Make the Plum Pudding.

This was comparatively straightforward… of course, we’d drunk all the muscat I thought we had, so Paddington had to go and get more… but he had to go out anyway—and now we have muscat:-)

Plum Pudding from Simple Flovours by Geoff Slattery via the Christmas Pudding Kit
Begin the day before you plan to cook it so that it can mature overnight. The whole recipe is fairly forgiving.

200 grams almonds, chopped roughly (we’ve made it without these in the past)
zest of 2 oranges and 2 lemons
750 grams (total) of raisins and sultanas (I usually add at least a packet of glacé cherries, and this time I also added a packet of glace ginger)
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup self raising flour
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 cups breadcrumbs

200 grams butter, softened

6 eggs
1 cup good quality muscat
1 teaspoon bicarbonate soda, dissolved in a little water
1/2 cup good brandy

In a large bowl (our bowl is 5 or 6 litres and is just big enough), mix the first batch of ingredients. Rub the butter through (or, if you’re not sure where your toddler’s hands have been, just use a robust wooden spoon). Mix the eggs and muscat together and add with the remaining ingredients to the bowl. It should be quite moist, but not liquid. “…like lava in a good sci-fi movie” (that’s what it says!) If it’s not like that, add more muscat (I think we added at least another cup, but it’s hard to tell when it’s added directly to the bowl. Leave overnight to let the flavours mingle. (This is as far as we have gone, we’ll do the rest tomorrow.)

Soak calico ( 1 metre square) then drip-dry over the sink for half an hour. Lay out flat and sprinkle generously with plain flour. Shake off the excess flour and drape over a colander. Fill with pudding mix. Pull the calico up over the mix, tucking it in evenly. Knot tightly with string, leaving a little room for it to expand. Make a decent loop (or two) in the string to allow you to hang it. It is easier if you have someone to help you. (Do not do this the night before, if you sit it somewhere it will flatten out, and it really isn’t too bad to do… quite easy to do quickly in the morning.)

Suspend the pudding in boiling water (you can just put it in the boiling water, it will float I seem to recall, but it’s much more difficult to retrieve at the end). Cook pudding for about 6 hours, making sure the water is kept at a boil. Be sure to add boiling water to top it up. This is the only bit requiring any care, to make sure that the pudding doesn’t boil dry.

The pudding can be eaten immediately served with warm brandy, flamed and a dob of butter over each slice.

To reheat on the day, cook as before, still in the cloth, for 2 hours.

To keep longer, hang in muslin and allow to dry out. (I have not yet done this. The pudding kit is made in Australia, so it might seem reasonable that it can be done, but I haven’t yet been game. I have heard of people keeping pudding successfully in the fridge or freezer, but I’m not sure about times.)

We often serve this cold, or slice and reheat individual serves in the microwave (once we’ve cut it).

It’s just good however you serve it:-)