Christmas Pudding | Irish Baker Abroad

Irish Baker Abroad Christmas Pudding Recipe 250g raisins 250g currants 250g sultanas 170g muscavado dark brown sugar 6 tbsp brandy 170ml Guinness 170g of ground almonds 200g of nibbed Almonds 200g fresh white breadcrumbs 85g plain flour 170g of Suet or frozen butter grated (I used Lurpak ) 1 tsp of nutmeg 1.5 tsp of cinnamon 3 tsp of mixed spice 85g of chopped glace cherries 85g of mixed peel 5 large free-range eggs beaten 1 orange. Zest and juice 1 lemon. Zest and juice Day 1 In a large bowl combine the dried fruit, brown sugar, brandy and Guinness. Cover and leave overnight Day 2 Add the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. If you can get your hands on some Suet go for it. I was a bit behind and couldn’t get any on time. You can use beef or vegetable suet packaged or fresh from your local butcher. You can also use shortening as a substitute. This is all a matter of preference. Go with what you like I couldn’t get any currants so I went with half raisins and half sultanas. Instead of brandy you can also use Rum, whiskey, sherry to name a few. Again it’s all a matter of preference I used a 2L bowl. It’s a bowl I normally use to mix and weigh ingredients in. Use what ya have! The bowl had a nice shape so I made the recipe to fit it. Grease the bowl generously with butter. Add the pudding mixture and smooth out with a spatula. The bowl is 20cm in diameter so I cut out a 30cm circle of baking paper and I made a pleat in the center to allow for expansion. I then covered it with two sheets of tinfoil Afterwards I took a long piece of twine which I tied around, lifted back over and tied again on the opposite side to make a handle. I simmered the pudding for 6 hours in a large pot filled with water two thirds of the way up with a small saucer facing downward acting as a trivet between the pudding and the pot. Check the water level every hour or so and top up If needed If you have a cooking thermometer you can check the temperature. The internal temperature should be between 70-90 C I turned the pudding out afterwards and let it cool before dusting with icing sugar and placing the fresh holly on top This was for show. Afterwards Alanna dusted off the icing sugar and packed the pudding away, wrapping it in parchment paper followed by tin foil. She then placed it in an airtight container. Normally these are made a few months in advance. Like my Christmas cake you can feed this the same way especially if you make it well before Christmas. Poke holes in it and pour a few tsps of whisky, rum or brandy over it. I normally go with whisky. You can heat it up again at Christmas before serving I like to eat it with a Homemade Brandy Custard. You can find that on my YouTube channel. Just add 15-20ml of Brandy to it once it’s finished Homemade Custard -    • Homemade Custard    Give it a whack! All the best Chris, Luana, Alanna & Benji