An old fashioned English plum pudding is traditionally a Christmas pudding made a year ahead of time during Advent and served the following year at Christmas. Each person is supposed to stir the pudding once while it is being made for good luck. Aging of the pudding enhances the flavor so if you cannot make it a year ahead, you must at least allow several weeks for it to age.
Old fashioned plum pudding is quite delicious and worth the effort of preparing. It gives us the opportunity to pass along a time honored tradition to our children and teach them how Christmas was celebrated as far back as the 16th century. There were Christmas puddings prior to that time, however they did not contain raisins and prunes because they were not yet available in Britain. It was after the addition of prunes that the pudding came to be called plum pudding.
Plum pudding is served with a rum or brandy sauce. It is topped with a sprig of holly and then set aflame with brandy or rum, which makes for a spectacular presentation of the dessert.
The fruit mixture must be made four days in advance to making the pudding.
INGREDIENTS:
FRUIT MIXTURE INGREDIENTS:
1 Pound Seedless Raisins
1 Pound Sultana Raisins
1 Cup Citron, thinly sliced
1 Cup Candied Peel, chopped
1/2 Pound Currants
1 1/4 Cups Cognac
1 Pound Suet, chopped powdery fine (Suet is the solid white fat around animal’s kidneys and loins.)
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon Mace
1/4 teaspoon Allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground Cloves
1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
PUDDING INGREDIENTS:
1 1/4 Pounds Fresh Bread Crumbs
1 Cup Scalded Milk
1 Cup Sherry or Port Wine
1 Cup Sugar
12 Eggs, well beaten
Cognac
1 teaspoon Salt
DIRECTIONS:
Blend the fruits, peel, citron, spices, and suet in a glass jar and add 1/4 cup cognac. Cover tightly and refrigerate for four days, adding 1/4 cup cognac each day.
Soak the bread crumbs in the milk and sherry or wine. Add in the well beaten eggs and sugar and stir. Blend with the fruit mixture. Add the salt and mix well.
Put the pudding in buttered bowls or tin containers, filling each about 2/3 full. Cover with aluminum foil and tie it. Steam the puddings for 6-7 hours. Uncover and place the puddings in a 250 degree oven for thirty minutes. Add a dash of cognac to each pudding and cover with aluminum foil. Store in a cool place for a year.
On Christmas, steam the pudding again for 2-3 hours and unmold onto serving plate. Sprinkle with sugar. Add heated cognac. Garnish with a sprig of holly. Ignite the cognac and place the pudding on the dining table. Serve with cognac sauce or hard sauce. The recipe for hard sauce is listed below.
HARD SAUCE
INGREDIENTS:
1 Cup Unsalted Butter, softened
2 Cups Powdered Sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla
3 Tablespoons Cognac
Nutmeg
DIRECTIONS:
Cream butter very well. Gradually beat in the sugar. Add vanilla and cognac, beating gradually. Pour into serving bowl. Sprinkle with nutmeg and chill until about one hour prior to serving with the plum pudding.
Begin a new tradition in your family and serve an old fashioned English plum pudding each year as the dessert at the end of your christmas meal.