None of my friends and family in this country even know what a christmas pudding is, so I felt compelled to educate them. Problem is, I'd never made one, and the recipes I could find used ingredients that are not necessarily found in my local supermarket. So this is a formulation of half-remembered pudding from my youth, made with ingredients that I could actually find.
This is the 2014 edition (first try). I will almost certainly experiment from here, but you won't go wrong trying this recipe.
1. Take all your dried fruit and nuts and chop them up in a food processor. This amount basically fills my food processor and makes it hard to get an even chop - that is totally fine.
2. Soak all the chopped fruit and nuts in the booze of your choice. I find that an entire bottle (~750mL) is about enough to cover the lot. Leave this soaking for at minimum a few hours, at maximum a whole week. When you're done, drain the booze back into the bottle - you can use it for seasonal cocktails. Maybe a mulled cider? You should get back 1/2 to 3/4 of it, depending how long you soaked. Don't start in on the cocktails just yet though, there's work to do.
3. Mix the dry ingredients, eggs, soaked fruit, and chopped apples in a bowl. When you have a good mix, start slowly grating the butter into the mixture, stirring it in thoroughly. At this point it's traditional for every family member to get a good stir in and make a wish, and this is what you should inform everyone. At no point should you admit that this is just to give your stirring arm a break.
4. You should end up with about two quarts of a very thick lumpy fruity paste. Resist the urge to eat it, and put it in a two quart pudding mold that you have thoroughly greased with butter. Now, you could search youtube for videos on how to secure a pudding, or just shrug and slap some greaseproof paper and foil on top. I found that a couple of layers of foil wrapped over the edges helped the lid make a really strong seal.
5. Boil the pudding for eight hours. Check on it periodically to make sure the pan doesn't boil dry. After eight hours, pull the pudding tin out and let it sit in the tin overnight, cooling.
6. Make the brandy butter: cream the butter and sugar together, then add a bit of boiling water and some brandy. Keep beating until it smooths up.
7. On pudding day, re-boil the pudding for an hour to reheat. You can totally reheat this pudding in a microwave, but it's best to serve it with flair the first time:
8. Turn it out on a plate. Pour more alcohol over the top and set it on fire. Does this do anything? No, but it's impressive. Let it burn off, or blow it out if something else on the table is about to catch fire. Plate and serve with a scoop of brandy butter.
View line-by-line Nutrition Insights™: Discover which ingredients contribute the calories/sodium/etc.
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Serving Size: 1 Serving (204g) | ||
Recipe Makes: 12 Servings | ||
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Calories: 421 | ||
Calories from Fat: 249 (59%) | ||
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Amt Per Serving | % DV | |
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Total Fat 27.7g | 37 % | |
Saturated Fat 17.2g | 86 % | |
Monounsaturated Fat 7.1g | ||
Polyunsanturated Fat 1.3g | ||
Cholesterol 71.1mg | 22 % | |
Sodium 98mg | 3 % | |
Potassium 89.1mg | 2 % | |
Total Carbohydrate 39.7g | 12 % | |
Dietary Fiber 1.6g | 6 % | |
Sugars, other 38.1g | ||
Protein 3.1g | 4 % | |
Powered by: USDA Nutrition Database Disclaimer: Nutrition facts are derived from linked ingredients (shown at left in colored bullets) and may or may not be complete. Always consult a licensed nutritionist or doctor if you have a nutrition-related medical condition. |
Calories per serving: 421
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