Christmas Pudding Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Roll the fondant out on a surface lightly dusted with icing sugar to about the thickness of a £1 coin. Using the cake tin the fruitcake was baked in as a template, cut a 20cm circle from the fondant. Cut horizontally across the circle, about a third of the way down, in an undulating motion to create the dripping custard effect of your pudding design. Set aside, keeping the offcuts covered.
• Warm the jam in a small pan over a low heat until loosened. Brush over the top third of the fruitcake, then carefully place the fondant shape on top, gently pressing down to stick the fondant to the cake. Pull a small amount of fondant from the offcuts, dab with a little red food colouring and briefly knead to distribute the colouring, adding more as you go to create a deep red colour. Roll into one or two grape-sized balls. Colour the remaining fondant offcuts a deep green, then roll out. Cut out two or three holly leaf shapes using a sharp knife or a shaped cutter. If you like, use a cutlery knife or skewer to create veins in the leaves for a more realistic look.
• Arrange the leaves and berries at the top end of the fondant 'custard' using a little jam to help them stick. Use a fine paintbrush to dust the holly and berries with a little edible gold leaf, if you like.

Steps:

• Put the rice pops and raisins into a bowl. Put the butter, milk chocolate, peanut butter and marshmallows into a small saucepan. Place on a medium to low heat and stir until the chocolate and butter have melted but the marshmallows are just beginning to melt.
• Pour onto the rice pops and stir until well coated. Line an egg cup with cling film. Press about a tablespoon of the mixture into the egg cup. Press firmly and then remove, peel off the cling film and place the pudding into a cake case, flat-side down. Repeat with the remaining mixture. Chill until firm.
• Melt the white chocolate in the microwave or in bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Spoon a little chocolate over the top of each pudding. Top with icing holly leaves.

Steps:

• Pulse the madeira cake in a food processor until you have fine crumbs. Melt the white chocolate in a bowl over just simmering water or in the microwave. Shop bought madeira cake can vary in texture so you may need to add a little extra melted white chocolate to make the mixture stick into balls. Stir the orange zest into the chocolate, then work the chocolate into the crumbs using your hands.
• Form into 10 small truffle-sized balls, then roll gently in your palms to smooth the surface. Arrange the balls on a baking parchment-lined dinner plate. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow the mixture to set.
• Melt the dark chocolate in a microwave or over a bowl of just simmering water. Dip a lolly stick into the melted chocolate about 1.5cm in and poke half way into a cake ball. Repeat with the remaining balls. Put them back on the plate. Return to the fridge for five minutes.
• Dip the cake pops one at a time into the melted chocolate, allowing any excess chocolate to drip off and spin the pops to even out the surface. Poke the pops into a piece of polystyrene or cake pop holder if you have one, keeping the pops apart. Allow to set for about half an hour.
• Heat the white chocolate in a microwave or over a pan of simmering water. Allow to cool for a few minutes until it has a thick, runny consistency. If the chocolate is too hot, it will melt the dark chocolate underneath so make sure you do not overheat it. Spoon a small amount on top of the cake pops and tip them back and forth so that it runs down the sides a little. If you have holly decorations, set one on each pop. If using writing icing, wait for another 20 minutes or so until the white chocolate has set. To avoid a bloom on the chocolate, cover the cake pops in chocolate on the day you want to eat them - or the day before at the earliest.
• Pipe on holly leaves with the green icing and two little dots for berries using the red. Once finished, store them in a cool place, though not the fridge