Christmas is approaching, and to us that means one thing: Stir-up Sunday. On 21 November 2021 make sure you’re prepared to make your best one yet. Brown ale and brandy goes into this Christmas pudding recipe. Don't forget to leave time to soak the fruit overnight.
And if you don't have time on stir up Sunday to make both a cake and a pudding (or either) try our easy Christmas pudding which can be made on the big day itself.
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Yields:
12 serving(s)
Prep Time:
20 mins
Cook Time:
6 hrs
Total Time:
6 hrs 20 mins
Cal/Serv:
240
Ingredients
125g
(4oz) each sultanas, currants and raisins
50g
(2oz) ready-to-eat dried figs, chopped
1½ tbsp brandy
50ml
(2fl oz) brown ale
Zest and juice of ½ lemon and ½ orange
50g
(2oz) plain flour
¼ tsp each mixed spice and cinnamon
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
125g
(4oz) fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs
50g
(2oz) shredded suet
75g
(3oz) dark brown sugar
40g
(1½oz) blanched almonds, chopped
1
small carrot, grated
1
apple, peeled and grated
2
medium eggs, beaten
A little butter to grease
Directions
Step 1
Put the dried fruit into a non-metallic bowl with the brandy, ale, zest and juice. Cover and soak overnight.
Step 2
Add the remaining ingredients, apart from the butter, to the bowl and stir well.
Step 3
Grease a 1 litre (1¾ pint) pudding basin and line with a 61cm (24in) square piece of muslin. Spoon the mixture into the basin, packing it down firmly, and level the top. Gather the muslin together and secure with string, trimming any excess cloth.
Step 4
Tie string round the basin just under the rim and knot. Make a handle by bringing the ends over the top of the bowl and tying them to the string on the other side.
Step 5
To cook the pudding, put the basin on an upturned saucer in a deep pan. Pour in enough water to reach halfway up the sides of the basin, then cover and bring to a simmer. Cook for 6hr. Make sure the pan never boils dry by topping it up with boiling water as necessary.
Step 6
Remove the pudding from the pan and leave to cool, then lift it out of the basin, keeping it in its muslin cloth, and wrap in clingfilm and a double layer of foil. Store in a cool, dark place. The pudding will keep for up to one year if wrapped tightly.
Step 7
To reheat: return the pudding, still in its muslin, to the pudding basin. Follow the heating instructions in step 5, cooking the pudding for 2hr until hot right through.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
