Recipe

Magical Christmas desserts: pear roulade, quince bread pudding and red wine granita

christmas roulade
Add some glamour to your festive table with these show-off desserts. (PS: you can have fruity Christmas pudding too – we won’t tell) Credit: Haarala Hamilton

I believed in Father Christmas long after my friends had given up on him. It wasn’t that I was trying to manipulate my parents into buying my entire Christmas list, it was just that if I stopped believing in him the whole possibility of magic would be gone.

The flying reindeer skirting stars, the fur-trimmed red coat, the whole frosty sparkliness of Christmas, I wanted to hold on to it all.

Every year I watched Miracle on 34th Street (the old black and white version with Natalie Wood). These days the film gives me a warm glow and helps me believe in goodness. As a child, it pulled me back from the brink of cynicism. Inexplicable and wondrous things can happen, I would think.

The touchpaper of Christmas excitement was lit in early December, when we started to make cards at school. The classroom smelt of freshly cut paper and Copydex. We were lulled by the sound of small scissors and concentration.

I would hold a tube of silver glitter as if it was a talisman (the very essence of Christmas seemed to be in that tube) and sowed tiny pearls on to stuffed diamonds of green felt before attaching 
 red ribbons.

Christmas baking – making mince pies and icing the cake – was another branch of this creativity. I didn’t know what a sugarplum was then but I liked the idea and I still think that the sweet things we serve at Christmas should be several notches above the usual.

I like my mince pies with pastry stars, scarlet cranberries peeking out from under a dusting of icing sugar; I make biscuits containing sections of coloured glass (created by melting boiled sweets); I spend hours stamping out Scandinavian cookies and piping ribbons of white icing along their edges.

icing in a mixing bowl
'The flying reindeer skirting stars, the whole frosty sparkliness of Christmas, I wanted to hold on to it all' Credit: Haarala Hamilton

Not everything has to be cute but it does have to be special. I’m not usually keen on meringue roulades but the one here is worthy of the Christmas table, and a great 
alternative to Christmas pudding. The granita is simple and has all the gorgeous flavours of mulled wine. Its appearance – snowy shards of crimson ice – is the thing, though.

The bread pudding is homely but made special by quince; its honeyed flavour so haunting and always intriguingly difficult to recall. It’s for those who want a light version of Christmas pudding, the dried fruit held in fluffy layers of eggs and soft bread. I haven’t included any trifles but there are plenty on these pages.

Time to get out the pomegranates, pistachios and candied citrus zest, all the culinary glitter your Christmas table can take. Sugarplums are on their way.

Quince, cranberry and brioche bread pudding

Quince, cranberry and brioche bread pudding
Credit: Haarala Hamilton

Poached quince elevates the standard bread pudding. If 
you can’t get hold of any, 
use poached pears instead (instructions for cooking them are on the previous page). This is good with a little crème fraîche – the tartness provides a lovely contrast.

SERVES

8

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 medium-sized quinces 
(about 325g each)
  • juice of 2 lemons and 2 broad strips of zest
  • 125g granulated sugar
  • 75g dried cranberries
  • 175ml whisky
  • 300ml full-fat milk
  • 300ml double cream
  • 100g caster sugar
  • ½ cinnamon stick
  • 3 large eggs, plus 2 large 
egg yolks
  • 50g unsalted butter
  • 250g brioche, cut into
1.5cm squares
  • 80g fresh cranberries
  • icing sugar for dusting

METHOD

  1. Peel and halve the quinces. Place in a saucepan with 500ml water, the lemon juice and zest, and the granulated sugar. Slowly bring to the boil, stirring a little to help the sugar dissolve, then turn the heat down and poach until the quinces are tender. The length of time this takes seems to vary. They can be ready in 15 minutes or over half an hour. Keep checking. Lift the quinces out so they can cool, but return them to the poaching liquor once 
cool, especially if you 
are preparing them the 
day before.
  2. Put the dried cranberries and whisky into a small saucepan and slowly bring 
to the boil. Immediately 
pull the pan off the heat and leave the fruit to plump up for 30 minutes.
  3. Bring the milk, cream, 
caster sugar, cinnamon and 
a pinch of salt to the boil in 
a heavy-bottomed pan, stirring to help the sugar dissolve. As soon as the liquid reaches boiling-point, take the pan off the heat. Leave for 30 minutes to infuse.
  4. Preheat the oven to 180C/
gas mark 4.
  5. Cut the quinces into slim slices (discard the cores). Beat together the eggs and the extra yolks. Pour the milk and cream mixture on to the eggs, stirring all the time.
  6. Melt the butter and pour it over the bread in a bowl, turning the bread over in it. Layer the bread in an ovenproof dish, sprinkling on the boozy cranberries (with the soaking liquid), the poached quince slices and the fresh cranberries as you go. Pour on the egg and cream mixture through a sieve and leave to sit for half an hour; this makes the pudding lighter.
  7. Put the dish into a roasting-tin and add enough boiling water to the tin to come about a third of the way up the sides of the dish. Bake for 45 minutes. The pudding should be puffed up and golden on top.
  8. Leave to cool slightly (apart from being extremely hot when it comes out of the oven, it will set a little more as it becomes lukewarm). 
 Sift some icing sugar over 
the top before serving.

Pear, blackberry, orange and cardamom roulade

Pear, blackberry, orange and cardamom roulade
Credit: Haarala Hamilton

It’s a good idea to prepare the pears the day before you want to make and serve the roulade.

SERVES

10

INGREDIENTS

For the pears

  • 6 Williams pears
  • juice of 2 lemons
  • 750ml white wine
  • 150g granulated sugar
  • 4 broad strips of orange zest
  • 6 cardamom pods, cracked

For the meringue

  • 7 egg whites (from large eggs)
  • 375g golden caster sugar
  • 2 tsp cornflour
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp cider- or white-wine vinegar
  • 500ml double cream
  • 4 tbsp Greek yogurt
  • 5 tbsp icing sugar
  • crushed seeds from 
6 cardamom pods
  • finely grated zest of 2 oranges
  • 4 tbsp orange juice
  • 2 tsp orange-flower water

To serve

  • 300g blackberries
  • 50g pistachios, roughly chopped
  • icing sugar for sifting

METHOD

  1. Remove the stalks then peel, halve and core the pears. As you peel them put them into a bowl with the juice of 1 lemon (this stops the flesh discolouring). Put the white wine, juice of the other lemon, sugar, orange zest and cardamom into a large saucepan. Bring to the boil, stirring a little to help the sugar dissolve, then add the pear halves in a single layer. Cook until just tender – they must not be falling apart.
  2. Lift out with a slotted spoon on to a dish where they can lie without touching each other (otherwise they will just continue to cook in the residual heat). Reduce the poaching liquid to 200ml 
by boiling it. Strain, leave to cool, and pour over the cool pears, reserving 2 tbsp for later. Cover and put in the fridge overnight.
  3. To make the meringue, preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6 and whisk the egg whites until foamy then add the sugar gradually, beating well after each addition. You should end 
up with a thick, glossy mixture. Gently whisk in 
the cornflour, vanilla extract 
and vinegar.
  4. Line a Swiss roll tin (or 
a shallow roasting tin) measuring 30 x 35 cm with baking parchment, allowing it to come over the edges 
by about 6cm. Spread the meringue on, taking it right to the edges of the tin. Put in the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 160C/gas mark 3. Cook for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
  5.  Whip the cream and, when it’s holding its shape, stir 
in the other meringue ingredients, including the 
2 tbsp of pear liquid.
  6. Put a clean tea towel on top of the meringue then flip the tin over so the paper is on top. Carefully peel it off. With the meringue on the tea towel, have a long side facing you.
  7. Spread two thirds of the cream over the meringue 
– it doesn’t have to be 
thick. Cut each of the pear halves into four or five slices. Lay three quarters of these on top of the cream, dot three quarters of the blackberries among them and sprinkle over three quarters of the pistachios. Working from the long side nearest you, start to roll up the meringue into a log shape, using the tea towel to help. It won’t roll tightly but try to ensure it isn’t too loose. You should end up with the seam underneath. Slide the roulade on to a serving plate.
  8. Spoon some of the remaining cream on top of meringue ‘log’, down the centre, then arrange the remaining pear slices along the top, along with the blackberries and pistachios.
  9. Dust lightly with icing sugar just before serving.

Red wine granita

Red wine granita
Credit: Haarala Hamilton

Some may disagree, but I think sorbets and 
granitas are good in cold weather as well as hot; 
they’re clean and fresh, a welcome contrast 
to all the richness of Christmas food.

MAKES

1.2 litres

INGREDIENTS

  • 500ml red wine
  • 100ml apple juice
  • juice of ½ lemon and 1 broad strip of lemon zest
  • juice of ½ orange and 1 broad strip of orange zest
  • ½ cinnamon stick
  • 2 cloves
  • 115g granulated sugar

METHOD

  1. Mix all the ingredients together with 75ml water 
in a pan and heat gently, stirring to help the sugar dissolve. Bring to 
just under the boil. Take 
the pan off the heat and 
leave to cool. Strain.
  2. Pour the liquid into a shallow container (a metal one conducts the cold 
well) and freeze, forking 
the mixture a few times during the freezing process to break it down into crystals and rough shards of ice.
  3. Fork it once more just 
before serving. Spoon 
into glasses and top with whipped cream if you 
want to, though you can 
just leave it plain.

 

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