Moms Christmas Plum Pudding Food

NANA'S TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS STEAMED PLUM PUDDING WITH HARD SAUCE

Steps:

• Combine the molasses, butter, milk, and eggs in a mixing bowl. Next, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cloves in a large mixing bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 3 additions. Toss candied fruit and raisins lightly with flour to prevent sinking and add to batter. Stir in brandy.
• Pour into a greased and sugared steam pudding mold and place on a rack in a large covered pot with water that comes halfway up the sides of the mold. Cover and steam for 2 hours, checking occasionally to make sure water hasn't boiled out. Let cool for 5 minutes on a rack before turning out. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with a sprig of holly and Hard Sauce.
• Beat all ingredients together until very well combined. Serve with pudding.

CHRISTMAS PLUM PUDDING

Steps:

• Grease 2 large pudding basins.
• Bring two large saucepans of water to the boil with a trivet or rack in the bottom of each.
• (I actually use two old pottery saucers in the bottom of mine) Mix all dry ingredients together.
• Rub butter into dry ingredients with your fingertips, add prepared fruit and grated carrot.
• Mix egg, milk, stout, brandy and rinds together.
• Mix the moist and dry ingredients together.
• (I find this easier to do with my hands).
• Place mixture in basins, allowing a little room at the top of the basins for the puddings to swell.
• Cover with greasproof paper, then two thicknesses of aluminum foil.
• Tie securely with string.
• Place the puddings into the prepared saucepans-- water should reach halfway up them-- and boil steadily for 5 hours.
• As the water boils away replace with more boiling water.
• On the day the pudding is to be served, boil for 1 hour mmore.
• Serve with cream, icecream, custard or brandy sauce (or all of these!).
• Last year, I discovered it works fine just to microwave individual slices rather than reheating for 1 hour.
• We also love the leftovers cold or re-fried in butter!

CHRISTMAS PLUM PUDDING

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine flour, bread crumbs, suet, eggs, carrot, apple, brown sugar, chopped blanched almonds, stem ginger, ground almonds, cherries, raisins, currants, golden raisins, mixed peel, plums, lemon juice and zest, mixed spice, baking powder and ale. Let each family member take a turn stirring and make a wish. If you have used more dry fruit than fresh, add a little extra ale to make the mixture less stiff.
• Grease 2 large or 4 small pudding basins. Fill with pudding mixture about 7/8 full. Cover tightly with greased waxed paper, then foil; secure with string. Stand pudding on a trivet in a large pot of boiling water that reaches halfway up the sides of the pudding basin. Steam puddings over medium-low heat in boiling water 10 hours for large puddings, 5 hours for small puddings, topping off water regularly until quite firm and set.
• If not serving immediately, let cool completely, then replace covers with fresh waxed paper and foil and store in a cool, dry place, basting from time to time with rum or brandy, for up to 3 months. To serve, reheat by steaming 2 to 3 hours.

PLUM PUDDING

Steps:

• Stir the flour, spice, suet, breadcrumbs and sugar in a large bowl. Tip in the fruit, peel, cherries (if using) and carrot, then stir well to mix. Add the remaining ingredients and beat until thoroughly combined.
• Spoon the mixture into a buttered 1.2 litre pudding bowl (with a buttered disc of greaseproof paper in the bottom) and press down well, leaving room for the pudding to rise a little during steaming. Cover with a circle of buttered greaseproof paper, then cover with pudding cloth or foil and tie securely with string.
• Stand the bowl on an upturned saucer in a saucepan and half fill with boiling water. Cover tightly and steam for 8 hours, topping up the water as necessary. Leave to cool in the pan.
• Remove the pudding from the pan and discard the cloth or foil and paper. Then cover with fresh greaseproof paper and cloth. Store your pudding in a cool, dry place until required - you can feed it with a few tablespoons of brandy once in a while. Before serving, steam again for 2-3 hours.

MUM'S CHRISTMAS PUDDING

Steps:

• Place all the ingredients, except the eggs, treacle and lemon and orange juice, into your largest bowl with 1 tsp salt, then mix. Add the remaining ingredients along with 700ml water, then mix to a consistency that drops off your spoon. Cover and leave in a cool place overnight. The mixture will become firm.
• The next day, add enough water to bring the mix back to a dropping consistency, then spoon into greased pudding basins - we used a 2 litre and a 1 litre. Cover with pleated greaseproof paper and foil, and secure with string.
• Lower the puddings into a saucepan with upturned saucers or scrunched-up bits of foil in the bottom (so the puds don't touch the bottom), then fill with boiling water from the kettle until it comes halfway up the sides of the bowl. Simmer the smaller pudding for 2-2½ hrs and the larger one for 3-3½ hrs. Cool, wrap well in foil and chill for up to 3 days.