Corscadden’s Christmas Puddings

Christmas in my house has always started within the first week of December ever since I was a child. This is when my mother usually start making the Christmas puddings eahc year.

This has been a tradition that was passed on from my Grandmother who always made her own Christmas puddings. Each year we make around 6 puddings for both our house and to give away to family over the festive season.

Keeping with tradition is custom for the youngest person in the house to give the pudding a stir before they are cooked. This was always a job I looked forward to doing as I was always told it brought good luck so I always saw it as an important job to do!

As long as I can remember we have been using this same recipe to make our Christmas puddings each year. It is simply recipe that always works well for us.

DSC_0845

Christmas Puddings

Ingredients:

  • 175g self-raising flour
  • 1tsp mixed spice
  • 1tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2tsp ground nutmeg
  • 225g white breadcrumbs
  • 350g dark brown sugar
  • 1,125g mixed fruit
  • 125g cherries (washed and chopped)
  • 50g chopped almonds
  • grated rind of 1 orange and 1 lemon
  • 1 medium apple grated
  • 225g melted butter
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 tablespoons whiskey
  • 275ml Guinness

Other supplies:

Two 2 pint pudding bowls (greased), two large double layers of greaseproof paper for the top of the bowl, two large circles of tinfoil for the top of the bowls and two saucepans with lids large enough for the bowls

Method:

  1. Sieve the flour and spices in to a large bowl or basin
  2. Add the sugar, breadcrumbs, fruit, nuts, orange and lemon rind, grated apple and mix thoroughly
  3. In a jug combine the whiskey, Guinness and eggs
  4. Slowly combine the melted butter to the egg and Guinness mixture
  5. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients
  6. Mix all the ingredients together thoroughly with a wooden spoon
  7. Cover the basin with a clean tea towel and allow to stand overnight
  8. The following morning stir the mixture again
  9. Divide the mixture evenly between the two bowls and smooth the top
  10. Cover each bowl with the greaseproof paper and secure to the bowl using twine
  11. Do the same with the tinfoil leaving a pleat in the middle for the puddings to expand
  12. Place a upturned saucer in each pot and place the prepared bowls on them
  13. Fill each pot with approximately 3 inches of boiling water and place over a medium heat with the lid securely on the pot
  14. Steam for 7-8 hours topping up the pots with boiling water regularly
  15. Once cooked turn off the heat and remove the puddings from the pots
  16. Allow the puddings to cool completely before upturning them on to plates
  17. The puddings can then be wrapped in greaseproof paper and tinfoil and stored in a cool press
  18. When you are ready to eat it steam it (the same way as above) for 1 hour and serve with cream or custard

DSC_0847

Category : Family, Food
Tags : , , , , , , , , ,