Stir-up Sunday - a festive family wish

Traditions of Christmas Past

Stir-Up Sunday is this coming weekend - 25th November.

The tradition dates back to Victorian times, when the family would gather together to stir the Christmas pudding on the Sunday before advent began.

Originally Christmas pudding contained 13 ingredients said to represent Jesus and his disciples.

The mixture is stirred by each member of the family from East to West, to remember the Wise Men that visited Jesus in the Nativity Story.

This is the moment each family member makes a wish - but don't tell anybody - shhhh - it's your secret.


Our 13 ingredients are:

• 250 g of raisins
• 250 g of currants
• 100 g of dried cherries
• 200 g of breadcrumbs
• 100 g of muscovado sugar
• 50 g of ground almonds
• 4 tbsp of Stokes Spiced Apricot Chutney
• 2 lemons, zest only
• 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp of grated nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp of ground cloves
• 3 large eggs
• 150 ml of port

Whilst you have the bowls out...

Mince Pies

You'll need:

• 225 g of butter
• 350 g of flour
• 100 g of caster sugar
• 280 g of mincemeat
• 2 tbsp of Stokes Fig Relish
• A dusting of icing sugar to finish

Here's how:

Pre-heat the oven to 200°C/Gas mark 6.

Cut the butter into little cubes and rub it into the flour then stir in the caster sugar with a little pinch of salt. Knead the pastry in a ball to work it a little. 

There should be enough dough for 18 pies, so grease one and a half 12 hole muffin tins and press a golfball-sized dough into each, flattening the pastry up the sides.

Mix the fig relish into the mincemeat and fill each pastry shell. Flatten smaller pieces of dough to make the lids.

If you make them on Stir-Up Sunday, you can freeze the uncooked pies, ready for Christmas.

Brush the tops with a beaten egg and bake them for 20 minutes. Cool and dust with icing sugar.

 Chocolate, Cherry, Chilli Slice

A match made in festive heaven - chocolate, cherry and chilli.

You'll need:

• 75 g of self-raising flour
• 125 g of caster sugar, golden
• 125 g of butter
• 250 g of plain, high cocoa content chocolate
• 1 x can of black pitted cherries, a 425 g can
• 1 tbsp of Stokes Chilli Jam (more if you want more of a kick)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract

Here's how:

Pre-heat the oven to 190°C/Gas mark 5.

Chop up the chocolate. Drain the cherries, keeping the syrup which you bring to a gentle boil with just 25 g of the caster sugar and 25 g of the chocolate. Reduce the volume to make a rich cherry chocolate syrup and put aside to cool. 

Melt 75 g of the remaining chocolate with the butter in a Pyrex bowl over a pan of simmering water then set aside to cool.

Beat the eggs together with the remaining 100 g of sugar and the vanilla extract then add the melted chocolate, flour, chilli jam and the rest of the chocolate chunks.

Grease a 35 mm x 24 mm baking tray then line the base of it with the cherries, pouring the chocolate mixture over the top. Bake for 30 minutes, cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes more. When cooled a little but still warm, lift it from the tray and pour the cherry chocolate syrup over the top.

Have you written to Santa yet ?

To ensure you get just what you want  next month

... order your Stokes Christmas here

More foodie thoughts for the week:






Breakfast, best meal of the day - meet Stokes Breakfast Collection here.









Meat-free November Nibbles - enjoying winter's vegetables here.










 



More video fun from the kitchen - and other social sharing here.

If good food makes you happy
...adding Stokes will make you smile ;)

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150