The truly wise amongst us know that January is an absolutely terrible time to commit to self-denial. It’s hardly the cheeriest of months, as the short days, long nights and post-Christmas blues bed in (to mention nothing of the taxman’s imminent visit). However, if you have slogged through January and eschewed anything that wasn’t a leafy green veg or a wholegrain, then we say that now is the time to reward your efforts with something delicious. And if you haven’t, well, you may as well go on as you’ve started (there’s always spring for flinging ourselves around the park and switching to salad – if, of course, that’s what you fancy). We still have a way to go until the change in seasons rolls around, which means cosy nights by the fire with good films and, ideally, something rich and comforting to enjoy. These are some of our favourite recipes to make at the weekend and eke out to make the start of the week altogether sweeter.


Bread And Butter Pudding


Paul Heathcote/ Great British Chefs
Bread And Butter

Bread and butter pudding is one of those curiously British ideas which – like mince pies – sound dubious on paper and yet tastes absurdly good in reality. And really, what’s to object to? It’s cheap and cheerful, it swerves food waste by using up bread that would otherwise be going over, and it is exceptionally comforting. Plus, you will almost certainly have all the ingredients in your store cupboard. We like Paul Heathcote’s suggestion for serving it with clotted cream; after all, if we’re going for comfort, why hold back? The perfect fireside pud. Find the recipe here.


Sussex Pond Pudding


Delicious Magazine
Sussex Pond

There is nothing like a steamed pudding in the depths of winter. Piping hot and spilling sweet goodness from inside, the Sussex Pond Pudding is a particularly irresistible example. As Delicious Magazine stipulates, the suet pastry should encase a whole lemon, as well as butter and sugar – the latter ingredient candying the former. As for the origin of its evocative name, the dish itself answers the question: the juices which spill out as you cut into the pastry should form a pond around the pudding as the whole collapses pleasingly. Plus, for a recipe as impressive as this, the ingredients list is relatively short, and the necessary skill level not off-putting high. Ideal. Find the recipe here.


Lemon Drizzle Sponge Pudding


BBC Good Food
Lemon Drizzle

Is it a cake? Is it a pudding? We don’t care about semantics when the results are this good, frankly. As they say, it is ‘self-saucing’, it’s inexpensive, and it’s excellent served with cream or custard. It has the feeling of a proper old-school pudding, and the beauty is you can make as much as you like and thus enjoy over a good few days. If it lasts that long, that is. Find the recipe here.


Espresso Martini Tiramisu


Olive Magazine
Tirimisu

If you have been off the sauce this month, this espresso, Kahlúa and vodka tiramisu is a grand way to mark your return to the hard stuff. Super easy yet highly impressive, it’s a great thing to serve at a dinner party. But failing that, you could knock it up all for yourself and eat bowls of it in front of an equally comforting movie. Plus, tiramisu literally translates to ‘pick-me-up’ which, arguably, is a sign that you really should be mainlining it through the dark and cold months. Find the recipe here.


Caramel Pear Cobbler


Taste
Caramel Pear Cobbler

Ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, almonds, butter and pears: was there ever so wintry and comforting a concoction of ingredients? Minus the sugar, it’s practically a health food. The pears soak up the flavours and spices, and the butter makes it extra warming, satisfying and delicious. In other words: winter perfection. Find the recipe here.


Sticky Date Pudding And Banana Praline


Delicious
Sticky Date Pudding

This spectacular pudding should come with a warning: it is fiendishly – nay, dangerously – moreish. We love a traditional pud as much as the next sweet-toothed person, but we are instant converts to this twist on the classic sticky date pudding. The banana praline addition is genius and we bow down to it. Find the recipe here.


Apple, Brown Butter And Frangelico Crumble


Delicious
Apple Crumble

It’s quite the contest, but in our books, the crumble is a real contender for the title of cosiest pudding of them all. Put a twist on the classic apple recipe by adding Frangelico and vanilla – et voila: a winter pudding for the ages to be eaten by the fire, preferably in pyjamas and bed socks. Find the recipe here.


Apple Tarte Tatin With Rum


Olive Magazine
Apple Tartin

Whilst presentation isn’t everything when it comes to comfort food, it is also impossible to resist the beauty of this showstopper of a tart tartin with rum. The russet apples are arrestingly beautiful, while the flaky puff pastry is the stuff of comforting dreams. Make it to impress guests – or simply to enjoy over a couple of nights a deux. Find the recipe here.


Banana Panettone Pudding


Jamie Oliver
Bannana Panetone

Have you got a panettone still lurking from Christmas? Now’s the time to put it to good use in this exceptionally moreish winter warmer. What’s not to love? The Medjool dates (another ingredient that may be hanging around post the festive period)? The clementines? The slug of whiskey? An absolute joy of a pudding that is in danger of becoming one of our winter staples. Find the recipe here.

By Nancy Alsop
January 2023