Mincemeat Bread and Butter Pudding

Overdue post alert!!!!!!!!!

Now that’s dealt with let’s move on.

This recipe is one that I have been DIEING to cook since Christmas, but you know what? It turns out you CAN have too much of a good thing, and despite everyone telling me how delicious my mincemeat was, they didn’t want to eat mincemeat leftovers. No-sir-y-bob!

In their defence, I think we only got rid of the last of our Christmas mince pies about a week ago. This is down to two main things. Firstly, most of my family were trying to “be good” this Christmas – aka not stuff their faces with all the delicious treats I had made them. And secondly, we tend to make at least two batches on Christmas Eve. This results in many leftover mince pies as people are far too full after Christmas Day/Boxing Day/all the parties in between, to gorge themselves on these little morsels of joy.

Their loss, not mine.

But hey-ho, you live and learn! Note to self: make less mince pies next year.

If you, like me, have found yourself still left with Christmas leftovers in the form of jars and jars of mincemeat, have no fear, because I have just the recipe for you.

I actually managed to serve this up in front of my parents by NOT mentioning the C-word. No, not that C word, I mean CHRISTMAS! Whenever I had mentioned making a Mincemeat Bread and Butter Pudding before, it had always been as a Christmas dish. Something to replace the Christmas Pudding with, or to serve with brandy butter in the main special dinners that make up the Christmas period. Consequently, as we moved further and further into January my parents didn’t want to hear the C word mentioned again, let alone eat anything that tasted so...Christmassy!

So, I had to disguise it!

Fortunately for me, my mincemeat recipe is choc-full of delicious fruits. I helped lift these flavours from the mincemeat by adding the zest of lemons and oranges giving it a lighter, more vibrant flavour. The light, gooey bread and butter texture was still present, but this complemented the succulent mincemeat within, rather than being dominated by it.

They were half way through their bowls before anyone even noticed what I had done! I had successfully served up Christmas in a bowl exactly 4 weeks after the big event.

As they gobbled down the rest of the pudding, I realised that this was a battle I had finally one.

So with just one more jar of mincemeat left to go, I am sure this recipe will be coming out again in the not so distant future. Perhaps I can stretch Christmas all the way into February too?

 

But what about you? Am I the only one who loves Christmas and who is sad when it’s over? Or are you like my family and happy once it’s finished?