Alternative Christmas Puddings

Chocolate Orange cake balls

(AKA Alternative Christmas Puddings)

Cake:

150g butter, softened
150g castor sugar (Golden is best, but white will do)
3 eggs, beaten
½ teaspoon vanilla essence
125g self raising flour, sifted
25g cocoa powder, sifted
Grated zest of 1 orange and 1 tablespoon of orange juice

Butter icing:

75g  butter, softened
150g icing sugar, sifted
25g cocoa powder
1 tablespoon of milk

Topping:

75g Good quality Dark Chocolate
75g Good quality White chocolate
Decorations ( i.e. silver balls or similar )

Method:

Oven to 180

Grease suitable dish ( any  oven proof dish will do)

Line with greaseproof paper

Beat together butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla essence, flour and orange zest and juice until smooth.  Place in tin/dish and bake for 25-30mins.  Leave to cool in tin/dish.

Prepare butter icing by beating butter until soft and add half the icing sugar and beat again until smooth.  Add the remaining icing sugar and cocoa powder plus 1 tablespoon of milk.  Beat again until soft.

When the cake is cooled, crumble with a fork into a bowl.  Add the chocolate icing and bind.  Dust your hands with icing sugar and roll the mix into little walnut-sized balls and leave them to set.

Melt the dark  and white chocolate.  Place  mini puddings on a wire rack (or in petit four cases) and drizzle over the  topping.  Decorate as you wish.

Makes between 25-30

I promise you, these little ‘mini’ alternative puddings are a hit with everyone at Christmas time.  Not everyone likes traditional Christmas puddings, so I made these years ago for my grandchildren, but it was the adults who asked for more!

Jeanette Mahon

AKA Smudgersnan