INCREDIBLY EASY CHOCOLATE FRUIT CAKE

INCREDIBLY EASY CHOCOLATE FRUIT CAKE

I think it's hard to improve on this cake: dark, damp, squidgy and luscious; you don't taste the chocolate full-on - the cocoa just leaves a hint of smokey richness. Nor, I should add, do you taste the prunes. When I was making this cake for my TV programme, the cameraman, Wee Nev (Neville Kidd, the eminent DOP, for all IMDb-addicts) said with force “Eugh, I HATE prunes!” But when he ate it, later, he proclaimed it to be the best Christmas cake he'd ever had. And he asked for the recipe so that he could ask his wife to make it for Christmas. I don't mean to crow; it sounds so undignified. But it's important that you know how universally seductive this cake is, for all that it starts off "350g prunes".
I don't know what it is in the prunes that gives the cake its damp bounciness; all I know is that it works. You don't need to make this in advance, although you can, and you don't have to do anything much to make it, either. You just melt everything together, give or take, in a saucepan, pour from saucepan to cake tin and bake. It needs no icing, though I have suggested -- see p.267 if you need help with stockists -- a little festive decoration, below.
And there's no reason why you couldn't vary this method to make a Plain Dark Fruit Cake: just replace the Tia Maria with rum (or brandy if you prefer), making up the sweetness by adding a heaped tablespoon of marmalade; take out the cocoa, adding 2 tablespoons of flour to the 150g; and decorate with a sprig of holly or any of the suggestions below.
- Nigella Lawson

Ingredients

350g prunes, scissored or chopped
250g raisins
175g currants
175g soft butter
175g dark muscovado sugar
225g (175ml) honey
125ml Tia Maria or other coffee liqueur
juice and finely grated zest of 2 oranges
1 teaspoon mixed spice
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
3 eggs, beaten
150g plain flour
75g ground almonds
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

FOR DECORATION:
25g dark chocolate-covered coffee beans
approx. 10 edible gold stars
edible gold mini balls
edible glitter, in Disco Hologram gold

Preheat the oven to 150°C/gas mark 2 and prepare a 20cm x 9cm deep, round, loose-bottomed cake tin by lining the bottom and sides with a double layer of baking parchment, as for the Traditional Christmas Cake on p.172 (though I find that if you use one layer of that tough, reusable silicone baking parchment, my beloved Bake-O-Glide, it does the job well enough, and as the cake is so dark, you don't see if it catches a little).
Put the fruits, butter, sugar, honey, Tia Maria, orange juice and zests, spice and cocoa powder into a large, wide saucepan and gently bring to the boil, stirring as the butter melts.
Simmer the mixture for 10 minutes, then take off the heat and leave to stand for 30 minutes.
When the 30 minutes are up -- it will have cooled a little, but you can leave it for longer if you want -- add the beaten eggs, flour, ground almonds, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda, and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula to combine.
Pour the fruit cake mixture into the prepared cake tin. Place in the oven and bake for 13/4--2 hours, by which time the top of the cake should be firm but will have a shiny, sticky look. If you insert a cake tester or skewer into it, the cake will still be a little gooey in the middle.
Put the cake, still in its tin, on a wire cooling rack -- it will hold its heat and take a while to cool; once cool, take it out of the tin and, if you don't want to eat it immediately (like any fruit cake it has a long life), wrap it in baking parchment or greaseproof paper then in foil and store in a cake or other airtight tin.
To decorate, though this is optional, place the chocolate-covered coffee beans in the centre of the cake and arrange the gold stars around the perimeter of the top. Then sprinkle some gold mini-balls over the whole cake, and the edible glitter over the top, not minding that you will be a-glitter yourself for a while.

Makes at least 10 generous slices

MAKE AHEAD TIP:
Make the cake up to 2 weeks ahead and wrap in a double layer of greaseproof paper and then a layer of foil. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. Decorate when needed.

FREEZE AHEAD TIP:
Make the cake and wrap as above. Freeze for up to 3 months. To thaw, unwrap the cake and thaw overnight at room temperature. Re-wrap and store as above until needed.

CHRISTMAS SPICED CHOCOLATE CAKE

CHRISTMAS SPICED CHOCOLATE CAKE

There are few more popular ways to end a dinner party than with a fallen chocolate cake – the cakes are so called because they are compact and flourless and, when cooling out of the oven, their rich centres drop and dip a little. It is into this dip, not so dramatic as to be called a crater, that you drop or scatter the sticky nut topping.I serve this with Cointreau Cream, made simply by whisking 250ml double cream until softly whipped, whisking in about 45ml of Cointreau (or Triple sec or Grand Marnier, of course) to taste at the end.
- Nigella Lawson

Ingredients

For the cake
150 gram(s) dark chocolate (chopped)
150 gram(s) butter (soft)
6 medium egg(s)
250 gram(s) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
100 gram(s) ground almonds
1 teaspoon(s) cinnamon sticks
1 pinch of ground cloves
1 zest of clementines
4 teaspoon(s) espresso coffee

For the topping
1 juice of clementines
15 gram(s) butter
1 tablespoon(s) caster sugar
¼ teaspoon(s) cinnamon sticks
50 gram(s) flaked almonds

Method

Take anything you need out of the fridge to bring it to room temperature. The only truly important thing, however, is that the eggs aren’t cold, so if they are, just put them into a bowl (I use the KitchenAid bowl I’m going to whisk them in later) and cover with warm water for 10 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. Butter the sides and line the bottom of a 23cm springform tin.

Melt the chocolate and butter together in a heatproof bowl, in a microwave according to the manufacturer’s instructions, or suspended over a pan of simmering water, and set aside to cool slightly.
Beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla together until thick, pale and moussy. They should have at least doubled in volume, even tripled. If you’re using a freestanding mixer, as I do, this is effortless.
Gently fold in the ground almonds, cinnamon, cloves, clementine/satsuma zest and espresso powder, taking care not to lose the air you have whisked in, then, finally, pour and scrape in the melted, slightly cooled, chocolate and butter, folding gently again.
Pour into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 35–40 minutes, by which time the top of the cake should be firm, and the underneath still a bit gooey.
Remove from the oven, and sit it on a wire rack, draped with a clean tea towel, to cool completely.

To make the topping for the cake, put the clementine/satsuma juice into a small, preferably non-stick, frying pan with the butter, sugar and cinnamon and melt everything together, then let it sizzle for a minute or so and begin to caramelize before adding the almonds.
Stir everything together, and occasionally tip the pan to keep it all moving; what you want is for all the liquid to disappear and the nuts to look shiny and be coated thinly in a fragrant, orange-scented toffee.
Remove to a plate and cool.

Unspring the cake and transfer to a cake stand or plate; I am brave enough to take it off its base sometimes, but don’t if you’re scared. Remember this cake, however intense and elegant within, has a rather ramshackle rustic appearance on the outside.
Scatter with the almonds, mainly letting them pile up in the centre of the cake, but drop a few here and there all over the top. And serve with the cointreau cream.

MAKE AHEAD TIP:
Make the chocolate cake up to 3 days ahead and store in an airtight container. Make the nut mixture and store, on baking parchment, in small airtight container or wrap in a loose “bag” of foil.

FREEZE AHEAD TIP:
Make and freeze the chocolate cake up to 1 month ahead. Thaw overnight in a cool room.

YULE LOG

YULE LOG

A traditional French bûche de Noël always looks just the right side of cutely enchanting, and there is nothing hard to like about its tender, melting chocolatiness. But I warm to it most of all for the rich pagan symbolism: it is no less than a cake-emulation of the log that the Norsemen would drag home through the streets to burn in celebration of the winter solstice and to honour the gods and hope, thus, to cajole from them a good year to come. But always, too, it is about bringing fire and light to cold and darkness; this, too, is the gift of the winter kitchen.
I know the recipe looks finicky, and I can’t promise it’s a doddle, but it works easily and you will soon find you are rolling chocolate logs without a care. In fact, if you have a lot of people coming round, and you can find a serving dish or board long enough, it might be worth making 2 cakes and sitting them end to end, to look like a really long log. But even if you’re making just one log, I advise at least a freestanding mixer or a hand-held electric whisk: I wouldn’t contemplate this by hand.
Now, it doesn’t look anything like a log when it is just a bald roulade, but once you’ve spread on the chocolate icing, made approximations of wood- markings on it (I use the sharp end of a corn-on-the-cob holder for this) and all, it does look quite impressive. I don’t go as far as the French, and make sugar mushrooms to adorn it: this is not only because I lack the talent, but also because a light snowfall of icing sugar is all this yule log really needs to complete its wintry perfection.
- Nigella Lawson

Ingredients

For the cake
6 medium egg(s) (separated)
150 gram(s) caster sugar
50 gram(s) cocoa powder
1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
4 teaspoon(s) icing sugar (to decorate)
For the icing
175 gram(s) dark chocolate (chopped)
200 gram(s) icing sugar
225 gram(s) butter (soft)
1 tablespoon(s) vanilla extract

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4.
In a large, clean bowl whisk the egg whites until thick and peaking, then, still whisking, sprinkle in 50g of the caster sugar and continue whisking until the whites are holding their peaks but not dry.
In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks and the remaining caster sugar until the mixture is moussy, pale and thick. Add the vanilla extract, sieve the cocoa powder over, then fold both in.
Lighten the yolk mixture with a couple of dollops of the egg whites, folding them in robustly. Then add the remaining whites in thirds, folding them in carefully to avoid losing the air.
Line a Swiss roll tin with baking parchment, leaving a generous overhang at the ends and sides, and folding the parchment into the corners to help the paper stay anchored.
Pour in the cake mixture and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Let the cake cool a little before turning it out onto another piece of baking parchment. If you dust this piece of parchment with a little icing sugar it may help with preventing stickage, but don’t worry too much as any tears or dents will be covered by icing later. Cover loosely with a clean tea towel.

To make the icing, melt the chocolate – either in a heatproof bowl suspended over a pan of simmering water or, my preference, in a microwave following the manufacturer’s guidelines – and let it cool.
Put the icing sugar into a processor and blitz to remove lumps, add the butter and process until smooth. Add the cooled, melted chocolate and the tablespoon of vanilla extract and pulse again to make a smooth icing. You can do this by hand, but it does mean you will have to sieve the sugar before creaming it with the butter and stirring in the chocolate and vanilla.

Sit the flat chocolate cake on a large piece of baking parchment. Trim the edges of the Swiss roll. Spread some of the icing thinly over the sponge, going right out to the edges. Start rolling from the long side facing you, taking care to get a tight roll from the beginning, and roll up to the other side. Pressing against the parchment, rather than the tender cake, makes this easier.
Cut one or both ends slightly at a gentle angle, reserving the remnants, and place the Swiss roll on a board or long dish. The remnants, along with the trimmed-off bits earlier, are to make a branch or two; you get the effect by placing a piece of cake at an angle to look like a branch coming off the big log.
Spread the yule log with the remaining icing, covering the cut-off ends as well as any branches. Create a wood-like texture by marking along the length of the log with a skewer or somesuch, remembering to do wibbly circles, as in tree rings, on each end.
You don’t have to dust with icing sugar, but I love the freshly fallen snow effect, so push quite a bit through a small sieve, letting some settle in heaps on the plate or board on which the log sits.

MAKE AHEAD TIP:

Make the Yule Log up to 1 week ahead and store in an airtight container in a very cool place.

FREEZE AHEAD TIP:

Make the Yule Log and freeze in a rigid container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in a cool room and store in an airtight container until needed.

CHRISTMAS MORNING MUFFINS

CHRISTMAS MORNING MUFFINS

I have never quite understood how people can go in for vast, rich breakfasts on Christmas morning.  I am hardly a modest eater by anyone's standards, but even I can't quite accommodate a platterful of buttery scrambled eggs with smoked salmon before the gargantuan Christmas feast.  And I speak as cook and eater on this one. I do, however, see the need to make breakfast special in some way, and these muffins do that. What's more, if you measure out the dry ingredients the night before and put the muffin cases in the muffin tin, you don't need to do anything more labour intensive on Christmas morning itself than preheat your oven, whisk up a few runny ingredients in a jug and stir them into the waiting bowl.  Then dollop the batter into the prepared muffin cases and all's sweet - and smelling of cinnamony, orange-scented Christmas.  A last, heartfelt, note: Christmas, as I've said often, is about ritual and tradition; we inherit some, we invent others.  But even those we invent are not sacrosanct.  These muffins were my way, years back, of establishing a Christmas routine as a grown-up, and I have no desire to change things - essentially - now.  But I've improved the recipe, and give you its new, evolved form here.  In the kitchen, as in life, it is possible to play with tradition, without turning away from the past.
- Nigella Lawson

Ingredients

250 gram(s) plain flour
2.5 teaspoon(s) baking powder
½ teaspoon(s) bicarbonate of soda
100 gram(s) caster sugar
1 teaspoon(s) cinnamon sticks
¼ teaspoon(s) ground nutmeg (or good grating of fresh nutmeg)
2 rasher(s) clementines (or satsumas)
125 ml full fat milk
75 ml vegetable oil (or melted butter left to cool slightly)
1 medium egg(s)
175 gram(s) dried cranberries
3 teaspoon(s) demerara sugar (for the topping)

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6. Line a 12-bun muffin tin with muffin papers or (as I have here) silicone inserts.
Measure the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, caster sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg into a large bowl; grate the zest of the clementine/satsuma over, and combine. If you are doing this in advance, leave the zesting till Christmas morning.
Squeeze the juice of the clementines/satsumas into a measuring jug, and pour in the milk until it comes up to the 200ml mark.
Add the oil (or slightly cooled, melted butter) and egg, and lightly beat until just combined.
Pour this liquid mixture into the bowl of dried ingredients and stir until everything is more or less combined, remembering that a well-beaten mixture makes for heavy muffins: in other words a lumpy batter is a good thing here.
Fold in the cranberries, then spoon the batter into the muffin cases and sprinkle the demerara sugar on top.  Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, by which time the air should be thick with the promise of good things and the good things themselves golden brown and ready to be eaten, either plain or broken up and smeared, as you go, with unsalted butter and marmalade.

PEANUT BRITTLE WITH ART AND SOUL

PEANUT BRITTLE WITH ART AND SOUL

This title isn’t a boast, but a name to denote provenance. It’s a recipe given to me, at my greedy request, by the cook-and-a-half, Art Smith. True, I’ve slightly simplified it, but only because I don’t have his deserved confidence, so I make my batch smaller, and leave out the difficult technical bits.
But even so, what this makes is fabulous: you really have to steel yourself to give it away.
- Nigella Lawson

Yield : Makes approx. 10 oz.

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
¼ cup water
½ cup light corn syrup
1 cup salted peanuts
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon soft butter
1¼ teaspoons baking soda

Method

Get out a large sheet of parchment paper or aluminum foil, place on a cookie sheet, and butter or oil it. Sit it by the stove, waiting to receive the brittle once it’s ready to pour.
Put the sugar, water and syrup into a saucepan, bring to the boil gently, then turn up the heat and let it boil for 8-10 minutes, swirling (but not stirring) the pan a couple of times, until the syrup has turned gold in color. It will be smoking by then, so be warned!
Take the pan off the heat and, with a wooden spoon, stir in the nuts, followed by the vanilla, butter and baking soda. You will have a golden, frothy, hot and gooey mixture.
Pour this briskly onto the waiting parchment or foil, using your wooden spoon to coax and pull it to make a nut-studded sheet, puddle-shaped though it may be, rather than a heap.
Leave it to cool, then break into pieces and store in at airtight container or box; or bag up to give at once as presents. You’ll get about 1 pound in total, and it’s up to you how much you want to put in each bag, really. I find it easier to do several small batches like this, rather than multiplying quantities as I cook.

GOATS MILK FLAPJACKS

GOATS MILK FLAPJACKS

We use apricots in this recipe but use any of your favourite dried fruits for a tasty classic flapjack.
- St Helen's Farm

Ingredients

75g St Helen's Farm goats' butter
75g soft brown sugar
75g oats
75g muesli
1 tablespoon golden syrup
25g dried apricots - chopped

Method

Melt butter and syrup, add oats, apricots and muesli. Mix well.
Press into 18 cm square baking tin and bake at 170°C, Gas 3 for 20-25 mins or until just brown.
Cool and cut into fingers.

VANILLA GOATS MILK ICE CREAM

VANILLA GOATS MILK ICE CREAM

A lovely vanilla ice cream, using fresh double goats' milk cream

Ingredients

300ml (half pint) St Helen’s Farm goats' milk
Half a vanilla pod
4 egg yolks
100g (4oz) caster sugar
250ml St Helen's Farm double goats' cream (2 x 125g pots)

Method

Pour the milk and the half vanilla pod into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for a few minutes.
Beat the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl and then carefully add the milk and beat well.
Return the mixture to the saucepan, heat gently and stir continuously until the mixture thickens and forms a film over the back of a wooden spoon. DO NOT BOIL.
Remove saucepan from the heat and leave until cool. Remove the half vanilla pod. Add cream and then stir into the mixture.
Pour into ice cream maker and follow instructions. Alternatively, turn the mixture into a freezer tray or basin and freeze until mushy.
Remove from the freezer and whisk for about 2 minutes. Return to freezer until firm.

Makes 750ml of ice cream.

SCOTCH PANCAKES

SCOTCH PANCAKES

When I was a child, we often had Scotch pancakes (out of a packet) when we got home from school. And the thing - for those of you who don't know - about Scotch pancakes is that they are not eaten like pancakes - hot with syrup and a knife and fork - but like toast, spread with butter and jam. I always remember them being on the cold side of lukewarm, but I think warm, though not so hot as to burn your fingers, is what you're aiming for.
- Nigella Lawson

Ingredients

½ teaspoon(s) white wine vinegar
150 ml milk
110 gram(s) plain flour
½ teaspoon(s) bicarbonate of soda
1 medium egg(s)
1 tablespoon(s) vegetable oil
1 tablespoon(s) golden syrup

Method

Put the vinegar into the (preferably room temperature) milk and set aside while you measure out the other ingredients.
Put the flour into a wide-necked jug or bowl and add the bicarbonate of soda.
In another jug or bowl add the egg, oil, and then with the oily spoon measure the syrup in and whisk everything together.
Add the vinegary milk, and then add the jug of wet ingredients to the dry, whisking to a batter.
Heat a flat griddle or heavy non-stick pan with no oil. Add 1½ tablespoons of batter to make each Scotch pancake, and then when bubbles appear flip them over to make them golden brown on either side.

CALEDONIAN ICE CREAM

CALEDONIAN ICE CREAM

This is a recipe from Glasgow’s Ubiquitous Chip restaurant brought to the masses by Delia Smith in her Summer Collection book.  Serves 8.  I’ve tried this recipe at home and it works well with our without an ice cream maker.

Ingredients

For the caramelised oatmeal

3 oz (75g) caster sugar
4 tablespoons water
2 oz (50g) pinhead oatmeal

For the syrup

4 oz (110g) caster sugar
4 tablespoons water

For the ice cream

1 pint whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Start by making the caramelised oatmeal. Put the caster sugar and water into a small saucepan over a low heat and leave it for 5 minutes. Then take a medium sized frying pan, place it on a medium heat and when the pan is hot, add the oatmeal and swirl it round the pan constantly so that it browns evenly – which it will do in about 5 minutes. Remove the oatmeal to a plate to prevent it becoming over-brown. By now the sugar in the saucepan will have dissolved so you can turn the heat up and let it boil. Watch it very closely until it becomes a rich brown caramel colour. Stir in the toasted oatmeal, remove from the heat and quickly pour the mixture onto a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Put to one side to get cold and firm (about 15 minutes).  Then take off small pieces at a time and pound them in a pestle and mortar until they are the size of large salt crystals (you could do this carefully in a food processor too but don’t overdo it and reduce it to too fine a powder).  Put to one side in an airtight container until you are ready to make the ice cream.

To make the sugar syrup, measure the sugar and water into a small saucepan, place it over a gentle heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved – about 5 minutes.
 Then remove from the heat and allow to become completely cold.

To make the ice cream, pour the cold syrup into a mixing bowl along with the whipping cream and vanilla extract.
Whisk with an electric whisk or mixer until the mixture just begins to thicken and hold its shape.
Then pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions until firm but still pliable.
If you don’t have an ice cream maker, freeze the mixture until firm but pliable in a large plastic container, beating vigorously every half hour or so with a wooden spoon.
Transfer to a bowl, stir in the oatmeal mixture, fold it in then spoon the ice cream into a loaf tin 7 1/2 by 4 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches.
Cover with a double thickness of foil and freeze until needed.

To serve, remove from the freezer to the refrigerator about 30 minutes before you need it. Dip the base and sides of the loaf tin into hot water for 10 seconds or so, loosen round the edges with a palette knife, then turn onto a plate.  Using a sharp knife dipped in hot water, cut into neat slices.

CRANACHAN WITH CARAMELISED OATMEAL AND RASPBERRY SAUCE

CRANACHAN WITH CARAMELISED OATMEAL AND RASPBERRY SAUCE

One of my own favourite Scottish desserts. In The Summer Collection we made Caledonian ice cream with caramelised oatmeal and now we’ve discovered it works really well with Cranachan. We find that frozen Scottish (or British) raspberries work better than the expensive imported fresh ones at Christmas.
- Delai Smith

Ingredients

 50g caster sugar, plus 3 heaped tablespoons
 125g pinhead oatmeal
 450g raspberries, frozen
 3 tablespoons whisky
 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
 450ml whipping cream

A small baking sheet, lightly oiled, and six sturdy conical (or other) 275ml serving glasses.

Method

To make the caramelised oatmeal, put 50g caster sugar and 2 tablespoons of water in a small saucepan over a low heat and leave it for 5 minutes. Then take a medium-sized frying pan. Place it on a medium heat and, when the pan is hot, add the oatmeal and swirl it round in the pan constantly so it browns evenly – which it will do in 5 minutes. Then quickly remove the oatmeal to a glass heatproof jug to prevent it becoming too brown. By now the sugar crystals in the pan will have dissolved, so you can turn the heat right up and let it boil (watching it like a hawk) until it begins to turn a rich caramel colour, rather like dark runny honey.

As soon as it reaches that stage, stir in the toasted oatmeal, remove it from the heat and quickly pour the mixture on to the oiled baking sheet then leave it on one side to get cool and firm (which will take approximately 15 minutes). Now break it up into small pieces then crush it in a processor until the tiny pinhead oats have become separate again.

Next deal with the raspberries by putting them (still frozen) into a medium saucepan with the remaining caster sugar and heat until the raspberries start to defrost and collapse. Bring them up to a gentle simmer and cook them for about 5 minutes, then cool and whiz them to a purée in a processor and finally push through a nylon sieve to extract the pips.

Now add the whisky and vanilla to the cream and whip it to the floppy stage. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the caramelised oatmeal for garnish, then fold in the rest into the whipped cream. Put a heaped tablespoonful of cream in each glass, then a couple of tablespoonfuls of purée and repeat, finishing with the cream. Lastly sprinkle on the reserved oatmeal. Cover and chill in the fridge till needed.

MINCEMEAT AND APPLE CRUMBLE FLAN

MINCEMEAT AND APPLE CRUMBLE FLAN

This, in all my years of cooking, is my favourite crumble topping and any leftover mincemeat mixed with apples is a great filling.
- Delia Smith

Ingredients

 1 lb 8 oz (700 g) Bramley cooking apples
 8 oz (225 g) Cox's apples
 6 tablespoons mincemeat
 1 oz (25 g) light brown soft sugar
 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
 ¼ teaspoon ground cloves

For the crumble

 4 oz (110 g) whole almonds, skin on
 3 oz (75 g) chillled butter, cut into small dice
 6 oz (175 g) self-raising flour, sifted
 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
 4 oz (110 g) demerara sugar
 custard or pouring cream, to serve
 Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6, 400F, (200C).

You will also need either an oval ovenproof baking dish 7½ x 11 inches (19 x 28 cm) and 1¾ inches (4.5 cm) deep, or a 9½ inch (24 cm) round ovenproof baking dish, 1¾ inches (4.5 cm) deep.

Method

Begin by preparing the apples. I always find the best way to do this is to cut them first into quarters, then pare off the peel with a potato peeler and slice out the cores. Now cut them into thickish slices and toss them in a bowl with the mincemeat, sugar, cinnamon and ground cloves, then place them in the baking dish and put to one side. Next, make the crumble, which couldn't be simpler as it's all made in a processor.

All you do is place the butter, sifted flour, cinnamon and sugar in a food processor and give it a whiz until it resembles crumbs.Next, add the almonds and process again, not too fast, until they are fairly finely chopped and there are still a few chunky bits. If you don't have a processor, in a large bowl, rub the butter into the sifted flour until it resembles crumbs, then stir in the cinnamon, sugar and almonds, which should be fairly finely chopped by hand. Now simply sprinkle the crumble mixture all over the apples, spreading it right up to the edges of the dish and, using the flat of your hands, press it down quite firmly all over; the more tightly it is packed together the crisper it will be.

Then finish off by lightly running a fork all over the surface. Now bake the crumble on the centre shelf of the oven for 35-40 minutes, by which time the apples will be soft and the topping golden brown and crisp. Leave it to rest for 10-15 minutes before serving, then serve it warm with custard or pouring cream.

MINCE PIE ICE CREAM

MINCE PIE ICE CREAM

300ml double cream
4 shop-bought quality mince pies (or home made if you have plenty)
500g Ambrosia Devon Custard (Tetra Pak), refrigerated until cold

Heat the oven to 140C/275F/Gas Mark 1. Firstly, in a medium-sized bowl, whip the double cream until it reaches the floppy stage, but isn’t too thick. Pop it into the fridge to chill.

Place the mince pies on a baking tray and put them in the oven for 10 minutes to freshen then leave them to go completely cold. Now chop the cooled mince pies fairly finely by hand (its not really worth putting them in a food processor) then in a medium sized bowl mix them with the cold custard before folding in the whipped cream.

Now pour the mixture into a pre-frozen ice-cream maker and freeze-churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions (you may have to do this in two batches, and it will take between 30 mins and an hour depending on the capacity of your machine). When the ice cream is soft-set, transfer it to a plastic box and freeze for 2 hours before you serve. If the ice cream is made well in advance and has frozen solid, remove from the freezer for 30 minutes before serving, to soften.

If you don’t have an ice-cream maker you can still make ice-cream. After you have made up your mixture, transfer it to a lidded plastic box and put it in the coldest part of the freezer for 2 hours, or until the contents become firm at the edges. At this stage, empty out the box into a mixing bowl and whisk the ice cream with an electric hand whisk to break down the ice crystals. Return to the plastic box and freeze for another 2 hours, then repeat the whisking process. Refreeze the ice cream until 30 minutes before you want to serve it.

GINGER ICE CREAM

GINGER ICE CREAM

Ice cream is an emotive subject: people have very different ideas as to what is good ice cream, but home-made ice cream is still the best of all. This recipe is the best I know for a vanilla ice cream, but I have added some preserved stem ginger for an extra exotic dimension.Serves 4-6 (makes about 1¼ pints/725 ml)
- Delia Smith

Ingredients

 4 pieces stem ginger, chopped into ¼ inch (5 mm) cubes, plus 2 extra to decorate
 2 tablespoons ginger syrup from the stem ginger jar
 10 fl oz (275 ml) double cream
 10 fl oz (275 ml) single cream
 4 large egg yolks
 1 oz (25 g) caster sugar
 2 slightly rounded teaspoons cornflour
 3-4 drops vanilla extract

You will also need a polythene box, with a base measurement of 7 x 5½ x 2½ inches (18 x 14 x 6 cm)

First of all, whip the double cream until it reaches the floppy stage but isn't too thick then pop it into the refrigerator to chill. At the same time, put the polythene box into the freezer to chill as well.
Now make the custard by first pouring the single cream into a saucepan and then heating it to boiling point. Meanwhile, beat together the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour in a bowl until absolutely smooth. Next, pour the hot cream on to this mixture, beating with a wooden spoon as you pour. Now return the custard to the pan and continue to whisk it over a medium heat until it has thickened and come up to boiling point again. (Ignore any curdled appearance, which may come about if you don't keep stirring and have the heat too high. The cornflour will stabilise it, so don t worry – it will always regain its smoothness when cooled and whisked.)
Now place the bowl of custard in a bowl of cold water, and stir it now and then until absolutely cold. Then, fold in the chilled whipped cream, chopped stem ginger, ginger syrup and vanilla extract. Pour the whole lot into the chilled polythene box, cover and freeze for 2-3 hours or until it is just beginning to set.
As soon as the mixture is freezing round the edges, remove it from the freezer, tip it into a mixing bowl and whisk it very thoroughly with an electric hand whisk. Then return the mixture to the box, put the lid back on and replace in the freezer. Leave for about another 3 hours before giving it a final whisking. Now return it to the freezer until you want to serve it. Then, 45 minutes before serving transfer it to the refrigerator to allow it to soften to a scoopable consistency.
Serve the ice cream with a garnish of stem ginger cut into matchstick strips and a small amount of syrup poured over.

PEAR AND GINGER MUFFINS

PEAR AND GINGER MUFFINS

Ingredients

250g flour
2 teasps baking powder
150g caster sugar
75g light brown sugar, plus ½ teasp per muffin for sprinkling
1 teasp ground ginger
1 x 142ml pot sour cream
125ml vegetable oil
1x 15ml tablesp honey
2 eggs
1 large pear such as a Comice (or other fruit to give you about 300g in weight), peeled, cored and cut into 5mm dice

Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6 and line a 12-bun muffin tin with muffin papers.

Method

Measure into a bowl the flour baking powder, caster sugar, 75g of brown sugar and the ground ginger.
In a large measuring jug, whisk together the sour cream, oil, honey and eggs and then fold into the dry ingredients.
Lastly, mix in the diced pear, and divide the batter evenly between the muffin cases.
Sprinkle each one with ½ teaspoon of brown sugar and bake for 20 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack. Beast eaten still a little warm.

GINGER JAM BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING

GINGER JAM BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING

This is the wholesome, comforting version of a trad English (white) bread and butter pudding that my maternal grandmother always made. Use apricot jam or regular orange marmalade if ginger's not your thing.
- Nigella Lawson

Ingredients

75 gram(s) unsalted butter
75 gram(s) sultanas
3 tablespoon(s) dark rum
10 slice(s) brown bread
10 tablespoon(s) marmalade (or ginger conserve)
4 medium egg yolks
1 medium easter egg(s)
3 tablespoon(s) caster sugar
500 ml double cream
200 ml full fat milk
1 teaspoon(s) ground ginger
2 tablespoon(s) demerara sugar

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4.

Grease a pudding dish with a capacity of about 1½ litres with some of the butter.
Put the sultanas in a small bowl, pour the rum over, and microwave them for 1 minute, then leave them to stand. This is a good way to soak them quickly but juicily.
Make sandwiches with the brown bread, butter and ginger jam (2 tablespoonfuls in each sandwich); you should have some butter left over to smear on the top later.
Now cut the sandwiches in half into triangles and arrange them evenly along the middle of the pudding dish. I put one in the dish with the point of the sandwich upwards then one with flat-side uppermost, then with point-side uppermost and so on, then squeeze a sandwich-triangle down each side - but you do as you please. Sprinkle over the sultanas and unabsorbed rum that remains in the bowl.
Whisk the egg yolks and egg together with the caster sugar, and pour in the cream and milk. Pour this over the triangles of bread and leave them to soak up the liquid for about 10 minutes, by which time the pudding is ready to go into the oven. Smear the bread crusts that are poking out of the custard with the soft butter, mix the ground ginger and demerara sugar together and sprinkle this mixture on your buttered crusts and then lightly over the rest of the pudding.
Sit the pudding dish on a baking sheet and put it in the oven to cook for about 45 minutes or until the custard has set and puffed up slightly. Remove, let sit for 10 minutes - and spoon out into bowls, putting a jug of custard, should you so wish, on the table to be served alongside.

CHRISTMAS ROCKY ROAD BARS

CHRISTMAS ROCKY ROAD BARS

It’s not that I felt my usual Rocky Road Crunch Bars needed any improvement (though fiddling with recipes is one of life’s pleasures) but I thought they would benefit from some seasonal adjustment. So, out go the Rich Tea biscuits and in come amaretti and – in the seasonal spirit – I’ve crammed in some Brazil nuts and glacé cherries (as red as Rudolph’s nose), along with snowy mini marshmallows. The fresh snowfall of icing sugar on top might seem seasonal enough, but not for me. So I add some edible glitter in Disco Hologram White.
- Nigella Lawson

Ingredients

250 gram(s) dark chocolate
150 gram(s) milk chocolate
175 gram(s) butter (soft)
4 tablespoon(s) golden syrup
200 gram(s) amaretti biscuits
150 gram(s) brazil nuts (shelled)
150 gram(s) glace cherries (red)
125 gram(s) mini marshmallows
1 tablespoon(s) icing sugar
1 sprinkling of edible glitter

Method

Chop both sorts of chocolate small, or use chocolate buttons made for melting, and then put into a heavy-based pan to melt with the butter and syrup over a gentle heat.
Put the biscuits into a freezer bag and bash them with a rolling pin to get big- and little-sized crumbs; you want some pieces to crunch and some sandy rubble.
Put the Brazil nuts into another freezer bag and also bash them so you get different-sized nut rubble.
Take the pan off the heat, and add the crushed biscuits and nuts, whole glacé cherries and mini-marshmallows. Turn carefully to coat everything with syrupy chocolate.
Tip into a foil tray (I use one 236mm x 296mm), smoothing the top as best you can, although it will look bumpy.
Refrigerate until firm enough to cut, which will take about 1 1/2–2 hours. Then take the set block of rocky road out of the foil tray ready to cut.
Push the icing sugar through a small sieve to dust the top of the Rocky Road. Then, if you like, add a sprinkling of edible glitter for some festive sparkle.
With the long side in front of you, cut into it 6 slices down and 4 across, so that you have 24 almost-squares.

MAKE AHEAD TIP:

Make the Rocky Road and refrigerate to set. Don’t add the icing sugar yet, but cut into bars, then store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 1 week. Decorate with icing sugar and edible glitter about 1–2 hours before serving.

GIRDLEBUSTER PIE

GIRDLEBUSTER PIE

I confess: it was the title that lured me. Tell me you don’t feel the same. I came across this in a recipe by Elinor Klivans, whom I often turn to for chocolatey solace, in her The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook, which includes the wonderful phrase “let the chocolate chips fall where they will”. Although her recipes always work to the letter, my recipe is not hers. I am inspired by the digestive and chocolate base and coffee ice cream filling (though if you’re feeding children, I’d suggest vanilla) but I like a butterscotchy topping, which sets the minute it hits the ice cream. Sometimes bits of ice cream bubble up to the surface, making the top gloriously Florentined.
And the joy of the girdlebuster (as it is known for short at home) is that, should there be any left, you can put it back into its dish and just stash in the freezer again for midnight feasts. Admittedly, this is not huge, but a small slice is all that’s needed. Do not let it “ripen” out of the freezer before slicing because it all gets too sticky and drippy and messy.
- Nigella Lawson

Ingredients

For the base
375 gram(s) digestive biscuits
75 gram(s) butter (soft)
50 gram(s) dark chocolate chips (or pieces)
50 gram(s) milk chocolate chips (or pieces)
For the ice cream filling
1 litre(s) coffee ice cream
For the topping
300 gram(s) golden syrup
100 gram(s) light muscovado sugar
75 gram(s) butter
¼ teaspoon(s) maldon salt (or pinch of table salt - optional)
2 tablespoon(s) bourbon
125 ml double cream

Method

Process the biscuits with the butter and chocolate pieces or chips until it forms a damp but still crumb-like clump.
Press into a 23cm pie plate or flan dish. Form a lip of biscuit a little higher than the plate or dish if you can. This process takes patience as you need ideally to form a smooth even layer. Sorry.
Freeze this biscuit-lined layer for about an hour so it gets really hard. In the meantime, let your ice cream soften, just enough to be scooped, in the fridge.
Spread the ice cream into the hard-biscuit-lined dish to form a layer. Then cover in clingfilm and replace in the freezer.
Put the syrup, sugar, salt (if using) and butter into a saucepan and let it melt over a low to medium heat, before turning it up and boiling for 5 minutes, then turn off the heat and add the bourbon, letting it hiss in the pan.
Add the cream and stir to mix into a sauce, then leave to cool. And once the sauce is cool, but not set cold, pour it over the pie to cover the ice cream layer and then put it back in the freezer. Once frozen, cover with clingfilm again.
When ready to serve, remove from the freezer, take the whole pie out of its dish and cut into slices. Should you have any pie left over, slip it quickly back into the dish and return, covered with clingfilm, to the freezer.