A Classic Cloth Boiled Christmas Pudding

Cooking with SBA’s Kitchen

The next session is scheduled for:

Date: Thursday 22 October, 2026
Time: 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Venue: Briagolong Community House
Cost: $55.00 per person
Bookings: Click here
Max Participants: 6 participants

Sample Menu:

Classic Cloth Boiled Plum Pudding
Irish Liqueur Cream
Brandy Sauce
Plum Pudding Tiffin
Plum Pudding & Orange with Yoghurt Cream
(All food will be gluten free – that includes the pudding!)

A traditional cloth boiled plum pudding with a little Irish flaire!

For some obscure reason, she who has never been a huge fan of plum pudding, is the one who makes it year after year after year for her family, and dares not walk through the door on Christmas day without the pud and the favourite accompaniments to serve with it! I’ve even been known to make it when I was unable to be with my family on that big day in December – go figure!

Join me in this fun session, where you will make a plum pudding (with a little touch of the Irish) to take home and do the first boil, before hanging or storing your pud ready to share on Christmas day!

Before you come along on the day, make sure that your kettle or jug is full, and ready to boil as soon as you arrive home, and have a big pot (not a saucepan) out and ready to fill!

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A little more detail…

On the day:
※ Participants will be provided with ingredients, instructions and guidance as they prepare the various s dishes on the day.
※ We will enjoy a light meal prepared on the day, and there will be a couple of the dishes to give you ideas on how to use up any leftover pudding after the event.
※ All food will be gluten free.

What you will take home:
※ Your own Christmas pudding.
※ Notes and recipes for the dishes made on the day, and information required for boiling, storing and reheating the pudding on the big day.
※ A share of any leftovers from the lunch (containers provided).
※ Maybe a new friendship with other’s who attend on the day.

Session Duration:
The session will run for approximately 4 hours.

More Information:
I prefer not to call this a cooking class, but more of a hands-on cooking and knowledge sharing session, where those attending learn and share from my experience. I am not a trained chef, just taught and guided by my experiences, and driven by my love of cooking, sharing, and celebrating with food.

Health and Safety
※ If you have any dietary restrictions, please contact me prior to booking as I like to make sure that everyone can enjoy the food prepared on the day.
※ Closed shoes must be worn on the day.

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If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me using the Contact Page.

Traditional Trifle

Trifle as my mother and grandmother used to make.

Category: Christmas, Dessert

Style: Australian, Christmas, English

Keyword: Custard, Gluten Free Option, Swiss Roll

Quantity: 8

Author: sbaskitchen

Ingredients

FOR THE SWISS ROLL

2 eggs
cream
¾ cup sugar
1 cup self raising flour
pinch salt
caster sugar to sprinkle
1/2 cup Plum and Raspberry Jam

FOR THE CUSTARD

300 ml pure cream
300 ml full cream milk
6 egg yolks
3 tsp cornflour
1/4 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract

FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM

200 ml whipping cream
1 1/2 tbsp icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract

TO FINISH

1 can/jar of peach slices in juice
2 tbsp juice/syrup from peaches
2 tsp sweet sherry
2 Kiwi fruit, peeled halved and sliced
1 packet of Raspberry Jelly, prepared as per instructions, and set

Instructions

FOR SWISS ROLL (Make in advance, preferably one or two days prior)

Preheat oven to 180˚C (fan).
LIne a Swiss roll tin with baking paper, and then grease the paper well with butter or spray with canola spray.
Break eggs into a cup, fill with cream and pour into a medium mixing bowl.
Add sugar and beat with a fork or hand whisk until creamy.
Add flour and salt, and stir to combine.
Pour Cream Cake mixture into prepared Swiss roll tin, and bake 15-20 minutes, or until golden.
Meanwhile lay a clean tea towel on the bench and sprinkle with caster sugar.
When cake is done, turn it out onto the prepared tea towel, and using the short end, roll into a scroll (the tea towel will be rolled up inside the cake).
Allow to sit for five minutes, unroll and quickly and carefully spread with the jam. Roll up again, without the tea towel, and place on a cake rack to cool. (Don't worry if the cake cracks.)

FOR THE CUSTARD

Using a whisk, beat the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour together in a medium bowl
Combine milk, cream and vanilla bean paste in a medium saucepan; bring to just under a simmer (when the bubbles start to form on the top). Remove from heat; gradually whisk milk mixture into egg mixture.
Return the mixture to the pan, stir over a low heat, without boiling, until the custard thickens and coats the back of a metal spoon.
Place a piece of plastic wrap over the surface of the custard, to prevent a skin forming, and set aside to cool slightly.

FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM

Whip the cream with the icing sugar and vanilla bean paste to soft peaks.

TO FINISH

Select a clear glass bowl, so that once you have layered the trifle, all the layers, and the swirls of the roll, are visible.
Cut the Swiss roll into 1.5 cm thick slices and arrange in the base of the trifle bowl (I used approximately ⅔ of the roll, bringing it about ⅓ of the way up the side of the bowl).
Mix the sherry and peach juice/syrup together in a glass, and drizzle over the cake.
Pour the custard over the cake, and give a little shake to allow the layers to settle.
Place in the refrigerator to chill.
Drain the peaches.
Chop the jelly.
Spread the cream over the top of the custard.
Arrange the peach and Kiwi fruit slices, alternatively, around the edge of the bowl.
Arrange the chopped jelly in the centre of the fruit.
Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes

If serving as a buffet of desserts, there will be more than enough for at least 12 - 15!
This trifle is finished as my mother always did, with fruit and jelly on top. Nana only did crushed jelly, a little in the centre and a little around the edge of the bowl.
To make gluten free, simply substitute in gluten free flour for the traditional flour, and check that all other ingredients that you are using are gluten free.
Baking times may vary, as ovens do!
I don't give prep times, or say how long it takes to make a dish any more, as we all work differently and I find them to be misleading!
I like to use the peaches in juice rather than syrup, they are generally clingstone peaches, but if you preserve your own, they will work beautifully as well.
I set my jelly in a glass lidded jar, it takes up less room in the fridge, and if you are taking the trifle to a celebration and it needs to be stored, I make up to, and including, the custard layer. Then finish it off with the cream, fruit and jelly on the day.

Links:

Our Family’s Traditional Trifle

If you have a moment, I would love to hear your thoughts on what you see on
this page – just pop a note in the comments box below.
With many thanks and kindness,
Julie.

Never Say Never!

November 7, 2025November 7, 2025 / sbaskitchen / Leave a comment

I work with kids, now that’s something I thought I would NEVER say! Me working with kids – nup, my sister, Jan, was the teacher, not me!

Well, somehow that has changed a little, and, every now and then I work with kids in the kitchen. This Halloween morning we cooked together again – I’m pretty sure that you can guess what the theme was for that day… Yes, Halloween….

It’s all about Halloween…

Continue reading →

Cook Book Club: The Food of France / La cuisine de France

October 9, 2025October 16, 2025 / sbaskitchen / 7 Comments

I may have one or two French, or French inspired recipe books on my shelves, and as you wander from room to room in our home, you are likely to find more!

My French food journey began in earnest, in 2009, on our first visit to France. As part of my planning, I read everything that I could get my hands on, in an attempt to learn about the culture, the traditions, the food, and did everything I could to try and grasp a little of the language, which is how I met my, now, best friend, Véronique. Continue reading →

Ora’s Chocolate Mousse

Ora's Chocolate Mousse

Prep Time

15 mins

I am not normally a fan of chocolate mousse, but when Ora served her chocolate mousse for dessert as we gathered for a delicious meal, I just had to ask her for the recipe. It is delicious and surprisingly does not contain cream!

Category: Dessert

Style: French

Keyword: Chocolate, Chocolate Dessert

Quantity: 8 serves

Author: sbaskitchen

Ingredients

200 g good quality dark chocolate 70%
3 teaspoons boiling water
1 teaspoon instant coffee powder
6 eggs at room temperature
Pinch of salt
½ cup of caster sugar
1 teaspoon of rum or more

Instructions

Place the chocolate into the top of a double boiler over hot, barely simmering water. Stir frequently until silky smooth.
Remove from the heat and set aside to cool a little.
Combine the boiling water and coffee, and set aside.
Meanwhile, separate the eggs and beat the whites together with the salt until light peaks form. Add ¼ cup of the caster sugar, continue to beat until stiff,
Then, in a different bowl, beat the yolks, together with the remaining ¼ cup of caster sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the chocolate mix to the yolks and stir well to combine. Stir in the coffee, and rum, if using.
Take ¼ of the egg whites and gently mix into the chocolate mix until combined.
Then add the remaining egg whites and gently fold through the chocolate mix until combined.
Spoon into the serving dishes and refrigerate overnight.

Notes

Serve topped with fresh raspberries or other berries.
You can also serve this mousse in a large serving dish and place it on the table with a bowl of fresh berries and a bowl of whipped cream for all to help themselves.
Apparently his mousse can also be frozen.

Yum