Rocky road Christmas pudding
A chocolately Christmas pudding that all the kids will love – and it's so easy to make that you can get them to do it themselves! Rocky road mixture is put into a pudding basin and then drizzled with melted white chocolate and topped with a sprig of fake holly to resemble a traditional Christmas pudding.
Feel free to swap the homemade ginger biscuits for 150²µ/5½´Ç³ú biscuits of your choice. If you're not baking biscuits start at step 7.
Ingredients
For the ginger nut biscuits (optional)
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú self-raising flour
- 1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú golden caster sugar
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp golden syrup
For the rocky road Christmas pudding
- olive oil, for greasing
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken into pieces
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú good-quality milk chocolate, broken into pieces
- 125g/4½oz unsalted butter
- 75²µ/2½´Ç³ú golden syrup
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú marshmallows
- 150²µ/5½´Ç³ú biscuits, either the ginger biscuits (from above) or a mix of digestives and ginger biscuits
- 75²µ/2½´Ç³ú unsalted nuts, such as pistachios or toasted hazelnuts (see recipe tip)
- 75²µ/2½´Ç³ú chocolate-covered honeycomb
- 75²µ/2½´Ç³ú glacé cherries or dried fruit
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú good-quality white chocolate, to decorate
- sprig of fake holly, to decorate (optional)
Method
To make the biscuits, preheat the oven to 170C/150C Fan/Gas 3½ and line two large baking trays with baking paper.
Put the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ginger, cinnamon and sugar in a mixing bowl and mix well.
Melt the butter with the syrup in a small pan over a low heat. Pour into the bowl of dry ingredients and mix to a soft dough.
Divide the dough into 16 portions and roll each piece into a ball. Place on the lined trays, leaving a gap between them, then press down to flatten slightly.
Bake for 12 minutes, or until beautifully golden and starting to crack.
Leave to cool on the trays for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the rocky road Christmas pudding, lightly oil a 1 litre/1¾ pint pudding basin and line it with a sheet of damp baking paper.
Sit a heatproof bowl on top of a pan of lightly simmering water, add the dark and milk chocolate, butter and golden syrup. Stir occasionally until melted.
Halve the marshmallows (if large), break up the biscuits, roughly chop or bash up the nuts, bash up the honeycomb and halve the cherries or dried fruit (if needed), then stir them into the chocolate mixture.
Pour into the lined bowl and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours, then carefully turn out and peel away the paper.
Break the white chocolate into a clean heatproof bowl and melt as described in step 8 (or melt in short bursts in the microwave, if easier).
Drizzle the melted chocolate over the rocky road, leave to set in the fridge, then slice up and serve topped with a sprig of fake holly (if using).
Recipe Tips
When lining the bowl, wetting your baking paper makes it more flexible so you get a smoother finish on your pudding.
If you are cooking for anyone very young (and at risk of choking) or with nut allergies, swap the nuts for extra biscuits, honeycomb or dried fruit.
Tips for older children
Remember to wash your hands before you start cooking.
Consider asking an adult to help when using the oven and microwave. Make sure you use thick oven gloves to avoid burning yourself when working with hot ovens. Remember that the shelves will be incredibly hot as well as the baking tray, so keep your arms well away.
When melting chocolate the bowl will get hot so use oven gloves to protect your hands.
