Christmas Plum Pudding & Hard Sauce1 1/2 cup currants
2 cup raisins
3/4 cup prunes
2 cup mixed candied fruit
1 lb beef suet, cleaned
juice and zest of one lemon
juice and zest of one orange
5 cup bread crumbs
2 1/2 cup flour
1 cup chopped almonds
2 cup cooking apples, chopped
1 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon each ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoon salt
1 qt rum or cognac
4 eggs
HARD SAUCE
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cup confectioner's sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoon brandy
2 nutmeg
Start this pudding around Thanksgiving, so it has time to sit and absorb alcohol for a month before Christmas.
Wash the candied fruit, raisins and prunes. Chop the prunes. Mince the candied fruit and the suet.
Add all ingredients except liquor and eggs to a large bowl. Stir to mix very well. Add 1 cup of the liquor and stir again. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and put in a cool place. Uncover every day, add 2 tablespoons rum or cognac and stir well. Recover. Continue until all but 1/4 cup of the liquor is added. At this stage, pudding can stand 2 to 4 weeks.
When you are ready to cook it, add the eggs. The mixture may be thinned a little with milk if it seems necessary. Butter and flour pudding mould (a metal mixer bowl works very well). Add pudding mixture and cover with clean cotton cloth, tying securely with string. Set mould in large pot of boiling water and boil at least six hours.
Remove and let stand 30 minutes. Unmould onto serving platter, then heat remaining rum or cognac, pour it over the pudding and light it. Serve with hard sauce.
Hard sauce:
Thoroughly cream butter. Beat sugar in gradually, as if making mayonnaise. Add vanilla and brandy, beating gradually. Pour into serving bowl and sprinkle nutmeg over the surface. Chill until needed.
