Christmas Pudding

Ingredients

375g dried mixed vine fruit
75g dried apricots
1 small cooking apple, peeled, cored & roughly chopped
1 orange, finely grated rind & juice
3 tbsp brandy, sherry, or rum, plus extra for flaming
75g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
100g light muscovado sugar
2 free-range eggs
100g self-raising flour
1 tsp mixed spice
40g fresh white breadcrumbs
40g whole shelled almonds, roughly chopped

Method

You will need a 1.4 litre pudding basin

Measure the mixed fruit & apricots into a bowl with the orange juice. Add the measured brandy, stir & leave to marinate for about one hour.
Put the measured butter, sugar & grated orange rind into a large bowl & cream together with a wooden spoon until light & fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, adding a little of the measured flour if the mixture starts to curdle.
Sift together the flour & mixed spice, then fold into the creamed mixture with the breadcrumbs & the nuts.
Add the soaked dried fruits with their soaking liquid & stir well.
Generously butter your pudding basin. Cut a small disc of foil or baking parchment & press into the
base of the basin.
Spoon into the prepared pudding basin & press the mixture down with the back of a spoon. Cover the pudding with a layer of baking parchment paper & foil, both pleated across the middle to allow for expansion.
Tie securely with string & trim off excess
paper & foil with scissors.
To steam, put the pudding in the top of a steamer filled with simmering water, cover with a lid & steam for eight hours, topping up the water as necessary.
To boil the pudding, put a metal jam jar lid, or metal pan lid, into the base of a large pan to act as a trivet. Place a long, doubled strip of foil in the pan, between the trivet & the pudding basin, ensuring the ends of the strip reach up & hang over the edges of the pan. This will help you to lift the heavy pudding basin out of the pan of hot water when it has finished cooking.
Lower the pudding onto the trivet & pour in enough boiling water to come half way up the side of the bowl. Cover with a lid, bring the water back to the boil, then simmer for about 7 hours, until the pudding is a
glorious deep brown colour, topping up the
water as necessary
When cooked through, remove the pudding from the pan & cool completely. Discard the paper & foil & replace with fresh. Store in a cool, dry place.

To serve, on Christmas Day...

Steam or boil the pudding for about 2 hours to reheat. To flame, warm the brandy or rum in a small pan, pour it over the hot pudding & set light to it.

Darts Farm

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Ingredients

Method

You will need a 1.4 litre pudding basin

To serve, on Christmas Day...

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