Christmas Pudding

• 12 oz. mixed dried fruit (raisins, currants, sultanas)
• 4 oz. pitted prunes, chopped
• 4 oz. pitted dates, chopped
• 4 oz. dried apricots, stems removed, chopped
• 4 oz. dried figs, stems removed, chopped
• 4 oz. dark muscovado sugar
• 0.25 cup (4 Tbsp.) stout
• 4 Tbsp. dark rum, brandy, or Scotch
• 4 oz. blanched almonds
• 4 oz. ground almonds
• 4 oz. fresh white breadcrumbs
• 2 oz. plain flour
• 4 oz. frozen butter, grated, plus a little extra for greasing
• 0.5 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp. mixed spice
• 4 oz. chopped glacé cherries (or left whole if you prefer)
• 3 large eggs, beaten

To make a good Christmas pudding you should use only the best ingredients and steam it for as long as you can. It makes a huge difference to the colour and flavour of the pudding if you can steam it for at least eight hours. This does not need to be done all at once—you can do it over a couple of days or so.

Combine all the fruit, sugar, spirit of your choice, and stout in a mixing bowl. Stir it all well to mix, cover it and leave it for 24 hours to soak.

Next day, mix the slivered and ground almonds, breadcrumbs, flour, grated frozen butter, spices, cherries, and eggs, along with the soaked fruit mixture in a large mixing bowl, making sure you include all the soaking liquor from the soaked fruit. Mix it all well until it's completely combined.

Cover this with cling film and leave it to stand in a cool place for another 24 hours.

On day three, grease a 1.5 quart pudding basin with butter. Cut out a circle of baking parchment and place it in the bottom of the pudding basin and then grease it with a little more butter. Pack the pudding mixture into the pudding basin, pressing down as you add more. Fold a pleat into the middle of a large piece of baking paper and place it over the pudding. Cover this with a large piece of pleated foil, lining up the pleats one over the other. Secure the whole thing tightly with kitchen string tied around under the lip of the pudding basin and then looped back and forth over the top to form a loose handle.

Place an upturned saucer in a large saucepan one-quarter full of water. Make sure the water in the saucepan comes about half-way up the side of the pudding basin but no more.

Bring the water to the boil and then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Simmer gently for at least 5–6 hours, 8 if you can manage it, topping up the water level as necessary throughout cooking (do not allow the pan to dry out).

Once the pudding is cooked, remove it from the pan and set it aside to cool.

At this point you can unwrap the pudding, pierce it all over with a skewer, and pour on more of the spirit of your choice to soak in and increase the flavour and alcohol content; this is entirely up to you. Then you can give it a fresh wrapping of baking parchment and foil and store it until you're ready to eat it. It's tradition to make it a month or so before Christmas, but it does't really mature; what makes all the difference is a good eight hours steaming.

The pudding can be stored for up to two years in a cool, dry place. To serve, reheat the pudding by steaming it again in the same way for two hours, or until hot all the way through. (I suppose you could reheat it in the microwave—just be sure to remove the foil first.)

In our house this was always served with a version of Brandy Butter, though if the pudding was made with rum or whisky, that was used in the butter instead of brandy.