No matter how delicious the rest of the Christmas feast, the puddings and cakes get as much, if not more, attention. I have always maintained that for every dessert that needs eating on the day it is made, Christmas only becomes bearable for the cook if there is something in the cut-and-come-again style. Something like a fruit cake or cheesecake or maybe a tray of cookies that will stay in good condition for a day or two (the cheesecake) or a week or so (fruit cake, flapjacks, etc). This year Ihave a selection of sweet treats for you that I hope will keep everyone happy, yourself included.
The cake is a gingerbread-Christmas cake hybrid, where the fruit sinks to the bottom, and the top is coated in dark chocolate. Lighter than our traditional cake, it has something of the German spice cake about it. To keep it exceptionally moist, I fed it with sweet marsala for a few days before icing itwith bitter chocolate. Ihope you enjoy it.
Pomegranate and prosecco jelly
A festive dessert for those who don't want anything creamy or particularly sweet to end their meal.
MAKES 6 OR SO LARGE MARTINI GLASSES
pomegranates about 6 large ones (700g seeded weight)
prosecco or other sparkling wine 750ml
gelatine leaves 8 (12g)
Remove the seeds from the pomegranates. You can either peel theskins away and pull the seeds awayin lumps, separating them as you go, oryou can cut the pomegranates in halfand knock the seeds out with awooden spoon.
Warm half of the wine in a small saucepan, turn off the heat then drop in the gelatine, leaf by leaf. Leave to soften – it shouldn't take more than 5minutes – then pour in the remaining wine and stir till the gelatine has dissolved. If there is any froth on the surface, place a piece of kitchen paper on top of the liquid, pat down gently then remove – the froth will come withit.
Divide the pomegranates between 6medium martini glasses, filling them a good two-thirds full. Pour in the prosecco, then transfer to a fridge and leave for a good 4 to 5 hours.
Morello cherry cheesecake
SERVES 8-10
For the base:
almond or shortbread biscuits 300g
butter 65g
For the filling:
morello cherries 350g (about 220g drained weight), bottled or canned
cream cheese (full fat) 600g
golden caster sugar 200g
eggs 4
egg yolk an extra 1
lemon zest 1 tsp, finely grated
vanilla extract a few drops
soured cream 300g (2 x standard 142ml pots will do)
For the cherry sauce:
morello cherries the reserved ⅓
caster sugar 100g
For the chocolate decoration:
dark chocolate 70g, to decorate the cheesecake cake
You will also need:
a round cake tin with a removable base or a spring-form cake tin measuring 22cm in diameter and about 7.5cm high
Line the base of the cake tin with kitchen parchment to stop the base sticking. Drain the cherries thoroughly in a sieve over a bowl, reserve the juice.
To make the base, crush the biscuits to a fine, sand-like texture in a food processor. Melt the butter and add to the biscuit crumbs, then use them to line the base of the lined cake tin. Refrigerate for half an hour.
Set the oven at 140C/gas mark 1. To make the filling, put the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a food mixer and cream together, using a flat beater, for a couple of minutes till smooth. Add the eggs and the extra egg yolk, in small amounts, beating thoroughly as you go. Scrape down the sides of the bowl regularly with a rubber spatula.
Add the lemon zest and the vanilla extract. Switch the machine off, then fold in the soured cream, firmly but gently with a large spoon, followed by two-thirds of the cherries.
Put the cake tin in a roasting tin, then pour in the filling. Pour hot water into the roasting tin to come halfway up the outside of the cake tin, then place carefully in the oven. Bake for an hour. You will find that the middle of the cheesecake will feel uncooked and wobbly, but that is how it should be. Switch off the oven, close the door and leave the cake for a further hour.
Remove the cake from the oven, allow to cool and refrigerate thoroughly overnight. (Don't skip this step or your cake won't set.)
To make the cherry sauce, pour the reserved cherries and their juice into a saucepan. Add 100g of caster sugar and boil till reduced by half. Chill the cherry sauce thoroughly in the fridge, then serve with cheesecake.
Make shavings of chocolate using avegetable peeler and scatter over the cheesecake.
Vin santo with dates, figs and vine fruits
If vin santo, the sweet Italian dessert wine, escapes you then you could use an oloroso sherry for this.
SERVES 6
vin santo 500ml
large dried figs 150g
large raisins 50g
dried cherries 50g
golden sultanas 50g
dried apricots 150g
Pour the vin santo into a deep pan. Tear open the figs, don't chop them, then add them to the pan with the raisins, cherries, sultanas and apricots.
Bring to the boil then lower the heat slightly so they simmer for 10 minutes, till fruits are juicy. The liquid will have reduced slightly. Leave to cool, so the fruits plump up with vin santo. Serve warm or thoroughly chilled.
Spiced Christmas cake
A lighter style cake, spicier than the traditional recipes, that marries mixed spice and ginger with dark chocolate. It is a cross between a gingerbread and a classic Christmas fruit cake. To my mind it has something of the German spice bread to it. This is not a solid, fruit-studded cake, and the sultanas and peel will settle in the lower half of the cake. It is best kept wrapped in foil for no longer than a week.
SERVES 12+
self-raising flour 300g
ground ginger 2 level tsp
mixed spice 2 tsp
bicarbonate of soda 1 level tsp
salt a pinch
agave syrup 250ml
butter 125g
golden sultanas 125g
raisins 125g
chopped candied peel 50g
dried cherries 75g
dried apricots 100g, thinly sliced
skinned hazelnuts 100g
dark muscovado sugar 125g
golden caster sugar 125g
eggs 2 large
milk 250ml
sweet Marsala about 50ml
For the chocolate coating:
dark chocolate 150g
You will also need:
a round, deep-sided cake tin measuring approximately 22cm, lined on the bottom with baking or greaseproof paper
Set the oven at 180C/gas mark 4.
Sieve the flour, ground ginger, mixed spice, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a mixing bowl. Put the agave syrup and the butter, cut into small pieces, into a pan and warm over a low heat. Add the sultanas, raisins, peel, cherries, sliced apricots, hazelnuts and sugars to the pan. Leave the mixture bubbling gently for a minute then turn off the heat.
Briefly beat the eggs in a bowl, add the milk and mix gently. Pour the butter and syrup mixture into the flour, stir thoroughly but gently with a large metal spoon, then add milk and eggs, mixing slowly and deeply.
Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 60-70 minutes, or until a skewer, inserted into the centre of the cake, comes out relatively clean. The cake may have sunk a little in the middle. Leave the cake in its tin to cool, run a palette knife around the edge, then tip out on to a sheet of greaseproof paper. Wrap it up again in foil and leave to mature for a day or two. To keep the cake really moist, once it is cool, pierce the cake all over with a skewer. Spoon over the marsala, letting it drop into the holes. Seal the cake in film and foil and put in a cool place for a day or two.
To decorate, melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, then trickle over the cake letting it run down the sides. Scatter edible gold dust over the cake.
Chocolate fruit flapjack
MAKES 12
walnut pieces 30g
pistachio nuts 40g
soft-dried figs 70g
dried cherries 40g
pumpkin seeds 50g
porridge or rolled oats 200g
ground almonds 35g
butter 100g
caster sugar 80g
maple syrup 80ml
dark chocolate 150g
You will also need:
a non-stick baking tin about 24cm square
Set the oven at 160C/gas mark 3. Put the walnuts, pistachios, figs, cherries and pumpkin seeds in a food processor. Blitz to a rough mixture. Stir in the porridge oats and the ground almonds.
Melt the butter in a pan, add the sugar and maple syrup. When it comes to a rolling boil, tip in the dry ingredients, stir thoroughly and tip into the baking tin. Press the mixture down firmly then bake for 20-25 minutes.
Press the bars down firmly as they cool, cutting them into 12 small bars.
Melt the chocolate over simmering water. Dip the bars into the chocolate, leaving some of biscuit uncovered.
