Tiny Christmas puddings with a hint of brandy are fun food for a festive party.

Donna Hay may be as famous in Australia as Kylie but she's refreshingly devoid of airs and graces.

She's laid-back, loves a good giggle, and despite the fact that she's so popular that her countrymen now refer to doing a Donna' when they want to cook something simple, delicious and elegantly presented, she proclaims modestly: "I'm a cook, not a chef.

"My style? Well, it's just about using fresh, seasonal ingredients and easy-to-follow methods that don't take too much time."

Visiting the UK for the first time in five years, Hay, 37, who has a worldwide readership of 3.3 million for her books and also has a magazine and newspaper column, says she gears all her recipes to the talents of an imaginary woman.

She's revealing her tips and recipes for winning Christmas party food in her book Christmas Essentials (Fourth Esate, £10). She advises party bites that are reasonably substantial and satisfying so that you don't need to make too many to keep guests happy. Some of the favourites from her book are mini chocolate puddings, chive frittatas with smoked salmon, and goats' cheese and dill quiches. She also believes in plenty of bought accompaniments, like marinated olives, cheeses and crustini sticks or bread.

WHAT DO I NEED?

Makes 30

350g (12 1/3oz) store bought Christmas pudding, roughly chopped

4tsp brandy

200g (7oz) dark cooking chocolate, melted

1/4 cup cachous (silver decorating balls)

WHAT SHOULD I DO?

Place the pudding and brandy in a food processor and process in short bursts until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Roll teaspoons of the mixture into small balls.

Using a fork, dip the balls into the chocolate, place onto a baking tray lined with non-stick baking (parchment) paper and decorate each one with cachous. Allow to set at room temperature for one hour. They look fun displayed in empty egg boxes.

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