The Feast before the Famine

 

Christmas food is always so rich that we try to restrict it to just a couple of days consumption. However, this year I have been trialing recipes and testing the results over two or three weeks. Mince pies have come and gone in their dozens. My Husband has been demanding 'Mr Kipling' pastry which has caused me to experiment with varying proportions of ingredients in order to replicate that undercooked texture.
 



I experimented with at least four different variations of which I'll share my thoughts with you before I give you my chosen recipe.

 

Shortcrust Pastry Recipe

 

I experimented with using self-raising and plain flour combinations following the basic rules of making both plain and sweet shortcrust pastry. My first observation was that self-raising flour produced the softer texture I was looking for. The rest of my attempts to produce a subsitute  'Mr Kipling' pastry, was based on using a good quality self-raising flour. Allinson proved the best.

 

My Husband has a 'sweet tooth' so two versions using icing sugar against castor sugar to sweeten the pastry were made. I prefered the castor sugar result.

 

Next, the decision about which fats to use and in what combination and proportion. Again, several batches were made. More then half fat to flour worked the best. At the same time, I used different liquids to bind the ingredients together. Whole egg, egg yolk, milk & cold water being used either mixed in combinations or separately.

 

I still haven't developed a pastry which my Husband says is as good as 'Mr Kipling' but I did produce a pastry which earned many compliments. My preference is for my homemade pastry. However, I will continue its development next Christmas. For now, I am satisfied that the following recipe compares well with the 'Mr Kipling' pastry. In fact, I prefered mine everytime we did a taste test. My Husband didn't. His verdict - "Close, but not close enough".

 

Mince Pies using Homemade Sweet Pastry & Mincemeat

 

Sweet Pastry Ingredients

 

350g/12oz self-raising flour

¼ tsp salt

75g/3oz TREX

125g/5oz butter

2 level tbsp castor sugar

3-4 tbsp cold water (1 small egg beaten with 1 tbsp cold water also worked well)

 

Filling

Homemade mincemeat

 

To serve

Icing sugar

 

Method

1. Sieve the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl.
2. Add the sugar and fats. Rub in the TREX & butter with your fingertips until the mixture looks like moist crumbs. Avoid forming big clumps. Hand mixing, rather than machine, allows more control.
3. Add 3 tbsp cold water or water & egg mix. Mix together with a round-bladed knife until the pastry clings together. Add a further tablespoon of liquid if required, (I needed to) to form a pliable dough, wrap in cling film and chill for 15 minutes.
4.  Heat the oven to 200°C/fan oven 180°C/Gas Mark 6.
5.  Cut the pastry in half to make it easier to roll out. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface until 3mm thick (thickness of a pound coin). You should be able to cut out approximately 18 rounds with a 7.5mm (3in) cutter and 18 rounds with a 6mm (2 ½in) cutter. Re-roll excess pastry and cut out further rounds to use up the pastry.
6.  Place the larger rounds of pastry into patty tins and add 2 heaped teaspoons of mincemeat to give a good depth of filling.
7.  Brush the rims of the smaller pastry rounds with water or beaten egg, then place on top of the filled pastry bases, waterside down & seal the edges together.
8. For a pale crust like Mr Kipling, place in the oven without glazing.
9.  Bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly coloured.
10. Sieve icing sugar over the tops when cold.

Next year, I will be experimenting with vegetable shortening in my quest to produce a 'Mr Kipling' pastry that my Husband says is "exactly right!"

 

My Mincemeat Recipe

 

Ingredients for approx 1.3kg/3lbs

125g/4oz glace cherries – cut in half

225g/8oz sultanas

25g/8oz raisins

25g/8oz currants

1 orange, zest & juice

1 lemon, zest & juice

60ml/2fl oz brandy

 

2 Bramley apples, peeled, cored, chopped, cooked to a pulp & cooled

25g flaked almonds – chop (I prefer this to buying chopped almonds)

50g/2oz candied peel

175g/6oz soft brown sugar

100g/4oz beef suet

2 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

 

Method

1. Place the cherries, sultanas, raisins, currants, orange & lemon juice & zest plus the brandy into a large mixing bowl and allow to soak for about 12 hours.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
3. Pack into sterilised jars placing a waxed disc on top of the mincemeat and seal.
4. Store in a fridge/cool dark place and use within one month.

In 2011, I didn't have time to make our Christmas Puddings so after paying a fortune to buy two really quite small puddings from Lakeland, I was determined to make my own for 2012. I have used my recipe since I was at school, just adapting it each time I make it to include different fruits and nuts. I decided to follow my basic recipe this time and as the quantity makes two puddings, I will just have to add extra brandy or sherry next Christmas before reheating. Served with custard made from mainly single cream and extra vanilla extract, the pudding proved a hit.

 

Christmas Pudding cooked in a Tefal Vitacuisine Steamer

 

Ingredients
 

Place the following ingredients in a bowl & soak for approximately 12 hours:

1 orange, zest and juice

1 lemon, zest and juice

4 tbsp brandy

100g/4oz glace cherries cut in half

225g/8oz currants

225g/8oz raisins

225g/8oz sultanas

50g/2oz mixed peel

1 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

 

After soaking, add the following ingredients & mix well:

 

225g/8oz fresh white breadcrumbs

50g/2oz plain flour

50g/2oz flaked almonds

225g/8oz soft brown sugar

225g/8oz beef suet

1 peeled & grated apple

1 peeled & grated carrot

4 whisked eggs

 

Completion
 

1. Divide the mixture between two buttered 1 litre/2 pint heatproof pudding bowls, filling almost to the rim, then level the top.
2. Cover each bowl with a large piece of greaseproof paper, folded in the middle and secured with either an elastic band or string. Cover that with a large piece of aluminium foil and tightly fold foil edges under rim to secure.
3. To cook, stand both puddings in the body of the steamer which has been prepared following the steamer instructions. Place the lid on the steamer and steam for six hours, topping up the water as needed.
4. After six hours, remove the bowls from the steamer and leave to cool.
5. Remove covers & add 4tbsps brandy. Cover with new greaseproof paper and foil.
6. Store in a cool, dry place.

To reheat, steam for two hours in the Vitacuisine Steamer, checking the water levels every 30 minutes.

 

I developed my chocolate torte dessert after four enjoyable attempts changing ingredients and proportions. We settled on the following torte to offer as an alternative to the Christmas Pudding. It is incredibly rich but wonderful. I used frozen raspberries as I couldn’t find good fresh ones. I was delighted with the Waitrose raspberries, even when defrosted, they held their shape well, were of a good colour and it was obvious that they had been handled well in production. I almost served them whole rather than making them into a sauce. They had a good flavour as well.

 

 

Chocolate Torte with Raspberry Couli

 

 Ingredients

 

Biscuit Base

 

75g /3oz butter

40g /1½oz castor sugar

100g/4oz Amaretti biscuits finely crushed

50g/2oz plain digestive biscuits finely crushed

 

Torte

 

450g plain/milk chocolate mix

75ml/5 level tbsps glucose syrup

600ml/1 pint double cream

2 rounded tbsps castor sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

 

To Serve

 

 300ml/10 fluid ozs whipped double cream and raspberry couli

 

 Method

 

1. Biscuit Base - Melt the butter and sugar in a saucepan over a gentle heat and stir in the biscuit crumbs. Press evenly over the bottom of a buttered loose-bottomed 20 cm/8” round cake tin or fluted flan dish. Chill.
2. Place chocolate & glucose in a large bowl and melt over a pan of hot water.
3. Cool.
4. Whip cream, vanilla extract & sugar together. Use a balloon type whisk to mix the cream into the chocolate. Pour over biscuit base.
5. Set in fridge.
6. Remove torte from tin - upturn a bowl, place the torte tin on the top and carefully slide the tin side down. Place onto a flat plate.
7. Serve cut into wedges with whipped cream and raspberry couli.

 

Raspberry Couli

 

300g/ 10ozs Waitrose frozen British raspberries

2 tbsps Splenda

2 tsp lemon juice
 

Method

 

1. Place the raspberries, Splenda and lemon juice in a saucepan and cook on a medium heat until the Splenda has dissolved and the fruit becomes soft and juicy.
2. Press the mixture through a fine sieve to remove the seeds.
3. Cool.

My Husband loves ice-cream so he bought me a Kenwood Ice Chef in May 1986 just in time for summer use. My Husband says it has not been used enough. Every Christmas, I make ice-cream. Every new year, we diet. This year, I am aiming to make more use of this great piece of machinery by experimenting  with producing low calorie sorbets in the Ice Chef to aid our 2013 campaign.

I made vanilla ice-cream as another alternative to the Christmas Pudding. I adapted my usual recipe to make it less rich, by substituting  milk for some of the double cream. It worked well.

 

 

 

Vanilla Ice-Cream using my Kenwood Ice Chef

Ingredients

300ml/½ pint full-fat milk

2 rounded tsps custard powder

600ml/1 pint single cream

50g/75g caster sugar

2 tbsps Vanilla extract

6 egg yolks

300ml/½ pint double cream

 

Method

1. Whisk sugar, vanilla extract & egg yolks together until thick.
2. Blend custard powder into the milk and bring to the boil, simmer for a few minutes to allow the custard powder to cook out.
3. Add the single cream to the cooked milk and bring back to the boil. Stir all the time.
4. Strain hot cream & milk into the egg mixture and whisk in well.
5. Strain into a clean, cool pan and heat until custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Do not boil.
6. For a few minutes, put the pan into cold water to stop the mixture cooking.
7. Strain into a mixing bowl, cover with wet greaseproof/baking paper and allow to go cold.
8. Whisk occasionally to prevent skin forming and to add texture.
9. Whisk double cream to floppy stage and mix into the egg custard mix.
10. Place in churner and freeze until set.

For all sorts of reasons, I haven’t made a Christmas Cake for many years. Nostalgia got the better of me as I was restocking the kitchen cupboards when we returned from Greece. I came across the Christmas cake decorations I used when I made my very first Christmas cake whilst I was in Y11 at school. It made me search out my old recipes and I decided to replicate it for 2012. Knowing that my Husband doesn’t need any encouragement to eat sweet things, the cake was to be small and shared with my family, to the delight of my brother-in-law.

My Husband loves marzipan and when I have made a cake in the past, I have always bought, or made, more marzipan than the cake required. As a real nostalgia treat for him, I decided to do the same again and use the excess to make sweets for him.

18cm/7” Round Christmas Cake

Ingredients

300g/10ozs currants
125g/5ozs sultanas
125g/5ozs raisins
25g/1oz mixed peel
50g/2oz glace cherries, halved
½ lemon – zest & juice
4 tbsps brandy
 

125g/5oz plain flour

½ tsp mixed spice
½ tsp ground cinnamon
125g/5oz butter
125g/5oz dark soft brown sugar
2 eggs
25g/1oz flaked almonds

Method

1. Marinade the fruit, citrus zest, cherries & mixed peel in the brandy and citrus juice overnight.
2. Grease an 18cm/7”round cake tin and double line the bottom and sides with baking parchment.
3. Heat the oven to 170⁰C/Gas 3.
4. Sieve the flour, mixed spice and cinnamon onto a plate.
5. Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy.
6. Whisk the eggs and mix the eggs into the creamed mixture 1 tablespoon at a time. Add a tablespoon of the flour mixture with the last amount to avoid curdling.
7. Mix in the dried fruit, mixed peel, glace cherries and the almonds.
8. Fold in the remaining flour mixture.
9. Turn the mixture into the prepared tin and make a slight hollow in the centre of the mixture. Wrap the tin in brown paper and place on a baking tray.

Baking

170⁰C/Gas 3 and bake for 1 hour

Turn oven down to 150⁰C/Gas 2 and bake for 1 hour
Turn oven down to 130⁰C/Gas 1 and bake for 1 hour

After 3 hours, test with a skewer. If not ready bake for up to another hour testing every 20 minutes until the skewer comes out clean. Cover with brown paper if cake is sufficiently brown.

Storage

Pour and skewer 4 tbsps brandy into the cake before wrapping in greaseproof paper & tin foil. Store in an airtight tin until ready to complete with marzipan & icing.

To Decorate

500g/1lb Tesco Natural Almond Marzipan

2 tbsp Tesco Finest Apricot Conserve
Icing sugar for rolling marzipan

Royal Icing

3 egg whites

600g/1lb 5oz icing sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice