So the first step wasn't even in the recipe. The recipe required candied peel. I couldn't find any candied peel anywhere so I made it. Semi-successfully.
I started by scoring and peeling 7 lemons and 4 large oranges.
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| Oranges and lemon peeling complete |
The peels were then boiled in water and drained, then boiled in water and drained again. This is supposed to get rid of some of the bitterness in the peel. After boiling and cooling, came the tedious part. Scraping out the white pith from all the peel and chopping the peel into strips.
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| A giant pile of pith and the useful orange and lemon peel |
The strips of peel were then cooked in a sugar syrup in a pan. This is where things went a little wrong. I used the same amount of syrup for the orange and the lemon and it was supposed to simmer for 45 minutes. I stupidly left them simmering without checking regularly enough and the orange peel sugar syrup got a little burnt. But the lemon was perfect! After simmering the peel was laid out to cool and after a day or two I put them in a sandwich bag with some sugar and shook it to coat the peel in sugar.
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| Candied lemon peel success! |
The lemon was delicious! Some of the orange peel was a little blacker than it should have been, but it still tasted good. A lot of work for 25 grams of candied mixed peel but the rest was a great snack!
Anyway, onto the pudding. The ingredient list:
1lb /450g dried mixed fruit (I used golden raisins, raisins, dried plums)
1 oz /25 g mixed candied peel, finely chopped
1 small cooking apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped
Grated zest and juice ½ large orange and ½ lemon
4 tbsp brandy, plus a little extra for soaking at the end
2 oz /55 g all purpose flour, sifted
1 level tsp ground mixed spice (ginger, nutmeg and cloves)
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
4 oz /110 g shredded vegetarian suet (I ordered this on amazon as I couldn't find it here)
4oz /110g soft, dark brown sugar
4 oz /110 g white fresh bread crumbs
1 oz /25 g whole shelled almonds, roughly chopped
2 large, fresh eggs
So onto the steps...
Lightly butter a 2½ pint/1.4 litre pudding basin. I didn't have one/couldn't find one this size. Mine was slightly smaller so ended having a second mini pudding.
Place the dried fruits, candied peel, apple, orange and lemon juice into a large mixing bowl. Add the brandy and stir well. Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and leave to marinate overnight.
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| Marinated dried fruits. Yum. |
Stir together the flour, mixed spice and cinnamon in a very large mixing bowl. Add the suet, sugar, lemon and orange zest, bread crumbs, nuts and stir again until all the ingredients are well mixed.
Add the marinaded dried fruits and stir again.
Beat the eggs lightly in a small bowl then stir quickly into the dry ingredients. The mixture should have a fairly soft consistency.
Spoon the mixture in to the greased pudding basins, gently pressing the mixture down with the back of a spoon.
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| Puddings in bowls and ready for steaming |
Cover with a double layer of greaseproof paper or baking parchment, then a layer of aluminum foil and tie securely with string.
Place the pudding in a steamer set over a saucepan of simmering water and steam the pudding for 7 hours. Make sure you check the water level frequently so it never boils dry. The pudding should be a deep brown color when cooked. The pudding is not a light cake but instead is a dark, sticky and dense sponge.
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| They've got their coats on and a ready for a long afternoon in the steamer. The little string handle was very useful for lifting them in and out |
Place the pudding in a steamer set over a saucepan of simmering water and steam the pudding for 7 hours. I didn't have a big enough steamer set so just set the pudding in a large pan with 1-2 inches of water in the bottom and a lid. It worked just fine.Make sure you check the water level frequently so it never boils dry.
The pudding should be a deep brown color when cooked. The pudding is not a light cake but instead is a dark, sticky and dense sponge.
Remove the pudding from the steamer, cool completely. Remove the paper, prick the pudding with a skewer and pour in a little extra brandy. Cover with fresh greaseproof paper and retie with string. Store in a cool dry place until Christmas day.
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| The puddings a week or so after steaming during an additional Brandy soaking. Looks like it should! |
On Christmas day reheat the pudding by steaming again for about an hour. Serve with Brandy sauce, Brandy butter, cream or ice cream (my fave). Obviously I haven't got to this part yet but I promise to show a picture when it gets eaten. It smells like it should so I'm hopeful it will work!
It really wasn't that hard to make so if it tastes good I'll def do it again!
Looks like a lot of work to me. Very Interesting.
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