The festive season is fast approaching, whether you like it or not.
For many of us, a highlight of December 25 will be a Christmas pudding, which most of us tend to buy, rather than make.
For many, Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a Christmas pudding.
If you’ve ever wanted to try making your own, we’ve got this Christmas pudding recipe to try, courtesy of Phil Skinazi, executive pastry chef at Gleneagles.
Christmas in my family always starts on 13 December, when we collectively write our Christmas menu. Over the years, this has evolved into a Skype group chat between my Mum, my sister, brother, auntie and me.
Both my parents were born and raised in the West Indies, and my father is of Polish and French descent, so there’s an eclectic mix of food influences and we share a diverse culinary palate.
Some dishes, like the cold turkey and ham are staple items, but we always include a ‘guest meat’ or fish each year, such as roast salmon, duck, goose or venison.
We don’t have a starter; we go straight into the main meal and alongside the meats and fish, we always enjoy a varied platter of chutneys, relishes, salads, vegetables and sides, such as American style corn pie and Caribbean macaroni pie.
Afterwards, we pull the crackers, tell jokes and put on our Christmas hats. It’s only at this point, once the Christmas hats come out, that the Christmas pudding is ready to make its ceremonial entrance into the dining room, ablaze with my dad’s best brandy.
This year, we’re launching a delicious Gleneagles & Co Christmas pudding, which is handmade in our pastry kitchen. It’s based on the recipe featured here, along with a few additional secret ingredients – which in turn was developed from my family’s special recipe that I’ve enjoyed since childhood.
We use the very best ingredients, including the best quality mixed peel, and soak the dried fruit in alcohol over several months, which rehydrates the fruit and enhances the natural sugars. The soaking process and hand mixing leads to some of the fruit breaking down which gives the pudding a lovely even texture.
The Newcastle Brown Ale adds a lovely, malty richness, while the mixed spice and cinnamon goes wonderfully with the brown sugar and citrus notes, and immediately fills the house with the ‘scent of Christmas’ as soon as the pudding begins to cook.
During the cooking process, the pudding gains moisture through the muslin cloth, so that when you cut into it, you’re met with a delicious, steaming, sticky spectacle of festive cheer.
I love to eat Christmas pudding with brandy sauce or poured double cream, but it’s also delicious with brandy butter, ice-cream or custard.
In my family, at this point, we retire to the living room to relax in front of the fire, enjoy a glass of port and play board games. Throughout the rest of the evening, we take it in turns to head back to the dining room for a sneaky nibble, and to get ourselves an extra serving of Christmas pudding!
The Gleneagles & Co Christmas puddings will be sold in the Garden Café, and also available online in their festive hampers from late-November.
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