christmas pudding ice cream

A colleague of mine at work gave me this recipe because he heard I was a foodie.

Ingredients

375g packet mixed fruit
¼ bottle brandy
2 oz dark chocolate
4 egg whites
150g icing sugar
600ml cream
1 level tbsp mixed spice
1 rounded teaspoon cinnamon
1 level teaspoon nutmeg
2 oz slivered almonds, toasted

Soak the fruit overnight in the brandy. Next day beat the egg whites until stiff, then gradually add sugar into the egg whites, slowly so the mixture holds its air.

Melt the chocolate and fold carefully into the egg white mixture.

Whip the cream until it holds its shape, adding the spices. Fold the egg white and dream and fruit together, adding the almonds at the end.

Freeze in a covered metal or plastic container for at least three hours before serving.

Keeps up to three months in the freezer.

lazy mince pies

It is the Christmas season, and time for mince pies. But when you are busy there is no time for finesse, and if you (like me) dare to bake when it is 37C outside, you need to be as quick as possible.

I hate the mince pies you get from the supermarket, or even the local bakeries. They seem to be heavy on the pastry and light on the fruit mince. So I make my own every year, using shop-bought ingredients.

In Australia they sell shortbread pastry already rolled out so the work is even easier.

My three tips are:

1. Lace the fruit mince with a generous quantity of rum, sherry or brandy before starting.

2. Don't bother with lids. Just cut out circular shapes for the shells, fill with the fruit and bake.

3. Decorate afterwards with chopped glace cherries and blanched almonds.

Finally, dust the baked pies with Splenda or any other granulated sugar substitute instead of sugar. It gives you a reason to eat more than one at each setting!