Bidley Dairy Creates Christmas Puddings from Ice Cream

The two desserts are made by Adam and Becky Brown, who run the dairy at Orchard Farm in Twemlow. The family has operated the farm for three generations and began making ice cream after demand for fresh cream fell during lockdown.

One pudding, called Billionaire’s, combines the farm’s vanilla ice cream with chocolate and caramel sauce. It is finished with a white-chocolate coating and malt-ball decorations. The second uses amaretto ice cream, cherry sauce and pieces of amaretti biscuit on an almond sponge, inside a white-chocolate shell with gold sugar pieces.

Both varieties were tested in the previous year. After they sold out, the Browns retained the same flavours and increased production. Adam Brown said that sales of ice cream can slow in October and November as temperatures fall, prompting Becky to suggest a Christmas version of the product.

The Browns attribute the quality of their ice cream to the milk from their Holstein Friesian herd. Adam Brown said the cows produce free-range milk with a high butter-fat content. It is transferred through an overhead pipeline from the milking parlour to the pasteuriser, and the farm describes the supply as local, fresh and traceable.

The dairy has a café and shop and has increased its workforce to 50 employees. It has also invested in larger ice-cream-making equipment. The business said that production and fuel costs had risen, but that it had absorbed those increases without raising prices.

Each pudding is still assembled by hand. Once decorated, it is boxed and moved to a walk-in freezer. The puddings cost £37.50 and serve between eight and 12 people. Orders can be placed through Bidlea Dairy’s Facebook page, with collection available from November 28.