No-Bake Chocolate Christmas Pudding

Does anyone actually LIKE Christmas pudding? Sure, it wouldn't be Christmas without it, but in our hot South African climate, who wants to eat a heavy, steamy, piping hot custard-coated winter pudding? Bleh. Yes, our Christmas is peppered with all kinds of snow-covered European traditions but that doesn't mean we can't put our own twist on them. Forget reindeer - we should have springbok instead! But let me not get ahead of myself here, let's start with the important stuff; dessert. 

Looks like a figgy pudding - yes! Tastes like a figgy pudding? Well, erm no. It's a gajillion times better! 

Firstly-  it has chocolate in it. 
2) Condensed milk 
3) It's no-bake / no-steam / no-effort
4) It's still got all the Christmassy stuff in, but it's cold
5) You can put whatever the heck you want in it!
6) It's low-fat - JOKES! Oh heck no. Hear that? It's the sound of diets crashing everywhere! But hey, that's what January is for, right?!

Now, you might be thinking, this looks familiar. Remember my Peppermint Crisp Fridge Cake recipe? In celebration of it being shared over 21 500 times on Facebook (see there are LOTS of sugar addicts out there like us) I gave it a festive makeover with an unhealthy amount of Christmas cheer (and treats)! 

I've added ginger biscuits, cherries, pistachios, toasted hazelnuts, candied peel, dried figs, booze-soaked raisins, heck I even threw in some spices and drenched it 

in white chocolate. 

It's like a Christmas party - in your mouth! 

But also, it's muesli. 

No-Bake Chocolate Christmas Pudding

Serves 6-8

100g butter

300g milk or dark chocolate, chopped

½ tin (190g) sweetened condensed milk (eat the rest with a spoon)

1 tsp mixed spice

200g biscuits, crumbled (I used spiced ginger)

240g toasted nuts/soaked dried fruit/cherries/candied peel/caramel popcorn/marshmallows etc

100g white chocolate, melted

Start by lining the inside of a medium-sized 1.5L mixing bowl with 2-3 layers of clingwrap. 

In a saucepan, combine the butter, milk chocolate and condensed milk over low heat and stir until melted.

In a separate bowl, mix together the spice, biscuits, nuts and fruit. Stir into the chocolate mixture and mix well. 

Pour into the lined mixing bowl then place in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours or until set. 

Remove from the mould and turn onto a serving plate. 

Spoon the melted chocolate onto the top and coax it down the sides. 

Decorate with sprinkles or Christmas decorations.

Serve thin slices with strong coffee or a glass of brandy. 

MORE CHRISTMAS RECIPES WITH A TWIST:

Gingerbread Train

Christmas Malva Pudding

Spiced Chocolate Cheesecake

Gingerbread Macarons

Gingerbread Train

Gingerbread houses are SO last year. They're out, and gingerbread trains are IN! 

Okay, so I made that up but that should totally be the case. Just look at all that spicy cuteness ready to go 'choo choo' straight into your mouth! 

And honestly, having made two gingerbread houses before (you can see them over HERE), this train is a breeze to make. Far easier than trying to get four walls and a roof to stand up straight!

How fabulous would this look as a centrepiece on your Christmas table?! 

And the best part is that guests can tuck into the train with their coffee afterwards. 

I mean!

Gingerbread train

Makes 1

Recipe adapted from Donna Hay’s Gingerbread Garland

125g butter, softened

90g Muscovado or brown sugar

230g golden syrup

375g cake flour

2 tsp (10ml) ground ginger

1 tsp (5ml) mixed spice

1 tsp (5ml) bicarbonate of soda

Royal icing

1 large egg white, beaten

2 cups icing sugar, sifted

squeeze of lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 180C. 

Cream the butter and sugar well until very pale and fluffy. 

Add the syrup, flour, spices and bicarb and mix until a smooth dough forms. 

Roll the dough out on a floured surface or between two sheets of baking paper until 4mm thick. Refrigerate for 30 minutes if too soft. 

Using train cookie cutters, cut out the shapes and place on a lined baking sheet. 

Bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until golden and crisp. Allow to cool completely.

To make the royal icing, whisk the egg white gently then add the icing sugar until a stiff paste forms. Add the lemon juice and stir before placing in a piping bag. 

Sandwich the various components together with the royal icing and allow to dry. Then decorate the carriages using the rest of the icing and sweets, if desired. Allow to dry thoroughly before stringing the train carriages together with ribbon.

Store in an airtight container.

TIPS

• I used the Tescoma train cookie cutter set (visit their Facebook page here) but you could also use this print out HERE, cut out the shapes then trace around them on the dough using a knife. 
• You don't even have to use all the train cutters provided - simply cut out 4 of the main silhouette shapes and stack those together. You'll lose the 3D effect but it will look just as good!
• In order to get perfect shapes, refrigerate the dough once you've rolled it out so the shapes don't shift when you lift them onto a baking tray.

Gingerbread macaron Christmas tree decorations

Why buy Christmas tree ornaments when you can make them yourself, and then eat them?! This was the very epiphany I had last week when after moving into a new house I suddenly realised I had nothing to decorate a tree with (in my spring-cleaning chuck-everything-away state they were tossed in the bin). But if you're a baker, who needs glass/plastic baubles when you can make your own which coincidentally look and ARE good enough to eat. My infatuation with macarons continues this year (I tried to convince you all last year to give them a bash with this Christmas mince pie macaron version) with my spiced gingerbread macaron - which I might add, if Christmas had a taste, would taste like this! And with the beautiful edible copper, gold and silver dusts and glitter you can buy these days, it's super easy to add sparkle to your tree. Hang them up and after Christmas dinner, when the family asks where's dessert? Channel your inner Heston Blumenthal and just point to the tree!

I know macarons are daunting but I've tested this recipe so many times I can recite the quantities and it works every time. My five crucial points to success are:

1. Grind and sift the almonds and icing sugar thoroughly

2. Beat the egg whites until very stiff - they should form very stiff peaks. 

3. Fold until the mixture looks like lava - it should ooze when dropped from your spoon. 

4. Check your oven temperature! 

5. Bake on the lower third rack of your oven. 

Gingerbread macaron Christmas tree trinkets

Makes about 30

120g ground almonds
200g icing sugar

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp mixed spice

100g egg whites (about 3 large eggs)

1/4tsp cream of tartar

35g castor sugar

Spiced white chocolate ganache

110ml cream

peel of 1 orange

1 tbsp ground ginger

1 tsp mixed spice

250g good-quality white chocolate, chopped

Edible copper or gold dust and glitter, for dusting

Line 2-3 baking sheets with good-quality baking paper or even better, silicone sheets. Using a tot glass, trace circles onto the baking paper then flip it over – you’ll need these as a sizing guide (unless your piping skills are of Martha Stewart quality!)

Blend the almonds, icing sugar and spices together until fine. Sift the mixture to remove any clumps then blend any leftover mixture and sift again until nothing remains. 

Begin beating the egg whites and cream of tartar on low speed. Once the egg whites are very foamy and white, begin sprinkling in the sugar as you beat. Increase the speed to medium, if necessary, and beat the meringue to very stiff glossy peaks. The meringue should be very firm.

Add about 1/4 of the almond/sugar mixture and fold until no streaks remain. Continue to add the almond mixture in quarters, folding until incorporated. The mixture should be a lava consistency so when dropped, it should start spreading and oozing. 

Spoon the batter into a piping bag and pipe rows of batter onto the baking sheets using the circles as a guide, giving them enough space to spread. Tap the pan on the counter to bring up any air bubbles and quickly pop them with a toothpick if necessary. 
Allow the cookies to rest on a level surface for 30-60 minutes until they are no longer tacky to a light touch. This is a very important step so don't be tempted to be impatient!
While they rest, place an oven rack in the lower 3rd of your oven and preheat to 150C (conventional oven, if fan-forced, reduce by 20C). Check your oven isn't too hot or too cold by using an oven or sugar thermometer.
Bake the cookies for 16-20 minutes. They’re ready when you lightly touch them and they no longer have any ‘give’.

Make the ganache by heating the cream and orange peel together until just simmering. Set aside for 1 hour to infuse before heating again and pouring over the white chocolate. Stir until melted then mix in the spices and allow to set until spreadable.

Sandwich the macarons together with the ganache. Using a clean soft paint brush, coat the macarons with edible copper or gold dust. 

TIP To turn the macarons into tree decorations, insert a long piece of wire with a hook at the top into the macarons while sandwiching them. Allow to set before hanging them up with ribbon or thread.