Rich, fruity and boozy Christmas Pudding
A festive mix of fruits, nuts, spices and (of course) alcohol make this easy rich Christmas Pudding truly THE BEST and only Christmas Pudding recipe you'll ever need!
Servings: 10 people
Calories:
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Alter quantities (metric only) 10 people
Here's what you'll need...
- 2 pint (1.2 litre) pudding basin must be heatproof, if plastic remove the lid
- 2 Large mixing bowls
- Bowl or measuring jug
- Clean tea towel
Ingredients you'll need...
Stage 1
- 240 g Currants (1⅔ Cups)
- 95 g Raisins (10 tbsp)
- 95 g Sultanas (10 tbsp)
- 30 g Dried cranberries (3 tbsp)
- 15 g Whole almonds (skin on or blanched) chopped but not too small (2 tbsp)
- 15 g Walnuts chopped, but not too small (2 tbsp)
Stage 2
- 225 g Dark brown sugar (1 Cup packed plus 2 tbsp)
- 110 g Vegetable suet (8 tbsp)
- 110 g White breadcrumbs made by leaving 4-5 slices of ordinary white bread (crusts removed) out for a couple of hours to stale up (2 Cups plus 3 tbsp)
- 1½ teaspoon Ground mixed spice level teaspoon
- ½ teaspoon Freshly grated nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon Ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon Ground cinnamon
Stage 3
- 1 Bramley apple (medium) cored but not peeled, chopped roughly into 1cm pieces
- 30 g Ready-to-eat prunes chopped, but not too small (3 tbsp)
- 30 g Ready-to-eat apricots chopped but not too small (3 tbsp)
- Zest of 1 medium orange
- Zest of 1 medium lemon
Stage 4
- 80 ml Dark stout (5 tablespoon plus 2 tsp)
- 75 ml Dry cider (5 tbsp)
- 2 tablespoon Dark rum
- 2 Large eggs
Stage 5
- 50 g Self-raising flour (6 tbsp)
Here's what we do...
- Mix together your Stage 1 ingredients in a large bowl, pulling apart any fruits that have stuck together.
- In a separate bowl mix together all of your stage 2 ingredients, ensuring everything is thoroughly mixed.
- Tip the dry ingredients in with the fruits and mix.
- Mix in your stage 3 ingredients.
- Then mix together your stage 4 ingredients in a small bowl or measuring jug. Lightly beat your egg and then add it to the liquids and beat together briefly until everything is fully incorporated.
- Add the wet mixture to your your fruits and dried ingredients, making sure everything is nicely mulched together (often best done with a clean pair of hands, and also quite satisfying!). It will be quite sloppy in consistency at this stage.
- Cover with a clean tea towel and set aside in a dry, cool placed for 24 hours or so. After which you will find the fruits have nicely absorbed most of the liquids.
- Sift over your flour and mix in thoroughly.
- Liberally grease your pudding basin and fill with the Christmas pudding mixture, packing it down tight in order to fit it in.
- Steam steadily for 6 hours using these instructions. (If using a plastic bowl to steam do not steam with the lid on).
- Once steamed, removed from the water and once fully cooled, take off the coverings and replace with fresh ones ensuring the pudding is airtight. Store in a dry, cool place until the big day.
- Steam the pudding again on Christmas Day for another 2 ½ hours to order to really deepen the flavours and give the pudding its characteristic dark, rich colour.
- Or, store the pudding for up to 18 months, again in a dry and cool place. Once matured it will even better (if that is possible!).