As promised…….for all of you who want to get your Christmas Puddings made so they develop the lovely flavours then here is my tried and tested recipe…..( I use it every year 🙂
Ingredients:
300gm fresh white breadcrumbs ( I use brown)
100gm self-raising flour
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ whole nutmeg, very finely grated
350gm raisins
100g mixed peel
50gm flaked almonds
250gm suet
225gm Demerara sugar
225gm sultanas
225gm currants
2 carrots, peeled and very finely grated
2 cooking apples, peeled and very finely grated
(shhhh)Wet ingredients
Zest and juice of 1 orange
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 small wine glass of brandy shhhhh and a tad more..ha ha
2 tbsp black treacle
4 eggs, lightly beaten
Method:
Put the breadcrumbs in the biggest mixing bowl you can find. Sieve the flour into the bowl with the mixed spice, cinnamon and nutmeg. Then add the remaining dry ingredients, up to and including the grated apples. Combine all the wet ingredients in a jug. Pour the mixture over the dry ingredients and mix together, with a big wooden spoon. Take it in turns to give it a stir, closing your eyes and making a wish.
Cover the bowl with a clean, damp cloth and leave overnight.
Butter 2 x 1.2-litre pudding basins and spoon the mix into them. Place a disc of baking paper on top of the puddings, then seal with a big sheet of baking paper with a central pleat, to allow expansion. Cover with a cotton or muslin cloth and tie with string or foil. Steam for 6 hours in steamers, or in pans with simmering water that reaches two-thirds up the sides of the basins – be sure to keep the water topped up. Remove and allow to cool.
When cool, re-cover the basins and store in a cool, dry place. On Christmas day, or the day you’re going to eat the puddings, steam for another 1-2 hours. Turn the pudding onto a plate, then pour 75ml of brandy into a ladle and carefully warm over a low heat for 1 minute or so. Light the match and viola a flaming pud 🙂
N.B. As I live in sunny climes then I store mine in the fridge as they ferment very quickly here and that’s not quite what we want.
Happy Cooking and don’t forget to make wish 🙂
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Hi blondieaka How the year has sped by! Love christmas pudding with brandy inside of course Thank you for liking my poem “Blips On A Radar Screen!” Peace and Best Wishes. The Foureyed Poet.
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Hi Malc…it’s galloping away before we know it this year will be a memory…I love a bit of christmas pudding as well and yes the brandy makes all the difference. Keep on writing I love yur poems and insightfullnes 🙂
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Awesome! 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
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another great post. Easy to follow. Thank you
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Thank you..you are welcome 🙂
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101 sleeps! How dare you, woman! We’re only just having some Summer in Britain!
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Ha Ha Steve….I dare! got to get your Puddings made 😉
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I’ll be making fruit cakes soon ( for the holidays )
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Oh Lovely have you got a favorite recipe? My fruitcake one is quite similar to the christmas pudding mix but I also have a lighter one as not everyone likes such rich cake do they ?
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Yes, it’s my grandmother’s. The recipe uses lots of brandy, lol. And it’s different from the fruitcake that are sold in the US. No wonder this is unpopular here , not to mention it’s made fun of, like fruitcakes are one million years old, ha ha.
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the old recipes are the best and way to go..ots of brandy…..I prick holes in mine everyso often and sprinkle with brandy so by the time Christmas comes it’s well soaked and so yummy not like the dry cardboardy offerings the shops sell 🙂
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That looks so gorgeous!
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