CHRISTMAS seems to start earlier every year. Shops are already knee-deep in Christmas presents and the lights are almost on. If you can be bothered to cook the pudding now, firstly it will taste much better and also it will be out of the way and you will be glowing with pride once it’s done and all is hidden away in a cupboard.

Fruity Christmas Pudding
You will need two china pudding basins approx six inches diameter by three-and-a-half inches deep. We always put a £1 coin into the mixture wrapped in foil and the person who gets it can make a wish. Be careful if children or elderly people are involved in case they swallow it or break a tooth!

Ingredients
Six oz of plain flour;
One teaspoon of cocoa powder;
One-and-a-half level teaspoons of mixed spice;
A quarter level teaspoon of ginger;
A quarter teaspoon of cinnamon;
Four-and-a-half large slices fresh white bread – blended into crumbs;
Six oz finely shredded suet;
Six oz of soft brown sugar;
One-and-a-half pounds of dried mixed fruit;
Four large eggs – beaten;
One-and-a-half level tablespoons of black treacle;
Four tablespoons of brandy;
Three tablespoons of warm Earl Grey tea for mixing or milk;
One large carrot, grated;
One apple, peeled, cored and grated;
The grated rind and juice of one lemon;
Method
Grease the pudding basin well and line the bottom with a circle of greaseproof paper.
Sift the flour, cocoa and spices into a bowl. Add the breadcrumbs, suet, sugar and fruit. Mix in the remaining ingredients and combine thoroughly. Put into the prepared basins to approximately half an inch from the top. Cover securely with double thickness greased foil, making sure it comes well over the edges of the basin. Tie around with string, looping over the top two or three times to form a handle.
Steam steadily in large pan of boiling water for five hours, topping up pan with extra boiling water about every hour.
The water should reach about a quarter of the way up the side of the basin. Do not allow the pan to boil dry.
Remove the foil cover and allow to cool. Cover with new greaseproof paper and a cloth and store in the fridge until Christmas.
To serve, re-steam for one-and-a-half hours, the same method as before.
When cooked, turn out onto a plate and pour one tablespoon heated brandy over the pudding and set alight.

Oven-cooked Vacherin cheese
We are now at the peak time for this amazing and wonderful cow’s milk cheese. It is made in Switzerland from their superb grazing land in the summer, matured in tree bark and let out now. It is so creamy that you often have to serve it with a spoon.
I have concocted a fondue type dish here, which would be lovely as a supper dish. When cooked in this way you could also serve it with French bread dipped in a Schnapps type drink and then into the cheese and that would be pure heaven.
Serves 4

Ingredients
One whole Vacherin cheese;
Four cloves of garlic, peeled;
Four cocktail sticks;
One small glass of white wine;
One tomato, sliced;
Some freshly ground black pepper;
One crown celery, washed and cut into
fingers;
One packet of good firm cheese biscuits;
One punnet strawberries, hulled.

Method
Pre-heat the oven at 200°C.
Leave the Vacherin cheese in its wooden box. Make four holes in the top of the cheese and insert the garlic cloves in each hole using the cocktail sticks with some of the sticks poking out.
Pour the white wine over the Vacherin cheese until it is absorbed.
Layer over the tomato slices, grind over some pepper and then wrap the box in foil to prevent it burning.
Place the cheese on a baking tray and cook in the oven for about 20 minutes or until it is melted.
Remove the garlic cloves by the sticks and then serve with the celery, biscuits and end with the strawberries.

Clare’s Kitchen
41 Chalcot Road
Primrose Hill, NW1
Tel: 020 7586 8433
www.clareskitchen.co.uk