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My Favourite Xmas
Pudding |
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I have just made this pudding and it is the best pudding that I
have made. All my family just love it at xmas time. So thought I would share it with you. I use the boiling method. |
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1kg (2lb) mixed fruit
250g (80z) dates
250g (8oz) raisins
2 cups water
1 cup of white sugar
1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1 teaspoon salt
250g (8oz) butter
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
3 eggs
2 cups plain flour
2 cups self-raising flour
2 teaspoons mixed spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup rum
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Place in pan the fruit, roughtly chopped dates, raisins,water,
sugars, salt and butter. Stir over low heat until butter has melted, simmer mixture 8 minutes, stirring occasionally: remove from heat, stir in soda. Allow to stand until mixture is completely cold. Lightly beat together eggs and rum, stir into cold mixture. Add sifted flours, mixed spice and cinnamon, mix well.
To steam: Fill into well-greased 4 litre (approximately 8 pint)
pudding basin. Steam 6 hours; replenish with boiling water every 20 minutes. Re-steam 2 hours on day of serving. |
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To boil: Follow the step by step instuctions below.
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Step 1: Chop fruit so that all pieces are of even size, about the
size of a sultana; scissors are best for this. Dip them in water occasionally if fruit is sticky. when fruit is ready, make up pudding mixture as receipe directs, then prepare the pudding cloth.
Step 2: Use a 62cm(25in) square of unbleached calico. Drop it
into a large pan of boiling water, boil 30 minutes. Remove from water, wring out well (protect hands from hot cloth with rubber gloves). Spread out cloth and cover liberally with plain flour; about 1/2 a cup. the cloth can be left unfloured but flouring gives pudding a better skin. Put pudding mixture into centre of cloth; it should be round in shape, mounded into a slight peak at top. Gather corners and sides of cloth round pudding mixture as evenly as possible. Pull corners tightly and firmly to give pudding a good round shape. |
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Step 3: Tie firmly with string about 2.5cm (1in) above top of
pudding mixture; this allows room for expansion during cooking. Twist string round clotha bout 10 times to give a good, firm seal. Make handle from string ends to lift out pudding easily when cooked.
Step 4: Have ready a large boiler 3/4 full of boiling water; there
must be enough rapidly boiling water to float pudding. Lower pudding into water, put on lid immediately, boil rapidly for time specified in recipe. Replenish with more boiling water about every 20 minutes as water evaporates; water must never go off boil.
Step 5: At the end of cooking time, lift pudding from water,
suspend from handle of cupboard door or legs of an upturned stool; pudding must be able to swing freely, without touching anything. Tie ends of wet cloth together so that they do not touch pudding. Leave hang overnight. In hot Christmas weather it is better to store pudding in refrigerator until needed. On day of serving, reboil, for time specified in recipe. |