Little Mincemeat Souffle puddings: as always, Delia is spot on

Straight out of the oven and nicely risen

I couldn't let Christmas go without a seasonal offering and yes, it's late to be posting this, but this recipe is a light and delicious alternative to rich Christmas pudding which can be very easily made. Whats more, is that these delightful souffles can be made ahead and reheated or even frozen for a later date. The recipe is from Delia Smith's Christmas (1990) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Delia-Smiths-Christmas-Smith/dp/0563370645/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1356359851&sr=8-2 This is a book that has been reprinted and revamped a number of times and my version is the hardback copy. It's a copy that I've owned for the last 13 or 14 years and really I should make more use of it. There are some brilliant recipes  and the book is organised into chapters such as canapes and nibbles; all kinds of Christmas cakes; a vegetarian Christmas; the last 36 hours; ducks, geese and game; homemade sweets and chocolates, to name but a few. In fact it is very comprehensive in covering all angles and I find all the recipes I have tried to be a resounding success. Take the Truffle torte on page 154, this is a decadent, rich chocolate dessert that is so easy but impressive, guests never fail to love this! The Sausage rolls on page 72 are lovely and you get that satisfaction from making your own flaky pastry. Tomorrow I'm going to give the Parmesan-baked parsnips a go (page 142) and serve alongside all my other veggies...Happy Christmas!


Little Mincemeat Souffle Puddings (copyright Delia Smith 1990)

Serves  8
110g butter
100g caster sugar
6 large eggs, separated
175g light ginger cake, reduced to crumbs in a food processor
A pinch of ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
110g mincemeat
Grated zest of 1/2 lemon
Extra butter and caster sugar for coating the ramekins
You will need eight  (9cm) ramekin dishes

Trying one out today, reheating rest tomorrow.

Creaming the butter and sugar

Folding in cake crumbs, mincemeat, spices and zest.

Whisked meringue mixture

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Brush the ramekins with melted butter and tip a dusting of caster sugar in to coat, tip out the excess. Arrange the ramekins in a roasting tin.
2. In a mixing bowl cream the butter and 50g of the sugar together until the mixture is pale and fluffy.
3. Beat in the egg yolks, a little at a time. Fold in the cake crumbs, followed by spices, mincemeat and lemon zest. 
4. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks and gradually whisk in the remaining 50g sugar. The mixture will be like meringue, carefully fold into the rest.
5. Spoon an equal quantity into each ramekin, pour approximately 1cm of boiling water into the roasting tin and bake for 25 minutes.  
6. Slide a palette knife round the edge and turn out on to serving plates, dust with icing sugar and serve.

Carefully folding in.

Spooned into the ramekins ready to be baked

Served with pouring cream, why not try chilled rum sabayon? (p.44)

These puddings really are great and my daughter loved them - she's not a fan of Christmas pudding. Another good thing about them is that they don't require too many difficult ingredients: I had a jar of mincemeat in the cupboard and used the McVities golden syrup cake that can be bought in any UK supermarket.

Instant chocolate mousse for everyone!

What child (or grown up for that matter )would not enjoy this?

Ready to sit and chill in the fridge until later

I first spied this recipe for Instant chocolate mousse in a Sunday supplement quite a few years ago when they were obviously promoting Nigella Lawson's latest book of the time Nigella Express (2007) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nigella-Express-Lawson/dp/0701181850/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354017518&sr=1-1 (this link I've added is to the paperback, you can still get the hardback version which is what I've used). At the time I duly stashed it away in one of my many folders of collected recipes from magazines and then promptly forgot about it! It wasn't until passing a second hand book shop a few weeks ago that I spotted a copy of the book in the window for a fiver and thought 'bargain, I've only got three other Nigella books!'. So after a quick flick through I was once again reunited with this recipe that looked so appealing years ago. One of the great things about this mousse recipe is that it has a lack of raw egg so there is none of that worry about giving it to small children.

 I may also add I have yet to cook anything else from this book. On reflection there are without doubt some very tempting offerings. Take the Doughnut French toast on page 188 (looks like a sublime sweet treat) or the Juicy beef skewers with horseradish dip (perfect for a standing up buffet). Every single recipe is accompanied by a beautiful photograph of the finished article so you know what you've got to aim for. Like my previous blog entry, this is another fast food book- offering; something we are all grateful for with our eternally busy lives.

A great recipe to do with the kids

Instant chocolate mousse (copyright Nigella Lawson 2007)

Serves 4-6
150g mini marshmallows
50g soft butter
250g good dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces
60ml hot water from a recently boiled kettle
1 x 284 ml tub double cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

Melting the ingredients

A good quality vanilla extract is so much better than an essence

Whisking the cream

1. Put the marshmallows, butter, chocolate and water in a heavy-based saucepan.
2. Put the saucepan on the hob over a gentle heat to melt the contents, stirring every now and again. Remove from the heat.
3. Next, whip the cream with the vanilla extract until thick and then fold into the cooling chocolate mixture until you have a smooth, cohesive mixture.
4. Pour or scrape into 4 glasses or ramekins, about 175ml each in capacity, or 6 smaller (125ml) ones, and chill until you are ready to eat.

Incorporating cream and chocolate mixture

Spooning into bowls

Tips: This mousse is delicious but also very rich! The smaller portion (125ml) seems plenty. Also, don't over whisk the mixture as it will still set after and hour or so in the fridge even it it seems quite runny in the bowl.

The ultimate treat for any cook: Larousse Gastronomique

Maybe it's just me, but don't you find when you're doing a spot of Christmas shopping you seem to come across a multitude of items that would be so suitable for yourself and there's nothing much cop for anyone else! Well, this year my Christmas present to myself just had to be the wonderful Larousse Gastronomique, it is a veritable feast of knowledge on food and its history, cookery techniques, culinary terms, chefs... you name it, it's got everything in it. Oh and it's got 3,800 classic recipes! Now of course almost anything can be easily sourced over the web these days, but this book is an object of beauty that will adorn your bookshelf with pride and with everything you need to know in one gorgeous volume you just can't say no - well I couldn't!

Simplicity of design

Endorsed by no less than Heston and Gordon!

This will definitely look good on my bookshelf ;)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Larousse-Gastronomique-Hamlyn/dp/0600620425/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354047221&sr=8-1