Christmas Pudding

A Christmas Pudding is very easy to make but it requires some amount of meticulous monitoring throughout the steam process , which when done right , is absolutely worth every extra hour given to developing the warm , dark , sticky goodness . The Brandy and spices provide a deep, complex flavor and the pud's signature dark color stands to be an absolute glee when unmolded in the end . In all honestly , I find this easier than baking a Christmas cake , as it simply demands no meticulous steps and is more of a combination of good ingredients .

Coming to the steam process - I have never been able to steam the pudding in one day and hence always split the steam process over two sittings of 3 hours each , which work perfectly when planned well in advance. This pudding also has a long shelf life and can be stored for up to a week or so as well .

For storage , however , one needs to be careful to allow the pudding to completely cool down following which the greaseproof paper ( the one it is steamed in ) needs to be changed and

repacked in fresh tin foil . Also , storage needs to be in a cool, dark place until the big day .

Before serving , simply re- steam it again to reheat ( for about an hour ) until piping hot to serve . Follow below for a easy guide note and let me know how it feels #happyholidaybaking

Things you will need :

• 100 g seedless dates

• 100 g dried apricots

• 100 g walnuts

• 50 g crystallized ginger

• 1 small sprig of dried rosemary - finely chopped

• 100 g dried

• 100 g raisins

• 150 g butter

• 100 g plain flour

• 50 gms brown sugar

• 75 g fresh breadcrumbs

• 100 ml semi-skimmed milk

• 1 large free-range egg

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

• 1 pear / apple finely chopped

• 1 tbsp. honey

• Brandy - to flambé

Steps to follow

• Grease a pudding bowl with a thick layer of butter and keep aside

• In a chopper , roughly chop the dates , dried apricots, walnuts and candied ginger

• Place it all in a large mixing bowl with the raisins, butter , flour, breadcrumbs , sugar , cinnamon powder , finely chopped pear / apple , rosemary and milk .

• Crack in the egg

• Finely grate in the orange zest, squeeze the orange juice and mix all of it together really well untill its resembles a clingy sticky dough.

• Tip the mixture into the greased bowl and cover it with a single layer of greaseproof paper and a double layer of tin foil.

• Tie a piece of string around the bowl to secure them in place ( ensure to make it watertight )like in the image below .

• Sit the bowl in a the steamer for at least two sittings of 3 hrs. each.

• Its a long time yes - but the dates and sugars caramelize over this time to give the pudding its dark color after a full steam time .

• Bes sure to check the water regularly, and keep topping it up with boiling water, if needed. When the time is up, lift out the bowl, remove the foil and paper and then carefully turn the pudding out on to a plate ready to serve, or leave it to cool a

• You can either drizzle it with golden syrup or flambé it with a swig of brandy .

• Serve with brandy butter , cream, custard or even ice cream.