Debriefing of an Australian Christmas: Part 2

After our Christmas day swim in the pool, it was time for some holiday desserts--Aussie style!  (Or probably English style, but I first experienced them in Australia).  The plum (Christmas) pud was first.  Louise poured brandy over it and lit it on fire before serving it, though it was hard to see the flame both times she lit it (thus I didn't get any good pictures of the pud alight).  She served it to me with a dollop of brandy cream and also some brandy custard, and of course I had a coffee too.  Honestly, I think I liked the pudding (which to me was more like a very dense and moist dome-shaped cake), but the brandy flavor was a bit overpowering.  Maybe next time I'll try it without so many brandy-flavored toppings or maybe sneak a piece before the brandy is poured over it. :)

Plum pud ready to eat! 

(Note the bottle of brandy that had just been poured over it sitting on the counter!)

Under the brandy custard and brandy cream, there is a piece of plum pud!

The Christmas cake (i.e. fruitcake) was served later in the day as well.  Louise made this one from scratch, soaking bits of dried fruits in brandy days before making it.  Then she wrapped it with a bow, which I learned is the traditional thing to do.  After some hesitation about whether or not I'd like this cake, I ended up finding it to be quite alright!  Sure, it had a lot of raisins/sultanas, which are not my favorite, but the macadamias and other flavors were quite nice.  It also went very well with a coffee!

Christmas cake!

A few other treats that we had on this day were homemade fudge, chocolate/apricot/macadamia truffles, and rum balls.  I loved the fudge, and would have enjoyed the latter two items more if they did not have coconut flakes in them (or rolled on the outside of them).  Since they knew I didn't like coconut they tried making some rum balls with sprinkles (called 100s and 1000s) on the outside.  That did not turn out so well though, as we all agreed the sprinkles made them too crunchy, but it was a nice gesture. :)

We ended the day with a visit to Mary and Russell's house (Louise's sister and her husband and kids).  Evan got a few more Christmas presents there, including a special baby floaty for the pool.  Mary and Russell had just gotten a PlayStation 3 Move this Christmas so we all ended our Christmas in their living room, taking turns trying to dance moves to the latest dance songs (Party Rock Anthem being my favorite).  I worked up quite a sweat, and am now considering getting the "Move" for our PS3 as a way for me to do some fun exercise when I'm back home!  I certainly thought it was a fun way to end the day!

Evan enjoying his new floaty from Mary, in his second time in the pool on the day after Christmas.