1 x 700g dark fruit cake
1 x 200g block milk chocolate, melted
¼ cup fresh orange juice or brandy
100g white chocolate
red and green glace cherries for decorating
Crumble the cake finely using a food processor if you have one (in two batches), or by hand. Melt chopped milk chocolate (see below). Combine cake mixture and melted chocolate in a large bowl. Stir in enough orange juice to make a moist cake mixture that is firm enough to be rolled into balls, remembering that the balls will set firm in the refrigerator.
Roll the mixture into walnut-sized balls. Hint: dampening the palms of your hands with water makes this job a bit easier.
Cut glace cherries into quarters. Melt the white chocolate and spread over the top of each ball. Place a green and a red piece of glace cherry on top. It is best to decorate a few balls at a time. Place on a tray lined with greaseproof paper. Refrigerate for a minimum of one hour, to allow the balls to set, then continue to store in the refrigerator.
To melt chocolate: chocolate can be melted on stove top or in microwave. For stove top place in heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water. For microwave place in heatproof bowl. Microwave on 50% heat in 30 second bursts, stirring regularly until chocolate has melted. In both cases avoid overheating and any contact with water.
These mini Christmas puddings make nice gifts when placed on a paper plate and covered with cellophane. Other decorating alternatives are jaffas, M & Ms, red and green lolly snakes, coloured cachous balls. Sherry or port can also be used in place of the brandy, if using instead of orange juice.