Waitrose 1 launch - new premium food range

Waitrose already provides posh food for the masses and has now gone one step further with the launch of its own premium range, Waitrose 1.

  

 

I was invited to the launch event which was a great opportunity to try the foods and speak to some of the product developers and specialists.

 

 

Held on the second floor of London’s Oxo tower with amazing views as the sun set over the Thames, my expectations were high. I’d been told it was a drop-in event, so I went after work, and assumed that since I wasn’t being asked to go at a particular time there wouldn’t be a presentation as such. Instead, I found a room showcasing different products on ‘stations’ – first I came to the dessert and cocktail bar (actually, first I was offered a glass of champagne by a waiter proffering a tray) and had a chat with a friendly PR about the amazing cakes. My eye was particularly drawn to a dessert called a 'chocolate and orange wave', which comes in a chilled pack of two.
 

 

I didn’t get to try this one but the rhubarb and custard flavour was available for testing. I’m not keen on rhubarb but the filling – a mousse-like texture – was so creamy that I was converted.

 

 

I moved on to the pizza station and watched a few people having a go at making pizza bases, and spoke to a Waitrose representative about their new range of pizzas. They use a sourdough base, which some pizza restaurants use like Franco Manca in London; you can get sourdough bases in supermarkets as well, usually in their premium ranges.

 

The new Waitrose pizzas come in three sizes and the toppings on offer will change seasonally; one they are launching now is the wood-fired spicy sausage and broccoli pizza (£4.79). I'd be quite tempted to try that one. 

 

Moving on to the cheese stand I tried several varieties, including a Belgian beer cheese. The beer is added to the vat as the cheese is made. I don't like beer but thought it was delicious and the cheese had a nice texture - slightly rubbery which I actually quite like rather than a crumbly cheese!

I also tried some of the Le Cret Gruyere, made in a Swiss village, which was also really good.

I also tried burrata, an Italian cheese made from shredded mozzarella, mixed with cream, and formed into a ball again. I’d never had it before and it was so creamy that I don’t think I could eat much in one go.

 

Alongside the cheese I tried some bread, and was told that flavoured breads do sell very well. I’m not sure how popular their latest one will be – it tasted very good, but not everyone would want to try bread containing cauliflower! A cauliflower cheese mixture is baked into the bread; the cauli gives the bread a different texture – more open with holes. The cheese flavour came through strongly and occasionally I could tell I was eating a piece of cauliflower!

 

I spotted someone carving an Iberio ham and had a very interesting conversation about the provenance and process. It's cured for a minimum of two years and hand carved, which is why it costs £9.99 for a 75g packet - good for a posh dinner party perhaps!

Finally I stopped at the chocolate stand and initially tried to resist, as I’m supposed to be on a sugar-free diet, but just couldn’t. Waitrose has a new range of salted caramels, showcasing four different salts with very different flavour profiles, so of course I had to try all four and compare. They were amazing, and if anyone wants to give me a box of these I can put aside my no sugar diet for one day! (In actual fact I’m meant to be sugar free 5 days out of 7 and can have two days off, according to the practitioner I’m currently seeing).

  

There was also a range of dessert truffles in pretty pastel colours and I decided I couldn’t possibly try all of them as I’d had too much chocolate already, which was a shame as they sounded intriguing – I’ve never had a sticky toffee pudding or pineapple upside down cake chocolate truffle before! I did try one, the jaffa cake truffle. I was expecting a fairly standard smooth truffle in a chocolate orange flavour, but what I found was a little centre of orange in the middle of the truffle, in a jelly-consistency that did remind me of jaffa cakes. I’ll definitely look out for these ones coming into the shops too!

The products are premium prices so for most people – even most people who already shop at Waitrose – I think these would be a special treat, for a dinner party, special occasion or just a nice way to treat yourself, rather than part of the weekly grocery shop, but I can imagine them selling really well.

 

 

 

 

 

Chocolate Salted Caramel Christmas Pudding

Chocolate Salted Caramel Christmas Pudding - scroll down for the full recipe. Read on to find out how I developed the idea and created the melting middle.....

Stir-Up Sunday is the last Sunday before Advent begins and when families traditionally make their Christmas pudding. The idea is that everyone has a go at stirring the mixture and making a wish.

 

For any non-UK readers the idea of Christmas pudding might seem a bit strange. It’s actually a cake of sorts, but steamed rather than baked. It contains dried fruit, spices like cinnamon and ginger, and alcohol – the fruit is often soaked in brandy, and traditionally when the pudding is served, brandy is poured over the top and set alight.

 

I’ve never actually made a Christmas pudding before so when I was asked by Waitrose to come up with a recipe for a Christmas pudding with a twist, I was a little daunted. But I like a challenge, and more importantly the excuse to finally have a go at making a Christmas pudding, even if it wasn’t going to be a traditional one.

 

My recipe turned out really well; whether you make this or follow your great-grandmother’s recipe that has been handed down through the years, don’t forget that November 22 is Stir-Up Sunday! And if you forget, or don’t have time, then get yourself down to Waitrose and buy one of their Christmas puddings!

 

Thinking about what kind of twist I could add prompted several ideas, ranging from Christmas pudding cake pops to adding something like orange and Cointreau to the pudding mixture. When I was younger I didn’t particularly like Christmas pudding with all the fruit and would still prefer a chocolate cake to a fruit cake any day… which gave me an idea and I decided to make a chocolate Christmas pudding. But not just stop there: one of my favourite flavours is salted caramel, and I love melting middle puddings where you cut into it and the runny filling oozes out…. I wondered if it was possible to do that in a Christmas pudding given the extended baking time (up to 5 hours). Well, it turns out that it is! Just about, anyway… but I felt my Christmas pudding with a twist was a resounding success (and the results of the taste test were very positive).
 

I knew the challenge would be what to put in the middle that wouldn’t bake into the cake and would remain liquid – or rather, turn to liquid when heated. As I wanted to use salted caramel, I decided to see if Waitrose sold anything I could use- and they had a packet of Hope & Greenwood Salted Caramel Fudge, which I thought would be perfect.

  

I thought it would probably melt pretty fast though so I put the fudge in the freezer for a few hours, before baking it into the middle of my Christmas pudding. When the pudding was served, I cut into it, and there was actually some liquid caramel in the middle! There were also some chunky pieces of soft fudge which you can see in these photos.
 

 

  

Christmas pudding is traditionally served with brandy butter which I’ve never particularly liked, so instead I served it with Waitrose’s Seriously Caramel dipping sauce. You can of course make your own sauce but this is much easier!

  

Here’s the recipe in full:

 

Chocolate and Salted Caramel Christmas Pudding – an original recipe by Caroline Makes

100g raisins

100g sultanas

75g self raising flour

40g cocoa powder

100g breadcrumbs

100g light brown sugar

100g dates, chopped

100g glace cherries, chopped

100g ground almonds

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

100g Lindt chocolate with salted caramel, chopped

50g butter, grated

75ml milk - I wanted to use buttermilk but it was out of stock when my online order came

1 egg

75ml brandy- I used Torres 10 from Waitrose

150g Hope and Greenwood salt caramel fudge

to serve: salted caramel sauce

 

First, take the fudge out of the box and put the plastic bag in the freezer for at least 2 hours, or longer.

 

Preheat oven to 170C and grease a 1.5- 2 litre pudding basin that you can put in the oven.

 

Mix the dry ingredients apart from the fudge in a large bowl: the raisins, sultanas, flour, cocoa powder, breadcrumbs, sugar, dates, cherries, ground almonds, cinnamon and nutmeg and chopped chocolate. Stir well to combine.

 

Sprinkle the grated butter over the top and stir well to combine.

 

Beat the egg and add it to the milk and mix together. Add the brandy to the milk and pour into the dry ingredients. Stir until everything is combined and you have a sticky, fruity - and quite lumpy - mixture.

 

Spoon a little of the pudding mixture into your pudding basin so the bottom is covered, then pile the frozen fudge on top. Carefully spoon the rest of the mixture around and on top of the fudge so it is totally covered.

 

If your pudding basin has a lid place this on top; if not - as mine didn't - cover with two layers of clingfilm and then two layers of foil. Boil the kettle.

 

Place the bowl in a roasting tray or similar pan you can put in the oven and pour in boiling water until it comes half way up the side of the pudding basin - or fills your roasting tray. You may need to boil the kettle twice. You may find it easier to part fill the roasting tin, then carry it to the oven, then top up the water while it is already in the oven.

 

Steam in the oven for 4 and a half hours. Check it once or twice during that time to see if the water in the roasting pan needs topping up.

 

When cooked, remove from the oven and allow to cool; be careful when you remove the lid or particularly if you have used clingfilm as steam will escape.

 

When the bowl is cool enough to handle, turn the pudding out on a plate. Serve with caramel sauce and look for the hidden caramel inside!

You can see other ideas for Christmas pudding with a twist here.

 

Thanks to Waitrose for covering the cost of the ingredients.