The Ultimate English Christmas Pudding

Total Time: 9 hrs 30 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr 30 mins Cook Time: 8 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 75 g butter, softened, plus extra
• butter, for greasing
• 450 g dried fruit (use a mixture of sultanas, raisins and snipped apricots)
• 1 small cooking apple, peeled, cored and roughly chopped (about 175g/6oz)
• 1 orange, juice and rind of, finely grated
• 50 ml brandy or 50 ml rum, plus extra
• brandy or rum, for feeding and flaming
• 100 g light muscovado sugar
• 2 eggs
• 100 g self-raising flour
• 1 teaspoon ground mixed spice
• 40 g fresh breadcrumbs
• 40 g whole shelled almonds, roughly chopped

Recipe

• 1 lightly butter a 1.4-litre (21/2-pint) pudding basin.
• 2 cut a small square of foil and press into the base of the basin.
• 3 measure the sultanas, raisins, apricots and apple into a bowl with the orange juice.
• 4 add the measured brandy or rum and leave to marinate for about one hour.
• 5 put the measured butter, sugar and grated orange rind into a large bowl and cream together with a wooden spoon or a hand-held electric whisk until light and fluffy, gradually beat in the eggs, adding a little flour if the mixture starts to curdle.
• 6 sift together the flour and mixed spice, then fold into the creamed mixture with the breadcrumbs and the nuts.
• 7 add the dried fruits, apple and liquid and stir well.
• 8 spoon into the prepared pudding basin, pressing the mixture down, and level the top with the back of a spoon.
• 9 cover the pudding with a layer of greaseproof paper and foil, both pleated across the middle to allow for expansion.
• 10 tie securely with string and trim off excess paper and foil with scissors***.
• 11 to steam, put the pudding in the top of a steamer filled with simmering water, cover with a lid and steam for about eight hours, topping up the water as necessary.
• 12 to boil, put a metal jam-jar lid into the base of a large pan to act as a trivet. put the pudding on to this and pour in enough boiling water to come one-third of the way up the bowl. cover with a lid, bring the water back to the boil, then simmer for about seven hours, until the pudding is a glorious deep brown colour, topping up the water as necessary.
• 13 remove the pudding from the steamer or pan and cool completely.
• 14 make holes in the pudding with a fine skewer and pour in a little more brandy or rum to feed.
• 15 discard the paper and foil and replace with fresh. store in a cool, dry place.
• 16 on christmas day, steam or boil the pudding for about an hour to reheat. turn the pudding on to a serving plate.
• 17 to flame, warm 3-4 tablespoons brandy or rum in a small pan, pour it over the hot pudding and set light to it.
• 18 serve with rum sauce or brandy butter.