Our Family's Plum Pudding
Submitted by Lila
Traditional British Christmas plum pudding with cognac-soaked dried fruit, walnuts, suet, and warm spices, steamed in a mold and served with brandy butter sauce. A Victorian holiday classic.
YIELD
1 batchPREP
40 minCOOK
10 minREADY
2 hrsOld-fashioned British Christmas plum pudding, the kind that actually predates Charles Dickens. Despite the name, there are no plums; ‘plum’ was Victorian slang for any dried fruit. What you get is a dense, dark, deeply spiced steamed cake crammed with currants, golden raisins, candied peel, and walnuts, all soaked overnight in cognac before they ever meet the batter.
Beef suet is the traditional fat. It renders into the crumb during steaming and gives plum pudding its signature richness, which butter just can’t replicate. Blackberry jam and sherry-soaked bread crumbs add moisture and a fruity backbone. Finished with a brandy butter sauce that melts over the top slice.
Steamed, not baked. The long, gentle moist-heat method is what turns the batter into that distinctive dense, pudding-like texture. Traditionally made weeks ahead of Christmas so the flavors meld.
Chef Tips
- Soak the dried fruits for at least one night in the cognac. Two or three nights is even better. This is the flavor foundation and can’t be rushed.
- Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks and fold gently. They’re the only lift in the pudding; deflating them gives you a brick.
- Check the water level in your steaming pot every 30 to 40 minutes. Running dry can crack the mold and ruin a long cook.
- Wrap the pudding mold tight. Water must not get into the pudding or it turns soggy at the edges.
Variations
- Substitute vegetarian suet (Atora-style) for a meatless version with the same texture.
- Swap cognac for dark rum or bourbon for a different aromatic profile.
- Hide a silver coin or a small charm inside before steaming for old-fashioned holiday luck. Warn the eaters first.
Ingredients
Directions
Combine the dried fruits and peels in a large bowl and sprinkle with cognac.
Cover and place in the refrigerator overnight (or longer - in which case you may want to add more cognac).
To the fruits in the large bowl, add nuts and suet.
Resift flour with the baking soda, salt and spices; then sift over the fruit mixture while tossing and mixing with a wooden spoon to evenly distribute the dry ingredients.
Stir in jam and brown sugar.
Prepare the bread crumbs (use the food processor, removing crusts first if they are crusty and hard).
Sprinkle bread crumbs into the sherry, mixing with a fork.
Add to the fruit mixture.
Add the beaten egg yolks; mix thoroughly.
Last, fold in beaten egg whites.
Prepare two pudding molds.
This recipe makes enough for one 2-quart mold, and the remainder can be steamed in a coffee can - a 26-ounce can makes a round pudding about 3 inch tall.
Grease molds with butter and then sprinkle them with sugar or dust with flour.
Arrange candied cherries in molds, if desired (cherries should be dusted with flour).
Fill 2-quart mold no more than ⅔ full with batter.
Cover pudding mold with its lid, fasten with clamps or tie on securely.
For the coffee can, cover with its plastic lid, tie it on and wrap all with aluminum foil.
For a bowl without a lid, cover the top with layered waxed paper tied down securely, then do the same with aluminum foil.
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