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Prep Time
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 For this recipe, you’ll need the Three-In-One Basic Fruit Mix, recipe here. To boil the pudding, you will need a 60cm square of unbleached calico. If the calico has not been used before, soak it in cold water overnight. The next day, boil it for 20 minutes, then rinse in cold water. You will also need 2.5 m of kitchen string. The pudding can also be steamed by following our Expert Chef Tips below.

Prep & Cook: 6 hours 45 mins (+ standing & cooling)  Serves: 10

Ingredients

  • 4¼ cups Three-In-One Basic Fruit Mix (recipe link in description above)
  • 185 g butter, melted
  • 2 eggs, beaten lightly
  • 3 cups lightly packed stale breadcrumbs
  • 1 cup plain flour, plus extra
01.

Place basic fruit mix in a large bowl. Stir in butter, eggs, breadcrumbs and sifted flour.

02.

Fill a boiler three quarters full with hot water; cover bring to the boil

03.

Have ready 2.5m of kitchen string and an extra ¾ cup plain flour. Wearing thick rubber gloves and using tongs, dip prepared pudding cloth into boiling water, boil for 1 min. Remove cloth from water, squeeze excess water from cloth. Working quickly, spread the hot cloth on a bench. Rub the extra flour into centre of the cloth to cover an area of about 40 cm in diameter; leave the flour a little thicker in centre of the cloth where the ‘skin’ on the pudding will need to be thickest.

04.

Place pudding mixture in centre of cloth. Gather the cloth evenly around pudding, avoiding any deep pleats; pat into a round shape. Tie cloth tightly with kitchen string as close to mixture as possible. Knot the corners of cloth together to make pudding easier to remove from the boiler.

05.

Gently lower pudding into the boiling water. Tie the free ends of the strings to handles of the boiler to suspend the pudding. Cover boiler with a tight-fitting lid; boil rapidly for 6 hours. Replenish the boiling water as needed to maintain boil and water level – there must be enough boiling water for the pudding to be immersed at all times.

06.

Untie pudding from the handles. Place handle of a wooden spoon through the knotted string loops to lift the pudding from the water. Don’t put the pudding on the bench: suspend it from the spoon on the rungs of an upturned stool. The pudding must be suspended freely. If the pudding has been cooked correctly, the cloth will start to dry in patches within a few minutes. Hang pudding for 10 minutes.

07.

Place the pudding in a bowl, cut string, gently peel away cloth to uncover about half the pudding. Scrape the “skin” back onto the pudding with a palette knife if necessary. Invert the pudding onto a plate and continue to peel off the cloth completely. Stand the pudding for at least 20 mins or until the “skin” darkness and the pudding becomes firm, before cutting to serve.

CHEF’S TIPS

*STORE IT: Make sure to cool to room temperature first, then wrap in plastic wrap and seal tightly in a freezer bag (or place in an airtight container). Store in the fridge for up to two months or freeze for up to 12 months.

*GET IT READY: Thaw frozen boiled pudding in fridge for three days. Remove from the fridge 12 hours before reheating. Remove the plastic wrap, cover with a non-favoured cloth and tie. Boil for 2 hours, following recipe instructions (opposite). Hang the hot pudding for 10 minutes. Remove cloth; stand for 20 minutes before serving. To reheat a whole boiled Christmas pudding in a microwave, microwave on MEDIUM for 15 mins or until hot.

Recipe & Photo: BauerSyndication.com.au

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