Christmas pudding
Make Christmas more special by cooking your own Christmas pudding! You could make several small ones to give away as presents. Why not get the children involved too? This is a recipe that our member Ruth has used for over 30 years, so it must be good!
Equipment
- large bowl
- Bowl
- Grater
- Sharp knife
- Large saucepans to steam the puddings, or follow slow cooker instructions
- 4 pint-sized pudding basins
- Greaseproof paper, cloth and string
Ingredients
- 225 grams shredded suet vegetable suet is available
- 1 teaspoon mixed spice heaped
- 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 100 grams self-raising flour
- 450 grams soft brown sugar
- 225 grams breadcrumbs grated from a loaf a day or two old
- 225 grams sultanas
- 225 grams raisins
- 550 grams currants
- 50 grams chopped almonds
- 50 grams mixed peel
- 1 orange grated rind
- 1 lemon grated rind
- 1 apple finely chopped
- 4 eggs
- 150 ml Guinness or mixture of barley wine and stout, or apple juice
- 4 tablespoons rum optional
Instructions
- Put the suet, flour, breadcrumbs, spices and sugar into a large bowl and mix together.
- Gradually mix in all the fruit, peel, nuts, chopped apple, orange and lemon peel.
- In a different bowl beat up the eggs and mix in the 150 ml liquid that you've chosen.
- Pour this over the dry ingredients and mix everything together.
- You may need some more liquid to make a good dropping consistency.
- Cover the bowl with a cloth and leave it overnight for the flavours to permeate through the mixture.
- Grease 4 pudding basins and pack the mixture in right to the top.
- Cover each basing with greaseproof paper, with a pudding-cloth on top. Fasten in place with string.
- Steam the puddings for 8 hours, topping up with more water when necessary.
- When cooked, remove the paper and cloth and leave to cool. Cover with fresh paper and cloth and store in a cool dry place until needed. These puddings will last for many months.
- When needed, steam for a further hour or so before serving.