Nana Moon's Christmas Pudding

* Exported from MasterCook *

NANA MOON'S CHRISTMAS PUDDING

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 2 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Puddings

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
3 c Flour (unbleached)
1/2 lb Suet (see note)
1 c Brown sugar
1 c Bread crumbs
3/4 lb Raisins
3/4 lb Sultanas
-(or golden raisins)
1/4 lb Currants
1 c Brandy
-(or orange juice,
-or a mixture of both)
1 tb Golden (cane) syrup
5 Eggs
1/2 ts Baking soda
1 tb Milk

Combine the suet, flour, sugar, bread crumbs, fruit
and brandy. Cover and allow to stand overnight.

Add the syrup and beaten eggs. Dissolve the baking
soda in the milk, and add to mixture. Stir until
everything's combined. (The mixture will be fairly
thick. My mother used to get help at this stage by
telling us that if we stirred it three times and made
a wish, the wish would come true. This only works with
Christmas puddings.)

Place in two 1 1/2 quart pudding basins, cover with
paper and several layers of aluminum foil, and steam
for 4 hours.

When you're going to eat it, steam it for a further 2
hours. Serve by turning it out of the bowl, and
pouring flaming brandy over it (see below). Serve with
brandy butter (hard brandy sauce).

This pudding needs time to age between when you cook
it and Christmas. My mother generally makes it about
a month before. Keep it in the refrigerator until the
day you will be eating it.

Each pudding will serve about 8-10 people. If you
halve the recipe, use 3 eggs. You can also add
cherries, figs, almonds and so on when you're adding
the fruit.

NOTES:

* Old-fashioned Christmas boiled pudding -- This
recipe was first written down by my great-grandmother.
It's an old-fashioned boiled pudding, and was always a
special part of Christmas in my family. Nana Moon's
family came from Sofala, the site of the 1851 gold
rush in New South Wales, Australia, where they raised
sheep (before the gold rush). It's probably based on
an English recipe.

This recipe differs from others I've seen in that it
uses no spices, just dried fruit and brandy. Perhaps
spices were too difficult to get, it tastes great
anyway. Makes two puddings.

* The suet can be replaced with some other form of
shortening. The packaged suet we used to be able to
get in Australia was only about 35 percent suet, the
rest was cornflour (cornstarch). Avoid that at all
costs. For a few years, we bought suet from the
butcher and grated it ourselves (ok, we used a
blender), but no one should have to do that (at least,
not during an Australian summer).

* If you decide to go for authenticity and use a
pudding bag, here's how:

Get a large piece of calico (it must have a tight
weave), and boil it for a few minutes. Rub flour into
the inner surface. Place 1/2 the mixture on it, and
bring the corners together, leaving room for the
mixture to rise. Tie with string. Cook by immersing in
boiling water, when you add extra water, it must be
already boiling, or the pudding will get soggy. The
pudding will be rounder, and have a better crust than
one steamed in a pudding bowl. A good crust means
that the brandy won't soak in when you light it, so
it'll burn for longer. Age the pudding by hanging it
in a cool, dry place. The problem with using a
pudding bag is that it tends to grow mold if the
climate is too humid.

* To light the pudding, heat about 1/4 cup of brandy
in a saucepan. Light it, then pour over the pudding
and carry it to the table.

: Difficulty: moderate.
: Time: 1 day waiting, 30 minutes preparation, 4
hours cooking, 1 month aging.
: Precision: approximate measurement OK.

: Kathy Morris
: Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif., USA
: sun!navajo!morris morris@navajo.stanford.edu

: Copyright (C) 1986 USENET Community Trust



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