There is very little as evocative of Christmas than an Old-Fashioned Christmas Plum Pudding! This is a beautiful tradition to start amongst your own family, and a golden opportunity to bring together the different generations to welcome the Christmas season.
I’m going to admit it, for a very long time, I was not a fan of Christmas pudding. Even as an adult I couldn’t fathom its appeal. Here we were on the most important day of the year, celebrating the birth of Christ with what was so aptly described by Dickens as “a speckled cannonball.” It isn’t particularly sweet, it’s filled with dried fruit, it’s BOILED of all things… And where were the plums?! Perhaps my taste buds were just late to develop, or the beauty of the tradition won me over, but at some point the penny dropped and these days I look forward all year to this glorious dessert! The mix of dried fruit, brandy and spices is very evocative of the cosy Christmasses of the Northern Hemisphere. If you have never cooked it before, it is a must-try at least once!
Stir-up Sunday
Though the origins of the pudding date back much further, Christmas pudding as we recognise it today was created by the Victorians. At the time, the tradition was to make the pudding on ‘Stir-Up Sunday,’ known now to Catholics as the feast of Christ the King. Unbelievably, this name isn’t related to the pudding making, but from the day’s opening words of the Collect from The Book of Common Prayer: “Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people.”
The making of the pudding itself is steeped in tradition. The pudding is stirred counter-clockwise (from East to West) to represent the voyage of the Three Kings to visit the baby Jesus. Historically, a coin was also added into the pudding mixture and whoever found it in their helping was said to have good luck for the following year. In our family, this tradition was retired after my great-grandfather swallowed a six-pence. According to the Royal Australian Mint the ‘new’ decimal currency is not suitable for cooking – so please don’t get tempted to slip a $2 piece into your batter!
Our family tradition
For me, the making of the Christmas pudding is shrouded in nostalgia. The pudding has been a non-negotiable staple at our Christmas table for as long as I can remember. And, in fact, it well predates my memory, passed down from my great-grandmother, and who knows how many generations before her!
Today, Pudding Day is still very much a family affair. Since the birth of my daughter, we have had the privilege of four generations stirring the bowl. This year, we expanded even further, with my grandmother, mother, sister, daughter, aunt, and three cousins all participating. The experience of that day really epitomises Christmas for me: family coming together to socialise and prepare food. And don’t forget plenty of cups of tea in the process!
This is a beautiful tradition to start amongst your own family, and a golden opportunity to bring together the different generations to welcome the Christmas season in a meaningful way. To add a more overt faith element into the day, start your pudding making by attending mass as a family, listening to advent music while you cook or incorporate prayers of your choice into the experience.
The nitty-gritties
I’m not going to sugar-coat it, making this pudding is a labour of love, and requires some commitment. Following are some tips to make this experience as straightforward as possible:
Make sure you read the recipe multiple times in advance
While making the batter is straightforward, the techniques are less so. It is important to have both a strong grasp on the process and ensure you have all equipment ready before you start.
Don’t go it alone
This is not a job for one person. Preferably, get together a whole group of family members to enjoy the process and lend a hand. At a minimum, you need at least two people to wrap the pudding.
Leave plenty of time
The pudding needs to boil for six hours after you make it. This is not a project to start after putting the kids into bed!
The equipment
This recipe calls for a few more specialised tools, in addition to the typical cooking utensils you would already have in your kitchen:
- A very large mixing bowl: the larger the better! This is a big mixture which needs a lot of room to be properly stirred.
- A very large pot with a firm lid: our family has a designated ‘pudding pot’ which comfortably fits the pudding in its cloth, as well as a lot of boiling water. The saucepan we use is 200mm high with a diameter of 320mm.
- A square of calico, washed: approximately 900mm by 900mm. Plus an extra strip to tie and hang the pudding, approximately 100mm by 400mm.
- A hardy china dinner plate: the older the better. This is placed at the bottom of the pot of boiling water for six hours, so you want to be confident it can withstand this treatment.
Old-Fashioned Christmas Plum Pudding
Equipment
- large mixing bowl (the larger the better)
- large pot with firm lid (needs to comfortably fit the pudding in its cloth)
- square of calico (washed; approx. 900mm by 900mm)
- strip of calico (approx 100mm by 400mm to tie and hang the pudding)
- china dinner plate (hardy enough to withstand 6 hours of boiling)
Ingredients
- 500 g self-raising flour plus extra for dusting
- 15 g mixed spice
- 500 g currants
- 500 g raisins
- 125 g mixed peel
- 375 g brown sugar
- 250 g lard cold (Note 1)
- 6 eggs
- 4 tbsp milk
- 2 tbsp golden syrup (Note 2)
- 1 tbsp brandy a freehand pour is much more traditional and highly recommended
- custard or ice-cream to serve
Instructions
3-8 weeks prior to Christmas
- Put on a very large pot of water to come up to the boil.
- Sift the self-raising flour into a very large mixing bowl, followed by the allspice. Mix thoroughly.
- Using a box grater, grate the cold lard into the bowl.
- Using your fingers, rub the lard into the dry ingredients until it is completely incorporated.
- Add in the brown sugar. Mix thoroughly.
- Add in the raisins and currants, followed by the mixed peel. Mix thoroughly.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs.
- To the eggs, add the milk, golden syrup and brandy. Whisk thoroughly.
- Pour the egg mix onto the dry ingredients and stir very well to ensure that there is no dry mix left at the bottom of the bowl.
- Place your calico in a large colander in the kitchen sink and drench it with a full kettle of boiling water. Wearing rubber gloves, wring out the wet calico to remove any excess water. You want it to be hot and damp, but not dripping.
- Lay the calico on a clean flat surface and evenly dust with the extra sifted flour, leaving a border around the edge free of flour (roughly 20cm).
- Transfer the dusted calico to a large colander, arranging the fabric so that it lays flat in one layer within the colander, and the edges of the fabric hanging over the sides. (You will need two pairs of hands for this to ensure the flour is not too disturbed). The floured part of the fabric should be within the colander, while the overhang should be clean.
- Scrape the batter into the calico and gather the edges of the fabric together so that the batter is completely enclosed.
- Secure the calico as tightly as possible with the extra strip of fabric, including a loop so that the pudding can be hung to dry. Make sure that you leave some room between the top of the pudding and the tie, to allow for the pudding to expand while cooking (roughly 2 inches).
- Place the china dinner plate at the bottom of the pot of boiling water and then add the pudding in its calico, so that the base of the pudding is resting on the plate. The pudding should be fully covered by the water.
- Boil the pudding for six hours, topping up the water levels as needed. The water should be soft boiling.
- Remove the pudding from the boiling water (washing-up gloves recommended to protect your hands.) Place it in the colander to cool for a few minutes.
- The pudding is now ready to be hung and dried until Christmas Day. The pudding should be hung in a cool, dry location away from direct sunlight, but with good ventilation (pantry, spare wardrobe, garage). It is important that the pudding is dried as quickly as possible to prevent mould from developing. I would recommend putting it in front of a fan for a few days to expedite this process.
- To prevent mould from forming, when the cloth has dried, wipe all over with a brandy soaked clean cloth.
On Christmas Day
- Bring a very large pot of water to the boil.
- Add the pudding in its cloth, ensuring it is fully submerged.
- Boil gently for two hours (to coincide with dessert time).
- Remove the pudding from the boiling water wearing rubber gloves, and let it sit in a colander to cool for a few minutes before proceeding.
- Untie and remove the calico and invert the pudding onto a large platter.
- Serve with lashings of hot custard, brandy butter or ice cream (Note 3).
Optional step: Setting the pudding alight!
- This is a real showstopper and a bit of fun. To set your pudding alight, once it is on the serving dish, douse it in brandy and then put a match to it. The fire will burn itself out very quickly. Don’t forget to dim the lights, as the fire is subtle on the eye.
Notes
- Lard is pure fat. It can be found in the refrigerator section of the supermarket with butter and Copha. Traditionally, suet was used, however, processed lard provides the same results, with much less mess.
- Treacle or honey can also be substituted.
- Leftover pudding can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two weeks.
Hannah is a single mother of one and part-time librarian, living in Melbourne. A self-professed type A Martha (in the best possible sense), she loves to witness to her faith through service and hospitality. In her spare time, Hannah can be found reading recipe books, eating cheese or staking out Melbourne’s best delis.
2 Responses
Wow! Amazing!!
I feel the anticipation! I felt like I was standing in your kitchen waiting for my turn to stir and then all of a sudden, I was travelling east with the wisemen! I sense a new tradition is about to be born in my home – thank you x