Wholesome Cook
Christmas

Christmas Pudding Ice Cream Pops PLUS 12 Other Christmas Party Canapé‎ Recipes

These Christmas Pudding Ice Cream Pops taste incredibly festive and are made using only four ingredients. PLUS I share 12 recipes for a simple finger-food Christmas feast.

Christmas Pudding Ice Cream Pops PLUS 12 Other Christmas Party Canapé‎ Recipe

Christmas is the time for families and friends to get together and share in the joy of food and kinship. As we grow older it becomes less about the gifts, ribbons, trimmings and tags, and more about the sense of community we can foster through these connections.

When catering for a large gathering, you can opt to prepare a selection of finger foods – with some great ideas and recipes below.

And for dessert? Try this pavlova recipe made into finger food portions or head straight to the Christmas Pudding Ice Cream Pops recipe below. It’s almost instant and soooo delicious!

Oysters with a Mango and Macadamia Oil Dressing

You’ll need 12 freshly shucked oysters (I used Coffin Bay oysters from South Australia). Place about 1/4 cup Brookfarm’s macadamia oil in the freezer about an hour ahead. For the dressing, mix together 1/4 cup finely diced mango, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 1 sprig coriander – stems only, finely chopped and 1 teaspoon finely chopped red long chilli. To serve, spoon about 2 teaspoons of the mango mixture over each oyster. Shave the frozen oil with a fork and place a little on each dressed oyster. Serve immediately.

Scallops on Half Shell with a Caipiroska Dressing

This is one of my favourite ways to serve scallops. This Vodka and Lime Scallop recipe is perfect as a shared starter, looks very stylish and is a breeze to make.

Sea Scallops with a Vodka Lime Dressing

Cucumber Consommé Shooters

I actually ended up changing these up a little and made them into Cucumber Slushie Shooters. Using a power blender, blend together 2 cups ice, 2 Lebanese cucumbers – diced, 1 cup coconut water, 1 sprig of dill fronds only, a good grind of salt and 1/4 cup milk of choice. You could strain the cucumber puree and serve only the liquid in the form of consomme. Serve in tall shot glasses with a straw.

Thai Pumpkin Soup Shooters with Crispy Onion and Coriander

This one was everyone’s favourite and I wish I had made more than one serve per person. I used this recipe for Thai Pumpkin Soup but instead of garlic croutons, I served the soup with Crispy Fried Onion (available from IKEA, how handy) and finely chopped coriander.

Organic Eye Fillet Peking Pancakes

I’ve mastered the Peking Duck at Home recipe a while back, but this time I wanted the prep to be a little more fuss-free, so I opted for more beef instead. To be honest, you could almost use rare roast beef in this recipe for an extreme shortcut version. For 24 pancakes, cook about 300g eye fillet steak to your liking and slice thinly. Layer a couple of strips of the beef on a mandarin pancake and top with a small handful of pea sprouts and a wedge of cucumber or raw zucchini. Serve with soy sauce or this Natvia sweetened bbq sauce.

Eye Fillet Peking Pancakes

“Sweet Salty and Sour” Eye Fillet with Chimichurri My Way

I chose organic eye fillet because it’s tender and I dry-aged it for 24 hours in the fridge beforehand. To do this, sprinkle a little rock salt (about a tablespoon per 200g of meat) on a platter. Cover with paper towel and place beef on top. Store uncovered in the fridge for upto 36 hours.  For this particular recipe, cube the beef fillet first so that it can be dry aged more intensely and would be easy to skewer straight from dry-aging. Use about 3 pieces per skewer. Season with freshly ground pepper before frying or grilling for 20 seconds on each side. The Chimichurri My Way recipe was a no brainer to use with this and it was an all-round favourite on the night. It seems that for most of the men in attendance, there was no simpler joy than a skewer of beef.

Pulled Lamb Sliders with Slaw

I used this 48 Hour Pulled Lamb Shoulder recipe and a variation of the slaw to make the sliders. Brasserie Bread’s brioche buns were perfect for this, but if you can’t get those, any small dinner rolls would do.

Pulled Lamb Sliders with Slaw

Chicken and Veg Spring Rolls

Everyone’s favourite finger food, wouldn’t you agree? I based mine on this Healthy Baked Spring Rolls recipe but used larger sheets and combined barbecue chicken with cooked down shredded undressed coleslaw mix to make the filling. A dash of powdered ginger and five spice mix added some Asian flair to the dish.

Caramelised Pork Belly Salad

Inspired by the Chophouse signature salad, but without the scallops and caramelised pork is made using rice syrup.  This will serve 4 as a main. Toss together 1 small wombok, 200g of cherry tomatoes cut in half, finely sliced carrot, 1/2 small red onion, handful of snow peas – sliced and a handful of baby spinach leaves. To make the dressing, mix together 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 1 tsp fish sauce, 3 tablespoons rice syrup, 1 teaspoon sesame seeds and 1/4 cup light olive oil. Reheat a pressed cooked pork belly piece in the oven according to instructions – this takes around 20 minutes. Cut into bite-sized pieces and toss in a warm pan with 1/4 cup rice syrup until caramelised. Add into the salad and mix. Dress with the dressing and serve.

Caramelised Pork Belly Salad

Turkish Delight Donuts

I decided to omit them from the menu because in the mad rush that morning, I’d forgotten to buy some quark cheese for this 10 Minute Quark Donut recipe I was going to adapt from. However, the next day I thought I might as well try making them with regular cottage cheese and they worked! So, use the abovementioned recipe and substitute 1/2 teaspoon of lemon essence with 2 teaspoons rosewater.

As for the “Hero Desserts”…

Luck had it I’d just finished developing and shooting a Christmas inspired range of recipes for Anathoth using their Traditional Fruit Mince. These are the folks whose jam, relishes and pickles I’ve loved long before I even dreamed of writing a food blog, let alone thought of developing recipes for. And oh my gosh, that Fruit Mince is no exception… It makes to die for Nut-Rolled or Cocoa Fruit Mince Ganache Truffles.

And while the idea of serving theice cream as a loaf has crossed my mind, I wanted to make it a little more quirky and finger-foody as well. And so, having about half the loaf left in the freezer from shooting a few days before I decided to make what turned out to be the most sought-after, creamy and tasty ice Christmas Pudding Ice Cream Pops.

Christmas Pudding Ice Cream Pops
Christmas Party Canape Menu
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5 from 1 vote

Christmas Pudding Ice Cream Pops

Dairy-free chocolate and milk can also be used in conjunction with dairy-free ice cream. Adapted from the Anathoth Fruit Mince Ice Cream Loaf recipe. Makes about 16 small or 12 medium sized ice pops.
Prep Time10 minutes
Total Time10 minutes
Servings: 16

Ingredients

  • 600 ml cream or coconut cream
  • 250 ml milk of your choice
  • 1/4 cup Traditional Fruit Mince
  • 1 tbsp mixed chopped nuts optional, or 1/2almond butter
  • 10 g dark chocolate shaved

Instructions

  • Place all ingredients into a high powered blender and process until smooth, about 40 seconds.Pour mixture into ice pop moulds and slide in a paddle pop stick.
  • Freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight.
  • Remove ice pops from moulds and wrap each tightly in non-stick baking paper to help prevent freezer burn and odour transfer when storing.
  • Store in the freezer for upto 1 month.
Tried this recipe?Mention @wholesomecook or tag #wholesomecook

15 comments

Richard December 10, 2013 at 4:51 am

Your ice cream makes so much sense in Australia than having fruit cake and what not. It still has the traditional ingredient but a nice twist on it too. The whole menu sounds amazing. Adding the chimichurri to the list too. Thank you

Reply
Lizzy December 10, 2013 at 7:21 am

Love the Christmas ice pops idea! So simple to make but I can already imagine they would be a hit at our place.

Reply
Anne December 10, 2013 at 8:48 am

Oh my! That menu sounds amazing. I love that you didn’t go with the standard seafood and incorporated a few other flavours. Must try the donuts and the ice pops sound amazing too!

Reply
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef December 10, 2013 at 2:11 pm

This is my way to enjoy fruit cake! I love this idea.

Reply
Mel A December 11, 2013 at 8:43 am

Those scallops sounds great and I love the festive trim on them too! They look like little baubles of yumminess.

Reply
Anne S December 11, 2013 at 4:45 pm

Oh my gosh! I just made these ice pops and they are amazing!!! Definitely adding to our Christmas Day menu.

Reply
Angela December 11, 2013 at 11:22 pm

Those oysters sound delicious. Will have to use them to convince my husband to try as he loves mango and macadamias. Lovely post.

Reply
chewtown December 12, 2013 at 5:27 pm

That is a super impressive menu!! Love it. I especially love the idea of Christmas Pudding popsicles!

Reply
Christmas Pudding Popsicles | Popsicle RecipesPopsicle Recipes December 13, 2013 at 12:02 pm

[…] Just because it’s cold outside doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy a delicious popsicle filled with the taste of Christmas. This holiday popsicle recipe only has five ingredients: vanilla ice cream, traditional fruit mince, chopped nuts, dark chocolate and milk. Fruit mince, if you’re wondering, typically contains raisins, currants, apples, citrus rind, spirits and spices. You can make it yourself or buy it at specialty stores or online. Recipe and photo via Wholesome Cook. […]

Reply
haceyg December 17, 2013 at 1:09 pm

I’m going to agree with everyone and say those popsicles are such an amazing Australian Christmas recipe. I love the idea of using traditional Christmas flavours but making them more delicious and weather appropriate. What wasthe name of the low sugar ice cream? I didn’t even know that existed but it sounds like my dream. I try to keep my sugar intake low but I really want to make these..

Reply
Martyna @ Wholesome Cook December 17, 2013 at 4:18 pm

hi haceyg, thanks for the comment! I just ate my last pop last night and will definitely be making more! The low sugar ice cream I used is Home Ice Cream (yup, that home delivery truck with a bell) as they contain alsmot half of the sugar of regular brands. The vanilla flavour comes in 2 litre tubs (product code 5).

Reply
Roman July 11, 2014 at 1:27 pm

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Look forward to finding out about your web page repeatedly.

Reply
Christmas Ice Cream & Canape Menu July 25, 2015 at 9:45 pm

[…] Get the recipe […]

Reply
13+ Healthier Ice Cream and Ice Pop Recipes | Wholesome Cook October 2, 2015 at 11:57 am

[…] yes, while these festive ice pops do contain traditional fruit mince – hey, it’s Christmas and a little indulgence with […]

Reply
Jhon Smith October 22, 2017 at 8:25 pm

Just wow!!! Nothing to say, they all are amazing. Thanks for sharing the recipe with us.

Reply

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