This is a good time to get some organising done for Christmas. These two recipes are among the most tried and tested I use. Both come from my Auntie Maureen, my dad’s sister. She has retired from being a fantastic home economics teacher. She lives not that far from me in Ballymahon, Co Longford, and for years she would come to the restaurant around now and spend a day making sure everything was right for the cake and pudding that would be on our Christmas menu. She has several of my chefs very well trained. Remember: the flavour improves over time so begin early.

Who knows what way Christmas will be this year, so our cakes and puddings may be saved for when families can get together. So many Irish people work abroad and may not get home at all this year. I had a wonderful Zoom evening last week cooking for Irish people in Copenhagen and Stockholm arranged by the dynamic Emily McCormack in our Danish embassy and Maeve Killen in the Swedish embassy. I loved every minute of it and resurrected my Irish whiskey tea bread which was as close as I could find to a barmbrack!

One small tip. It is worth getting the best fruit you can. For the restaurant we always get ours from Peter Ward Country Choice in Nenagh.

Happy cooking,

Neven

Neven Maguire’s Midweek Meals is out now, published by Gill

Christmas cake

Makes one 20cm (8in) cake

225g (8oz) plain flour

500g (18oz) dried fruits, such as sultanas, raisins, currants, mixed peel and ready-to-eat dried apricots or prunes

finely grated rind and juice of 1 lemon

175g (6oz) butter, softened, plus extra for greasing

175g (6oz) light brown sugar

4 eggs, beaten

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

100g (4oz) toasted flaked almonds

1 x 250g (9oz) packet of golden marzipan

2–4 tbsp whiskey or brandy

450g (1lb) ready-to-roll fondant icing

cornflour, for dusting

1 Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F/gas mark 3). Line the base and sides of a 20cm (8in) loose-bottomed cake tin with nonstick baking paper.

2 Sift the flour into a bowl and set aside. Chop up the dried fruit so that everything is the same size and nothing is too large. Toss with the lemon rind and juice and set aside.

3 Cream the butter and sugar together in a food mixer (or with a hand-held whisk) until pale and creamy. Add the eggs bit by bit with a little of the flour each time, beating after each addition. Add the remaining flour with the spices and fold through to combine. Add the dried fruit and lemon mixture with the flaked almonds, stirring well to combine. Finally, cut half of the marzipan into small cubes and gently fold it into the batter.

4 Using a spatula, transfer the batter to the prepared tin and smooth down the top. Bake in the oven for about 2 hours, until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre. Leave to cool in the tin, then carefully remove and place on a flat plate. Prick the surface with a fine skewer and spoon over the whiskey or brandy. Leave for 1 hour to allow the alcohol to soak in.

5 When completely cold, wrap in greaseproof paper and overwrap in foil. Leave in a cool, dry place to mature for at least two weeks or up to two months before applying the icing.

6 About a week before the cake is required, cover the top with the remaining marzipan. Roll out the ready-to-roll icing on a clean work surface dusted with cornflour to a circle slightly larger than the top of the cake. Position on top of the marzipan, then smooth and neaten the edges.

7 Secure a strip of foil around the exposed sides of the cake. Put the cake on a serving plate or cake stand and decorate with ribbons around the edge, if liked. Serve straight to the table.

Auntie Maureen’s plum pudding

Makes two 1.2litre (two pints) puddings

50g (2oz) plain flour

½ tsp ground mixed spice

½ tsp ground cloves

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

225g (8oz) sultanas

175g (6oz) butter, melted, plus extra for greasing

175g (6oz) fresh white breadcrumbs

175g (6oz) light brown sugar

175g (6oz) raisins

50g (2oz) currants

50g (2oz) candied mixed peel

50g (2oz) blanched almonds, chopped

½ apple, peeled, cored and diced

½ small carrot, grated

Finely grated rind and juice of 1 lemon

2 eggs, lightly beaten

300ml (½ pint) stout

Icing sugar, to decorate (optional)

Custard or whipped cream, to serve

Brandy butter, to serve

1 Sift together the flour, mixed spice, cloves and nutmeg in a large bowl. Add the sultanas, melted butter, breadcrumbs, sugar, raisins, currants, mixed peel, almonds, apple, carrot and the lemon rind and juice and mix until well combined. Gradually add the beaten eggs, stirring constantly, followed by the stout. Mix everything thoroughly and cover with a clean tea towel, then leave in a cool place overnight.

2 Use the fruit mixture to fill 2 × 1.2 litre (2 pint) greased pudding bowls. Cover with a double thickness of greaseproof paper and tin foil, then tie tightly under the rim with string.

3 To cook, preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F/gas mark 2).

4 Stand each pudding basin in a large cake tin three-quarters full of boiling water, then cook in the oven for 6-8 hours (or you can steam them for 6 hours in the usual way). Cool and re-cover with clean greaseproof paper. Once cooked, the plum pudding can be stored in a cool, dry place for up to two months.

5 On Christmas Day, recover with greaseproof paper and foil. Steam for 2-3 hours, until completely cooked through and tender. Decorate with a light dusting of icing sugar, if liked.

6 To serve, cut the plum pudding into slices and arrange on serving plates. Have a separate jug of the custard or a dish of whipped cream and another of brandy butter so that everyone can help themselves. CL