Christmas Pudding

I have actually posted this recipe before BUT it is so good and SO easy to make I thought I would post it again with some slight amendments to the ingredients. 

CHRISTMAS PUDDING

INGREDIENTS

375g dried mixed fruits

85g sour cherries or cranberries or glace cherries

25g dried apricots

1 Bramley apple, about 175g, grated or chopped

plus zest 1 orange and 1 lemon

150ml good orange OR apple juice

2 tbsp brandy

2 tbsp Cointreau (or use more brandy)

140g butter, plus extra for greasing

100g dark muscovado sugar

2 large eggs , beaten

85g self-raising flour

100g white breadcrumbs

2 tbsp golden syrup

2 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp salt

25g toasted hazelnuts, pecan nuts, walnuts and blanched almonds, roughly chopped

FOR THE TOPPING

50g butter

50g dark muscovado sugar

1 tbsp golden syrup

1 tbsp brandy

25g each toasted hazelnuts, pecan nuts, blanched almonds and glacé cherries , left whole

METHOD

Put the dried fruit, cherries, apricots, apple, zests, apple/orange juice, brandy (and Cointreau) in a large bowl. Microwave on High for 1 min, then leave to soak overnight.

Butter and line a 2lb loaf tin with a strip of non-stick baking paper.

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Put the kettle on to boil and have a roasting tin, plus a sheet of buttered foil, ready.

Beat the butter and sugar together until it turns a little paler,

beat the eggs

in a large bowl the eggs, flour, breadcrumbs, 

syrup, spices and salt, and mix

then tip in the soaked fruit and the nuts.

spoon the mixture into your loaf tin

now this year I have added some a £2 coin into my unbaked pudding and having googled whether this sixpence replacement is allowed nowadays, I did the following:

boiled my coin in a saucepan for 5 minutes to sterilise it (as best i could)

once cooled down wrap the coin in some parchment paper

place into the middle of your pudding mixture

once the coin is added, scrunch some tin foil loosely over the tin, twisting corners to tighten it around the tin's edges. Sit it in a roasting tin, then pour in a few cms of boiling water.

Carefully transfer to the oven and bake for 40 mins.

After 40 mins, turn down the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3 and cook for another 1½ hrs, topping up the water level every now and again as required.

Here is the cooked pudding, wrapped up ready to going into the fridge until the 25th

TO SERVE:

To reheat the pudding, either return it to a medium oven for 30 mins in its tin, or turn out onto a serving plate, cover loosely with cling film and microwave for 5 mins on Medium.

TO MAKE THE TOPPING:

Gently heat the butter, sugar and syrup together until the sugar dissolves, stir in the brandy, then tip in the nuts and fruit. Spoon over the hot pudding.

It is really yummy and quite the show stopper when it is presented to the Christmas Day dinner table. It will keep for quite a few days after (unless it all gets eaten sooner of course!)

recipe is based on one from  BBC Good Food 

DAY 8