Truly British Brandy Butter For Festive Figgy And Plum Pudding Food

FIGGY CHRISTMAS PUDDING

Steps:

• Butter a 500ml, a 1-litre and a 2-litre pudding bowl, then line the base of each with a circle of baking parchment. Butter 3 large sheets of greaseproof paper, lay each on a large sheet of foil butter side up, and fold a pleat in the middle of each.
• Roughly chop 250g of the figs and set aside. Put the remaining figs, butter and brandy into a food processor and whizz until smooth-ish, then scrape into your largest mixing bowl. Tip in the chopped figs, mixed vine fruits, grated apple, sugars, breadcrumbs, flour and allspice. Stir everything together, allowing as many helpers to give a stir and adding as many wishes as you like. Divide between the pudding bowls and smooth the surfaces.
• Cover the puds with the buttered paper-foil sheets, tie with string and trim. Lower the puds into separate saucepans with upturned saucers or scrunched up bits of foil in the bottom (so the puds don't touch the bottom), then fill each pan with enough boiling water from the kettle to come halfway up the sides of the bowl. Cover with a lid and simmer the small pud for 1-1½ hrs, medium for 2-2½ hrs and large for 3 hrs, topping up the water as needed. Remove and leave to cool. If giving as a gift, put a new piece of parchment on top. Will keep in a cool, dry cupboard for up to a year.

CARIBBEAN CHRISTMAS PUDDING WITH BRANDY BUTTER

Steps:

• For Brandy Butter:
• Using electric mixer, beat butter until smooth. Beat in sugar. Gradually beat in brandy. (Can be prepared 1 week ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.)
• For pudding:
• Mix currants, candied cherries, prunes, orange peel, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt in large bowl. Pour rum over and stir to blend. Let stand 30 minutes.
• Mix breadcrumbs, sugar and flour in medium bowl. Add to dried fruit mixture and stir to blend. Cover and let stand at room temperature overnight.
• Generously butter 2-quart pudding mold with lid. Mix almonds and baking powder in medium bowl. Whisk melted butter, eggs, milk, vanilla extract and almond extract in large bowl. Stir in almond mixture. Stir butter mixture into dried fruit mixture. Spoon batter into prepared pudding mold. Smooth top. Cover pudding mold with lid.
• Place pudding mold on rack in large pot. Add enough boiling water to pot to come halfway up sides of mold. Cover pot and steam pudding over medium-low heat until tester inserted into center comes out clean, adding more boiling water to pot if necessary, about 2 hours. Transfer mold to rack and cool 5 minutes. Turn out pudding. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Cool. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate. To reheat pudding, unwrap and return to buttered mold; cover mold. Place mold on rack in large pot. Add enough hot water to pot to come halfway up sides of mold. Cover pot and steam pudding over medium-low heat until heated through, about 45 minutes. Transfer mold to rack. Let stand 5 minutes. Turn out pudding.)
• Transfer pudding to platter. Serve warm with brandy butter.

RUM OR BRANDY BUTTER

Steps:

• Using a mixer beat the unsalted butter, icing sugar, brown sugar, water and brandy together until creamy and fluffy.
• Refrigerate until needed.