Dec 6

Dec 6 Cornish Christmas

Bread Cake Pastry, Cake, Robert Jones, Travel, Christmas

I am settling in well in Totnes.

Getting to know this bustling Devon town but, I realise that I am navigating around by food outlets, coffee shops and bars. It seems to be one of those towns that is not only surviving but thriving.

So already I am well acquainted by the whole food supermarket at the top of the road. That’s not far from the craft brewery. Then a smattering of delis and butchers … and how could I walk past the Cornish Bakery (OK, so I know it’s the wrong county.)

Clearly I needed to test the quality of produce, so randomly selected (in a scattergun sort of way). A straight up-and-down delicious Cornish Pasty; a traditional and fabulously tasting sausage roll, the filling closely related to a faggot I’ll wager; and finally something called ‘Cornish Pudding.’

So what is Cornish Pudding?

Well, that’s a very good question. On tasting I thought it very reminiscent of something we had at home - Bread Pudding, and quite closely related I think to Lardy Cake. Not quite a Bread and Butter Pudding though. It has the texture of a well set custard. I include it here because it feels very Christmassy - almost like a harbinger of the food to come. Perfect for a cold, wet and windy Devon day.

Recipes are not two-a-penny but:

Ingredients:

500g Bread
2 Eggs
600g Milk
150g Sugar
100g Butter
500g Candied Fruit
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
Grated Nutmeg
Lemon Zest
3tbsp sweet sherry

Optional: Some chocolate chips.

Method:

Break the bread into a bowl. Mix the eggs and milk together and then pour over the bread. In a separate bowl mix up the dried fruit, chopped glacé cherries, and the sherry. Leave it to soak in.

Then combine the bowls.

Melt the butter with the sugar in a pan and pour it into the the rest of the mix.

Turf into a square cake tin, sprinkle sugar on top and bake for about an hour and a half on a lowish heat. Cover with some foil to prevent the top burning too much.

Cut into squares and eat with cream.