I made the Christmas puddings yesterday ~ sadly, though, no "Mummy's little helper" this year. Still, I had Radio 3 for company so it wasn't all bad 😉 So here is my annual post for the Larkin Christmas pudding recipe:
12 oz/340g sultanas
12 oz/340g raisins
6 oz/170g glace cherries, halved or quartered
8 oz/227g finely chopped mixed candied peel
8 oz/227g plain flour
1 level teaspoon ground ginger
1 level teaspoon mixed spice
1 level teaspoon nutmeg ~ freshly grated if possible
1 lb/454g soft brown sugar
8 oz/227g breadcrumbs
10 oz/284g shredded suet ~ beef or vegetable, whichever you prefer
6 eggs
5 fl oz/142ml barley wine or stout
5 fl/142ml oz brandy
grated rind and juice of 1 orange
1/2 pint/284ml milk (approximately)
This recipe makes enough mixture to generously fill four 1 pint (5ooml) pudding basins, each one of which will give about six servings; I usually use three 1 pint basins and one 1 1/2 pint (900ml). Grease whatever size of pudding basins you would like your finished Christmas puddings to be.
Sift the flour and spices into a very large mixing bowl, stir in the sugar, breadcrumbs and suet, then add the dried fruit and grated orange rind.
Beat the eggs and add to them the barley wine/stout, brandy and orange juice. Stir this into the dry ingredients and mix well, adding enough milk to give the mixture a soft dropping consistency if necessary.
Put the mixture into your well greased pudding basins. Cover each one with a doubled-up sheet of lightly greased greaseproof paper or baking parchment, making a pleat in the centre to allow for expansion whilst the pudding is steaming. Hold the paper in place with string or an elastic band. This year though, as you can see, I had a brainwave and thought it would be much easier to use baking parchment cake tin liners ~ I know, genius right 😄
I use a pudding basin net to make life easier when lifting the basins in and out of the steamer, but if you haven't got one simply use string to make a handle. Whatever you use, do be very careful when taking the puddings out of the steamer as they will be very hot!
Bring a pan of water to the boil and place the pudding, in a steamer, on top; turn the water down to a low simmer. The puddings will take 6-7 hours to steam, depending on the size of basin you use. I steam the one pint puddings for 6 hours each, and the larger pudding for 7 hours. I usually set my timer for one-hour-at-a-time so that I remember to watch the level of water in the pan, keeping it topped it up as necessary with boiling water from the kettle.
This old saucepan belonged to my Grandma and I only ever use it for steaming puddings ~ each time I use it, though, I am reminded of her 😊 I've had the steamer forever; it's a tad battered these days as it was dropped on the quarry tiled kitchen floor of our old house a number of times over the years!
At the end of the steaming period, take the pudding from the steamer and remove the greaseproof paper. Leave it in the bowl, cover with a clean tea-towel and leave on one side to cool.
When the pudding is totally cold, remove it from the basin and wrap in a fresh double sheet of greaseproof paper and then wrap tightly in cooking foil. Store the puddings in a cool, dry place.
I try to make my puddings towards the end of October/beginning of November and it's a family tradition to save one to have one at Easter. They should keep well, with all that sugar and alcohol in them! On occasion, though, I've been somewhat less organised and haven't made them until close-on Christmas Day ~ they still taste delicious 😋
When it's time to eat your yummy Christmas pud, you can either gently steam it for about 1 1/2 hours or reheat in the microwave. I'm afraid I can't really tell you how long to heat the pudding in the microwave; it's very much a trial-and-error process as each machine seems to heat differently! I just tend to heat ours on full in 3-4 minute bursts until it is good and hot all the way through.
Serve your pudding with whatever your family likes best: rum or brandy butter/sauce, custard, cream, ice cream, etc. My husband likes to have cream with his but I prefer a brandy sauce which I make very simply like custard ~ just substitute cornflour for the custard powder and add brandy to taste!
I really hope you enjoy this recipe. You can tweak it as you wish on the proportions and varieties of dried fruit, just keep the total amount about the same. You could have a little less fruit and add nuts. You could also use rum instead of brandy ~ I use brandy as I'm not that keen on rum. Make the recipe your own by using the fruit (and nuts, if you wish) that you and your family like to eat 😊
No comments:
Post a Comment