My
naughty Nanas never wrote their pudding recipes down. So I rely on the
wonderful substitute Nanas at the Australian Women’s Weekly to guide me in my
quest for our family pud.
I have
attempted making Boiled Christmas Puddings but was always disappointed they
never turned out as gloriously as my Grandmother’s – I remember them hanging
about the house and had the most luscious dense texture, fragrance and a firm thin
skin that was impossible to replicate.
Thus, I
have resorted to the steamed method – sometimes lovingly using my other
Grandmother’s slightly dented pudding steamer. I hope you enjoy my version of
the Women’s Weekly pud – I serve it warmed with a selection of creams, custard and ice-cream and although Nana’s original Christmas Charms have long gone, I
thread some of my Charms onto gold thread and place in the bottom of each bowl,
top with a slice of pud for each guest to uncover their festive prediction. Enjoy!
Please Note:
This post follows on from 2 other instalments listed on our blog – soaking the
dried fruit
and then preparing the fruit
When baking, I find it more accurate to weigh ingredients rather than
relying on cup measurements, but where possible I have included both.
Servings:
Please
use these as a suggestion only for sizes.
I use
this amount to cook a 2 litre and a 1 litre – I do NOT fill completely - both are not filled as much as a standard
recipe would suggest.
This
gives me one for Christmas Day and one stored for winter or as a gift.
It also
makes a 1 litre (for stove top steaming) as well as enough for 7 – 8 small (270 ml) mini puddings and 1 or 2 dariole
sized (for oven steaming).
Ingredients
1 kilogram Dried
Mixed Fruit that has been soaking in ½ cup Bundy Rum (prepared as above)
1 ½ cups
(330 gram) dark brown sugar
150
gram butter, cubed
270 ml
water (1 cup and 1 tablespoon)
1 ½ teaspoons
Bicarbonate of Soda
3 eggs,
lightly beaten
165
gram Plain Flour – sifted
165
gram Self Raising Flour – sifted
1 ½ teaspoon
ground Mixed Spice – sifted
1
teaspoon ground Cinnamon – sifted
½ teaspoon
ground Cloves – sifted
If you
love nuts: Option – 1/3 cup slivered
Almonds
Preparation
Method
Prepare
your pudding basins.
Regular
Lidded Pudding Basin (1 litre OR 2 Litre – preferably non-stick):
Grease
the basin really well. Use a circle of baking paper to cover the base of the
basin – helps turning out later. Prepare
a lid of baking paper – a circle cut wider than the basin that has a pleat
folded into the middle of the paper to allow the pudding to expand and protects
the top of the pudding from droplets of steam.
Or for
small puddings:
I use small
ovenproof plastic lidded basins (270 ml) and also silicone dariole moulds (VIP
that they have a lipped rim so you can seal the alfoil lid over) to steam in
the oven.
Grease
the moulds very well.
Prepare
lids of baking paper with a centre pleat, as above - for the lidded basins OR
For the
silicone moulds – grease the moulds very well and cut out baking paper circles
to make lids with a centre pleat, as above. Grease these both sides.
Make a larger circle lid from alfoil.
You pop the paper lid on top of the pudding (allow room to expand) then
the alfoil lid over both. Then crimp and
squeeze the alfoil very firmly around the lip and over to seal and protect the
pudding inside the silicone mould.
Use a
large deep roasting pan and place an old white towel (so dye won’t stain your
pan) on the base of the pan. Fill your
pudding moulds and allow room for the mixture to expand. Place on top of the towel. Pour boiling water carefully around the
mini-basins until about half-way up the sides of the basins. Cover with 2 large layers of alfoil and crimp
and squeeze the edges as tightly as possible to seal in the steam.
* Use a
very large saucepan because the mixture will froth up when the Bicarb is added.
(See TIPS and HINTS below)
* You
will also need either an old saucer or cake rack to sit in the base of the
saucepan during steaming. This raises
the pudding off the intense heat of the saucepan base. Make sure it is wide
enough and stable to hold your filled pudding basin.
Cooking
Method
Place
the fruit, sugar, butter and water in the saucepan. Stir and gradually bring to
boil for 2 minutes.
Reduce
heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Take
off the heat and stir in the Bicarb. This
will froth a bit then settle. No need to keep stirring.
Allow
to cool (but not chilled) – needs to be cool enough to dunk your finger in
without any ‘hot’ feeling. (See TIPS and HINTS below)
When
cooled down a bit, stir in the beaten eggs.
Then
stir through the combined sifted flours and spices. If using, stir through the
slivered almonds.
Pour
into your prepared basins. Don’t
overfill. They will expand. Depending on
the size basin - (for a 2 Litre basin leave 3 cm to rise)
Cover
the top of the pudding with greased pleated paper. Don’t push down into the pudding. Leave room
for pud to expand.
Cover
with the pudding basin lid. I then use a
strip of alfoil around the rim to cover the join between the lid and basin –
just crunch and squeeze it around and under the rim to reduce the chance of
steam entering the basin. Don’t worry if
it is not sealed – it just adds an extra layer of protection.
Fill
and boil the kettle
Place
in your pudding steamer saucepan on top of the rack/saucer.
Cooking Times
Carefully pour the hot water into the sides of the pan – avoid pouring the water over the pudding basin. Water needs to come up about half way of the side of the pudding basin.
Cover with a tight fitting lid and gently boil for 5 hours. Check the water every hour and refill to about half way if necessary.
When
steamed for 5 hours: remove lid and allow to stand for 5 minutes before very
carefully removing the basin from the saucepan.
If
steaming the mini-basins in the oven:
Preheat
oven to 150 o C. Carefully slide the
foil covered roasting pan into the oven and allow to steam for 2 hours. After 1 ½ hours peek into the pan and top up
the water if necessary. Unlikely to need any more.
Serving Options:
If
serving immediately:
Remove
lid and paper. Carefully up-end onto a serving platter and serve with custards,
creams etc.
If
storing for use later:
Allow
to cool in the basin.
Carefully
remove and wrap pudding in plastic wrap, then 2 layers of alfoil. Place into a
plastic freezer bag and expel as much air as possible. Knot and seal tightly. Store in an airtight box in the fridge OR
repeat the bag and store in freezer.
Storage times: I suggest a couple of months if kept in fridge or up to 12 months in freezer. Do not store at room temperature.
TIPS
and HINTS:
* When
selecting a saucepan to use for the pudding steamer I like to use one wider
than the pudding basin because that gives my fingers room to grab the pudding
handles and lift the completed pudding out of the steamy saucepan
* Once I
have transferred the mixture into the pudding basins, I give the saucepan a
quick wash and re-use the large saucepan as my pudding steamer.
TIP: Mixture will take longer to cool in the
saucepan but won’t be affected. Allow 2 -3 hours to cool.
OR you
can transfer mixture to a large bowl to cool – will still need at least 1 hour
to cool.
I place
the bowl / saucepan on top of a strong cake rack to allow air flow beneath the
bowl.
It is
important to cool prior to adding the flour and eggs or these will start to ‘cook’
from the retained heat.
Enjoy! Colleen
