Christmas "lardballs"

No, I'm not addressing what I see in the mirror post-festivities (although at certain angles...) Rather, I am catching you just in the nick of time. 

Got some leftover Christmas pudding you don't know what to do with? Can't bear to lose the Christmas spirit - sod the overdue advent countdown? Think you can push your stomach just a little more? 

Well break through that gastric band, forget the diet and banish the January blues by hitting rewind and cooking some of Nigella's Christmas lardballs (aka Christmas Puddini Bonbons).

Nigella is a bit of a *thing* at Christmas now. She leans towards a festive red wardrobe and manages to release greasier and greasier ways to cook up a Christmas storm year on year. 

Ni-jealous much?

A few weeks before Christmas I stumbled upon an older Christmas series. Less innuendo and less butter than recent series but still treats-a-plenty. My general demeanour when watching Nigella is to find myself in a bit of a 60/40 split of outrage vs jealousy (I'll let you decide which is which), but in a rare turn of events I watched her create something that looked a, quite tasty, b, rather boozy, and c, fairly frugal. Top marks Lawson!

Grab the hamper dregs, for I present to you... Nigella's Christmas Puddini Bonbons (or, as my esteemed friend Nicky calls them, Nigella's Christmas lardballs).

Ingredients

125g good quality dark chocolate
350g leftover, or cooked, cooled Christmas pudding
60ml sherry
2 x 15ml tablespoons golden syrup
100g white chocolate
Optional holly decorations/red and green glace cherries or writing icing will work.

What your finished bonbons might look like (image: styleathome.com)

Before you start - is your Christmas pudding cooked? If not, cook it. This won't work if it's straight out of the packet. OK, onward!

Crumble the pudding between your fingers into a bowl. Melt the chocolate in a bowl/pyrex jug over a pan of boiling water or in the microwave. Combine this with the pudding, add the sherry and the golden syrup (if you want them less lardy, use less syrup).

This is where it gets messy. Nige recommends you use latex gloves. If, like me, you don't happen to have these lying around, you're going to have to suck it up and use your hands. Be nice, wash them first, dry them thoroughly then begin rolling the mixture into balls. A heaped teaspoon of mixture will be a good guide. 

Lay these out on a greaseproof paper sheet on a baking tray then refrigerate to solidify and cool a little. Melt the white chocolate then dollop a little over each pudding ball to create traditional old-school looking festive puddings. If you have the patience, go for broke and get the holly detail on. 

Pop these in the fridge until they're cool and the white chocolate has hardened and VOILA! Lardballs are born. 

If you want something a bit more exact (and are dying for more ways to relive the Christmas "oooof" factor), the full recipe is available in Nigella Christmas. 

The beauty of these bonbons is that they last for weeks in the fridge. Ditch the diet, encourage your friends to do the same and enjoy an extended Christmas courtesy of me and Nigella.

Nx