Christmas is coming, it cannot be denied, so get into the spirit by making this traditional boiled pudding.
- Combine dried fruit, brandy, orange rind and orange juice in a glass bowl. Cover. Stand overnight, stirring occasionally, for flavours to develop.
- Place dried fruit mixture, butter and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 3 to 5 minutes or until sugar has dissolved and butter melted. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, stirring, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in bicarbonate of soda. Transfer to a bowl. Cool completely. Stir in eggs, 1 1/4 cups flour, mixed spice, cinnamon and breadcrumbs.
- Pour hot water into a large stock pot until three-quarters full. Cover. Bring to the boil over high heat. Add cloth to pot. Boil for 1 minute. Wearing gloves, quickly remove cloth from pot. Spread onto a flat surface. Rub remaining flour over cloth to form a 40cm circle (flour should be thicker in centre of cloth).
- Spoon pudding mixture into centre of prepared cloth. Gather edges of cloth around mixture, pulling tightly to avoid thick pleats. Shape pudding into a round. Tie up tightly with string to avoid water passing through. Place pudding in pot. Tie string to handles of pot. Cover tightly with lid. Boil for 5 hours, topping up pot with boiling water when required.
- Carefully untie string from handles. Hang pudding to dry, suspended freely so base of pudding doesn’t rest on bench (this will result in a flat-topped pudding). Place a bowl under pudding to catch any excess water. Set aside for 15 minutes or until cloth has dried.
- Place pudding on a plate or board. Remove string. Gently peel back top of cloth. Turn onto a plate. Carefully peel cloth from pudding to prevent ‘skin’ from sticking to cloth. Set aside for 30 minutes to darken. Serve warm or cold with custard and brandy butter.
- To make brandy butter: Using an electric mixer, beat butter, orange rind and icing sugar mixture together in a bowl until light and fluffy. Add brandy. Beat to combine. Transfer mixture to a piping bag fitted with a large fluted nozzle. Pipe mixture in small swirls onto a tray lined with baking paper. Refrigerate until firm.
You may need it
Mixing Bowl Set
Surface Utensil Holder
Cutting Board Set