Happy Stir-up Sunday!

Today is Stir-up Sunday (the last Sunday before Advent) so-called because its traditional on this day to make your Christmas Pud! I know Christmas still seems a little way off...a whole 34 days (nearly 5 weeks) but this is the perfect time to make your pudding and allow all those yummy flavours to mature! Traditionally you're supposed to get the whole family in the kitchen as you make the pud, each one giving a stir and making a wish in turn, starting with the youngest. To honor the three kings you're supposed to stir from east to west but I'm afraid I don't own a compass and as my Pa was up a tree doing a spot of pruning at the time, only myself and my Mama had a stir!

As this is my first attempt at making a Christmas Pudding I thought I'd look to Domestic Goddess Nigella Lawson for a little guidance (sorry Delia!) I have a couple of Nigella's books including 'How to be a Domestic Goddess' and 'Nigella Christmas', both of which have slightly differing Christmas Pudding recipes! I couldn't choose between them and so cherry-picked my favourite bits from both (I think Nigella would approve), fingers-crossed it turns out ok!

Serves 10-16 as part of a Christmas Feast, 8-10 if not.

150g Currents
75g Sultanas
75g Raisins
150g Prunes, scissored into pieces
60g Candied peel
50g Glace Cherries
175ml Brandy, rum or Pedro Ximenez Sherry
100g Plain Flour
125g Breadcrumbs
150g Suet
150g Dark Muscovado Sugar
50g Walnut pieces
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/4 ground Cloves
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
grated zest of 1 Lemon
3 eggs
1 medium cooking apple, peeled and grated
2 x 15ml tablespoons honey

1x1.7litre/3 pint heatproof plastic pudding basin

• Put all the fruit into a large bowl along with your booze of choice, swill the bowl around a little, cover and steep overnight or for up to 1 week.

•  When the fruit have head their steeping time, put a large pan of water on to boil or heat some water in a conventional steamer, and butter your heatproof pudding basin, remembering to grease the lid too! Instead of making one 3 pint pudding I made one 2 pint for the family and one 1 pint pudding to give as part of a gift hamper.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine all the remaining pudding ingredients, not forgetting to let everyone have a stir and make a wish!
• Add the steeped fruit, scraping in every last drop of liquor with a rubber spatula, and mix everything thoroughly. Now's the time to fold in the traditional charms or (cola-cleaned) coins, as we've mislaid the traditional family silver threepenny bits and I'm not keen on the idea of pound coins in my pud, I left the hardware out!
• Scrape and press the mixture into the prepared pudding basin (basins) put the lid on and cover with a layer of tin foil, If your basin doesn't have a lid, just cover with a double-layer of baking parchment tied with string and then cover with a layer of tin foil. Then either put the basin into the pan of boiling water (to come half way up the basin) or in the top of a lidded-steamer and steam for 5 hours for a 3 pint pud or 3 hours each for a 2 pint and a 1 pint, taking care not to let the pan boil dry...like I did :s

• When you pud has had its time, remove gingerly, unwrap the foil and put the pudding somewhere out of the way until the big day.
• On Christmas day, re-wrap the pudding(s) in foil and steam again for a further 3 hours. To serve, remove from the pan or steamer, remove the lid, put a plate on top and up end, giving the plastic basin a little squeeze to release the pudding and voila...hopefully!
• Its traditional to flame the pud at the table with warmed brandy (Nigella suggests Vodka) but feel free just to dig in, I'll be having mine with brandy-spiked white sauce (traditional in County Durham, UK) but any sauce you like is acceptable...my Daddy loves his with slightly unconventional custard!

My puds are now safely tucked away in the garage, I'll post an update as to how it tastes post-Christmas feast...probably post-nap too!)
Xx

It’s that time again…already!

Around this time every year I have a lil’ tradition…I bake a Christmas cake! Not just any Christmas cake, this is my Nana’s Christmas cake! I’ve been making it for as long as I can remember, first with my Mama’s help and now all by myself and though I’ve tweaked it over the years, I always stick to my Nana’s same basic method because its fool-proof and my family and friends love it! And there’s another reason…my Nana passed away 4 years before I was born. She was, I’ve been told, a born homemaker and a wonderful baker! The recipe I work from is in her own hand and making this cake, following her recipe, makes me feel close to her! I guess that’s the emotive power of food – it can be comforting, it can cheer you up, make you feel nostalgic or in this case, become a family tradition that’s passed down through generations…the fact that it tastes yummy doesn’t hurt either!

Enjoy!

Xx

Ingredients:

5oz (140g) Softened Butter

5oz (140g) Soft Dark Brown Sugar

3 Medium Eggs

6oz (170g) Plain Flour

¼ tsp Salt

1 tsp Mixed Spice  

1lb (450g) Mixed Dried Fruit

2oz (50g) Glace Cherries

1oz Candied Peel

1oz (25g) Flaked Almonds

Grated Zest of 1 Orange

1 tbsp Brandy

1 tbsp Water

Method:

•    Put all of the dried (inc. the glace cherries and mixed peel) in a large saucepan, add the brandy and the water. Bring to a gentle boil then allow to cool before covering. Leave for 24 hours. Don’t forget to allow the eggs and butter to come to room temperature.

•   Pre-heat the oven to 125°c. Grease and line your tin with grease-proof paper or baking parchment, I use a 15cm square tin but a 20cm round tin would work too,  just make sure that the grease-proof is twice the height of the tin.

•  Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs one at a time with a tablespoon of sieved flour, beating well between yet addition.  Sieve in the remaining flour, along with the mixed spice and the salt - just fold in, don’t beat.

•    Stir in the soaked fruit, almonds and grated orange zest until combined.

•   Pour into the lined tin, making a hollow in the centre. Bake in the middle of the oven on 125°c for 1hour, then reduce the temperature to 115°c for a further 1 hour 30 minutes before reducing the temperature to 100°c for a final 1 hour. By now the cake should be golden brown and firm to the touch.

• Remove from the oven and allow to completely cool in the tin (if the cake has cracked cover with a damp cloth). Once the cake is cold, remove from the tin, wrap in tin foil and store in a cool, dry place until you’re ready to decorate…I usually ice mine on Christmas Eve. For an extra moist and yummy cake, prick holes in the top with a needle and ‘feed’ the cake with brandy or sherry once every few weeks in the run up to Christmas. 

P.S. I tweaked my cake this year by adding 1oz each of ready-to-eat Dates and Prunes to the fruit mixture and I topped up the brandy when soaking the fruit – 200ml…not sure my Nana would have approved of that! I also added a tablespoon of Black Treacle and ½ teaspoon of Almond extract after I creamed the butter and sugar but before adding the eggs. Finally I used Walnuts and Hazelnut as well as Almonds, still only 1oz in total and added ½ oz of finely chopped stem ginger. These are all purely optional and the original recipe makes a wonderful cake and makes the house smell deliciously festive!