Rum and Raisin Christmas Pudding

Serves: 8

Calories: 551

Suitable for freezing: no

Fat: 18g

Saturated fat: 8g

Ingredients:

– 500g pack luxury vine fruits (mixed dried fruits)

– 300ml dark rum

– Finely grated zest and juice of one orange

– 2 teaspoons Angostura bitters

– 4 tablespoons ginger wine

– 60g stem ginger, drained from syrup and chopped

– 90g molasses sugar

– 30g self raising-flour, sieved

– 2 teaspoons ground mixed spice

– 125g vegetable suet

– 30g flaked almonds

– 90g fresh white breadcrumbs

– 1 small carrot, grated

– 2 medium eggs, lightly beaten

To serve:

– 4 pieces of stem ginger, halved

– 8 cocktail cherries

– 8 flaked almonds

– 1 sprig of holly

– 3 tablespoons ginger syrup, from the jar of stem ginger, 2 tablespoons dark rum

– 1.25l pudding basin, greaseproof paper, string and foil

1. Put the dried fruits into a pan and pour in the rum. Add the orange zest and juice and Angostura bitters. Cover and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes, just until the rum and fruits are warm. Add the ginger wine and stir in the stem ginger. Pour the dried fruits and liquid into an airtight container and leave overnight to macerate. The following day, pour half of the dried fruit and liquid into a food processor and blend until it is smooth.

2. Crumble the molasses sugar into a large bowl, breaking up any lumps or chunks with your fingertips. Sieve in the flour and mixed spice. Then stir in the suet and almonds.

3. Add the blended fruits along with the while fruits and liquid. Stir in the breadcrumbs and grated carrot, then lastly the eggs. Mix everything together well. Spoon the pudding mixture into the basin. Cover with a double sheet of pleated greaseproof paper and secure with string.

4. Cook in a steamer for 6 hours, checking the pan and topping up with boiling water every 30 minutes or as it needs it.

Our tip: To pressure cook the pudding: put into a 6-litre pressure cooker filled with 2 litres water. Heat until the valve pops up, reduce heat and cook for 3 hours. 

Source: Rex Features