Ultimate Christmas Pudding

Delicious pudding made a fortnight before Christmas. Didn't use the right sherry but it was still fantastic.

• 150 gram(s) currants
• 150 gram(s) sultanas
• 150 gram(s) prunes (scissored into pieces)
• 175 ml sherry (pedro ximenez)
• 100 gram(s) plain flour
• 125 gram(s) white breadcrumbs
• 150 gram(s) suet
• 150 gram(s) dark muscovado sugar
• 1 teaspoon(s) ground cinnamon
• ¼ ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon(s) baking powder
• 1 lemon(s) (zest and juice)
• 3 medium egg(s)
• 1 medium cooking apple (peeled and grated)
• 2 tablespoon(s) honey
• 125 ml vodka

1. Although I stipulate a capacious 1.7 litre/3 pint basin, and cannot extol the utter gloriousness of this pud too much, I know that you’re unlikely to getthrough most of it, even half of it, at one sitting. But I like the grand, pride instilling size of this, plus it’s wonderful on following days, microwaved in portionsafter or between meals, with leftover Eggnog Cream, or fried in butter and eaten with vanilla ice cream for completely off-the-chart, midnight-munchyfeasts. But it wouldn’t be out of the question – and it would certainly be in the spirit of the season – to make up the entire quantity of mixture, and share between smaller basins – a 2 pint one for you, a 1 pint one to give away. Three hours’ steaming both first and second time around should do it; just keep theone pudding for yourself, and give the other to a friend, after it’s had its first steaming, and is cool, with the steaming instructions for Christmas Day.
2. Put the currants, sultanas and scissored prunes into a bowl with the Pedro Ximénez, swill the bowl a bit, then cover with clingfilm and leave to steep overnight or for up to 1 week.
3. When the fruits have had their steeping time, put a large pan of water on to boil, or heat some water in a conventional steamer, and butter your heatproof plastic pudding basin (or basins), remembering to grease the lid, too.
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine all the remaining pudding ingredients, either in the traditional manner or just any old how; your chosen method of stirring, and who does it, probably won’t affect the outcome of your wishes or your Christmas.
5. Add the steeped fruits, scraping in every last drop of liquor with a rubber spatula, and mix to combine thoroughly, then fold in cola-cleaned coins or heirloom charms. If you are at all frightened about choking-induced fatalities at the table, do leave out the hardware.
6. Scrape and press the mixture into the prepared pudding basin, squish it down and put on the lid. Then wrap with a layer of foil (probably not necessary, but I do it as I once had a lid-popping and water-entering experience when steaming a pudding) so that the basin is watertight, then either put the basin in the pan of boiling water (to come halfway up the basin) or in the top of a lidded steamer (this size of basin happens to fit perfectly in the top of my all-purpose pot) and steam for 5 hours, checking every now and again that the water hasn’t bubbled away.
7. When it’s had its 5 hours, remove gingerly (you don’t want to burn yourself) and, when manageable, unwrap the foil, and put the pudding in its basin somewhere out of the way in the kitchen or, if you’re lucky enough, a larder, until Christmas Day.
8. On the big day, rewrap the pudding (still in its basin) in foil and steam again, this time for 3 hours. Eight hours combined cooking time might seem a faff, but it’s not as if you need to do anything to it in that time.
9. To serve, remove from the pan or steamer, take off the lid, put a plate on top, turn it upside down and give the plastic basin a little squeeze to help unmould the pudding. Then remove the basin – and voilà, the Massively Matriarchal Mono Mammary is revealed. (Did I forget to mention the Freudian lure of the pudding beyond its pagan and Christian heritage?)
10. Put the sprig of holly on top of the dark, mutely gleaming pudding, then heat the vodka in a small pan (I use my diddy copper butter-melting pan) and the minute it’s hot, but before it boils – you don’t want the alcohol to burn off before you attempt to flambé it – turn off the heat, strike a match, stand back and light the pan of vodka, then pour the flaming vodka over the pudding and take it as fast as you safely can to your guests. If it feels less dangerous to you (I am a liability and you might well be wiser not to follow my devil-may-care instructions), pour the hot vodka over the pudding and then light the pudding. In either case, don’t worry if the holly catches alight; I have never known it to be anything but singed.
11. Serve with the Eggnog Cream, which you can easily make - it's the work of undemanding moments - while the pudding's steaming.

From Nigella Lawson's website.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Roast duck

25.12.09: Very good recipe. Our 2kg duck was cooked beautifully and really moist on Christmas day 2009. The gravy was very tasty but exceedingly rich. Decided to add a small amount of chicken gravy mix to the gravy to thicken it up. Very tasty. Had it with roast potatoes, roast parsnips, honey glazed carrots (carrots cooked in butter, honey, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper) and Brussels sprouts.

Hugh: "There's a bit of a knack to roasting a duck but it needn't be too anxiety provoking. Better, I think, to embrace the more old-fashioned English notion of a roast duck, with the skin nicely seasoned and crisp and the meat cooked right through. Like pork, duck meat is flavoursome enough to be appetising even when a little overcooked, and the natural covering of fat that you get with a good farmed duck keeps it lubricated. The crispy skin, of course, is priceless."

Ingredients

• 1 large, fresh duck, free range and preferably organic, with neck and giblets
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the giblet stock/gravy:

• The neck and giblets, and wing tips
• 1 small onion
• 1 celery stick
• 1 carrot
• A little oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 small glass of red wine
• ½ teaspoon redcurrant jelly (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/Gas Mark 7. If the duck is tied up, untruss it - i.e. cut the strings and gently pull the legs apart, away from the body. This will help the heat to get at them.

2. Cut off the wing tips (the last bony segment) - there's no meat on them and they will boost the flavour of the giblet stock. Make this first: roughly chop up the neck, heart, gizzard and wing tips, plus the onion, carrot and celery. Fry these over a fair heat in a little oil until the meat is nicely browned and the vegetables slightly caramelised. Transfer to a saucepan with the bay leaf, cover with water (about 600ml) and bring to a simmer. Leave at a gentle simmer for about 1¾ hours - i.e. the time it takes to cook the duck.

3. Now tackle the duck. Remove any obvious spare fat from inside the cavity. You can, if you like, turn the duck breast-side down on a board and press hard on the middle of the backbone until you hear a crack, it means that when you turn the bird breast-side up again it sits flatter in the pan, which helps it to cook more evenly.

4. Now, using a needle, prick the skin all over the fatty parts at the breast and where the breast joins the leg. Don't prick deeper than is necessary just to pierce the skin. You want the fat to run, but not the juices from the meat. Season the skin lightly with salt and pepper.

5. Put the bird in a roasting tin. Place into oven for about 20 minutes, so the fat starts to run. Then turn the oven down to 180°C/Gas Mark 4, baste the bird and return to the oven.

6. Baste the duck every 20 minutes or so. Check the bird for doneness after about 1½ hours' total cooking time. Poke a skewer into the thickest part of the leg, close to the breast. When the juices runs clear, the bird is done. Tip the bird to pour any fat or juices out of the cavity into the roasting tin and transfer it to a warmed plate or carving tray.

7. Now fix the gravy. Carefully pour off the fat from the roasting tin into a heatproof bowl or dish, leaving the brown juices in the tin. Deglaze the tin with the red wine, scraping to release any tasty browned morsels. Strain the giblet stock and the deglazed pan juices, into a clean pan and boil hard to reduce them to a rich, syrupy gravy. Taste for seasoning, and add a little redcurrant jelly for sweetness, if you like.

8. To carve the bird for 4 people, slice between the legs and breast, then prise off the whole legs, carefully pulling the thighbone away from the body of the bird. Cut each leg in half at the joint between the thigh and the drumstick. Slice each whole breast from the carcass, with the crispy skin attached, then cut each breast into 5 or 6 thick slices. Offer each guest a few slices of breast, with either a thigh or a drumstick. Serve on warmed plates, with the gravy and some roast vegetables.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Christmas Recipes

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Guardian xmas recipes. Made the cake and pudding- the pudding's tasty but not very rich. Xmas cake was covered with marzipan and icing with apricot glaze under. It was too sweet.

Pam's mincemeat

My friend Pam "The Jam" Corbin's mincemeat is the best I've ever tasted. Makes four 450g jars.

1kg plums, halved and stoned
Finely grated zest and juice of 2-3 oranges (you need 200ml juice)
500g russet apples, peeled, cored and chopped into 1cm cubes
200g currants
200g raisins
200g sultanas
100g orange marmalade
250g demerara sugar
½ tsp ground cloves
2 tsp ground ginger
½ nutmeg, grated
50ml ginger wine or cordial (optional)
100g chopped walnuts
50ml brandy or sloe gin

Put the plums and orange juice in a pan, cook gently for 15 minutes, until tender, then purée. Pour into a bowl with all the other ingredients except the alcohol, mix, cover and leave to stand for 12 hours.

Preheat the oven to 110C/225F/gas mark ½. Put the mincemeat in a large baking dish and bake for two to two and a half hours. Stir in the booze, spoon into sterilised jars, seal and store in a dry, dark, cool place until Christmas. Use within 12 months.

Granny Jane's Christmas pudding

Adapted from Rosemary Hume by my mum, who says, "Don't skimp on the boiling; it's what makes it good and dark." Makes two (keep one for 2010).

900g dried vine fruits
200ml brandy, plus more for flaming
110g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2½ tsp mixed spice
1 tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground cinnamon
170g suet
170g light muscovado sugar
55g flaked almonds
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp marmalade
225g fresh white breadcrumbs
4 eggs
300ml ale or stout
Butter, for greasing

Put the fruit in a bowl with 100ml of brandy, cover and leave overnight.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and spices, then stir in the suet, fruit, sugar, almonds, lemon, marmalade and breadcrumbs. Beat the eggs, then stir in, along with the ale.

Butter two one-litre pudding basins, fill with cake mix and cover with a layer each of greased paper and foil, both pleated in the middle to allow for expansion. Secure with string. Put a metal jam-jar lid or tart tin in the bottom of a large pan, put the basins on top and pour in boiling water to come a third of the way up the sides. Cover, simmer gently for six hours (top up the water as necessary), then remove from the heat and set aside to cool. When cold, remove the paper and foil, poke holes in the top of the puds and pour over the brandy. Tightly wrap in clingfilm and store in a cool, dry place. On Christmas Day, press foil-wrapped 20p coins and one £1 coin into the pud, wrap in a double layer of clingfilm, and simmer for two to three hours. Turn out, flame with warmed brandy and serve with apple brandy butter (150g soft butter, 50g soft icing sugar and a splosh of apple brandy beaten until smooth).

Christmas cake

If you have time, cover in marzipan and icing instead. Makes one cake.

200g sultanas
200g currants
150g dried apricots, finely diced
150g prunes, diced
150g raisins
60g candied peel
60g dried cherries or cranberries
Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
Grated zest of 1 lemon
200ml Somerset apple brandy
110g hazelnuts, roasted, papery skins removed and roughly chopped
200g unsalted butter
100g light muscovado sugar
80g dark muscovado sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
250g plain flour
1 heaped tsp mixed spice
¼ of a nutmeg, grated
¼ tsp salt
90g stem ginger, finely chopped

To decorate
300g whole dried fruits, such as figs, apricots, apple slices, cherries
120g nuts, such as hazelnuts, walnuts, Brazil nuts, almonds
150g warm apricot jam, strained

Put the first nine ingredients in a bowl, add the brandy, stir, cover and leave for 48 hours.

Preheat the oven to 140C/275F/gas mark 1. Grease a round 22-24cm x 9cm, loose-bottomed cake tin, and line with parchment to come 4cm above the sides. Pulse half the hazelnuts until very fine, add a quarter of the boozy fruit and blend to a thick purée. Beat the butter and sugars till fluffy, then beat in the eggs one by one (if it begins to curdle, add a little flour). Sieve the flour, spices and salt, then stir gently into the batter. Fold in the purée, nuts, soaked fruit and ginger, spoon into the tin, smooth and bake for two to two and a quarter hours, until a skewer comes out clean. (If it browns before it's done, cover with parchment.) Leave to cool in the tin, then remove and wrap in a double layer of foil. Store in a cool, dry place, feeding it with a slug of brandy every two weeks.

A day or so before the big day, brush with warm apricot glaze, lay the fruit and nuts on top, and glaze again. Store in an airtight container.