Dickensian Christmas cobbler

Name: Dickensian Christmas cobbler
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h 25 min
Yield: Serves 6
Ingredients: 3 red plums, stoned and quartered, or 3 canned plums, drained; 75 g (2½ oz) frozen or fresh cranberries; 4 cardamom pods; 1 cinnamon stick; 2 cloves; 60 g (2 oz) unsalted butter; ½ vanilla pod; 2 tablespoons milk; 3 ripe pears, peeled, cored and cut into eighths; 75 g (2½ oz) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes; 410 ml (13 fl oz) red wine; 310 g (10 oz) plain flour; 75 g (2½ oz) caster or soft light brown sugar; ½ teaspoon ground mace; 2 eggs, beaten; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 90 g (3 oz) dried figs, quartered; 45 g (1½ oz) caster sugar; 3 star anise; 1 egg and 1 egg yolk, to glaze; 60 g (2 oz) dates, stoned and roughly chopped; ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon; ½ teaspoon ground cloves; icing sugar, for dusting; 3 tablespoons brandy; ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg; 60 g (2 oz) pitted prunes, halved

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Medium
Ready in
1 hr 25

Appears in

Christmas

By Le Cordon Bleu

Published 1999

About

This beautiful fruit pudding is full of spices, fresh and dried fruit and has an old-fashioned, Victorian Christmas feel to it. For a special occasion, set alight with warm brandy at the table.

Ingredients

Fruit Compote

1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
½ vanilla pod

Dessert
Winter
Vegetarian
December
Christmas
Spicy

Method

Lightly butter a round 18 x 6 cm (7 x 2½ inch) ovenproof dish.
To make the fruit compote, place the cinnamon stick, cloves, vanilla pod, star anise and cardamom pods in a piece of muslin and tie into a bag with some string.
In a pan, melt the sugar, then cook until it turns to a golden caramel. Remove from the heat, add the butter, then return to the