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Festive recipe: Christmas pudding with a twist by Maray

Festive recipe: ‘The Spicing on the Cake’ – Christmas pudding with a twist by Maray

By Jon Kelly

Maray has become a firm favourite on Liverpool’s food and drink scene with its eateries on Bold Street and Allerton Road. Fresh from a mention in the 2019 Good Food Guide, the restaurant’s Allerton head chef, Jon Kelly, has crafted this special festive dessert for our readers – a classic Christmas pudding with a special Maray twist.

For the Ras El Hanout Cream

Ingredients: 

•  One tsp of ras el hanout spice mix (available in most international grocery shops)
•  150ml double cream
•  150ml milk
•  50g sugar
•  Two egg yolks

Method:   

Add the sugar to the egg yolks and whisk until pale and thick.

Put the cream and milk into a medium saucepan with the tsp of ras el hanout spice, and heat until just below boiling.

Slowly pour the hot cream and milk onto the eggs and sugar, whisking as you go.

Sieve the custard into a clean pan and set it over a very low heat. Stir the custard constantly with a wooden spoon, paying special attention to the corners of the pan, until it is steaming and has thickened slightly.

The custard is ready when you can draw a clear line through it on the back of the wooden spoon. This can take up to 10 minutes.

For the Pomegranate Syrup

Ingredients:

•  Half a litre of pomegranate juice
•  50g caster sugar
•  50ml lemon juice

Method:

Bring the pomegranate juice, sugar and lemon juice to a simmer in a saucepan over medium-high heat.

Once the sugar has dissolved, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the juice has reduced to 350ml. Allow to cool.

For the Apricot Vinegar

 Ingredients: 

•  500g dried apricots
•  250ml white wine vinegar
•  50g sugar
•  100ml water

Method:

Place the ingredients in a saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes. Blitz then pass through a sieve.

For the Pudding

Ingredients: 

•  300g good quality mincemeat
•  140g fine shred orange marmalade
•  200g molasses
•  Four tbsp treacle
•  Three eggs, beaten
•  Four tbsp whisky
•  200g self-raising flour
•  100g butter, frozen and coarsely grated
•  Pomegranate (for garnish)
•  Almonds (for garnish)
•  Pistachios (for garnish)
•  Suma (for garnish)
•  Mint (for garnish)

Method:

Butter and line the base of a 1.5-litre pudding basin with greaseproof paper.

In a large bowl stir the ingredients together, adding them one at a time in the order they are listed, until everything is completely mixed.

Tip the pudding mix into the basin and cover with a circle of greaseproof paper.

Place in the oven at 180°C for 45 minutes.

Leave to stand for five minutes, then turn out and serve with the ras el hanout cream, pomegranate syrup and apricot vinegar.

Garnish with pomegranate, almonds, pistachios, sumac and mint.

 

About Author: YM Liverpool