Stollen Pear Pudding
The marzipan debate, stollen pleasures and a festive saffron panettone pudding.
Long before cakes started masquerading as bags of Doritos on Youtube or Heston made chicken liver parfait look like a tangerine, I used to get bags of marzipans from my grandmother. They were made to look like distinct little vegetables–a carrot, radish, cauliflower, potato, tomato–but they all tasted identical, like plain marzipan.
I adored my little colourful treasures, torn between my instinct to swallow them all up at once and my wish to make them last for eternity. All things considered, it’s a miracle they lasted for as long as they did… two to three days normally. As a result, though, I have developed a fetish for both vegetables and marzipan.
My love of marzipan is, frustratingly, something I have not yet managed to pass on to my own children (I could be doing better on the vegetables, too).
For this reason, there will always be (spoiler alert) some kind of meringue or pavlova at our table.
At Christmas, what does everyone really want for dessert? Something fruity, I suspect. Something moist and rich with the boozy warmth that’s synonymous with the turn of the year.
You can take inspiration from different places, but simple rituals are often the best. Lighting the Christmas pudding, for example, with the swoosh of blue flames. (Has anyone broken it to the master blenders of Cognac that half the British exports are merrily incinerated?) Or simply a handful of mince pies and a cup of tea, enjoyed by the fire, or, more likely, the living room radiator.
Things can be kept flexible. Milli had the idea for using up the leftover panettone that always sits in the cupboard this time of year. This brioche-like bread, rich with dried fruit, is one of life’s simple pleasures, in my life at least. Milli used it to create a saffron-spiced bread and butter pudding. An Italian twist on one of my favourite British puddings.
If all this still doesn’t float your boat, my friend Helen Goh is always full of other ideas for festive sweet treats.
Stollen pleasures
Now, back to our Christmas Day dessert. Verena, the test kitchen baking wizard, always makes her famous stollen: a long, German, yeasted cake, packed with spices, dried fruit and nuts, with a thick roll of marzipan running through the middle.
At Christmas, she makes both a stollen and a Christmas pudding. Can you imagine? This year, though, she found a way to combine the two: a stollen-inspired pear pudding, filled with all the spices and fruitiness of the classic stollen, but with a marzipan butter sauce that seeps into the batter as it bakes. Pure joy.
Remember, at Christmas, always take shortcuts when they present themselves. Shop-bought custard, for sure, to go alongside the pudding. But just because it’s easy doesn’t mean it can’t feel special. A splash of rum, a little extra cream, and you turn it luxurious. If you’re skipping the booze, a touch of vanilla does wonders, and if you prefer ice cream, that works just as well.
Here’s a tip: if you’re planning ahead, prep the fruit mix for the pudding a couple of days in advance. It only gets better as it sits, the flavours mixing together nicely. Don’t want the booze? Swap it for black tea (just skip the tablespoon for the marzipan butter sauce later on). What I love most about these desserts is how adaptable they are, how they can fit seamlessly into your own traditions.
Marzipan
Marzipan gets plenty of love come December. I like to unwrap the log tucked inside a stollen or peel it off a Christmas cake. But if, like my kids, you’re one of those mysterious folks who doesn’t love marzipan? This might just be the one to change your mind.
How to get a soft sponge
A soft, tender sponge is all about balance—warm butter, sifted flour, with moisture coming from creme fraiche and pear juice. Verena uses self-raising flour, ground almonds, and cornflour to ensure lightness–cornflour cuts the protein and creates a softer crumb. But the real key is gentle mixing—overworking the batter will undo all that careful work.
If you’re a seasoned baker—or you’re just starting out—I’d highly recommend Nicola Lamb’s Kitchen Projects. It’s packed with all the answers to those baking mysteries: why ganache misbehaves, why dough is so fussy, and what until golden brown really means.
Precision is key
Everybody knows, baking requires accuracy. This is why I always encourage my American friends to ditch their cups and adopt the electric scale. If you’re grappling with the cup-to-metric transition, David Lebovitz’s latest newsletter is a brilliant read to help you navigate the switch.
