Christmas Rubble
Posted by the Cake Shop
We are still open for takeaway! We’re serving coffee and cake, mince pies and Christmas cake from the hatch onto Bury Place, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Monday 21 and Tuesday 22 December. We’ll be closed from Wednesday 23 – if you miss us over Christmas, we’ll be waiting for you in the new year.
In the meantime, we’re already thinking about the aftermath – with anticipation. From the fallen rubble of Christmas pudding and Christmas cake arises a glorious twist on the beloved Cake Shop croissant pudding (scroll to the bottom of the email for a recipe). Here, we share our secret for using this sweet debris as a way of spicing up an indulgent bake. Terry says:
I love the creativity and comfort that comes from transforming leftovers into something new. Everybody has their own secret techniques – my favourite is turning day-old croissants into pudding. Technically it’s economical, but in practice it’s luxurious: the result is rich and silken, swaggering in full and luscious like a warm hug.
It’s also a brilliant use for excess Xmas cake (I understand that this version of the spelling came about, by the way, as the brain-child of a bored and burned-out advertising executive). After Christmas is over, I keep all of the broken bits of pudding or odd crumbles of Chrissy cake that have been left over. I slice up day-old croissants, add eggs, heavy cream, sugar, butter, vanilla and cinnamon – and then, as the final stage, I crumble those Chrissy tidbits and layer them within the basic croissant mix. As the pudding bakes, those bits of rubble turn into hidden jewels, studding the the mixture with rich hits of fruit and spice.
When you’ve had your fill of Christmas pudding, mince pies and cake, gather the rubble together, store it in an air-tight container and freeze it for later baking. In January, when the mood for pudding takes you, you’ll thank your lucky stars you did.
We recommend soaking your rubble in a little whiskey and splash of almond essence. Jess loves to throw a handful of dark chocolate into the mix; flaked almonds are always a welcome addition. The recipe is versatile and accommodating – it’s a perennial favourite on the Cake Shop counter.
This will be our final newsletter of the year. It’s been a pleasure to be in touch with you over the last months – please feel welcome to stay in contact through social media over the Christmas period. Send us your strategies for Christmas leftovers, or whatever food news strikes your fancy; we’re always glad to hear from the Cake Shop community.
Sending hugs and solstice wishes from the Cake Shop team — see you in the New Year!
Basic Croissant Pudding
375ml whole milk
500ml double cream
75g golden caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla or almond essence
4 large eggs
50g butter
350g day-old croissant or brioche
100g Chrissy rubble
30g sliced almonds
Pinch or two of cinnamon
Drizzle of whiskey
Preheat the oven to 160 (140 fan). Make a custard by combining the milk, cream, sugar and essence in a pan on the stove and bringing to the boil. Whisk eggs in a large bowl or mixer until frothy. Slowly add the hot milk mixture – keep whisking, you don’t want it to curdle.
In a ceramic baking dish generously coated with 30g melted butter, layer up the croissant or brioche in overlapping slices of about 3 cm thickness. Crumble and throw the Christmas rubble over those slices. Pour the custard evenly over the slices, sprinkle with sliced almonds and drizzle over the remaining butter (you could add a sprinkle of whiskey and a couple of pinches of cinnamon).
Set your dish in a larger oven pan, then add boiling water up to the halfway mark of the pudding dish. Pop in the oven for 45 minutes or until set.
