Ice cream crammed with treatie goodness – what’s not to love?
Method: Schmethod
Ingredients: Schmingredients
Calories: um – next question?
… this is the recipe that’s not a recipe, that will have your guests complimenting your culinary skills for the year to come!
I’m not going to lie, I’m no fan of healthy fruit getting in the way of my desserts. I’m also that person that puts a single lettuce leaf on their Christmas plate just to please mum so, if like me you’re a sweet tooth or general ice cream lover who wants to rock up with a winning Christmas dish this weekend, read on. If you’re on a diet, diabetic or prefer overly dry, fruit-filled brandy flavoured stodge then maybe head over to the Women’s Weekly page!
- OK, the fun part starts with shopping – pick your favourite yummy, creamy vanilla ice cream – depending on your bowl size you’ll need at least 1L but you will probably want 2L (you can keep any you don’t use in the tub anyway) – my favourites are Sara Lee French Vanilla or Weis Vanilla Bean …. mmmmmmmm
- Now, head down that confectionary aisle and go nuts – literally grab some nuts (pistachios taste and look great in vanilla ice cream), or not – it’s your choice – here’s a few of my fave add-ins:
- Maltesers or Violet Crumble
- Those coloured Clinkers can quite Christmassy (kids will like this one)
- Lindt white chocolate chopped into big chunks is always a winner
- Crushed biccies can be yummy mixed in or even layered as a base
- OK I know I said no fruit (and I don’t put any in myself) – but let’s face it, for some reason people seem to like the stuff. Berries would look nice, you can always do the overnight soak of fruit in brandy for that traditional Christmassy flavour, or else grab some cherries for decorating your finished pud.
- Now you can decorate however your like but my favourite festive decos include Darrell Lea Choc Orange Balls (larger than Jaffas and in my humble opinion, tastier) and lolly mint leaves, you could also grab some of those silvery cachous too
- Lastly, don’t forget to grab yourself either some chocolate to melt or some ice magic – this will be a KEY ingredient!
Right, now you can head home and get messy. Don’t put your ice cream in the freezer – you’ll need it to be softish to be able to easily mix.
Grab your bowl out and first things first, line your bowl with some cling wrap – leave plenty hanging out the sides, you want to fully wrap your pudding while it sets.
Now add half your ice cream – you want to leave some room to add your treats and still be able to mix in well without it coming out the sides. Larger or hard lollies like Maltesers or Clinkers etc can be crushed with a rolling pin in a ziplock bag).
♥ IMPORTANT STEP: Don’t forget the all important ice cream to treat ratio which is: One for the bowl … one for me.
♥ HOT TIP: Use a separate bowl to mix smaller amounts of ice cream in with just one treat at a time – this method is good if you have different coloured ingredients – you can create some cool layered looks once you cut the cake.
Now, chuck some daggy 80s dance music on and mix mix mix! Wrap your glad wrap over and pop your bowl in the freezer overnight.
On the day of your festivities, make sure there’s enough room in your freezer for your masterpiece before you decorate it.
Turn out your pudding onto a nice plate, and ice magic the #@*! out of it. Add your decorations (you can mix food colouring into some ice cream to pipe out a seasonal message) and you have yourself a merry little Christmas pud that Santa Claus himself would be impressed by!
TASTE BUD PLEASING MINI PUDDING VARIATION
Try using a muffin tin (remember to line them with cling wrap, or else use patty pans) to make mini puds.
You can use this option if you have leftover filling from your main pudding or want to do different fillings for different guests (for nut allergies etc).
They would definitely be a hit with kids and you can portion control the amount they eat (then eat 6 later when they aren’t looking).
Merry Christmas to all and to all a yummy Christmas feast!
