Three of the best alternative puddings in Cork

Alternative Christmas Pudding, Niamh Cosgrove

www.alternativechristmaspudding.ie

“The initial recipe was my mother-in-law’s, she started making it for her son back in the ’60s who didn’t like Christmas pudding - I got the son and the recipe in one nice little package!,” says Niamh Cosgrove.

“I became visually impaired in 2013. I used to work in production management for music festivals and events. 

I couldn’t do that anymore, so my daughter, Sadhbh, thought we could sell the puddings at markets, see how it goes. We did that for years.

The puddings are all handmade and come in three different flavours: Brandy and Cinnamon, Irish Cream Liqueur and Arancello and Cardamon. They’re not puddings, they’re chocolate, so what’s inside these pudding look-a-likes?

“They’re like a biscuit cake with really lovely chocolate and real Irish salted butter. We use two different grinds of biscuits, one very fine and one slightly chunky, which means the puddings are quite soft with a firm truffle texture and a biscuity crunch going through it. Plus, raisins and cherries that we soak in brandy for a couple of months, too.”

Niamh says that although the puddings are a luxury item, they offer good value, and work extremely well as a gift as well as a decadent addition to the festive table.

“The puddings come in two sizes. Our most popular is 600g for €20, or a 1kg family size for €25, and includes velvet gift wrap. I want them to look like a present so when you open the ribbon, the velvet falls away, and inside the puddings are tied with brown paper and string.”

Why is an Alternative Christmas Pudding better than a classic plum pudding?

“Two main reasons,” says Niamh. “First, they taste really nice; second, for people making Christmas dinner you don’t have to cook them, and people will eat them.”

Niamh’s luxurious Alternative Christmas Puddings are available to buy online, and at select independent food retailers across Munster.

Wildberry Bakery Jewelled Christmas Cakes, Susan Robbins-Feehily

www.wildberrybakery.com

“The bakery smells amazing at the moment; the aroma of the fruit baking after it’s been soaked in whiskey is just gorgeous!”

So says Susan Robbins-Feehily, co-owner of acclaimed, multi-award-winning gluten-free bakery, Wildberry Bakery, based in Enniskeane, and I want to know more about Susan’s evergreen Jewelled Christmas Cake ( pictured above) that’s rich, moist, heady, and crowned with a glistening array of candied fruits.

“My mother was a house cook in the UK, and it’s their recipe from back in the late 1800s which my mum had and would make it for them. We adapted the recipe to make it gluten- free, but it’s a very traditional family recipe.

“We soak our fruits for two weeks in whiskey before we put them in the cake mix. We chose not to ice them and instead we top them with the best quality candied fruits which we source from Peter Ward of Country Choice in Nenagh, Tipperary.

“It’s a very boozy cake - we are fairly liberal with the whiskey, and we use almonds and a little bit of gluten-free flour to bind it. That makes it a very moist cake and quite crumbly because it’s heavy with fruit and heavy on spice too: cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger.

We decorate the cakes with lemons, oranges, and mandarins if we can get them, then they are glazed with apricot jam and presented in a little box.

People often buy them as gifts but end up eating them, so they come back for another one!”

Every cake is made by hand by Susan and her daughter. Given that the recipe came from her mother, and now Susan is making the cakes with her daughter, there’s a distinctly female touch to the cake.

Why does Wildberry Bakery Jewelled Christmas Cake make a great alternative to classic plum pudding?

“There’s no cooking involved, it’s moist and carries the same flavours as a pudding. Many of my customers heat slices of it gently in a pan and serve it with cream or custard. It’s addictive, and very boozy!” said Susan.

The cakes are available to buy direct from the bakery by sending Susan an email via the website or making a call, and cakes are delivered by courier.

Diva Boutique Bakery’s Bûche de Noël, Shannen Butler Keane

www.divaboutiquebakery.com

Shannen says the Buche de Noël is the ‘funnest to make!’

The idea came from her brother, Taylor, after a brief flirtation with making fiddly Gingerbread Houses.

“We nixed those, but the Bûche de Noël was much more approachable to make.”

The cake is a mix of many different elements, including Diva’s famously luxurious buttercream filling.

“The Bûche de Noël is a vanilla chiffon cake brushed with coffee-sweetened syrup which turns the sponge brown so when it’s cut in half it looks like bark. It has a buttercream filling and flaked almond and chocolate fudge bark. We make our own edible meringue mushrooms, moss made from ground pistachio, dusted with edible glitter so it shimmers in candlelight, fresh rosemary and candied cranberries. Everything is edible. It’s a fun thing for after dinner, or lovely on the dessert table.”

The Diva Bûche de Noël serves 12, generously, and is good for five days.

“The order book is open now, but collection days are December 22 after 2pm and December 23 up to 2pm. Everything is baked fresh at the start of each day for optimum shelf life.

I have a lot of regulars; most people love those flavours and it’s bought a lot as a gift. I’ve had businesses buy them as their employee gift, or to put in a hamper.

Why is the Diva Bûche de Noël a great alternative to the classic plum pudding?

“It doesn’t contain any dried fruit! It’s amazing how many people don’t like that or the heavy Christmas spices, there’s no booze and everyone likes chocolate! It has the Christmas look but none of the traditional Christmas flavours. Mince pies, puddings and cakes are all basically the same flavour and there’s not much difference between the two.”

Shannen is also offering her Cookie Box again this year filled with a selection of cookies such as stollen, linzer, brittle, chocolate peppermint crinkle cookie, cranberry and white chocolate blondie, shortbread and biscotti.

All these delights are available to order direct from the website. Bûche de Noël is €58, and Cookie Box is €35 for 15 treats.