On the second day of Christmas, CN gave to me, two alternatives to Christmas pudding!
The flaming alcohol-soaked pudding may be a spectacular centre-of-the-table event in families across the country, but we’d wager that there’s more of you who dislike the traditional Christmas pudding than would care to admit. For our second day of Christmas treat, we’ve got two alternatives to the traditional Christmas pudding and recipes to go along with it. Impress the family come Christmas break and get in that all-important Christmas table vote. We should warn you that these delectable alternatives to the traditional Christmas pudding are calorific (but delicious!) and while we’ve encouraged your healthy living this past year, if you can’t indulge during the holidays, when can you?
Mini chocolate Christmas pudding
Not quite ready to completely alter the Christmas aesthetic of the dinner table? Our twist on BBC Goodfood’s chocolate pudding dressed in traditional Christmas pudding clothing is the perfect deceit.
What you’ll need
100g chopped dark chocolate
100g butter
150g soft brown sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
50g plain flour
Icing sugar
Cherry compote
How to do it
Melt the dark chocolate and butter in a bowl over boiling water and stir until smooth. Once fully melted, set the bowl aside for 15 minutes and allow it to cool down.
Mix sugar and eggs into the mixture one at a time, add the flour and then the vanilla extract before separating into 12 cake holders.
Bake the mini alternatives to Christmas pudding in the oven for around 10-12 minutes to ensure the inside remains squidgy and chocolatey.
Mix the icing sugar with water until the consistency is thick and pour over the puddings for a traditional aesthetic. Top with cherry compote for the perfect finish!
For more inspiration, visit: BBC Goodfood
You might also enjoy: 11 Ways to Celebrate Christmas
Ice-Cream pudding with frozen fruits
This scrumptious delight is a colorful and adventurous alternative to the traditional Christmas pudding. Inspired by the Smiling Chef (Brendon), the non-conventional ice-cream pudding is topped with frozen fruits in a range of festive colors in-keeping with the traditional theme. Excite your guest’s palates with our fruity ice-cream pudding with frozen fruits.
What you need
A freezer-safe bowl and cling-film
1 liter of vanilla ice-cream (Brendon suggests to use whole-fat ice-cream as low-fat tends to have a lot of air pumped inside—meaning less ice-cream in your pudding after melting!)
125 grams of frozen strawberries (Brendan uses blueberries and raspberries)
125 grams of frozen kiwis
125 grams of crumbled chocolate brownie
100 grams of milk, dark or white chocolate (whatever you prefer)
Edible glitter (it’s Christmas, after all!)
We’d suggest prepping this ice-cream pudding the night before the big event to leave plenty of time for other festivities.
How to do it
Pull ice-cream out of the freezer for 15 minutes to allow it to soften.
Line the freezer-safe bowl with the cling film.
Pour softened ice-cream into the bowl along with crushed chocolate brownie and mix; press down with a spoon afterwards to make the mixture compact.
Leave in freezer and remove the next morning.
Drizzle the melted chocolate of your choice onto the inverted cake and pile on the frozen fruits.
Add some edible glitter for that festive aesthetic and you have the perfect alternative to traditional Christmas pudding!
To see what the Smiling Chef is cooking up this Christmas, visit: Cooking with The Smiling Chef
What are your favorite alternatives to the Christmas Pudding?
