TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS PUDDING FROM MY MOTHER'S RECIPES.
I am going to modify this to make it wheat free but all other ingredients except sugar, which I will halve, will stay as they are.
I use a large plastic wash bowl for the total mixture and divide the mixture into small flower pot/muffin baking containers. It usually takes me a couple of days to complete steaming all the puddings. I wrap them individually in plastic cling film then in foil. They make quite acceptable gifts. Each mini pudding is suitable to divide into two or up to 4 servings. My mother always used butter and served her Christmas pudding cold with cream and icecream. Christmas falls in summer in New Zealand and I have wonderful memories of blue sea, kayaks and swimming.
My favourite Christmas lunch is reasonably simple and held at the beach house. Hot roast leg of lamb, small, new potatoes boiled with mint, lettuce and mixed salad veggies with mint sauce and whatever salad dressing you like. This is followed by a desert of Christmas pudding and cream. We would have a light evening meal of ham and lettuce salad, followed by fruit salad and trifle. Pavlova is also usually served but unless there is a big crowd of people I like to keep dessert down to a single dessert for the whole day. This year we might even limit ourselves to strawberries and cream.
We are a small family these days and no-one wants to spend hours in the kitchen. We are also a wheat free family and everyone is concerned with not over-eating on this feast day. We plan to have no left-overs that will tempt us to de-rail our weight loss efforts.
12 EGGS WELL BEATEN,
14 no 7 eggs
2 LB RAISINS...
2 kg raisins currants, sultanas
2 LB CURRANTS
2 LB SULTANAS
8 OZ PRESERVED LEMON PEEL OR MIXED PEEL, CHOPPED
450 gm + 450 gm maracino cherries left whole because I like cherries.
8 OZ ALMONDS, CHOPPED
220gm did not blanch almonds and roughly chopped into thirds, halves and left some whole
8 OZ PEELED AND DICED APPLE
220gm
2 NAVAL ORANGES, ZEST AND JUICE
2 LEMONS, ZEST AND JUICE
1 LB FLOUR
250gm almond meal or flour, 250gm coconut flour maybe more? 250gm tapioca flour 250gm brown rice flour
1 LARGE TABLESPOON MIXED SPICE
25 ml
1 TEASPOON SALT 5 ml
2.5 LB SUGAR
400 gm demarara
2 LB BUTTER OR SUET
500 gm
1 GLASS BRANDY
1 GLASS RUM
instead of brandy and rum I used shiraz
total juice and booze = 625ml aprox
NB the dried fruit and coconut flour gobbled up the liquids.
RUB BUTTER INTO FLOUR
ADD SUGAR
ADD FRUIT AND NUTS
I am lazy and just tip fruit in. trusting that it is clean when packed
ADD WELL BEATEN EGGS
ADD ALL OTHER LIQUIDS
NB the raw mixture /batter did not look as smooth and pudding-like as other years but the taste was OK. I cut back on sugar and butter. Will be interesting to see how the non-wheat flours work.
Finished mixing this 8 am Sat 8/12/12
LET MIXTURE STAND FOR 24 HOURS
DIVIDE INTO SUITABLE BASINS AND COVER
STEAM 6 HOURS
STORE IN A COOL PLACE FOR SEVERAL WEEKS BEFORE CONSUMING
will keep years especially if brandy is used!!! I store in fridge. Freezes OK too.
TO SERVE, HEAT IN STEAM BATH
or microwave same as muffins
MAKES 4 LARGE PUDDINGS OR ? EXTRA LARGE MUFFINS
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