Bring us Some Figgy Pudding

This is the time of year to start thinking about your Christmas Pudding. (What? You don't all make Christmas pudd? Shame on you.) I probably would've made mine this weekend, but we were away. We spent the weekend with the Music Man's family following the passing of his Uncle, whose funeral was yesterday.

The thing about Christmas pudd is that the longer it has to cure, the better it tastes. Some people make it already in September. I figure about two months is good enough. The other thing about it is that it is an all day job. So, I didn't make one last year with a newborn around, but I will do my best this year. We'll see...

Here is the recipe I use for my Christmas Pudding. I got it from a magazine when we lived in Scotland. My favourite thing about it was that in the magazine it called it a four step recipe. Ha ha. You'll see what I mean.

4 oz self raising flour
1 level tsp mixed spice
3 oz fresh white bread crumbs
1 oz flaked almonds
12 oz mixed dried fruit
1 tart dessert apple, peeled, cored and coarsely grated
2 large eggs
grated rind and juice from 1 lemon
1 Tbsp black treacle
6 oz light muscovado sugar
4 oz butter
2 Tbsp brandy or rum plus extra for flaming
salt

1.2 litre/2 pint pudding basin

1. Sift flour and spice with a pinch of salt in a large mixing bowl. Add bread crumbs, almonds, mixed fruit and apple. In a small bowl combine eggs, lemon rind and juice and treacle. Warm sugar and butter in a sauce pan until melted.

2. Add egg mixture and butter mixture to dry ingredients. Cover with a cloth and allow to stand 1 hour. Mix again. Butter pudding basin. Spoon in mixture and spread level. Cover with buttered baking parchment, pleated. Cover with pleated foil and secure with a string. make a string handle to help remove basin from pot.

3. Place pudding on a trivet or upturned saucer in a deep sauce pan. Add boiling water to come a third of the way up the basin. Cover with lid and bring to boil. Simmer gently for 6 hours topping up with water as needed.

4. Let the pudding cool completely. Remove coverings. Spoon over brandy or rum. Recover with fresh, unbuttered baking parchment. Seal well and store somewhere cool and dry. Before serving, let the pudding come to room temperature recover with buttered baking parchment and foil. Secure as before and steam for a further 2 hours. Remove covering and invert the pudding on serving dish. Warm brandy or rum in a metal ladle over a candle. When it is warm carefully tip the ladle to let the flame lick over the side. Pour flaming brandy/rum over the pudding.

See, it's easy. And only four steps! Here are some extra tips from my own experience.

*if you don't have self-raising flour - for one cup use 1 cup all purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp baking soda
*I don't know if you can get "mixed spice" as such in North America. I brought some with me from Scotland and it will be used up this year. I don't know the proportions, but it is a mix of cinnamon, coriander, caraway, nutmeg, cloves.
*Same with "mixed dried fruit". I use sultanas, currants, prunes, dates and a bit of candied peel.
*treacle = molasses
*I just use regular brown sugar.
*I make a double recipe. It is so soft that you can squish it back into the basin and serve it again at the next gathering looking like new.
*Oh yeah, a pudding basin is a deep bowl with a rim that you can tie a string around.
*The fridge is a good place to store it, if you can spare the space.
*Make sure you turn down the lights when you bring in the blue, flaming pudding!

This is a tradition that we started when we lived in Scotland. I look forward to the time when our kids can all help on pudding day.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. The most important step is to make a wish as you stir the pudding!