Christmas Pudding (Plum Pudding)

Dafydd Gibbon

Traditional Gibbon Family Recipe
(Version of December 6, 1998 )

Ingredients

Fruit, Vegetables 3 lb raisins, sultanas, currants (ad lib.) mixed (prunes, apples, apricots, figs, dates)

2 oz candied peel

2 lemons

2 carrots

Nuts 1 lb ground almonds, walnuts, ...

Spices 1 tsp mixed spice ground cinnamon, cloves, pimento (allspice), cayenne, ginger

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp salt

Cereal 1 cup wholemeal flour

1 lb breadcrumbs

Sweetening 1 lb sugar or cane syrup

1 tbsp cane syrup

1 tbsp marmalade

Fat 3/4 lb suet, lard, butter, margarine (ad lib.)

Liquid > 3 eggs

2-3 small wineglasses brandy, sherry, madeira, stout, old ale (ad lib.)

Method

1. Chop, grate or mince all fruit and vegetable ingredients.
2. Add to dry ingredients.
3. Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon.
4. Cover with cloth.
5. Set aside for 12 hours in a cool place
6. Stir again, adding non-toxic silver coins (ad lib.).
7. Pack into buttered pudding basins.
8. Cover with a cotton or muslin cloth tied round the rim.
9. Place in a steamer or pressure cooker, ensuring that the cloth does not touch the water.
10. Steam on low heat for 12 hours (or 4 hours in a pressure cooker), ensuring that the water does not dry out.
11. Remove, wrap in greaseproof paper and store in a cool, dry place.
12. Steam for 3 hours before serving.
13. Serve with brandy butter or white sauce.
14. Bonny appetite!

Creamy brandy butter)

1. Put about 1 lb sugar in a mixing bowl.
2. Pour in almost enough brandy to dissolve the sugar.
3. Warm about 3/4 lb butter to make it beatable, maybe in the microwave.
4. Beat all ingredients thoroughly, maybe adding a bit more of this or that in gredient to taste, to a thick cream.
5. Put in the fridge until needed.
6. Serve a spoonful with each helping of Christmas Pudding.