IGI, is it because I loves ya?


OK. Martle’s Ancient Family Xmas Pud Recipe

NB This is a monster one – you can halve the quantities for a smaller version (recommended, since this size looks like something out of Dickens...)

1lb raisins
1lb currants
1lb beef suet (finely chopped)
2 oz blanched sweet almonds (finely chopped)
1 oz bitter almonds (finely chopped)
1lb sifted flour
1lb breadcrumbs soaked in milk, then squeezed dry and mashed
2 oz candied lemon
2 oz candied orange
2 oz lemon zest
¼ oz mixed spice
¼ lb soft brown sugar
8 eggs
milk
brandy

Mix all the fruit, nuts and suet together. Mix the breadcrumbs and flour together separately before incorporating into the mix. Mix the sugar and well-beaten eggs together separately before adding them to the mix. Mix all together, adding milk as necessary to achieve the consistency of thick batter. Add two wineglasses of brandy and stir.
Allow to stand, covered, for four hours, stirring occasionally.

Tie bowl with a cloth and steam (ban marie) for FIVE hours.

It’s best to do this as early as possible. Then it can be kept (covered) for weeks until the Big Day, when it will need re-heating (steamed) for at least an hour.

We mark Stir-Up Sunday every year by making both the pudding and the cake. Two weeks to go!

This pudding recipe is simpler than Martle's monster is an old family standby - it is not quite so rich as the usual pud recipe but still really works, and is an alternative for those who might balk at Martle's eight-egg job.  It serves 5-6.

175g currants
175g sultanas
300ml brandy or rum
175g fresh white breadcrumbs
140g suet or, if you prefer, frozen butter
40g self-raising flour
195g unrefined dark brown sugar
1 egg
nutmeg
butter, for greasing

Soak the fruit in the brandy overnight.

Tip all the ingredients into a bowl and stir together for 3-4 mins

Butter a 1.2 litre pudding basin and put a circle of greaseproof paper in the bottom. Pack in the mixture.  Cover with a double layer of greaseproof paper pleated to allow expansion, and tie with string.

Cover the pudding with foil and use the string to make a handle.  Cover and steam for 5-6 hours.  Leave to cool overnight.

Unpack, cover the bowl with cling film and leave in the fridge for a month, occasionally feeding with alcohol if desired.  Steam for one hour on the day to re-heat.

Those Victorians, eh? They sure knew how to cook up a heart attack storm!

My mother always made a Christmas pudding. I seem to remember that she put barley wine in it. The smell and taste was fantastic. I've never had one that's ever come close. She also made a stonkingly wonderful bread pudding. My brother was always asking her for the recipe but she didn't have one, she just chucked it all together. A slice of that cold with a cup of tea. Absolute bliss!