| Serves | 6 |
| Preparation Time | 15 minutes |
| Cooking Time | 5 hours |
| Freeze | Yes |
Steamed Christmas Pudding
Christmas pudding, also known as plum pudding (because of the abundance of prunes), originated in England. It's traditionally made five weeks before Christmas, on or after the Sunday before Advent. That day was often deemed "Stir-up Sunday," and each family member or child in the household gave the pudding a stir and made a wish.The rich and heavy pudding is boiled or steamed, made of a heavy mixture of fresh or dried fruit, nuts and sometimes suet. The pudding is very dark, almost black, and is saturated with brandy, dark beer, or other alcohols. The puddings can be boiled in a "pudding cloth," or made in basins.
Many households stirred silver coins (for wealth), tiny wishbones (for good luck), a silver thimble (for thrift), a ring (for marriage), or an anchor (for safe harbor) into the mixture, and when served, whoever got the lucky serving, would be able to keep the charm. When silver coins were not as readily available, the practice ended because people feared putting alloy coins in their pudding. Today small token coins and other objects are made just for this use.
After the pudding has been steamed, it is kept in a cool dry place for several weeks or longer. It will either need steaming for a few more hours on the day it is served, or it can be reheated in the microwave, or wrapped in foil and reheated in the oven.
There are different ways Christmas pudding is served. Some decorate it with a spray of holly, douse it in brandy or set it on fire. Some families present the pudding in the dark or bring it to the table ceremoniously.
Christmas pudding can be eaten with brandy butter, rum butter, cream, custard or brandy custard.
Ingredients
Fruit- 275g currants
- 110g sultanas
- 110g raisins
- 110g dried or fresh dates, or prunes, pitted and cut into pieces
- 25g mixed candied peel, chopped finely, OR
- 650g mixed dried fruit
- 110g chilled suet (buy 175g then use a grater or chop with a knife to get 110g)
- ½ tsp bicarb soda
- 50g self-raising flour, sifted
- 110g fresh white breadcrumbs
- 1¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 1¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅓ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- 225g soft dark brown sugar (the darker the better)
- 25g blanched almonds, chopped
- 1 small pear or apple, peeled and grated
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2 large eggs
- 150ml any dark beer (or substitute the same amount of milk or water)
- 2 Tbsp Muscat, Port, or Brandy
Method
- Place the fruit in a large saucepan with the beer, sugar and butter or suet.
- Stir constantly over the heat until the fat is melted and the sugar dissolves.
- Bring it to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the bicarb soda, remove from the heat and allow it to cool.
- Add the eggs and the alcohol to the fruit mixture, stirring well.
- Add the sifted flour, breadcrumbs, nuts, apple or pear, lemon zest and spices and stir until combined.
- Grease a porcelain pudding basin with a little butter and spoon the mixture in.
- Cover with a tight fitting lid or greased baking paper and aluminium foil tied securely with string (fold the paper and foil with a pleat down the centre to allow room for the pudding to expand.
- Place the pudding into a large saucepan with enough water to come half way up the side of the bowl, or on a rack in a pressure cooker filled half way with water.
- In the saucepan, cover and boil gently for 4-5 hours, replenishing the water occasionally as it evaporates, or cook in the pressure cooker for 1½-2 hrs.
- Turn out and serve with brandy custard, custard, brandy butter, cream or ice cream.
First Principles Cookbook