This is a Christmas pudding to boast about. Absolutely crammed with dried fruits, nuts, apples and even Grand Marnier, it is a really special pudding.
Ingredients
- 250g raisins
- 250g sultanas
- 75g blanched almonds, chopped
- 100g glacé cherries, halved
- 75g mixed peel
- Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
- Finely grated zest of 1 orange
- 100ml orange juice
- 75g fresh white breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 100g molasses sugar
- 100ml Grand Marnier
- 100ml milk
- Butter, for greasing
- 100g self-raising flour
- 1 large Bramley apple, grated
- 250g vegetable suet
- 4 eggs
Method
- 1. Put all the dried fruit, nuts, cherries and peel into a large bowl. Add the zests, orange juice, breadcrumbs, spice, sugar, Grand Marnier and milk. Mix well, cover and leave overnight.
- 2. The next day, mix in the remaining ingredients well. Butter either 2 x 1-litre pudding basins or 10 x 175ml pudding basins. Fill a good three-quarters full with the mixture. Cover with a double layer of buttered, pleated, greaseproof paper. Tie string around the rim.
- 3. For the large puddings: put an upturned saucer inside a large saucepan and sit 1 pudding on top. Repeat for the other one. Pour boiling water into each pan to come halfway up the basins. Cover and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer for 5 hours, topping up with boiling water if necessary, until a skewer comes out clean. For the mini puddings: preheat the oven to 180C/fan160C/gas 4. Place in a deep roasting tin and fill the tin with boiling water until it comes halfway up the sides. Cover the tin with foil and bake for 2 hours.
- 4. Decorate with holly and dust with icing sugar. This can be served with Grand Marnier butter.
Nutritional info
Per serving (based on 16): 386kcals, 18.6g fat (7.9g saturated), 5.3g protein, 49g carbs, 39.1g sugar, 0.3g salt
Chef's tip
To keep: Cool the puddings, turn out and wrap well in greaseproof paper then foil. Store in a cool place for up to 3 months.
To reheat: Prepare the large pudding as before and steam for 2 hours, until piping hot. For the individual puddings, bake at 190C/fan170C/gas 5 as before for 1 hour, until piping hot.