Traditional Christmas recipe: Christmas Pudding
Chef Neil Forbes tells us how to make Christmas pudding, a traditional festive dessert dish that can be difficult to get right.
Award-winning chef Neil Forbes of Café St Honore in Edinburgh shares his recipe for that most classic of Christmas desserts - the Christmas pudding.
Ingredients
- 125g sultanas
- 125g currants
- 125g raisins
- 20g glacé cherries, chopped
- 20g mixed peel
- ½ bramley apple, grated
- 20g carrot, grated
- 2 tsp finely grated orange zest
- 40g prunes, stoned and chopped
- 50g plain flour
- 20g ground almonds
- 60g bread crumbs
- 1 tbsp milk
- 50g soft dark brown sugar
- 75g proper beef suet
- 1 tbsp golden syrup
- 1 egg
- Pinch each of salt, mixed spice and cinnamon
- Glug each of brandy, sherry and rum
- 4 tbsp stout
Serves: 4 Difficulty: Easy Time to cook: Overnight + 120 mins
Method
Christmas pudding
Place the sultanas, currants and raisins in a large bowl. Add the alcohol and leave to soak overnight.
Line a two pint pudding basin with muslin, leaving enough spare to tie at the top.
Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl of soaked fruit and mix well.
Fill the lined pudding basin with the mix and tie up the muslin with a piece of string.
Gently steam the pudding for two hours in a lidded pot (water covering half the pudding basin).
Don’t allow to boil dry.
Before serving, check that the centre of the pudding is piping hot.
Serve with brandy sauce or pouring cream.
• For this recipe and more you can download the Christmas recipe book from www.5pm.co.uk/christmas-recipe-book