Christmas Pudding
Christmas this year will be different. The manic motorway dash to parents, family, friends or lovers probably won’t happen. Lock down may be lifted but what tier will we be on? Can we afford to risk infecting elderly people we love? Numbers for gatherings may still be be restricted and we will have to think about bubbles and rules and washing hands before feasting, partying and presents. I have given up on the idea of making any plans, and gone from pondering hiring a house with friends somewhere in the wilds of Scotland with full Bridget Jones Diaryesque country side covered in snow, shiny happy faces at the door, jingle bells and lumpy gravy, to thinking, well, it’s just a day to get through, with the same people I have lived in close quarters with for what feels like the last millennia.
This is where making things like Christmas pudding can help put back some of the delicious festive anticipation and joy. I grew up in a massive family where we made one every year, all the children having to stir it and throw in sixpences. But I never ate it. There was always a home made chocolate mousse (made with that 60s stalwart evaporated milk - recipe for another day) as alternatives for fussy little princesses, although I always made sure to get some pudding so I could hunt for a sixpence. You could buy a lot of penny chews with one of those in those days.
Having not done it since then, this year I have decided to make my own pudding, and stir it on behalf of friends and family who may or may not be with me for Christmas, and throw in some coins along with quantities of sherry soaked fruits. It’s a long process, it requires some thought and a little organisation, a lot of dried fruit, a pudding bowl and pan to steam it in, some greaseproof paper, foil and string.
As I gathered these bits and pieces together I felt a tug of nostalgia and resurfacing of memories I didn’t even know I had kept. Even if I only ever do this once, this pudding will be the best pudding in the world, it will hold hopes and dreams, and wishes for a better year next year (the bar is so low really it can’t fail).
It will be served with eggnog cream if I follow through on my Nigella fantasy (this recipe is an adaptation of one of hers), but then again, maybe not. It may just be served with delicious double cream from a local cow, or from the supermarket. It doesn’t matter. What matters is the process, the mindfulness of the stirring, the gentle hubble-bubble of the steaming for hours. It’s whatever you decide it means to you - make it yours, add things you like, take out what you don’t like. And if you really don’t like Christmas pudding make one anyway and give it away, there’s always chocolate mousse for you instead.
Ingredients.
to start:
150g currants
150g sultanas
150g prunes (stoned and chopped up)
100g dates (stoned and chopped up)
200ml Pedro Ximenez sherry (can be tricky to find but worth it)
Put all the fruit in a bowl and cover with the sherry. Put a plate over the bowl and let it steep overnight or even a few days.
to follow:
100g ground almonds
125g breadcrumbs (I used mix of rye and white because that’s the bread I had lying around)
150g suet (you can buy veggie suet but beware most contain palm oil)
150g muscovado sugar
½ tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
Grated zest of 1 lemon
3 eggs
1 medium apple, grated
2 tsp honey
Method
Mix all the ingredients together in a big bowl and add the steeped fruit. Stir. Get whoever is around you to stir it and make their wishes. If no one is with you stir it for them and add wishes for them to yours. If you want to add coins make sure they are clean* (see below) and that those eating the pud know they are in there!
Liberally butter your pudding bowl/s. These are bowls that can withstand heat for a long period but other than that they can be any size or shape within reason. I used one 1 litre bowl and a couple of large ramekins that will be gifts.
Scoop the mix into the bowl/s and press down with a spoon. Cover the top with greaseproof paper and then foil to cover over the edges of the bowl. Tie this with string to make it as water proof as possible.
The pudding then needs to be steamed for about five hours. If you have made more than one you may need to do them separately unless you are lucky enough to have a massive pan you can fit them all into.
There’s a few ways to do this. If you have a proper tiered steamer that will hold the bowl that is ideal. I don’t have one but I do have a little fold up steamer which I can put in the bottom of any pan which works just fine. If you have neither you can simply make sure there is enough water in the pan so that the bowl doesn’t touch the bottom. You need to keep an eye on the water levels anyway - it’s very easy to ruin a pan by letting it dry out, and the pudding wouldn’t be very happy either.
Once the pudding is cooked set it aside to cool, and then store it somewhere cool and dry until the big day. When that day arrives you will need to re-steam it for about 2-3 hours, or you can rebel and put it in the microwave if you have one - does no harm at all.
To serve the pudding turn it out on to a sturdy plate with a high-ish lip and put it on the festive table. If you can find some holly pop a little sprig on the top. Warm some brandy or any spirit you like in a pan (don’t use the best stuff). Remove it from the heat and bring it to the table and very carefully set it alight and pour the flaming liquid onto the pudding, scooping up the blue fire from the sides with a spoon to pour over the top again until the alcohol is burned away and the flame goes out. It’s a glorious sight and will be made so much more special because you will know how much work, hope and love went in to this pudding.
Serve with whatever accompaniment you like - cream, brandy butter, custard, ice cream, yoghurt… Leftovers are delicious eaten cold or hot, with a really strong cheddar, on its own or mixed with vanilla ice cream to make impromptu Christmas pudding ice cream!
Tips and Swaps
You can use pretty much any dried fruit you like for this pudding, swapping in figs would add lovely texture and flavour, just keep the quantities more or less the same.
Nuts can also be added - I would chop them quite finely but not pulverise. Swap out half the breadcrumbs for nuts if you choose to use them.
You could make this vegan by removing the eggs and honey. It would definitely still be delicious but might be crumbly and not hold together too well - if you do it this way please let me know the results!
*cleaning the coins:
Line a glass or ceramic bowl with little silver foil. Add a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda and the coins. Pour boiling water over it all to cover the coins and leave for about 10 minutes. Remove, rinse and wrap in more clean foil before adding the to the pudding.
TOP TIP - this is a great way to clean silver jewellery as well.
Written by Liz Haughton
Bristol resident for twenty five years, Liz ran the Folk House Cafe in Bristol for 13 and half years, adding Spike Island Cafe in along the way, until August 2019. Liz is currently encouraging nursery school kids to play with their food with The Children’s Kitchen (https://www.feedingbristol.org/jo-ingleby), learning how to do machine embroidery, write short stories and compiling some delicious recipes on her website www.bettybites.co.uk .