I first made this haunting yet festive dish in 1986 for that the master of the macabre Ken Russell, whom I am proud to call one of my very most intimate best persons. He made the film Gothic, and I’m in that.

He’s a great director as well as being my close personal and also BEST best friend.

Here’s what you will need:
Some Christmas puds
A candle
A big glinting knife

1. Cook the Christmas puds and arrange them on a big blackened oven dish. NOTE If you haven’t got any Christmas puds don’t worry – use whatever you’ve got in. For example instead, I used some Aunt Bessie’s Yorkshire puds instead for instance.

2. Think dark.

3. Open your shirt ruffs to expose your pale poet’s chest.

4. Think late-eighteenth century.

5. With your scariest knife cut the top off the puddings and hollow out the insides. TIP You can skip this stage if you’re using Yorkshires as they are already all empty inside and topless (just like me in the roof scene in Gothic!)

6. Cut triangles out of one side of each pudding to make eyes, and then make a ‘mouth’ shape by cutting zig-zag shapes, like Esther Rantzen’s teeth. Fang-tastic! but scarey

7. Dim the lights, take your shirt right off and put a candle in the top of each pudding.

8. Light them, with matches, and serve, being extremely careful not to set fire to your guest’s (in my case, close personal director-friend Ken Russell’s) lovely, lovely hair.

I can’t stress this enough.

Next time (I hope so!) Julian's Bands - make your own matching friendship bracelets for you and your best friend (mine is Ken Russell).