Netherton Foundry Shropshire

Netherton Foundry Shropshire
Classic cookware, made in England

Monday 22 December 2014

Christmas pudding ice cream

A rather special ice cream for the festive season.


250ml full fat milk
3 egg yolks




250ml double cream
150g mixed dried fruit
sherry glass of brandy
Juice and grated rind of 1 orange
120g sugar
2 tsp mixed spice

Put the brandy, orange rind and juice, mixed spice and dried fruit in a mixing bow. Stir well, cover and leave for at least 12 hours.

Pour the milk into a saucepan  or milk pan and place over a moderate heat.
Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar
When the milk comes up to blood temperature, pour over the eggs and mix thoroughly.
Return the mixture to the pan and cook GENTLY until the custard covers the back of a spoon.


Pour the custard into a clean bowl and plunge into a bowl of ice cold water.

When the custard has cooled, stir in the dried fruit mix.

In a separate bowl, whisk the cream until it can hold its shape, then fold this carefully in to the custard.



Transfer either to an ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer's instructions 
OR pour into a plastic container and place in the freezer.
If you are using the freezer method, remove from the freezer at hourly intervals and beat to eliminate ice crystals.
Remove from the freezer 20 minutes before serving



© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2015

Sunday 14 December 2014

Almost Christmas

It is a ridiculously busy time of the year for us - so many people are generous enough to buy Netherton Foundry wares as Christmas gifts for friends and family and the elves are kept busy with the brown paper and string right up until the last minute.
Of course, these may be an ulterior motive behind this gift giving, with the hope of invitations to dinner.... who am I to say?
And as the old advert about puppies said, these are for life, not just for Christmas.

And of course, it's not just at work that life steps up a gear - this afternoon I have been decorating the tree, which we bought from our local farm shop - the smell of fresh pine is wonderful and has lingered in my car too.  Who needs air fresheners?


I've draped the mantlepiece with an evergreen garland - we are lucky enough to have ivy, holly and mistletoe in the garden.  I tried for years to encourage mistletoe into one of our apple trees, crushing the seeds into the bark, all to no avail. Then, one year, entirely untouched by me, one of the other apple trees sprouted a tiny sprig of mistletoe, which has grown and grown.


  

Of course, I've been in the kitchen too - the smell of mixed spice mingling with the pine.  The first batch of mince pies has been made and there's Christmas pudding ice cream in the freezer.

The cakes and pudding were made back in October, so I don't need to worry about those until it comes to icing the cake, an activity usually done on Christmas Eve morning.

Back to today and it's all about edible presents..... or drinkable ones.
In the Autumn I experimented with a change to the usual sloe gin.  We were blessed with a bumper crop of damsons in the garden and the neighbouring hedgerows, so I decided to use them for the fruit spirit this season.
I now have several bottles of spiced damson rum to give away (and one to keep, of course!)
Last week the Beavers made peppermint creams and mini Florentines for their mums and I am just about to get started on a batch of Advent puddings.

I am not sure where the original version of this came from - I have it written in a card index which I've had for more years than I care to remember and over the years I have tweaked and modified it to the recipe that is now my favourite..... and ideal for cooking in one of our loaf tins.

We have christened it Advent pudding, as it is almost - but not quite - Christmas pudding, all the boozy fruitiness, but a bit lighter.
Here's how it's done.

8 oz breadcrumbs
1 apple, cored and cut into quarters (no need to peel it)
1 ripe banana
4 oz walnuts
10 oz raisins
2 oz dried cranberries
6 oz soft brown sugar
3 tsp mixed spice
2 eggs
Grated rind and juice of an orange
Slug of brandy

Put the breadcrumbs, apple, banana and nuts into a food processor and whizz briefly - don't lose all the texture of the nuts.
Turn out into a large mixing bowl and add the rest of the ingredients.
Stir well to mix.  Add a little  milk to bind if necessary.

Line a 1lb loaf tin with greaseproof paper and pour in the mixture.
Fold the paper over the top of the pudding.


Put 1½ litres of water in the base of a  casserole and put an upturned saucer in the bottom.
Rest the loaf tin on the saucer and place the lid on the casserole.
Bring the water to the boil, turn down the heat and steam the pudding for 2 hours.

Turn out and serve with custard, brandy sauce, thick cream or creme fraiche.
 

 


© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2014