Christmas pudding (à la Dickens) is a tradition in our house, a legacy from Bob’s family tradition when he was growing up. For years, I had been buying it ready-made, first from Hot Oven Bakery at Cloverdale, and for the past couple of years at A Bit Of Home on Dundas street. It isn’t cheap – about $60 for two puddings, which is what I needed. I still have my mother-in-law’s pudding bowls, and her recipe, so last year I decided to have a go at making it myself. But – her recipe calls for suet, which is traditional. Suet does not seem to be sold at regular grocery stores any more – the butcher at Metro said he would have to put in a special order – but suet is fat, and I began to wonder why I couldn’t use butter. An internet search revealed the recipe below. It looks complicated, has lots of ingredients, but it’s really easy and tastes wonderful. One day in early December I took a measuring cup with me to Bulk Barn and carefully measured out exact quantities of what I needed, and got to work. I plan to make it this again year.
Traditional Christmas Pudding – butter recipe
• ½ c (113 g) butter
• 1 heaped cup (200 g) dark brown sugar
• ½ cup (70 g) all purpose flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp mixed spice (see recipe below)
• 2 cups (100 g) fresh breadcrumbs
• 1 cup (150 g) sultanas (golden raisins)
• 1 cup (150 g) raisins (note: I soaked my raisins in brandy, overnight.)
• 1/2 cup (60 g) Zante currants
• 1 small apple, peeled, cored and grated
• finely grated rind of one fresh orange (or lemon) • juice of one fresh orange or lemon, made up to 5 oz (150 ml) with brandy or rum
• (optional – 3 Tbsp mixed candied peel, chopped) 21
Instructions
1. Butter the pudding bowl(s) and line the bottom with a disc of parchment or waxed paper, and butter the paper, too.
2. Beat the butter and sugar together until soft.
3. Then add the flour, eggs, and spice until mixed. Then add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
4. Put the mixture into the buttered bowl and flatten the top.
5. Cut a disc of waxed or parchment paper the size of the top, butter it and place on top of the pudding mixture.
6. Tear a piece of parchment paper and aluminum foil, large enough to cover the top of the bowl, and go halfway down the sides, and place the foil on top of the parchment. Create a pleat down the centre, so that the pudding will have space to expand when cooking.
7. Place the paper and foil over the pudding bowl, then tie some string under the lip of the bowl, leaving extra string to tie over the top to form a handle, tying it on the opposite end. Place the bowl(s) in a pot (I used my small roaster, which held two bowls), fill the pot with water so that it’s halfway up the bowl and use a tight fitting lid.
8. Steam for 6 hours, checking the water level once an hour or so, and topping it up.
9. Once you’ve taken the bowl(s) out of the pot, remove the aluminum foil and waxed/parchment paper, wipe the bowl and replace with clean paper. Store in a cool place.
10. To serve: you can steam it for another two hours, OR simply microwave it for a few minutes until it’s piping hot! Let stand for a few minutes before removing from the bowl. (Optional – I don’t do this)) Place on a heatproof serving dish and douse with brandy. Carefully light the pudding (please do this in a safe area), then when the flame extinguishes, cut and serve with one of the sauces below. (I always have to make both.)
Mixed spice
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp coriander (dried)
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp mace
1/2 tsp ground cloves
Butterscotch Sauce
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup cream or milk
2 tables corn starch
1/8 tsp salt
Blend butter and sugar in saucepan. Stir and cook on medium heat until brown and bubbly. Slowly add water; heat until dissolved; make paste with cream, cornstarch and salt. Stir into hot mixture. Reduce heat. Stir until smooth and thick. Serve over pudding. (Or forget the pudding and just eat the sauce, it’s so good…)
White Sauce
1 1/2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 cup milk
Melt butter, blend in flour and sugar. Add milk gradually over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook until thickened and bubbly. Serve over pudding.
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