ShareThisSteamed Christmas plum puddings are as British as the Queen Mum. Traditionally, the steamed cakes are made about five weeks before Christmas, preferably on the last Sunday before Advent (this year, it was Nov. 22). Stir-up Sunday marks the official start of the holiday baking and cooking season in England. A steamed plum pudding for dessert at Christmas dinner is still a big deal, as essential to a British celebration today as it ever was.
The nickname, Stir-up Sunday, is taken from the Collect for the Day in the Book of Common Prayer on the Sunday before the beginning of Advent: "Stir-up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people ..." But it was the rhyme of schoolboys on the playground that made the pudding connection: "Stir up, we beseech thee, The pudding in the pot, And when we get home, We'll eat it all hot."
To the Brits, "pudding" is the dessert course of a meal, nothing like the American pudding, a soft, spoonable dessert. A plum pudding is a version of fruitcake that has been steamed in a special pan in a bain marie (water bath), not baked, say, in a layer-cake pan in a hot oven. Originally, it did contain plums, but today it has dried prune plums along with other dried fruit with nuts.
Back in the day, pudding-making brought the family together. Each person took a turn stirring, making a wish and tossing a coin or charm into the batter. To find a lucky charm on Christmas could mean a future of wealth, health, happiness (or possibly a trip to the dentist), and made sure that everyone at the table clamored for a slice of pudding.
The perfect pudding is a dense, moist and oozing decadence, rich in fruits and rum or brandy. Making one takes time, most of it in assembling the ingredients. Some desserts hold the line at 13 ingredients, to represent Christ and his disciples. Most have even more, but they are largely spices and flavorings. Christmas puddings originally contained meat and suet as well as onions, wine, spices and dried fruit. These days, butter or oil is the fat of choice. Once made, the puddings are put away in a cool, dry place. The dessert needs only a further hour of steaming on the day you want to serve it. If you missed Stir-up Sunday (and who had time to bake for Christmas with all the Thanksgiving cooking to do?), there's still plenty of time; just know that a plum pudding, like its cousin fruitcake, develops its full flavor when made at least a week ahead.
To steam a plum pudding, it's best to use a special pudding mold with a center-tube, made for this purpose. The container has a very tight lid, which is clamped on to seal the pan throughout the cooking. (For want of a lid, I've covered the batter-filled mold with tightly pressed aluminum foil.) The mold goes into a Dutch oven or kettle, and enough water is added to the kettle to come a third of the way up the sides of the mold.
If you don't have a pudding pan, use a ring-type pan with a 2-1/2-quart capacity. You'll have to fudge on the timing, checking the baking as you go. A bundt pan will not work.
Traditional cooks prefer a stovetop steam, but you have to keep adding water to be sure it doesn't boil off. I prefer to steam the pudding in a 350-degree oven for 2-1/2 hours. The pudding, or cake, is moist and very forgiving.
The pudding is done when it is a dark walnut-brown color and fairly firm to the touch. A cake tester will come out clean and the pudding will pull away from the side of the pan a bit.
Remove the pudding from its bath, place on a cooling rack and allow it to rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Turn it out from the pan and allow to cool completely. Wash and dry the mold and return the cooled pudding to it. I like to poke the cake a dozen or so times with a toothpick or cake tester, then spoon over about 1/3 cup of rum or brandy as you would a fruitcake. Store the pudding in a cool place such as an unheated attic or a cool garage.
Warming for service: A good two hours before you plan to serve, re-steam the pudding. Unmold it onto a hot serving platter and garnish with sprigs of holly.
Serve the plum pudding flaming. Do this in either of two ways. Either pour hot rum around the warm pudding and ignite it at the table. Or, half-fill a metal ladle, or similar utensil, with rum or brandy and carefully heat it over a gas flame or lighted candle. When the flame is hot enough, the brandy will light. A long fireplace match is insurance against scorched eyebrows and cuffs. Pour the flaming brandy over the pudding. Make sure the lights are out for this once-a-year grand finale. When the flames have subsided, serve slices of pudding with hard sauce, whipped cream or creme Anglaise.
In the glass, the fruit cake's flavors and richness work very well with a vintage port, but good matches are also a muscat liqueur or rich Madeira.
Merry Christmas to all!
Note: You will find 2-quart pudding molds online or at most upscale kitchen stores.
FLAMING PLUM PUDDING WITH HARD SAUCE
(Tested by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1-1/4 cups lightly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons molasses
2-1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs (made in the processor from crustless, firm white bread slices)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup finely chopped pitted prunes
3/4 cup golden raisins
3/4 cup currants
3/4 cup glace citrus rinds or dried cherries
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1 tart apple, cored and chopped in the processor
Grated zest of an orange
1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup brandy or dark rum, divided
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the oven rack in the center position. Using non-stick baking spray, generously spritz a 2-1/2-quart, metal steamed pudding mold or a fluted tube pan; set aside. When properly baked, the cake should not stick, but to ensure that it doesn't, press a round of waxed paper onto the inside "top" of the greased mold and smooth with your finger.
In a large bowl, using a handheld electric beater set at high speed, beat the butter until creamy, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat until light in color and texture, about 2 more minutes. Beat in the eggs and the molasses. Set aside.
In another large bowl, combine the dry ingredients and spices and set aside.
In yet another bowl, combine the prunes, raisins, currants, rinds/cherries, nuts, apple and zest. Heat the 1/3 cup brandy and pour it over the mixture, mixing well.
Now put it all together. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and mix until patches of flour disappear. Add the brandied fruits to the batter and mix well.
Transfer the mixture to the prepared mold, smoothing the top. The mold should be about 2/3 full. Cover the top with a sheet of greased waxed paper or metal foil, greased side down, and attach the lid.
Place the mold in a roomy roasting pan or kettle (I used my Le Crueset Dutch oven) and place the pan on the oven rack. Pour in enough very hot tap water to reach about 1/3 the way up the sides of the mold. Bake about 2 hours and 30 minutes. Add more hot water to the roasting pan as needed. When done, the pudding will be firm and pulling away slightly from the sides of the pan.
Remove the pudding from the water bath; cool on a wire rack for about 12 to 15 minutes. Invert onto a rack or serving plate. Allow it to sit a minute, then remove the mold. Allow to cool. Poke holes in the cake with a cake tester or toothpick. Spoon over another 1/4 cup of brandy or dark rum.
Wash the baking mold and dry. Return the cooled pudding to the pan, top with the lid and store in a cool place for about 4 to 5 weeks.
Reheat in its pan in a kettle of simmering water until heated through, about 45 minutes.
HARD SAUCE
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup brandy or dark rum
In a medium bowl, using a handheld electric mixer set at high speed, beat the butter until creamy, about 1 minute. On low speed, beat in the confectioners' sugar until smooth. Beat in the brandy. The hard sauce can be prepared up to 2 weeks ahead, covered tightly and refrigerated or frozen. Bring to soft room temperature before serving.
-- "An Edible Christmas" by Irena Chalmers (Morrow, 1992)
(Marlene Parrish can be reached at marleneparrish(at)earthlink.net.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
Must credit Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
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