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Stuart's Traditional English Christmas Pudding
Absolutely one of the best Xmas Pudding recipes! |
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3.5 oz ground almonds
12 oz golden raisins
13 oz sultana raisins
14 oz dark raisins
9 oz dried cranberries
4.5 oz currants
7 oz mixed candied peel
(orange and lemon)
5 oz-pitted dates chopped
2 large apples peeled and chopped
juice and grated peel of one lemon
1 large carrot grated
100 ml thick cut marmalade (Robertson’s)
100 ml blackcurrant preserve (MacKay’s)
6 oz brandy (doesn’t have to be expensive, you are only cooking with it!)
2 tablespoons treacle (Tate & Lyle)
2 tablespoons golden syrup (Tate & Lyle)
2 cups all purpose flour
8 biscuits Weetabix (crush well in bag with rolling pin)
2 cups ground beef suet
3 cups dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon mixed spice (allspice)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
pinch of ground sea salt
6 eggs large
8 – 10 oz fruit juice as needed (Robinson’s Fruit Squash)
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Mix the fruit, peel, carrot, marmalade, preserve, treacle, syrup, and brandy and let sit for a few days to meld and permeate the flavours. I use a 14-litre plastic container with a secure snap lid to mix my puddings in and with all the fruit it is about 1/3 full and smells wonderful.
I took the food processor and pulse chopped the dates, apples, candied peel, dried cranberries, and almonds together, then tossed into the fruit mix.
To mix dry ingredients put your flour, sugar, suet, baking powder, spices, and either breadcrumbs or my favourite Weetabix into a mixing bowl and using your kitchen machine blend together for about 5 minutes to incorporate everything.
Take your eggs and using a blender or beater, beat them and then pour into the dry ingredients and mix again adding the fruit juice as needed to make a batter consistent with a cake batter but not overly runny.
Add this mixture to your fruit, which has been standing for a few days, and start mixing together till you have a fairly sloppy consistency. Taste it and if necessary, add some more spices to liven it up.
Allow mixture to sit for a few hours in the fridge to let the Weetabix or breadcrumbs soak up some moisture.
Grease or butter some Mason bowls and you can but it is not necessary to line the inside of the bowls with wax paper. To do this cut a large enough circle of wax paper and then cut in from the sides towards the centre every few inches till you reach an area, which will form the bottom of the bowl. Press the wax paper around the inside of the bowl and take and fold the top in when you have the pudding mixture in the bowl at the desired height.
Now take a sheet of aluminium foil and a length just a tad shorter of wax paper and lay the wax paper on the aluminium. Make an accordion fold of about an inch or more in the wax paper and same in the foil. Place the wax paper and aluminium over top of the Mason bowl and tie with a string. Make sure it is tight on the bowl to prevent steam or water from entering the pudding whilst it is cooking.
Place in a covered pan and fill with boiling water about 3/4 of the way up the side of the bowl(s). I use a very large roaster that holds 6 puddings at one time and put cake racks on the bottom so the bowls are not cooking on the elements of the stove top. I put the roaster lid on and place two cast iron skillets on top to make a tighter seal and check every two or three hours to add more boiled water from the kettle.
Cook for 8 hours. Make sure there is sufficient water up the sides to ensure even cooking of the puddings. I use three sizes of bowls and the smallest I put on oven safe side plates or aluminium steam plates from a rice cooker to lift them making the height of the bowls relatively even.
Recipe will yield 4 - 5 inch bowls, 2 - 5.5 inch bowls, 2 – 6 inch bowls, and 1 – 7 inch bowl. Or any combination thereof. The 5.5 inch bowl holds about 2.5 cups for an idea of quantity. Fill to just about the level of the outside lower lip, which leaves enough room for expansion in most cases when cooking.
Here is a good site on the internet should you want to view how to properly tie up your pudding to make it waterproof whilst steaming.
www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/knowhow/glossary/tie-a-pudding/video_wmp_hi.jsp
To Store: Take the pudding out of the bowl and re-wrap in wax paper and tin foil and place in freezer till Christmas. If you do not take it and re-wrap it, chances are it will form a fungus and be ruined.
To serve: steam again for approximately 2 hours and serve with a rum sauce or pour a touch of brandy on it and set it alight bringing it to the table with the lights off and flaming for a dramatic effect.
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| Recipe Origin: United Kingdom |
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Submitted by: |
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Stuart Mundy
Ontario
Canada |
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| This recipe has been viewed 2114 times. |
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