Matthew says: “I can’t think of another bread that represents Christmas more than a panettone. This pudding is a great way to use up any leftover slices. Although we’re not making panettone in this book, there are some great artisan panettone readily available at Christmastime that will work perfectly.”

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 60g unsalted butter, cubed
• 1 store-bought loaf of panettone (about 500g)
• 250g double cream
• 250g whole milk
• 4 egg yolks
• 100g caster sugar
• zest of ½ orange
• zest of ½ lemon
• good pinch of ground nutmeg

Method

Grease a large casserole dish with half of the butter.

To prepare the panettone, slice the loaf into pieces about 1cm thick. Either slice the pieces in half or into quarters, depending on the size of your loaf. Layer the bread in the casserole dish.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the cream, milk, egg yolks, sugar, zests and nutmeg until well combined. Pour the custard mixture over the bread, ensuring every piece is well coated. Leave the pudding to soak for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 160°C fan. Dot the top of the pudding with the remaining butter and bake for 35 minutes until golden and the edges of the bread have gently caramelised.

Leave the pudding to cool for about 30 minutes. Serve with custard or (dare we say it) a dash of fresh cream, if you can handle a little more.

Matthew says: “This is an unusual, but deeply satisfying, dessert. The sponge is super light and airy, the ricotta is rich and creamy and the citrus fruit and chocolate flavours pop on the palate delightfully. I also like this dessert because it’s not overwhelmingly sweet but hits all the right notes. The cake is much easier to work with if you bake the sponge the day before you intend to assemble it.”

Serves 10

Ingredients

For the sponge:

• vegetable oil, for greasing
• 6 eggs
• 180g caster sugar
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract
• 120g self-raising flour

For the filling:

• 500g ricotta
• 150g caster sugar
• 150g dark chocolate chips
• 150g finely chopped Candied Fruits (see below)

To finish:

• icing sugar, for dusting
• 175g marzipan (you can colour it with a few drops of green food colouring if you like)
• Candied fruits (see below), for decorating

Method

Stage 1

Start with the sponge. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan. Lightly oil and line two 22cm round springform cake tins with baking paper.

In a large mixing bowl, or in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract until very pale, fluffy and thickened. Sift the flour into the egg mixture and carefully fold in, ensuring that you don’t knock out the air you’ve worked so hard to incorporate.

Pour the batter into the prepared tins and smooth with a spatula until evenly spread. Bake for 12–16 minutes, or until just firm to the touch.

Remove the baked sponges from the oven and allow them to cool before removing them from their tins.

To prepare the filling, place the ricotta in a fine-mesh sieve and leave to drain for 10 minutes.

Transfer the drained ricotta to a bowl, add the sugar and beat until smooth. Add the chocolate chips and chopped candied fruits and mix until well combined. If you are assembling the cake the following day, store the filling in the refrigerator. It will be easier to assemble the cake if all the components are completely chilled. 

Stage 2

Line the inside of one the empty springform tins with clingfilm or a generous dusting of icing sugar to prevent the marzipan from sticking.

Roll out the marzipan to about 4mm thick and slice it into a long strip, wide enough to completely line the inside edge of the tin and allowing for a little excess to stand higher than the rim. Carefully line the tin with it.

Place one of the sponge layers into the marzipan-lined tin (you may need to gently trim the edges to help it fit). Spread the ricotta filling over the sponge and top with the second sponge layer. Carefully trim any excess marzipan so that it is level with the top of the sponge, or gently tuck it over the top edge of the sponge. Cover and place in the refrigerator to set for at least 1 hour.

When ready to serve, remove the cake from the refrigerator, gently remove it from the tin, dust liberally with icing sugar and decorate the top with some more candied fruit.

Candied Fruits

Matthew says: “These are traditionally made at Christmastime, but we like to incorporate candied fruits into our bakes and desserts throughout the year. They add a wonderful sweet citrus note to our baking.”

Ingredients

• 1 orange or pomelo, sliced into 5mm rounds
• 1 lemon (ideally a variety with a thick peel), sliced into 5-mm rounds
• 725g caster sugar
• 500g water
• 500g angelica stems (if you can find them), thinly sliced

Method

Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Add your citrus fruit rounds to the pan of water and poach for just a few minutes.

Drain and refresh immediately in cold water (this will help the fruits to retain their colour and stop them cooking further).

Add 500g of the sugar and the measured fresh water to the empty pan and bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add your fruit slices to the simmering pot of syrup and cook slowly for about 10 minutes.

Remove from the heat and allow the fruits to cool entirely in the syrup. Once completely cooled, add 75g of the remaining sugar to the pan and bring the fruits and syrup to the boil again, then allow them to simmer for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Once cooled, repeat this step, adding another 75g of sugar. Complete this step one final time, with the last 75g of sugar. When cool, transfer to an airtight container. Stored in their syrup, the candied fruits will keep in the refrigerator for up to three months. The leftover syrup can be used for glazing cakes.

Matthew says: “This is a bit cheesy and very kitsch – but, my goodness, it is disgracefully delicious. A retro classic that deserves a place in the hall of fame, it’s quite hard to find a version of this dessert made really well, but it is actually extremely simple. It’s advisable to make the cherry compote the day before. We’ve put the kirsch as an optional ingredient but classically you would always use it. Visually, it’s a showstopper.”

Serves 8

Ingredients

• vegetable or sunflower oil, for greasing
• 6 eggs
• 175g caster sugar
• 120g self-raising flour
• 60g cocoa powder

To decorate:

• 1 x recipe quantity Cherry Compote (see below) adding 50 ml (3 tablespoons) kirsch, to taste

For the whipped cream:

• 250g double cream
• 60g caster sugar

Tip
It is important to bake the sponge batter immediately after mixing, as it will start to lose volume.

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan. Grease and line two 23 x 33cm Swiss roll tins.

In a large mixing bowl (or in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment), use an electric whisk to whisk the eggs and sugar together until light, frothy and thickened (about 12 minutes on high speed). The mixture should have increased in volume by about four times.

Sift together the flour and cocoa powder and gently fold into the egg mixture, being careful not to knock out the air.

Pour the batter into your prepared tins and spread it gently into the corners. Bake for 15 minutes until springy to the touch. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

If you haven’t made it already, prepare the cherry compote (see below), adding a little kirsch to taste.

Whip the cream and caster sugar together until thickened. Transfer to a piping bag and refrigerate until needed.

Cut the cooled sponges in half down the middle, so you have four equal-sized rectangles. Spread 2 tablespoons of the compote over the first layer of sponge (we find it best to do this when the compote is still a little runny), then spread a quarter of the whipped cream over the top. Repeat with the next two sponge layers, placing the final layer of sponge on top.

For the top layer, pipe rosettes of whipped cream around the edge and fill the middle with the remaining cherry compote.

Cherry Compote

Makes 2 x 330g jars

Ingredients

• 500g fresh cherries, pitted
• 400g caster sugar
• 50g (3 tbsp) lemon juice
• 1 vanilla pod
• 5g (1½ tsp) pectin powder (or ½ apple, see note below)

Method

Place a plate in the refrigerator or freezer to get cold.

Put all of the compote ingredients into a heavy-based saucepan set over a medium heat and stir together. Once the sugar has dissolved, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until thickened, about 20 minutes.

To test whether your compote has reached setting point, take one teaspoon of the compote and place it on the cold plate. Allow to cool, then run your finger through it. If this leaves a clear run and the compote doesn’t run back in on itself, the setting point has been reached.

Alternatively, once the compote is boiling, you can use a digital thermometer to measure the temperature. It will be ready when it reaches 105°C.

Remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool for 10 minutes, then remove the vanilla pod and pour into warmed, sterilised jars. Store in the refrigerator for up to three months.

To make the compote without pectin, grate half an apple with the skin on. Add the grated apple to the saucepan along with the fruit, sugar and lemon juice, and follow the instructions as above.

Bread Ahead: The Expert Home Baker by Matthew Jones (Hardie Grant, £26), out now