsp) Freshly grated Nutmeg

2.5ml (½ tsp) Cinnamon

2.5ml (½ tsp) Vanilla Extract

500g (1 ½ Cups) Fruit Mince – warmed with the ClemenGold juice & half the zest

Method:

Preheat oven to 200C.

Grease or spray a 33x23cm baking sheet with shallow sides (or a swiss roll pan).

Cream butter and sugar well.

Add egg and beat in well.

Add vanilla essence and zest and beat in.

Sift flour, baking powder, salt and spices together over  the butter mixture and mix in well with the dough hook or K blade of your mixer until all the flour is incorporated.

Cut dough in half, wrap one half in cling wrap and place in the freezer  then press the other half evenly and thinly into the bottom of the prepared baking sheet.

Cover the entire surface evenly with the warmed (not hot) fruit mince.

Remove the other half of the dough from the fridge then using the large side of a grater grate it evenly over the top of the filling (you don’t have to freeze it but it grates much easier!).

Bake in the middle of the oven for 12 – 15 minutes until golden brown on top.

Remove from oven and cut, while still hot, into bars or squares with a sharp knife.

Cut around the 4 sides to release the biscuits from the pan while still hot then leave to cool in the pan before lifting out with a spatula.

Store in an airtight container.

Dust with icing sugar before placing on a serving plate…or eat as is, directly from the tin like I do

Enjoy!

browniegirl xx

A tradition in our home is to start Christmas Day with a steaming mug of coffee and a mince pie. Then we head off to church with the family and afterwards we all return home where Mommy Christmas (that would be me!) hands out all the Christmas gifts piled up under the tree. Of course more coffee and mince pies are on hand to enjoy amidst all the laughter and fun of ripping off colourful Christmas wrapping to expose the gifts hidden inside!

Of course you CAN buy fruit mince in jars…..and you CAN buy ready-made pre-packaged  mince pies. But there are none to beat home baked mince pies or fruit bars.

A bottle of this delicious fruit mince, with a recipe card for pastry tied around its neck with some festive ribbon, makes a wonderful homemade gift for a loved one!

I will be giving the recipes for mince pies and fruit bars tomorrow hopefully! Or maybe even later today. Time is running out and there are just a couple more days to Christmas!

FESTIVE FRUIT MINCEMEAT

Makes about 2kgs

Ingredients:

500g Apples (peeled cored cubed and cooked till soft)
100g Dried Apples – cut up finely
100g Dried Currants
100g Dried Sultanas
200g Dried Raisins
100g Candied Peel
100g Dried Dates Chopped
50g Dried Cranberries or Goji Berries
3 ClemenGold  – Zest and Juice
1 Lemon – Zest and Juice
30g Almonds (Blanched and chopped)
30g Hazelnuts (Blanched and chopped)
30g Pistachios – peeled and chopped
One Cinnamon stick
2,5ml Mixed Spice
2,5ml Dried Ginger
1ml Allspice
1ml Grated Nutmeg
170g Soft Brown sugar
60g Unsalted Butter
60ml Brandy & Rum mixed

Method:

Mix all the Ingredients together except the Sugar and Brandy, soak overnight.
Remove the cinnamon stick. Preheat oven to 120deg Celcius.
Add the Sugar, butter and alcohol & pour all  into a baking dish and bake in oven  for 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally.
Wash 4 to 6 x 500ml glass jars with lids in warm soapy water, rinse well then place on a baking tray and pop it into the oven with the fruit for the last ½  hour of baking.
Once the fruit is baked give it one last stir then spoon immediately into the hot sterilized jars.
Seal tightly with the lids.

browniegirl xx

Ever experience the simple joy of finding a piece of treasure in your Christmas pudding? I can remember the excitement around the table when we kids sat waiting for our slice of just steamed pudding to hit the spot on the placemat before us. That triumphant yell when either the spoon or your teeth found a hidden tickey or sixpence in your plate of pud. I can remember the excitement building up when I watched my mom boil the coins prior to mixing them into the pudding mixture. What fun! Those blissful days of childhood when simple pleasures were so thrilling. I do miss those days.

Today is the last Sunday before the Advent period on the Christian Christmas Calendar and traditionally in the old days the Christmas pudding was mixed on this day. It was (still is in many homes) known as “Stir-Up Sunday” and all the members of the family would have a chance to stir the pudding mixture and make a wish! You can read more about this event here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stir-up_Sunday Traditional Christmas puddings contain 13 ingredients to represent Christ and his 12 disciples and are always stirred from East to West to represent the Magi who visited the baby Jesus.

I have been commissioned to write some blog posts for ClemenGold, including a series of Christmas recipes and posts so I thought I would share these with you here as well.

I would like to encourage you to try and make your own Christmas Pudding this year if you have never made one before. Start a new tradition in your own family! It is really simple to make, just time consuming so make sure you have enough time to be around to allow it to steam when you make it. I like to make mine at least a week before Christmas and then just reheat it on the day!  There are many recipes out there, some fancier than others and containing suet, breadcrumbs, eggs and glace fruit. This eggless recipe, the one that I grew up with and which my mum grew up with, is a simple, easy recipe that does not contain too many ingredients. In fact I have pimped the original recipe a bit over the years (something I always do) and have made it my own with the addition of some stunning spices and, of course, citrus!  It is a beautiful sight when dressed up with some holly leaves and berries and silver dragees. You can also light your pudding at the table or bring it through flaming from the kitchen…just warm a ladle of brandy or rum, pour it over the pudding and set it alight for the alcohol to burn off!

 COLLEENS STEAMED CHRISTMAS PUDDING AND SAUCE

(requires standing overnight before steaming)

Serves 6 – 8

Ingredients:

300g (2 cups) Dried Fruit Cake Mix

280g (2 cups) Cake Flour

200g (1 cup) Granulated White Sugar

200ml ( ¾ cup)Glace Cherries – use the red and the green if you can!

brandy (optional) about 50ml

15ml (1 tbs) Butter

10ml (2 tsp) Bicarbonate of Soda

2,5ml ( ½ tsp) Allspice

5ml (1 tsp) Mixed Spice

1ml ( ¼ tsp) Finely grated Nutmeg (I only use the whole Nutmeg, it’s fresher!)

1 ClemenGold – finely grated zest and the juice (or use ½ an orange)

1ml (¼ tsp)pinch salt

50 g Walnuts – chopped (nuts are optional)

Method:

Squeeze the ClemenGold juice into a measuring jug, add the brandy if using and fill up to 250ml (1 cup) mark with the boiling water

Dissolve the butter in the hot water mixture

Dissolve the Bicarbonate of Soda in 250ml (1 Cup) cold water

Sift flour, salt and spices together in a large mixing bowl

Stir in the rest of the dry ingredients (excepting for the nuts)

Add the melted butter liquid

Add the bicarbonate of soda liquid

Stir all together well with a wooden spoon then covered with a lid or cloth (tin foil will also do) and stand it overnight. It looks very insipid at this stage!

Next morning butter well and dust with flour the bottom and sides of 1 large or 2 smaller heat proof pudding dishes.

If you have a traditional pudding steamer by all means use it as instructed! I have a beautiful steamer with quite a story attached. I inherited the original from my mom when she gave up her home and she inherited it from her mom who inherited it from my great grandma. This Quick Cooker bowl, I was told, came across to our shores on board ship with the 1820 settlers. I could never verify the story but it was certainly a very old bowl that I treasured and used once a year only to steam our Christmas pudding as my mom and grandmother had done when I was growing up. Some years ago it was broken irreparably, by someone who shall remain nameless, and I was heartbroken. I cried for about a week! I searched and searched the internet and managed to find one that looked the same on the Lakeland website. A couple of months later my kids, who were living in the UK at the time, bought the bowl and presented it to me for Mother’s Day when I went over to visit them. I was thrilled and I treasure it, although I do use it more often in the winter these days to make steamed puds. It is a bit different, the  ceramic is definitely thinner and the bowl is about half the size of my moms one and there are some little differences that I really miss, like the little middle cylinder that protruded right through the lid by about an inch and which you could wrap the string around when you tied it. The instructions are still printed on the lid as to how to tie it but there is nothing to loop it around anymore. I sadly don’t have a photo of the original but here is the one that I have treasured and made new memories with for the past 10 years….

Add the chopped walnuts to the pudding mixture and stir well

Pour the pudding mixture into the prepared pudding dishes – do not fill more than 2/3 full

Take a double layer of tin foil and make a fold down the centre then grease the one side with butter and place over top of pudding bowls (butter side underneath) and tie very tightly with string. Make an extra loop of string over the tops of the bowls to act as handles

Place pudding bowls onto inverted saucers in large saucepans and fill with boiling water to go a third of the way up the sides of the pudding bowls. No more water than this as you do not want a soggy pudding!

Steam, covered,  for about 3 hours (Replenish water as needed with boiling water from kettle)

Remove from saucepan and allow to cool for about 20 minutes then remove foil, turn over onto a plate and serve with sauce and cream, custard or ice cream.

Tips:

If making in advance then allow to cool completely before wrapping in foil until Christmas day. Heat it up, wrapped in the foil, in a preheated oven at 180^oC until heated through

Remove from foil and cut into slices. Serve with the sauce and a dollop of clotted cream

The brandy must be used to replace some of the hot water if you make this long beforehand!

SAUCE

Ingredients:

1 cup White Granulated Sugar

1 ½ c Hot Water

Juice and finely grated zest of 1 ClemenGold (or orange)

6 Whole Cloves

5ml (1 tsp) Butter

¼ cup Brandy (optional)

2 tsp Custard Powder (not the instant custard powder, the old fashioned type)

A little Milk

2,5ml Vanilla Extract

Method:

Boil water, juice, sugar and cloves together for 5 minutes in a small saucepan

Stir in butter and brandy

Mix custard with just enough milk to mix to a thin paste

Remove the saucepan from the heat, stir in the custard

Return pan to heat and bring back to boil while stirring to just thicken

Remove from heat, add the vanilla extract and allow to cool a bit before using

Remove cloves just before you serve

Can be stored, covered, in the fridge for a couple of days before using!

Happy stirring it up!

browniegirl xx

EDIT:

Where is my head at? I must have been looking at last years calendar or something…Stir-Up Sunday was LAST week Sunday as yesterday was actually Advent Sunday! My apologies if that confused everyone…. Heck what am I saying, I confused myself! Next year I shall see that I get it all right! But don’t let that stop you from trying out my delicious steamed Christmas pud. It is a winner! Thank you Michael for straightening that out for me. What are friends for? xx

Be there or be square……….big time!! NoMUUUU Sherlock!

Disclaimer: I did not receive any promting, requesting or payment to do this blog post.

I just want to share something this big with all of you!

See you there,

browniegirl xx