Nut Free - Christmas cake, Christmas pudding, Roast fillet of beef,Sausage, sage & onion stuffin
Hot toddy fruitcake
PREP: 20 MINS COOK: 3 HRS plus overnight soaking
MORE EFFORT CUTS INTO 12 SLICE
For the cake
200ml hot, strong black tea (use any type)
3 tbsp whisky
3 tbsp good-quality orange marmalade, thin or medium shred
700g mixed dried fruit
100g mixed peel
100g glacé cherry (natural colour)
225g butter
225g golden caster sugar
4 eggs, beaten
225g plain flour
1 tsp ground mixed spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
finely grated zest 1 lemon
To feed the cake
2 tsp caster sugar
50ml hot black tea
1 tbsp whisky (or use orange juice if you prefer)
Mix the hot tea, whisky and marmalade in a large bowl until the marmalade melts. Stir in all of the dried fruit, peel and cherries, then cover and leave to soak overnight.
Next day, heat oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3 and grease and double-line a 20cm round, deep cake tin with non-stick baking paper. Using electric beaters, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition, then fold in the flour and spices, followed by the lemon zest and soaked fruit. Add any liquid that hasn’t been absorbed by the fruit, too. Spoon into the prepared tin, level the top, then bake for 1½ hrs. Turn the oven down to 140C/fan 120C/gas 1 and bake for another 1½ hrs or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack in the tin.
While the cake is still warm, use the skewer to pepper the cake with holes, poking it all the way down. Dissolve the sugar in the tea, add the whisky or orange juice, then spoon over the surface. If you’re making the cake ahead of time, feed it with a fresh swig of hot toddy every week, but take care not to make the cake soggy. Can be kept for a month well-wrapped in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. If short on time, the cake can be made the same day that you decorate it.
Chocolate, fruit & clementine Christmas pudding
PREP: 30 MINS COOK: 2 hrs plus 3 days soaking EASY SERVES 6-8
85g mixed fruit
85g dried cranberry
zest and juice 2 clementines
zest and juice 1 lemon
100g softened butter, plus extra for greasing
100g dark muscovado sugar
50g self-raising flour
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp mixed spice
2 eggs, beaten
1 eating apple, peeled, cored and grated
50g fresh white breadcrumbs
50g glacé cherry, roughly chopped
85g dark chocolate chip
Soak the mixed fruit, cranberries and zests in the clementine and lemon juices for 3 days, stirring daily, keeping the bowl covered with a tea towel.
Butter a 1-litre pudding basin and line the bottom with a greaseproof paper circle. Beat together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Sift in the flour, cocoa and spice, then stir in before adding the eggs. Stir in the apple, soaked fruits and liquid. Add the breadcrumbs, cherries, and chocolate chips, mixing thoroughly.
Fill the basin with the mixture, then cover with a double thickness of greaseproof paper, pleated in the middle. Cover this with a layer of foil, pleated in the middle, then tie tightly with string.
Place the pudding in a large saucepan on a trivet or upturned saucer so it doesn’t touch the bottom, then fill halfway up the basin with hot water. Bring to a simmer, cover the pan, then cook for 2 hrs.
Roast fillet of beef with mushroom stuffing
PREP: 30 MINS COOK: 1 HR plus cooling Challenge SERVES 6 WITH LEFTOVERS
Serve up a spectacular centre piece of roast beef with a rich stuffing
25g dried porcini mushrooms
400g wild mushroom
200g shallots
knob of butter, plus extra for roasting
2 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 thyme sprigs
1½ kg/3lb 5oz beef fillet
For the sauce
1 tbsp plain flour
3 tbsp brandy
400ml hot beef stock
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
2 tbsp crème fraîche
handful parsley, chopped
Tip the porcini into a bowl and pour over 250ml boiling water. Leave for 20 mins to soften and plump up, scoop out the mushrooms with a slotted spoon and finely chop, then strain the liquid (leaving behind the last drop as it might contain grit) and set aside.
Set aside about half the wild mushrooms, choosing those with the best shape, then finely chop the remainder. Chop 1 shallot very finely. Heat a large frying pan, add the butter and 1 tbsp olive oil, then cook the chopped shallot and garlic over a medium heat for 3-5 mins until softened. Tip in the chopped porcini and stir around the pan for 2 mins. Add the chopped mushrooms to the frying pan along with the thyme sprigs. Cook for 10 mins until lightly browned and any liquid has evaporated. Leave to cool.
Place the beef on a board. Take a sharp knife and make a slice length ways along the fillet, about one-third of the way down, so it folds out like a book. One side of the beef should now be thicker than the other. Make another length ways slice along the thick half of beef so the beef unfolds to a flat, evenly thick piece of meat, about the size of an A4 page. Spread the mushroom mixture all over the beef and season really well. Tightly roll up the beef to reform into a log and tie about 8 pieces of string around to secure well.
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Place a large heavy-based roasting tin over a high heat on the hob (ensure that it will fit in your oven beforehand). Heat some more butter and the other 1 tbsp oil in the tin, then fry the beef, turning every couple of mins, until well browned all over. This will take about 10 mins.
Tip the whole shallots into the tin around the beef and toss them in the oil. Roast for 20-25 mins for rare, 35 mins for medium and 45 mins for well done. If you have a thick piece of meat, it may take a little longer. Ten mins before the end of cooking, stir the whole mushrooms around the pan, coating well in the oil and juices, then leave to roast alongside the meat and shallots. Leave the meat to rest on a board for 10-15 mins and keep the vegetables warm in a serving dish while you make the sauce.
Place the tin back on the hob. Stir in the flour, mixing well into any oil in the pan, then very carefully pour over the brandy, making sure you don’t pour straight from the bottle. Use a small whisk to stir in the brandy, scraping up all the lovely browned bits from the tin. When the brandy has nearly boiled away, pour over the strained mushroom liquid and beef stock. Cook for about 5 mins until the liquid just coats the back of a spoon, then stir in the mustard and crème fraîche. Season, sprinkle with parsley and pour into a gravy boat. Cut the beef into thick slices and serve with the vegetables, gravy
Sausage, sage & onion stuffing
PREP: 20 MINS COOK: 40 MINS cook in the turkey or separately for 40 mins EASY SERVES 8/10
2 onions, sliced
25g butter
1 small Bramley apple, peeled, cored and diced
2 x 400g packs meaty Cumberland sausages, removed from their skins
handful sage, leaves chopped, plus extra for topping
140g granary breadcrumb
Fry the onion in the butter for 5 mins, then add the apple and cook briefly. Cool, then mix with remaining ingredients and seasoning.
Use to stuff the neck end of the bird, then roll any leftovers into balls. Or, pack the whole mixture into a 1kg loaf tin and top with extra sage leaves. Bake with turkey for 30-40 mins. Drain off any fat and serve sliced.
Gingerbread Bûche de Noël
PREP: 35 MINS COOK: 12 MINS MORE EFFORT CUTS INTO 10-12 SLICES
Give the classic chocolate Bûche a makeover with festive flavours of ginger, cinnamon, treacle and golden syrup and creamy butter icing
50g butter, plus extra for greasing
50g treacle
50g golden syrup
2 balls stem ginger, finely grated, plus 2 tbsp of the syrup
4 large eggs
100g dark muscovado sugar, plus extra for dusting
100g plain flour
¼ tsp baking powder2 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cinnamon
For the icing
200g butter, softened
300g icing sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp ginger syrup, from the stem ginger jar
white pearl sprinkles, to decorate
Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Grease and line a 20 x 30cm Swiss roll tin with baking parchment, then grease the parchment a little too. Put the treacle, syrup, butter and stem ginger in a pan, heat until melted and stir to combine, then set aside to cool a little.
Put the eggs and sugar in a bowl and whisk using an electric hand whisk until light, mousse-like and doubled in size – this will take about 10 mins. The mixture is ready when it holds a ribbon trail from the beaters for 3 secs. Sift over the flour, baking powder and spices, then pour the melted butter mixture around the sides of the bowl so that it trickles down into the whisked eggs. Very gently fold everything together with a large metal spoon. When just combined, pour the mixture into the Swiss roll tin and ease it into the corners. Bake for 12 mins until just cooked.
While the sponge is cooking, lay a sheet of baking parchment, big enough to fit the cake, on your work surface and dust with a little sugar. Once cooked, tip the cake directly onto the parchment. Use a small serrated knife to score a line about 2cm from one of the shorter ends, making sure you don’t cut all the way through – this will help to get a tight roll. Gently roll up from this end, rolling the parchment between the layers. Leave to cool like this on a wire rack to help set the shape.
To make the icing, put the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a large round nozzle, or use a plastic sandwich bag and snip off one corner to make a hole about 1cm wide. Unroll the sponge and drizzle the surface with 2 tbsp ginger syrup. Pipe a layer of ginger buttercream over the inside of the roll, then use the paper underneath to help tightly re-roll into a roulade. Slice off both ends for a neat finish. The Bûche can be frozen at this point – simply re-roll in the parchment, then in foil, and freeze. Defrost at room temperature before continuing.
Place the Bûche on a serving plate or board. Use the remaining icing to pipe a thick layer over the top of the sponge, zigzagging backwards and forwards to create a tight concertina pattern. Decorate with white pearl sprinkles, if you like. The Bûche will keep in a sealed container for up to 5 days, or can be frozen for up to two months.