Mandarin Christmas pud with rum caramel

Celebratory food has a very specific smell. Often, even the slightest sensory nudging can transport us back to occasions, simple or resplendent. For us, Christmas is this time.

As friends and family arrive, they gravitate towards the kitchen, throwing last-minute advice around like they’re experts on bread sauce or the ideal internal temperature of lamb.

Although our Christmas falls in summer, I still love the wintery nuances of cinnamon, cloves and oranges, and more especially the pleasure that comes with warm, boozy puds. To date, this is the most-loved and lethal dessert of the season, scoffed greedily by both pudding lovers and the emphatically resistant non-pudding eaters, too!

Pudding

30 ml golden syrup

10 whole walnuts

125 ml mixed dried fruit

30 ml brandy (optional)

110 g butter, at room temperature 160 g demerara sugar

2 extra-large eggs

zest of 1 orange

45 ml Aperol marmalade (see recipe below)

200 g self-raising flour

15 ml ground ginger

5 ml mixed spice

5 ml bicarbonate of soda

a pinch of salt

160 ml full-cream milk

4 knobs preserved ginger, finely chopped

50 g walnuts, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Grease a 2-litre pudding basin and line the base with parchment paper. Pour the syrup onto the paper lining and stud with the whole walnuts.

Heat the dried fruit and brandy together in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Set aside to plump up while you make the batter.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and pale. Add the eggs one at a time and beat for 2 minutes. Add the zest and marmalade and mix to combine.

Sift together the flour, spices, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Add the flour mixture and milk to the butter in alternate stages. Mix slowly to incorporate.

Fold the soaked fruit and any remaining juices into the batter along with the ginger and chopped walnuts. Scrape the batter into the pudding basin. Bake for 1 hour, 15 minutes, covering with foil for the last 15 minutes. Cool for at least 30 minutes before turning out.

Aperol Marmalade

Makes 8–10 jars

Around July, when we’re deep into winter, my mother and I set one day aside to make marmalade. Starting the day before, the fruit is sliced, wafer-thin, then steeped in water overnight. The next morning, we set about sterilising the jars, knowing that soon the kitchen will fill with a bright citrusy perfume. Preserving is a sticky business, but the rewards are deeply satisfying.

2 oranges

1 grapefruit

1 lemon

1 Granny Smith apple, skin on

150 g granulated white sugar per 250 ml of pulp Aperol (optional)

Start the night before. Rinse the fruit well. Cut the oranges, grapefruit and lemon into eighths. Remove the pips and trim off the centre pith. Slice each segment as thinly as possible. Place the cut fruit in a large bowl and grate in the apple.

Into a large jam pot, measure out 750 ml of water for every 250 ml of fruit pulp. Cover and soak overnight.

The next morning, bring the fruit pulp to a boil. Simmer on a medium-high heat until the fruit skins soften, about 45–50 minutes.

Place a saucer in the freezer.

Carefully pour the fruit pulp (fruit and water) into a large heatproof bowl. Into the pot, measure out 150 g of sugar for every 250 ml of pulp. Place back on the heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to a rapid boil, skimming off any scum as it surfaces. Boil hard for 30–40 minutes.

Drop a teaspoon of the marmalade onto the cold saucer. If the surface puckers, it’s ready. If it’s too runny, boil a little longer. Stir in 30 ml of Aperol, if using, for every 300 ml of marmalade. This is entirely optional.

Spoon the marmalade into hot sterilised jars and seal immediately.

Salted rum caramel sauce

150 g castor sugar

250 ml cream

30 ml butter

a large pinch of sea salt flakes 30 ml rum (optional)

For the sauce, heat the castor sugar in a saucepan over a medium heat. Without stirring, swirl the pan until the sugar is melted and caramelised. Add the cream slowly and boil hard until the caramel bits are dissolved and the consistency thickened. Whisk in the butter, sea salt and rum. Pour half the caramel over the warm pudding and serve the remainder alongside. DM