So last Sunday was Stir-up Sunday, the day we traditionally make our Christmas pudding, and my son Wolf made it perfectly clear how much he wasn’t going to eat any due to the inclusion of so many raisins. We therefore came up with an oh-so-easy alternative Christmas Pudding Without Any Raisins Or Weird Stuff, and although we made it in a flat baking tin, our cunning plan for the next one is to put it in a pudding basin; when it is turned out we will drizzle the top with white chocolate and jam in a festive sprig of something plucked from the hedge.
Most chocolate fridge cakes use plain biscuits, but we found ginger nuts gave it a lovely spicy flavour, while mixed spice, dark chocolate and rum added warmth and made it more suitable for an adult palate too…
Ingredients
300g dark chocolate (nothing special, we used the supermarket’s own brand cheap stuff and it was fine)
250g smashed up ginger biscuits
150g golden syrup
100g butter
50g any nuts you’ve got in the cupboard (pecans were lovely)
1 dessertspoon of dark rum
1/4 teaspoon mixed spice
At this point we found a tin of cherries in light syrup in the larder, so we drained and stoned them then threw in half a tins worth, for a silky smooth fruity hit. You could if you wish add 50g of raisins as an alternative if you could get them past the Dried Fruit Police.
Method
Line a 20cm baking tin with cling film and drape the excess over the sides.
Melt the chocolate, butter and golden syrup in a heatproof bowl, over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally.
When it has all melted stir in all the other ingredients, tip into the prepared tin and smooth out. Lick spoon and then fight nine-year old son for the right to lick out the bowl.
Pop the tin in the fridge for 1-2 hours until set, and then cut into squares.
