There are plenty of things you can leave until the last minute when it comes to Christmas (presents anyone?), but the Christmas pudding is certainly not one of them. It’s always best to make yours a few weeks out, to ensure all the amazing flavours mature and work well together. Check out our Christmas pudding recipe below!
Ingredients:
75g plain/self-raising flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp mixed spice
75g ground almonds
150g muscovado sugar
350g mixed dried fruit (raisins, currants, sultanas)
100g pitted prunes/figs chopped or left whole
100g fresh white breadcrumbs
100g chopped glacé cherries
100g chopped walnuts
3 eggs
175g butter
Finely grated rind and juice of 1 orange and 1 lemon
250ml Guinness
4 tbsp rum, whiskey or brandy
175g butter
Method:
Put all the fruit and dry ingredients into a large bowl and mix well. Create a well in the middle and add the rind, lemon and orange juice and mix again. Beat the eggs and slowly add to the mixture while stirring. Finally add the butter, stout and spirits. Cover with tinfoil and leave to soak overnight. This will ensure all those delicious flavours really get the chance to come out!
To steam the pudding, transfer the mixture to a large pudding bowl and cover with tinfoil or a pudding bowl lid. Place in a large saucepan half filled with water and bring to the boil. Reduce to a very gentle simmer and leave for 6 hours, checking every so often and topping up with water if necessary. After the cooking time has elapsed, remove the bowl from the water and carefully remove the cover ensuring you don’t burn your hands (we don’t want any Christmas ER visits). Allow to cool down completely before storing, with a fresh cover on top.
