Spiced orange and cranberry frozen Christmas pudding

Christmas pudding doesn’t have to be hot. Our frozen pudding is full of rich orange and spice flavours set in creamy vanilla ice cream. Try serving it with a simple fresh unsweetened strawberry and fresh orange segment salad as a contrast to the sweet pudding.

  • Prep Time

    15 Minutes

  • Cook Time

    30 Minutes

  • Serves

    6 People

Ingredients

  • 2 oranges cut in slices any pips removed
  • 6 whole dried figs
  • 1 cup dried cranberries
  • 4 cups water
  • 1 ½ cups caster sugar
  • ½ cup honey
  • 3 cinnamon sticks
  • 4 whole star anise
  • 6 whole cloves
  • 1.5 litres good quality vanilla Ice cream
  • 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier or Cointreau

You'll Need

  • Multix Cling

Method

  1. Using a medium pan at a moderate heat add the sugar and stir till dissolved. Add the spices, the sliced oranges and all the other ingredients except the Ice cream and the Grand Marnier. Cook at a fast simmer for about ½ an hour until the liquid reduces to about a third and get syrupy. Remove from the heat and add the Grand Marnier.  Allow to oool for ½ an hour and strain through a fine sieve,  reserving the syrup.
  2. Line a pudding basin with 2 sheets of Multix cling wrap leaving a large overhang.
  3. Remove the ice cream from the freezer and allow to soften in a large bowl. Pick the cinnamon sticks and spices out of the strained fruit, discard the cloves and reserve the cinnamon sticks and the star anise and fruit. Keep 9 of the orange slices whole for decoration and roughly chop the rest. Slice the figs finely. Stir cranberries, sliced figs and chopped orange into the ice cream.  Arrange 5 or 6 orange slices round the pudding basin for decoration and then fill it with the spicy fruit ice cream. Draw up the cling wrap to totally cover the pudding.
  4. Freeze for at least 4 hours until set solid. Remove the pudding from the freezer about 20 minutes before you want to serve it. Unwrap the cling wrap from the top of the pudding and pull the cling wrap gently to unmould onto a flat serving dish. Pile the reserved cinnamon sticks star anise and a few whole orange segments on top and drizzle with the spicy orange Grand Marnier syrup.
Posted in Christmas & Festive Food, Dessert