“Stir-up” Sunday Chocolate Pudding

History

The Last Sunday of the Church Year has historically been known in the Western Church as “Stir-up Sunday,” a name that comes from a long tradition of associating the day with the start of Advent preparations and excitement for the season to come.

This term specifically hails from the opening words of the collect for the day found in the 1549 Book of Common Prayer. Like many of the Sundays of the Church year—such as the ones that fall in Advent, Gesimatide, and Lent—a Latin incipit, or the first words of a particular prayer, has over time become the name associated with the day. In this case it is Excita, or “stir up,” which takes on both a spiritual and physical meaning.

Excita, quæsumus, Domine, tuorum fidelium voluntates: ut divini operis fructum propensius exsequentes, pietatis tuæ remedia maiora percipiant: Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may of thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Initially, it can be difficult to see what this British tradition has to do with Lutheran liturgical living. After all, the Lutheran collect for the Last Sunday of the Church Year is worded rather differently from its Anglican counterpart.

Yet while the particulars of this liturgical tradition might look a bit different in the Anglican Church, the overall theme finds a lot of parallels: even though Lutherans don’t say this same prayer on the Last Sunday of the Church Year, our prayers on the first, second, and fourth Sundays of Advent incorporate this same language of “stirring-up,” evidenced in the above collect text. Thus, this tradition borrowed from our Anglican friends can serve as a foreshadowing of the Lutheran Church’s own Advent collects, which begin the following week.

Pudding

As we mentioned in our post on the customs surrounding the Nativity of Our Lord, the famous tradition of making Christmas pudding and “stirring up” the recipe typically starts on this Last Sunday of the Church year, symbolizing the shift from the season after Trinity to the season of Advent.

This liturgical custom has become especially popular in Britain, where Christmas pudding is still cooked well in advance of Christmas and then reheated on Christmas Day. The family usually gathers in the kitchen after their Church obligations on the Last Sunday of the Church Year to mix up the pudding, all taking turns creating a part of the dish.

Once it is all put together, the pudding sits for five weeks before it is consumed on Christmas, symbolizing the waiting period that all Christians go through during Advent. Its collection of ingredients is also symbolic.The pudding traditionally contains thirteen parts, representing Jesus and his twelve disciples. It is stirred with a wooden spoon, symbolizing Jesus’ manger, and is stirred from east to west, symbolizing the three wise men’s journey.

The recipe that we’ve shared before for Christmas pudding is an easy rendition of the traditional British version, created with the average household in mind. It doesn’t have to sit during the period of Advent and can be whipped up right before its typical consumption on Christmas Day.

However, if you feel inspired to follow those in the Church who start their pudding on the Last Sunday of the Church Year, we have a chocolate, coffee, and nut version of the traditional recipe just for you! This dessert is a crossover between pudding and a whipped mousse, using heavy cream and chocolate powder as its base and then incorporating a heatened and thickened mixture that gives the dish a flavor similar to the spiced version of pudding that many know and love.

The constant stirring of the ingredients (thirteen, to be precise) certainly stays true to the idea of Stir-up Sunday. Like Christmas pudding, this recipe should sit before serving. While we wouldn’t recommend letting it chill in your fridge for a full five weeks, letting the flavors mingle together for a day or two will certainly make this pudding richer! Further, this dish can serve a reminder of the meaning of this Sunday and the broader importance of our Advent preparations for the coming of Christ.

Ingredients

2⁄3 cup raw almonds

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 pinch salt

½ cup heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 pinch salt

4 egg yolks

⅓ cup strongly brewed coffee, room temperature

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. In an oven proof pan, toss the almonds with your olive oil and salt. Roast in the oven for 10 minutes, then allow to cool to room temperature before chopping by hand or with a food processor.
2. While cooling, combine your heavy whipping cream, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat until stiff peaks form and transfer to another bowl to chill in the refrigerator.
3. In the top of a double boiler over low heat, combine the egg yolks, coffee, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Cook the mixture, stirring constantly, until it’s foamy and has roughly doubled in volume, which should take about 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and add in ½ cup chocolate chips. Set aside to cool to room temperature, stirring the mixture every couple minutes to help it cool evenly.
4. When cooled, fold the chilled, whipped chocolate into the coffee mixture in a couple of batches. Spoon your crushed almonds into the bottom of six small jars, cups, or ramekins. Divide the chocolate pudding evenly and spoon over the nuts, sprinkling the tops with chocolate chips, sea salt, and an extra pinch of cinnamon. Cover and refrigerate until serving.