Traditional Christmas Pudding

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Preparation time guidelines

Cloth: 24 hours

Fruit mixture soaking up brandy: 24 hrs

Initial cooking time: 6 hours

Maturation period: 3 months to 1 year

Xmas day cooking time: 2 hours

Special utensils required

1m² of unbleached quilted calico cloth

1 very large pot (we use a 15 litre capacity)

1 long wooden spoon

1 enamel plate (from the Outdoor or Army disposal store)

Ingredients (serves around 20 ppl)

1 pound of chopped suet (use either pork or beef suet from the butcher shop)

2 cups of breadcrumbs (use stale white bread and crumble yourself)

1 pound of glace cherries

1 pound of mixed peel

1 pound of slivered almonds

1 pound of currants

1 pound of sultanas

1 pound of raisins

1 teaspoon of mixed spice

2 cups of dark muscovado sugar

2 cups of plain flour

8 eggs

70cl of brandy

Method

Day 1

Prepare the cloth

Boil cloth for 10 minutes

Drain and rinse

Leave to dry completely and repeat 3 times

Soak primary ingredients in brandy overnight

Mix grated suet, fruit & mixed peel & dredge with some plain flour (1/2 cup approx.) to seperate fruit.

Mix together the remaining flour, crumbs, spices and sugar.

Sprinkle with a quarter of the brandy, cover & stand it overnight.

Day 2

Next day, add the well-beaten eggs to the previous day's mixture and mix thoroughly. You can add 10 eggs instead of 8 if it is really too stiff.

When mixture is ready, place cloth over a large basin, making a well in the middle.

Pour a boiling kettle full of water into the cloth to wet take care to NOT wet the edges, only wet where the pudding is going to sit.

Lift cloth from the basin, squeeze excess water out and lay flat.

Sift some flour over the welled area of the cloth (this will make a lovely skin on the pudding & holds it together once opened).

Place pudding mixture in the center, gather up edges of the cloth tightly (to make water tight) and tie with cotton tape.

Have the large boiler 3/4 full of rapidly boiling water.

Place a large enamel plate in the bottom of the boiler.

Tie pudding to center of wooden spoon handle to suspend across the boiler (so it doesn't sink below tied neck of cloth).

Boil / simmer for 6 hours (must keep an eye on water level, top up with boiling water when necessary)

Remove from boiler and hang in bathroom (remove when showering!!).

On Xmas Day

Reboil pudding for 2 hrs the same way you did it for the 6 hour stint 3months to a year earlier.

Serve with brandy sauce and cream.

You can cut the ingredients in half to make a smaller one, but you might as well make the full size as it keeps in the fridge for ages.

Save cloth and re-use every year (should last about 10 years)

Brandy Sauce for xmas pud

Ingredients

1/4 pint milk

1 heaped teaspoon cornflour

1 rounded teaspoon sugar

1 egg yolk

1/2 wine glass of brandy

Method

Boil milk

Blend cornflour with a little cold milk then stir into hot milk.

Stir until it boils then simmer 5 mins.

Add the sugar

Cool slightly, add the brandy and beat in the egg yolk.

Stir until the sauce thickens, but do not reboil.

Serve hot or cold.