Boxing Day Brunch Home Comforts at Christmas

'The heart of my home is the kitchen,

'and at this time of the year,

'it's the perfect place to gather and celebrate the festive season.

'For me, Christmas is all about rustling up some fantastic food

'and eating it in the company of my favourite people.

'These are the dishes I cook when I want to spread a bit of cheer.'

These are my Christmas home comforts.

-# I really can't stay

-But baby it's cold outside

-# I've got to go away

-But baby it's cold outside...

-#

'After the carnage of Christmas Day, the last thing you want to do

'is spend even more hours in the kitchen.'

So I've got a load of dishes that are super simple to prepare,

leaving you more time to relax on Boxing Day.

'Starting with this, a recipe so good it leaves me speechless.'

Mmm! Mmm!

Mm!

'And in Austria, our festive food reporter Annie Gray

'is also lost for words.'

It's not even like pork. It's like some completely different beast.

'Back here, Olympic athlete

'Denise Lewis drops in to compete in my Christmas baking challenge.'

High five.

-Great coach.

-Not bad.

'But let's begin with all the food

'you didn't manage to eat on Christmas Day.

'I'm putting it to good use in this French classic.

'Luxurious to look at, simple to make.'

Now, always at this time of the year, we have plenty of leftovers.

Take, for instance, my leftover Christmas meal.

We've got roast beef, plenty of veg

and I'm going to create a dish

which is kind of based on a French dish called a pithivier.

Now, it's generally done as a dessert with apples,

but so often it can be done now with savoury things.

First of all, what we need to do is prepare the veg.

Now, what we're looking at doing for this

is making sure it's nice and sliced.

'Chop them finely.

'If the chunks are too big, they poke through the pastry.'

Just combine the veg with some leftover gravy,

because this is just going to create a little moisture

to our French pasty.

'Throw in some chopped herbs like parsley and some salt and pepper.'

Now, that's fundamentally your sort of veg base for this,

and then I've got some leftover beef here.

Now you can use turkey for this, pork, chicken,

it's entirely up to you.

This actually works with fish as well, to be honest with you.

'Slice your meat thinly, too.

'This will help it warm through evenly inside the pastry.'

Now we can turn our attention to our pastry.

Now, always, always, always all-butter puff pastry,

and it will say that on the packet when you buy it.

You can make your own, but what I want is about just over a half.

I'm just going to use the smaller bit first for the base.

Now it's important when you do this,

because the idea being you're creating a base and then a topping.

'Start with the base and roll it out thinner than you will for the top.

'This is the key to making sure it cooks perfectly.'

And then what I'm going to do is just roll it out here,

place it on top of your tray.

'Now you've got to cut out the shape for the base with a dinner plate.

'Then place a smaller plate onto the pastry.'

Use a table knife and just score ever so lightly around the edge,

and that frame inside it, we're just going to dot with a knife,

just to make sure the pastry cooks underneath as well,

and then we can start to assemble this, really.

And because we've got beef in there,

I'm just going to use a touch of mustard.

Grab some beef and keep everything inside that template.

'Build up the layers, season,

'add some of your leftover Christmas veg and repeat the process.'

Gradually, you're starting to dome up this pithivier.

Now, for me, my normal sort of Boxing Day, is sort of relaxing,

not really doing much, I suppose.

Take the dog for a walk, that's about it.

Everybody wants something nice and simple,

and the great thing about this,

you can prepare it, it only takes five or six minutes to prepare.

One final bit of salt and pepper, then I'm just going to

pop this in the fridge, just to keep the pastry nice and cool.

Meanwhile, we can roll out the top.

'Once you've done this, make a quick egg wash.

'I just use the yolks for extra colour and flavour.'

Now make sure you get all the way around all the edges,

keep everything inside that frame.

Put the top on and press down gently.

You can see why you've got to keep everything in that frame,

because you're creating this dome over the top.

This gives the pithivier its classic shape,

and what you're doing is just trimming the pastry

all the way round,

and then finally we get our classic pithivier.

You kind of start at one end and work your way round,

but what we're looking for is that this, in the end,

should look like a flower,

so my best way of doing this is to actually swap

and use a table knife and cut in,

stop and cut through, stop.

That's one cut and then do it round again.

In, stop.

'When you've gone all the way round,

'brush with some more egg wash and score the edges.'

And then the next bit requires a little bit of practice.

You start at one end, you make an incision and swirl it round.

Now, every one you do follows the previous one, if that makes sense.

So you're creating this sort of nice pattern over the top.

'Be careful not to cut through the pastry or it will open as it cooks.'

The great thing about this dish -

nobody will ever know you've actually made it using leftovers.

'A little hole in the top will allow any steam out.'

What we need to do now is bake this in the oven for about 20 minutes.

How good does that look?

'Meanwhile, heat up any remaining Christmas gravy

'and 20 minutes later, bingo.'

'Your pithivier is ready. It's that simple.'

Now, I for one love this dish.

This is a perfect dish to use food up on Boxing Day, and remember,

we just use leftovers, leftover little bit of meat, some veg.

It really is a great dish, this.

'Tasty on the palate, easy on the wallet.

'Follow this recipe

'and you'll eat as well on Boxing Day as you did on Christmas Day.'

'Our European neighbours are great meat lovers,

'and the way they use unique cuts and flavours has always inspired me.

'Annie Gray is in Austria checking out the amazing produce

'that put this place so firmly on the festive food map.'

Cured meats like this are a brilliant thing to have in

over the festive period.

You've always got something in to offer passers-by,

and you can put together a Boxing Day buffet in no time.

A few months ago I travelled to meet the Veisner family in lower Austria.

They hope their rare breed of pig

can become a big Boxing Day hit one day.

Christof and Isabel received their first two as a wedding present in 1999.

Now, I've seen a lot of pigs, but not like these.

Christof, you've got fluffy pigs! They're a kind of sheep pig, almost.

What are Mangalitsa pigs?

The Mangalitsa is a rare breed,

old breed that comes from a corner - Hungary, Romania, Serbia.

The woolly Mangalitsa is one the oldest European breeds.

They were considered so special,

they were reserved for the Hapsburg Royalty.

They were originally bred primarily for lard,

but when fat went out of fashion in the 1970s,

the pigs almost became extinct.

Now, thanks to breeders like Christof and Isabel,

Mangalitsas are enjoying a revival.

Today, the couple are preparing a large family supper.

They're serving up stuffed pocket.

That's an unusual cut from the shoulder muscle,

sliced and filled with whatever you fancy or have left over.

It's perfect for a Boxing Day brunch.

Fill it with cheese, sausage...

Now you're talking - cheese and pork!

You can fill vegetables in, whatever.

Isabel's busy prepping in the kitchen.

She's fried up some of the Mangalitsa meat for me to taste without anything added.

Oh, my goodness!

That's not even like pork.

It's like some completely different beast.

The way that fat melts is just so lovely in the mouth, isn't it?

Yeah.

'Mmmm! I like that.'

It's great that here in Austria they're cooking a cut

that few people know about, me included.

This cut is not popular. If you go somewhere in a shop,

nobody will know, so you just get it here.

But it's... I like it, you know, because for me

it's very quick - you take it out, you cut, you slice it, that's it.

I love the fact that you've got so much fat in the meat.

You have to have the focus on the fat, that's it.

Yeah, it's quite a different way of thinking, then,

in our modern culture where people have been

kind of brainwashed into thinking that fat is bad,

you should cut the fat off, you should get rid of it,

whereas with this,

the meat's almost secondary to this beautiful, beautiful layer of fat.

'Isabel and I are making a stuffing with breadcrumbs, onions,

'other vegetables and even grapes.

'But Christmas dinner leftovers would also work well.

'Mangalitsa meat is expensive

'as the litters are about half the size of most breeds,

'and the animals are fattened for up to two years

'as opposed to the usual three to five months.'

Do you find that people treat themselves to it at Christmas particularly?

Yeah, Christmas, we have very good business for Christmas

because they want something special.

Because in the UK the really popular things

for, say, a brunch, would be something like bacon, bacon sandwiches,

especially if people are a bit hungover,

then they kind of run out of ideas,

but something like this demands respect in cooking.

Yeah.

Right, mixing?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

I think we need a little bit more wine.

-I think most people need a bit more wine!

-Yeah!

'Smoked bacon has also been added to the stuffing.

'This family love their pig products.'

This is like roast pork to the power of ten.

'The meat then goes in the pot with loads more veg, plus bones

'for flavouring, fresh herbs and one more special ingredient - lard.'

OK, we're going to put it in the oven.

-Yeah.

-Good.

And now I've got to wait four hours until I can eat it?

Yeah.

'That's a long old roast.'

Oh, wow.

Yes, please.

I'll let you try everything.

'Now after all the bustle of the holidays,

'what could be more perfect than relaxing on Boxing Day with friends,

'family and good simple food?'

That's almost bringing tears to my eyes, it's so lovely.

For hundreds of years we've associated eating meat with Christmas,

but today I've realised that there's meat and then there's Mangalitsa.

I think it's really worth seeking out something extra special

for a Boxing Day brunch and maybe, like me,

you can know that while you're eating it,

you're also helping to revive a rare breed that nearly went extinct.

Watching that made my mouth water.

Now I can understand how Ralph feels when he sees me scoffing chocolates.

That Mangalitsa looks so good,

I've just got to have some for myself, so I'm going to cook up

some Alpine comfort food with a home-grown twist.

Now, as classic winter recipes go,

you don't get any more traditional than a tartiflette.

That classic Alpine sort of dish,

done with potatoes, Reblochon cheese and onions.

What I'm going to do is incorporate different flavours with it,

but use that fundamentally as a base.

I'm going to use the apples and some of this amazing pork.

I'm going to get onto that in a minute, but first, we need to prepare our potatoes.

'I've parboiled these so the skins come off really easy.'

I've got to use some of this, this is some Mangalitsa pancetta,

and the reason why this is so, so good is this layer of fat,

and if you think that's got a serious amount of fat on,

wait until you see these pork chops.

Check out those fellas!

'The fat on these mega Mangalitsa chops

'and pancetta contain all the flavour.'

Now, you can use normal Italian pancetta,

even sort of streaky bacon,

but this sort of stuff is really special.

'Scatter the pancetta into a pan.'

So I'm going to grab the potatoes, chop them up into slices,

because in essence this is actually a really quick dish to prepare

and one that there's no fuss at all.

So we can grab a little bit of salt and pepper.

Careful with the amount of salt that you use as well

if you're using some quite salty pancetta.

'And for that British twist I mentioned, I'm adding apples.

'Just layer up all these ingredients in the pan.

'They don't have to be neat and tidy.'

This is this wonderful sort of combination of bacon lardons and potato.

'Sprinkle over fresh thyme and of course, a bit of butter.'

But then it's all about this ingredient. This cheese - Reblochon.

Now you can tell a Reblochon because it's got a little red stamp

on it as well, and all we do with that is basically just trim it off.

'Reblochon's a traditional choice for a tartiflette,

'because it melts perfectly.

'And what makes it even better? Yep, more butter.'

Now if you look at this you can tell -

if it looks good when it goes in the oven,

it's going to taste great and look good when it comes out of the oven,

and this is really testament to that exact way of thinking.

Basically, stick this in the oven for about 20 to 25 minutes to cook.

And now we're going to serve this with this amazing pork.

'I'm using British Mangalitsa chops,

'which you can get from specialist butchers.'

This fantastic combination of fat to meat is exactly what we want.

'All you need to do is season with some salt.'

With fat like this, there's no need for oil.

You see, how good does this look?

Just gently, gently cooked.

Pork chops, salt, on a grill, done.

Now to make this recipe a little bit more healthy,

I'm going to take another apple,

we're going to grill it in the fat from the pork.

'For chops this big, I'd say six to eight minutes on each side.'

Now, I cannot wait for this.

I've tasted this type of pork before, and every time I try it,

I just know that it tastes so, so good.

You've got a decent amount of the pork,

you put a little piece of the apple on there,

and not forgetting we've got this sort of apple tartiflette.

So the combination of potatoes, pancetta

and stewed apple all mixed with that Reblochon cheese.

And now you kind of dive in.

Mm. Mmm! Mm!

See, this dish is perfect for Boxing Day.

Yeah, this is a proper plate of food.

'And do you know what?

'Comfort food like this is perfect on any day of the year,

'but on a chilly Boxing Day evening, you just can't beat it.'

Sharing great food is what Christmas is all about,

and food historian Ivan Day has been discovering how the Victorians

used their leftovers to make sure that no-one went without.

Boxing Day was a day when the wealthy looked after the poor

by giving them food and gifts.

'The day even got its name from the custom of servants

'receiving boxes filled with Christmas treats.'

Today, I'm going to make the most iconic meal given by the wealthy

to the poor at Christmas - roast beef and plum pudding.

The most traditional cut of meat served on Christmas Day

was something called a baron of beef,

which in fact is a bullock's bottom

and capable of feeding up to about 600 people.

'This I've got to see!

'How's Ivan going to pull this one off?'

A baron would take about nine hours to roast,

so I've chosen a much smaller cut, which will take about three hours.

'Well, that sounds more manageable,

'especially if you've got an authentic tool for the job.'

You might think that this is some ancient instrument of torture,

but it's actually something called a cradle spit.

'The joint's secured,

'basted and placed on a rack in front of a roaring fire.'

I could sit here for the next three hours,

turning the meat by hand,

but I'm going to use this machine, which is called a spit jack,

which is a clockwork mechanism run by a weight.

So I'm going to wind it up

and you'll hear the sound of an 18th century kitchen.

CREAKING

That does sound like a torture dungeon, and off she goes.

As the weight drops,

you'll see the spit is being turned by the drive chain.

'So the beef's cooking - now for the pudding,

'which starts with a bowl of dry ingredients.

'This recipe from 1845 was for the well-heeled.'

The wealthy often had a luxury version with a lot more brandy

and frequently much more of the really expensive ingredients

like the preserved or candied peels.

This is citron - Seville orange peel.

'To this he adds lemon zest, dried fruit, nutmeg and egg.

'There's actually no plums in the pudding at all.

'That's because in earlier times, plum was another name for raisin.

'Anything else, Ivan?'

Merry Christmas! Oh, whoops.

'Yes, in the bowl, please, and give it a good mix.'

What might puzzle a lot of people

who are used to making Christmas pudding

is to just how dry this looks.

'This mixture was perfect for making old-fashioned round puddings

'and for pressing into shaped moulds.

'Ivan covers it with a cloth tied with string.

'While the beef and pudding are cooking,

'here's a small one he made earlier.

'This is exactly the sort many poor Victorians would receive as a gift.'

A lot of these earlier devourers of plum pudding would cut it

into slices and cook it underneath the meat to catch the juices.

'With the meat roasted to perfection,

'it's time to get it off the spit

'and prepare the dishes for both ends of the social scale.

'Small pudding slices enriched with beef juices for the poor -

'big flambe puddings for the wealthy.

'Boxing Day was the time to be charitable.

'Some rich families would invite their impoverished neighbours

'in for a hearty meal, but they also had other methods of sharing.'

Food was distributed by the wealthy to the poor

in all sorts of ways.

Food was even sent to the local jailhouses at Christmas,

often a piece of roast beef,

a plum pudding and maybe a big basket of boiled potatoes.

'The beef and plum pudding was often eaten as a kind of Victorian sarnie,

'which is what Ivan's getting stuck into right now.'

The combination together really works

because the plum pudding isn't too sweet,

it's almost like a kind of solid lump of chutney with the beef,

it's delicious.

This is a wonderful Christmas treat for both rich and poor alike.

Merry Christmas.

Come on, buddy, it's Boxing Day, get into the cheer.

That's not bad, is it, that one?

Why do you always look depressed?

Mind you, I do in a Christmas jumper.

He's not happy.

'On Boxing Day, we all deserve a well-earned rest, and to make sure

'Ralph and I get one, I'm knocking up this tasty dish.

'It's super-fast to make and will really perk up your taste buds.'

I think the key to cooking something for Boxing Day lunch

is creating something that's light, quick and tasty.

This is the perfect dish for that.

It uses a whole chicken, which I'm going to spatchcock -

that speeds up the cooking time by at least half,

but I'm going to create a lovely marinade and salad to go with it.

But the first thing I'm going to do is kind of like a marinade,

but it's not, it's a paste that goes on the top.

I'm going to take some coriander, a decent amount, mint and basil,

so basically throw that in your blender.

'To the herbs, add some garlic, roughly chopped ginger

'and green finger chillies - don't bother deseeding them.

'Then blitz to a fine puree.'

So you take a good dollop of full fat yoghurt,

and always where possible

use the full fat yoghurt, otherwise the mixture can kind of split.

Now, I need to basically add some acidity to this.

You can get away with using some lemon,

but I actually prefer lime for this, but it needs a decent amount,

so put the zest and juice of about three limes in here.

Quick tip, if you want to get more juice out of a lime,

you don't squeeze it harder -

stick it in the microwave for eight seconds.

It just softens up the lime even more.

'Finish off with some seasoning and blitz the mix again

'until you have a smooth marinade.

'Now for the main event.'

And what I'm going to do with this is spatchcock the chicken.

'This just means to flatten it.'

The best way to do that is to get yourself some really good scissors.

So basically you just start off at one side

and cut all the way through.

And then cut about an inch of the chicken off the other side as well,

and then when you grab your chicken like this,

you can hold it down flat, press it.

Basically, you've now spatchcocked a chicken.

'Slice the skin to make sure that you get all the flavours

'of the marinade into the flesh.

'Put the chicken on a roasting tray. Season it with salt and pepper,

'and then spread the marinade over both sides of the bird.'

And then what you need to do is set the oven really high,

as hot as the oven will go.

'And cook it for a speedy 40 to 45 minutes.

'While it roasts, you can get on with the salad dressing.

'Put some coriander, mint and basil into a pestle and mortar

'with a large pinch of salt and bash the herbs

'until they start to break down.

'This is one way to burn off some of those Christmas calories.'

Now we can add a touch of chilli, so you're carrying on with a similar

sort of theme to what you've done with the chicken.

You've got the herbs in there, a little bit of garlic,

but then I'm going to turn this into like an Asian style dressing.

But you've still got to grind this down.

You can grab some dark soy sauce, little bit of fish sauce,

Thai fish sauce, which is superb with this.

Little bit of sesame oil, but you've got to treat it like rocket fuel,

you've got to be really careful with it.

'Next, add the juice and zest of two limes,

'and for some sweetness, a little honey.'

Because when you really know how to do one of these dressings, you can knock one up in minutes, really.

And it's so packed full of flavour.

I suppose this is like an Asian coleslaw, really.

I'm going to use some of this,

this is bang in season at this time of year,

it's called hispi cabbage or pointed cabbage.

'Slice the leaves really thin

and throw them into a bowl

'along with a finely chopped red onion.

'Add that amazing dressing, toss well to combine,

'and that's your Asian slaw done.

'Now we just need the chicken, and, boy, does it look good!

'All that's left to do is plate up.'

I suppose the key to this, really,

is all about this fantastic herb sauce

that goes over the top of the chicken.

You get a real bang of flavour, particularly with the mint.

Hm!

There's a little undertone of that fiery little dish

with that chilli, just gives it a nice lift.

But the mint and the lime really calm it down again.

Now when you think of spatchcocked chicken,

you think of barbecues and think of summertime, but do you know what?

It really does make a pleasant change.

'After a Christmas Day blow-out,

'the last thing you want is another heavy three-course meal,

'so if it's light and stress-free you're looking for,

'this is just the job.

'As the long festive holiday goes on,

'cheese is another great lunch or supper alternative.

'Forget about lumps of cold cheddar on crackers, though,

'I'm talking about the kind of stuff Stacey Hedges produces.

'She may be based just down the road from me in Hampshire,

'but her creamy soft cheese has a distinctly continental taste.'

The inspiration for Winslade came from Vacherin Mont d'Or,

which is a cheese made in parts of France and Switzerland.

'The Swiss and French make their cheese from cow's milk,

'but they then wrap it in strips of spruce bark,

'which gives it a woody festive flavour.'

So we based our recipe on that

because no-one in the UK was making this style of cheese.

'Stacey experimented with her own recipe for 12 months

'and then went into production a year ago.

'But her interest in all things cheesy goes way back.'

I'm originally from Sydney and when I was a student there,

I worked in a cheese shop part-time,

and I think that's when my love of cheese began,

but 20 years later I found myself living in rural Hampshire

and decided to start collecting milk from a local farm

just in buckets, and started making cheese at home as a hobby, really.

And my passion just grew and I just decided to turn it into a business.

'After producing an English camembert, Stacey began making Winslade.

'It has a similar flavour to camembert but it's softer,

'creamier and comes with that special Christmas tree wrapping.'

This spruce band is made in France by someone called a sanglier.

They go to great lengths to find the right spruce

and get it in the right condition before they cut it

with a particular tool and we have to boil it up to soften it,

and then it's wrapped around the cheese

when the cheese is about a day old,

and we tie it up and leave it like that for about ten days.

'She may have been inspired by cheese from across the Channel,

'but when Stacey decided to make a version on this side of the water,

'she found the British have one big advantage.'

They only make it in the winter time because that's when the cows

are brought down from the mountain pastures and into barns,

so that's why it's known as a Christmas cheese.

We're lucky enough that we can get our milk all year round,

so we make Winslade all year round.

'In fact, Stacey's small creamery

'now churns out six tonnes of cheese annually,

'and although customers can enjoy it whatever the season,

'that Christmas tree bark

'makes it an obvious choice for a festive meal.'

Oh, you can really smell the spruce bark band

that's around the cheese, and when it's baked it'll come out even more.

It takes about 10 or 15 minutes, not very long.

It's a fantastic dish to serve for an easy family meal - some chutney,

some nice bread sticks, nice glass of Champagne, just delicious.

'This is just the kind of no-hassle lunch I love on Boxing Day.

Once it's cooked, this cheese is lovely and runny, so the smell

and the texture of it makes people gather round the table,

and they obviously have to dip into it so it brings people together,

so I think it's a fantastic dish for sharing over Christmas.

'After Christmas Day with family,

'what's better than Boxing Day with friends?

'Especially when they're as much fun as this one,

'Olympic gold-medal-winning athlete, Denise Lewis.'

How you doing?

-I'm good, how are you?

-I'm good, come on in.

'Today, she's helping me make a classic kitsch dessert.

'This elaborate pud is a combination of light sponge

'and fluffy raspberry mousse,

'and seeing as we're still in celebration mode,

'I'm adding a cheeky layer of jelly.'

Now, you've got a sweet tooth, haven't you?

I have, especially at this time of year, because...

So what's so special about this time of year, then?

It's just I love the festive season,

my mum always comes with a Christmas cake,

a Caribbean traditional Christmas cake,

which has been passed down from her grandmother

and my grandmother's grandmother, so there's a real sort of legacy.

-It's a big deal, but she hasn't taught me how to do it.

-Right.

I thought I'd do something that you could make at home

and you could impress your mother as well.

This is a really special cake.

'But before we start baking it, we need to make the mousse filling.

'For that we need raspberries, a blender for them to go into

'and to satisfy Denise's sweet tooth, some icing sugar.

'All we have to do now is blitz.'

-Now, this is your job.

-Right.

-So you've got to then pass this mixture through the sieve.

-OK.

'You want this to be nice and smooth with no seeds.'

So while you're doing that, I'm going

-to do this sort of creme anglaise for this, really.

-Yeah.

Which is basically a custard, right?

-Posh custard?

-It's posh custard.

'And here's how to make it.

'Heat full fat milk in a pan with some caster sugar.

'As it's simmering away, whisk together more sugar

'with three egg yolks.

'Pour the warm milk over the eggs and return to the heat

'until it thickens.'

So tell me about this amazing Caribbean cake, then.

Oh, it's just the taste, you know?

It's a lot of preparation, so months in advance,

as any good cake should be, especially when you're using,

I guess, dried fruit, soaked in rum and some heavy port,

so you know you're not driving after you've had a bite of this thing.

Maybe I'm just not brave enough to take it on,

because I just don't want to disappoint.

So you've got this amazing sort of mixture here.

Now, the gelatine here, we use leaf gelatine,

and you've got to think about how much gelatine you put in.

Too much, it bounces off the walls.

-Yeah?

-Too little and you'll end up eating it with a straw.

'With that in mind, follow the recipe

'and add six sheets of gelatine to the custard.'

It's really quite important that you need to make sure that this is dissolved.

And keep it moving?

Just keep it moving, or otherwise you end up with scrambled egg.

'When it's ready, pour it straight into the raspberry puree and whisk well.'

This is definitely going to come to the house, the Lewis household.

Is it?

'Before it becomes a mousse, we'll need to add cream.

'But we only do that after it's had time to chill in the fridge.'

Now, we're going to make a Swiss roll, so for this, classic sponge.

'That's eight eggs, some caster sugar, a small amount

'of vanilla bean paste, all mixed together until light and fluffy.

'Now line two baking trays.'

The mixture is nearly there, so switch the machine off,

and now we can add our flour.

-There's no need to sieve flour nowadays.

-Really?

Yeah, it's already done that, supermarket's done it for you.

So you basically just sprinkle the flour on the top,

and then the best things are stuck on the end of your arms - fingers.

It folds through much faster so you end up with a better sponge.

Right? So tell me about Boxing Day, then?

Is it still chaos in the house with all the kids?

It's bedlam.

They are so pumped after Christmas, they're so excited,

I'm worn out, husband's worn out, so we try to stay on the sofa

as long as possible, or at least get a lie-in

while they're still entertained with their Christmas presents.

But invariably, in terms of cooking,

not much goes on because usually it's me

putting in anything that I had forgotten to do on Christmas Day.

'Well, this pudding can be made in advance,

'so it will take the pressure off Denise on Boxing Day.

'Once the sponge mixture is in, spread it evenly in both trays,

'then put them in the oven for ten minutes.

'As they're baking, lay out two damp tea towels.

'Don't worry - all will be revealed soon.'

What we're trying to achieve is you've got this beautiful bowl,

line it with clingfilm and then we're going to line it with Swiss roll.

-OK.

-'Stay with me, Denise, it's not as difficult as it sounds.'

So you need to put a little bit of oil in there, it makes

-the clingfilm that you're about to put in, stick to the bottom.

-OK.

Right, so the sponge is ready, you can tell that,

-just press it on the top.

-Yeah.

-You get a little bit of resistance there.

-Yes. Nice and soft.

OK, before we turn them out, and we need to turn them out

while they're still warm, we take just a sprinkle of sugar.

'This is a top tip -

'the sugar will prevent the sponge from sticking to the tea towel.'

And then we flip that out.

Try not to press on it or lean on it, but other than that...

Let's see if it's still alive underneath there.

Oh, gosh, here we go.

Is it out?

Yes. Now you've got to carefully peel off the paper.

'OK, tricky bit done, now we need a layer of raspberry jam.'

Now, this is the best bit, because we get to roll this up,

because we've got the damp tea towel, we can then keep it nice

and tight, so what you do, I'll show you mine first.

You tuck this end in, just nice and tight, and you roll it.

-You can see the steam coming off.

-Yeah.

Lift it on there, when you lift it off,

because there's steam in there, it'll stop the sponge from cracking,

so we end up with this perfect Swiss roll.

My adrenaline's just started to go up.

I'm just starting to feel a bit nervous!

So you've got to flip the first bit over

so it tucks in so you start that roll process, all right?

-You got it?

-Yeah.

Keep it nice and tight, lift it off and then see what happens.

High five!

Great coach.

'Right, we're on the home straight.

'It's time to turn the chilled raspberry custard into a mousse.

'Whisk some double cream and pour into the custard.

'This will add structure and texture

'and help you start building your cake.'

You can then take your sponge, look.

Oh, that's very good.

Take the Swiss roll and place them inside the mould like this.

-I didn't realise this was what you were going to do.

-You didn't know?

No, I didn't.

'When doing this, make sure you fill in all the gaps...'

-Happy with that?

-Happy.

'..before adding my secret ingredient - jelly.

'A classic Charlotte Royale doesn't have this but, hey,

'we only do this once a year.'

And then what we're going to do is pour this mixture over the top.

'Cover the mousse completely with the remaining slices.'

I can imagine just exactly what it's going to look like.

-Can you?

-Very grand.

And then we take the whole lot and we pop it in the fridge.

'A few hours in there and it'll be set.

'That gives Denise, Ralph and I the chance to go for a stroll.

'Well, that's what you do on Boxing Day, isn't it?'

Now, the reveal!

You place a plate on the top

-and then you make sure it's in the centre.

-Yeah.

And what you're going to do is hold the clingfilm

and the bowl will just come straight off.

Right, now take the clingfilm off.

Looks like a brain!

You know what I mean! It's an artistic one.

'Garnish your artistic brain with some strawberries and mint,

'then slice open.'

Well, that looks amazing.

I think your mother would be quite impressed with this, you see.

Check that out in there. How good does that look?

Looks fab!

Ladies first.

Here we go.

Mm! Mm-mm

It's great, because as you said, after the hoo-haa's

and the excitement of Christmas Day,

you've still got something to impress with, and I like that.

'So you see, after Christmas Day's been and gone,

'entertaining all over again can actually be enjoyable.

'By transforming leftovers and creating easy dishes like these,

'your Boxing Day need never be boring again!'

-Thank you for this.

-Yeah.

-I got you a little gift.

-You got me something?

-Yeah, just a little something.

-You didn't have to get me anything!

-Because you know, I like to relax on Boxing Day.

-Right.

And I hope this Boxing Day, you'll do the same.

It just reminded me of you -

cuddly, lovable.

Lovely, thanks(!)

You can find all the recipes from the series at bbc.co.uk/food