Plum Pudding

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •1.2-liter (5-cup) rimmed ceramic pudding basin
• •Deep lidded stockpot with trivet or folded heatproof cloth
• •Baking parchment, heavy-duty foil, and kitchen twine
• •Kettle for replenishing the cooking water
• •Long taper or utility lighter if flaming

Instructions

1. 1

   Macerate the fruit

   Combine the raisins, currants, sultanas, candied orange, lemon, and citron peels, candied ginger, orange zest and juice, lemon zest and juice, and the 47 ml of rum or brandy. Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours, preferably three days, stirring once or twice so every piece drinks. If the fruit has absorbed the spirit but remains leathery, press it beneath the liquid and give it another day. The steeping is the flavor, so don't rush past it.

   If you have only one night, chop the larger raisins and candied pieces particularly fine. More cut surface gives the spirit somewhere to enter, though a longer rest still produces the rounder pudding.
2. 2

   Prepare the basin

   Butter a 1.2-liter rimmed pudding basin thoroughly. Cut a wide sheet each of baking parchment and foil, make a 2.5 cm pleat through their centers so the pudding can expand, and butter the parchment side. Set a trivet or folded heatproof cloth in a deep lidded stockpot, place the empty basin on it, and check that the lid closes with room above the rim.

3. 3

   Build the dry mixture

   Put the cold chopped suet, breadcrumbs, flour, apple, almonds, sugar, and mixed spice into a large bowl. Work through the mixture with your fingertips until the suet is evenly separated and every piece wears a light coat of flour. Break up any clumps now; a hidden lump of suet melts into a greasy pocket later.

4. 4

   Bind the pudding

   Scrape in the macerated fruit with every drop of its liquor. Beat the egg with the stout, pour it over the bowl, and mix thoroughly from the bottom until no pale flour or dry breadcrumb remains. The mixture should be heavy, moist, and reluctant to fall from the spoon. If it looks alarmingly loose, let it stand for ten minutes before changing anything; the breadcrumbs will swell and draw it together. Ça se rattrape.

5. 5

   Fill and seal

   Pack the mixture firmly into the buttered basin, pressing it into the curve to remove air pockets, and leave about 2.5 cm of headroom. Lay the pleated parchment butter-side down over the basin, cover it with the foil, and tie both tightly beneath the projecting rim with kitchen twine. Make a second loop of twine across the top as a lifting handle. A tight cover keeps condensed water out; if the foil tears, replace it before the basin enters the pot.

6. 6

   Cook four hours

   Lower the covered basin onto the trivet and pour boiling water around it until the water reaches halfway up the basin. Cover the stockpot and maintain a steady simmer for four hours. Check every 30 to 40 minutes and replenish with boiling water from a kettle, pouring down the side so none reaches the pudding. Never let the pot run dry. If it nearly does, remove it from the heat, wait one minute, add boiling water slowly, and resume the simmer; the pudding survives, though the pan may hold a grudge.

7. 7

   Test and rest

   Lift the basin out by its twine handle and carefully remove the cover. A skewer pushed to the center should emerge without raw paste; moist crumbs and sticky fruit are exactly right. If raw mixture clings to it, reseal the basin and cook for another 30 minutes. For serving today, rest it covered for 20 minutes. For later, cool it completely, replace the damp parchment and foil with fresh coverings, and refrigerate or freeze as directed below.

8. 8

   Flame and serve

   If the pudding was made ahead, bring it back to heat by steaming it in its covered basin for 1½ to 2 hours. Loosen the edge with a thin knife and turn it onto a warmed platter. For the book's flaming finish, stand the measured additional rum or brandy in a small heatproof jug set in hot water until warm. Put the pudding in its serving place, turn off every burner, pour over the spirit, and ignite it with a long taper. Never pour from the bottle near a flame and never carry the pudding while it burns. If it doesn't light, serve it with its handsome brandy gloss. Accompany it, if you prefer, with a sabayon with rum, Brandy Butter as directed under “Gil-Blas pancakes” but without sugar, or an English custard thickened with arrowroot. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Use real beef kidney suet, very cold and finely chopped or grated. Butter is splendid, but not here: it melts sooner than suet and changes the pudding from moist and close-textured to greasy and heavy.
• •The book's powdered sugar is best answered by modern superfine sugar. Confectioners' sugar often contains starch, which the original mixture did not ask for.
• •True Malaga raisins can be difficult to find. If necessary, use plump dark raisins and keep their weight equal to the currants and sultanas; the three-fruit balance matters more than the label on the packet.
• •Choose a dry, dark stout rather than a sweet or flavored one. Its roasted bitterness keeps the sugar and candied peel in order, and 63 ml is enough to be tasted without turning the pudding into cake batter.
• •Keep a kettle of boiling water beside the pot. Cold top-up water stops the cooking and lengthens an already long evening; boiling water preserves the steady simmer.

Advance Preparation

• •Macerate the fruit under refrigeration for at least 24 hours. Three days gives a deeper, rounder result, and the covered fruit can wait for up to one week.
• •The cooked pudding may be cooled completely, freshly covered, and refrigerated for up to one week. For longer keeping, wrap the covered basin well and freeze it for up to three months.
• •Thaw a frozen pudding overnight in the refrigerator, then steam it in its covered basin for 1½ to 2 hours before unmolding. Keep the water at a steady simmer and replenish it with boiling water.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 130g)