Granny Ruth’s Whisky & Orange Christmas Pudding
This is the sheet typed by Rachel and handed out at the Pudding Club …
Recipe:
250g dried mixed fruits
175g ready-to-eat stoned dates, chopped
85g dried cranberries
1tbsp freshly grated root ginger or ½ tsp ground ginger
Grated zest and juice of 1 large orange
100ml/3 ½ fl oz whisky or Grand Marnier
100g butter, room temperature
2 large eggs, beaten
50g self-raising flour
85g fresh white breadcrumbs
1tsp ground cinnamon
85g walnuts
Walnut topping and sauce:
100g butter
100g light muscovado sugar
50g walnuts
50g dried cranberries
1 orange
3tbsp whisky or Grand Marnier
Put the dried fruits, dates, cranberries and ginger in a pan with the orange zest, juice and whisky or Grand Marnier. Warm gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The mixture should look sticky.
Lightly grease a 1.3l/2 ¼ pint pudding basin, and line base with a disc of greaseproof paper. Beat the butter, sugar, eggs and flour together until light and creamy, then stir in the cooled fruits, breadcrumbs, cinnamon and nuts.
Spoon the mixture into the pudding basin, cover the bowl with greaseproof paper and foil, and tie on securely with a string. (It’s also wise to make a string handle or use a long strip of folded foil to put under the basin and up the sides to lift it out with.) Place basin in a large pan and carefully pour in boiling water from a kettle so it comes halfway up the bowl. Cover and steam for 3 hours, topping up the water every now and again.
Leave to cool, and keep in a cool place for at least one week before using.
The sauce can be made up to a day ahead. Melt the butter and sugar together in a pan. Tip in the walnuts and cook, stirring for a minute or two. Add the cranberries, orange juice and whisky, and simmer until bubbling, rich and syrupy. Cool, then chill until needed.
To serve: Steam the pudding for 1 hour to warm through. Warm the walnut sauce. Turn out the pudding, peel the lining paper from top and pile the nuts and cranberries from the sauce on top, spooning over the rest of the sauce. Decorate with holly leaves and a dusting of icing sugar.
A real festive delight!