Ingredients

75g unsalted butter
100g plain chocolate
75g raisins or dried cranberries cut in half
2 tbsp brandy, port or orange juice
1 X 300g ready made ginger cake

Decoration

150g ready to roll icing
green and red  food colouring
alternatively you can buy a box of coloured icing

Method:

Soak the raisins or cranberries in brandy, port or orange juice for about half an hour. Melt the butter and chocolate either over a pan of simmering water or in a microwave.  Stir in the raisins or cranberries and then crumble in the cake.  Mix well and leave to cool slightly.

Place in the fridge for about 1 hour to firm up and then roll into 10 walnut sized balls.

Colour 50g of the icing green roll out on a clean work surface dusted with a little icing sugar and cut into holly leaves using cutters. Colour 10g of the icing red and roll into berries.  Roll out the remaining white icing and cut out 10 wiggly circles for the brandy butter and place these on top of each of the mini Christmas puddings.  Decorate the christmas gifts with the holly leaves and red berries (dampen the icing underneath to stick onto the cake).

Information:
MAKES 10 MINI CHRISTMAS PUDDINGS