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A delicious festive recipe using our farm fresh eggs!
We have adapted our Christmas pudding recipe from the wonderful Delia Smith
We hope you enjoy it - be sure to send us your comments & photos on our Facebook, here!
We tend to do this recipe over a few days, the mix will sit in the fridge covered happily for 2-3 days before you steam it.
Ingredients:
110g shredded suet
445g ready mixed dried fruit (or a mixture of your choice to the same weight)
75g glace cherries
25g sliced almonds
1 small Bramley apple finely chopped
grated zest orange
grated zest lemon
2 tbs rum
150ml stout
50g self-raising flour
110g white breadcrumbs
1 level tsp ground mixed spice
¼ level tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
200g soft dark brown sugar
.
Method:
- Use a big mixing bowl! Add suet and breadcrumbs, spices and sugar and mix. Next add the dried fruit, cherries, almonds, the chopped apple and the lemon & orange zests. Mix well!
- In a separate bowl measure out the rum and stout, add the eggs and beat these together. Pour this over the dry ingredients and begin to mix very thoroughly. This is where the family join to stir and make their wishes!!
- The mixture will be a fairly sloppy consistency – it should fall instantly from the spoon when it is lifted and dropped back into the bowl. If you think it needs a bit more liquid add a spot more stout.
- Cover the bowl and leave overnight.
- The next day stir in the flour, then pack the mixture into the lightly greased basin (we use a glass pyrex dish), cover it with a double layer of baking parchment and a sheet of foil and tie it securely with string (you really need to borrow someone’s finger for this!).
- Place the pudding in a steamer set over a saucepan filled with simmering water and steam the pudding for 8 hours.
- Make sure you keep checking the water underneath and top it up with boiling water straight from the kettle about halfway through. When the pudding is steamed, leave it overnight, then remove the baking parchment and foil and replace them with some fresh ones.
- Alternately if you have a pressure cooker you can use this for a lesser steaming time of 2 hours, when finished release the pressure and leave to cool overnight naturally.
Now your Christmas pudding is ready for Christmas Day.
Keep it in a cool place away from the light. Under the bed in an unheated bedroom is an ideal place. Be sure to keep the pudding in it's dish and that it is still covered with the baking parchment and foil.
On Christmas Day: Fill a saucepan with boiling water, put it on the heat and, when it comes back to the boil, place a steamer on top of the pan and turn it down to a gentle simmer. Put the Christmas Pudding in the steamer cover and leave to steam for 2hrs 15 mins. You'll need to check the water and maybe top it up a bit.
- When you are ready to serve the pudding, remove it from the steamer and take off the wrapping. Slide a knife all around the pudding and turn it out onto a warmed plate.
- Again, a pressure cooker can be used to minimise time, steam for 30 minutes before serving.
If you have any leftovers, they will reheat beautifully, either in the oven in foil or a blast in the microwave the next day.