Eat * Bake

Christmas Pudding

It is a tradition of my mother and my mothers mother to bake the Christmas pudding way in advance. I'm talking about two months before serving. The reason this is done is to give the pudding time to mature. the taste is more intense and that is what makes up a great Christmas pudding. However, this recipe itself does not need to be made early, in fact two days before Christmas should be just fine, but I do recommend that next year, you at least give it a month to mature for that added zing! Warning in advance, this is a boozy dish and I firmly believe that it can't be made any other way. It's tradition after all!

Ingredients:

225g dark molasses sugar
400g fresh white breadcrumbs
225 shredded butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon mixed spice
350g sultanas
350g raisins
225g currants
100g candied peel, chopped
50g blanched almond, finely chopped
2 large apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
Finely grated rind and juice of 1/2 lemon
2 eggs, beaten
300ml Guinness
Approx 150ml milk

1. Put the dry ingredients, dried fruit, candied peel and chopped almonds in a large mixing bowl and stir well to mix. Add the apples with the lemon rind and juice, eggs and Guinness. Stir well to mix. Stir in enough milk to make a soft dropping consistency.
2. Pour the mixture into two greased pudding basins. Cover the tops of the pudding with circles of greased grease-proof paper, then with foil. Fold a pleat in the center and tie string around the rim. Leave overnight.
3. Place the basins in the top of a steamer or a large pan of gently bubbling water and steam for 4 to 5 hours, topping up water level from time to time during cooking.
4. Remove the basins carefully from the pan and leave until quite cold. Discard the foil and grease-proof paper and replace with fresh grease-proof paper and foil before storing the the fridge.
5. Steam again for about 2 hours before serving, with brand butter or warm custard.