Make this delectable pudding in advance and keep it for the festive season… but hide it away or it won’t last a day…
Traditional Christmas pudding
Makes 1 pudding EASY 6 hours
- 20ml (4 tsp) butter
- 120g suet
- 150g sultanas
- 150g raisins
- 120g currants
- 60g candied citrus peel, chopped
- 60g maraschino cherries, chopped
- zest of 1/2 lemon
- 45ml (3 tbsp) almond flakes
- 2,5ml (1/2 tsp) ground cinnamon
- 2,5ml (1/2 tsp) ground mixed spice
- 2,5ml (1/2 tsp) nutmeg, grated
- 60g (1/2 cup) cake flour
- 120g castor sugar
- 60g (1 cup) fresh breadcrumbs
- pinch of salt
- 150ml milk
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- 80ml (1/3 cup) brandy, plus extra for serving
- Lightly butter the inside of a large, heat-proof glass mixing bowl (about 1,5 litres in capacity).
- Combine everything except for the milk, brandy and eggs in another large mixing bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until well combined and evenly distributed. Add the milk, brandy and eggs and give it a good stir.
- Fill the buttered bowl with the pudding mixture and cover tightly with foil – drape a large piece of foil over the top of the bowl and roll a thick edge with the foil hanging over the sides.
- Take the largest pot you have and place a saucer upside down on the base. Place the pudding on the saucer and pour in enough water to reach about two-thirds of the way up the side of the bowl. Bring the water to the boil, then reduce the heat, place a lid on the pot and simmer gently for 5 hours so that the pudding steams. It is very important to check the water level every 15 – 30 minutes, and top it up with more boiling water when necessary.
- Remove the pot from the heat and allow it to cool before you take the pudding out. Once cooled and out of the pot, cover the pudding tightly with a fresh piece of foil and set it on a shelf in a cool, dry place until ready to serve (as long as it is well sealed it will be fine for up to a month).
- To reheat, steam the pudding in the same way for 1 hour.
- To turn out, place a plate over the top and turn upside down, allowing the pudding to settle on the plate before removing the bowl.
- Pour about 60ml (1/4 cup) of brandy over the top and set it alight. Serve with homemade custard or fresh cream. For traditional authenticity, you can place a few silver coins in the pudding, but please remember to warn your guests before they bite on these. Merry Christmas!
Try more of Raymond Rundle’s home-cooked comforts in the entertaining atmosphere of Mambo’s Restaurant and Wine Bar in Cape Town. 3 Gray Road, Plumstead. Call 021-797-6341 or visit www.mambos.co.za.
Text by Raymond Rundle. Photographs by Graeme Borchers.
Article was taken from the December 2010 edition of Food and Home magazine.
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