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Christmas pudding

Recipe for 3kg of Christmas pudding:
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Course: Dessert
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 50 g pitted prunes chopped
  • 150 g pitted dates chopped
  • 1000 g dried mixed fruit with cherries
  • 2 g orange rind
  • 2 g lemon rind
  • 150 g granny smith apple peeled, cored, small dice. 100g net.
  • 30 g fresh root ginger peeled, finely chopped. 20g net.
  • 100 ml old beer Tooheys Old
  • 30 ml dry sherry
  • 15 ml dark rum
  • 15 ml brandy
  • 100 ml orange Juice
  • 100 ml lemon juice
Dry ingredients
  • 200 g cake flour plain flour
  • 4 g mixed spice
  • 2 g ground nutmeg
  • 300 g fresh breadcrumbs white and wholemeal
  • 20 g ground almonds
Other
  • 300 g unsalted butter softened
  • 250 g brown sugar
  • 200 g eggs 4 eggs at room temperature

Equipment

  • Apart from a number of mixing bowls, you will require a pudding ‘basin’ which could be metal, glass or ceramic. I used ceramic pasta bowls with a volume of around 1000ml. You will also need a lidded saucepan which your basin can fit in.

Method
 

  1. Assemble ingredients
  2. In a suitable sized mixing bowl place all the fruits, ginger, alcohol and juice (the first thirteen ingredients) and mix well. Ensure the ingredients are well distributed
  3. Seal the bowl with cling wrap and refrigerate for two days, or longer
  4. Prepare your breadcrumbs in a food processor (one or two days before and store in your fridge in an airtight container)
  5. On the day of cooking mix the other four dry ingredients with the breadcrumbs
  6. Remove the marinated fruit from the refrigerator
  7. In your electric mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar on a medium speed for two minutes
  8. Continuing to mix adding the eggs, one at a time
  9. Add the marinated fruit and any syrupy marinade to the butter mix and combine well, but do not over mix
  10. On low speed incorporate the dry ingredients. Again, mix well but do not over mix
  11. Ready
Steaming
  1. Grease your pudding basin with butter or alternatively some non-stick spray
  2. Form enough pudding mix into a ball and then into the basin (say 1000g for a 1000ml bowl)
  3. Gently press down the mix until it is level with the rim of the basin, or a little higher
  4. Seal the bowl with cling film
  5. overwrap the bowl completely
  6. In your saucepan place a saucer in the bottom and then the covered pudding on top
  7. Place enough water in the saucepan to just reach the pudding basin
  8. Lid the saucepan and bring water to the boil
  9. Adjust heat to maintain a slow boil
  10. Steam the pudding for two hours, replenishing the water as needed with boiling water out of your kettle. Do not let the saucepan boil dry
  11. After two hours carefully remove the pudding basin from the heat; discard the water
  12. The cooked pudding would have will visibly risen a little, before settling back
  13. Let the pudding sit for twenty minutes before turning it out
  14. Serve immediately or wrap in cling film while still warm

Notes

I have a preference for preparing the pudding in November and storing it nicely wrapped in the fridge.
To re-heat I suggest to firstly unwrap the pudding, place it on a plate and loosely cover with fresh cling film before re-heating in the microwave.
Best served with vanilla or brandy anglaise.