It's Stir-up Sunday tomorrow, the traditional pud-making day, so we called in an expert.
The secret to a perfect pudding is all in the fruit, explains Paul Gray, who is master cake-maker at Bettys, the famous bakery and tea shop in Harrogate, Yorkshire.
'Don't use dried sultanas you've found at the back of the cupboard,' he says. 'Buy the freshest and best quality fruit you can afford.'
Proof is in the pudding: The secret to a vibrant Christmas pudding is adding the freshest, best-quality dried fruit
He should know - he's made millions of cakes during his 20 years at Bettys. Today, I'm at their equally famous cookery school making my own Christmas pudding, along with other festive treats.
We start the pudding at 10am - although the kitchen fairies have soaked the fruit in brandy overnight for us. Along the way we learn many tips, such as always juicing and zesting fruit that is at room temperature - this give you double the amount.
Likewise, eggs should always be room temperature to prevent curdling (it's the change in temperature that causes it).
The day is a revelation, accompanied by friendly banter, good company and delicious treats for snacking - plus, you get to take home all your Christmas cooking.
After five hours of steaming, the pudding is ready to cool and then be put away for at least four weeks (longer if possible) to mature before the big lunch.
Christmas pudding perfected in just one day - what could be easier? Well, cheating and buying a Bettys pudding (www.bettysbypost.com, tel: 0845 345636), if you really must ask.
Makes 1 pudding, serves 6-8 people
INGREDIENTS
230g (8oz) raisins
50g (1 1/4oz) currants
75g (2 1/2oz) sultanas
50g (1 3/4oz) glace cherries
15g (1/2oz) flaked almonds
100ml (3 1/2fl oz) brandy
Zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon
Freshly squeezed juice of 1/2 orange and 1/2 lemon
50g (1 3/4oz) vegetable suet
30g (1oz) wholemeal breadcrumbs
50g (1 3/4oz) plain white flour
90g (3oz) light brown sugar
2g (1/2tsp) mixed spice
1g (1/4tsp) each of ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon, ground cloves
5g (1tsp) salt
2 medium eggs, beaten
METHOD
The day before, place all the dried fruits and flaked almonds in a bowl. Pour over the brandy and add the lemon and orange zest and juice. Mix together lightly. Cover with clingfilm and leave overnight.
Put all the remaining ingredients and the pre-soaked fruit in a large mixing bowl. Mix lightly with a wooden spoon, so as not to break up the fruit. Place a small disc of baking parchment in the base of a 1 1/2pt pudding basin and then fill it with the mixture. Smooth the top down evenly. Place another, larger disc of parchment on top. Cover the basin with foil and seal tightly.
Stand the filled pudding basin on a strip of foil long enough to make a handle (to help you lift the pudding out of the pan once it is steamed). Place the basin on top of a trivet in a deep-sided pan. Pour hot water into the pan, so it comes halfway up the pudding basin. Place a lid on the pan and bring back to the boil. Lower the heat and keep the water at a steady simmer. Steam the pudding for 5 hours. Check the level of water in the saucepan during cooking and top up if necessary.
Remove the pudding from the pan and allow it to cool completely. Remove the foil. Wrap the pudding basin in a piece of greaseproof and a layer of foil. Store in a cool, dark place for at least 1 month to mature. The longer the better.
On Christmas Day, steam the pud for 2 hours in a pan of water, as before. Warm some brandy in a ladle until it ignites and pour over the pudding to flambe.
The one-day Christmas cakes and pudding course costs £160, www.bettyscookeryschool.co.uk.
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It was customary to hide a number of small trinkets in the mixture, a bit like the twelfth night cake. These charms often included a silver coin which signified wealth, and a ring to represent a future marriage. Woe betide the guest who stumbled across a thimble in their serving…
The pudding should be stirred from east to west, in honour of the Magi (Wise Men) who came from the east to visit the baby Jesus. It's also a good excuse to enjoy a wee dram or a cup of festive mulled wine! On Christmas Day the pudding has its own ritual.
After you have steamed and cooled your pudding, replace the foil with a freshly buttered piece to keep it moist and store in a cool, dark place, or the fridge, until you are ready to reheat it on Christmas day.
According to experts, the secret to Christmas pudding perfection is to heat it to precisely 71 °C. If it gets hotter than 89 °C, the sugars within the fruits in the pudding start to caramelise. So no matter how luxurious its ingredients are, your precious pud will taste bitter.
By the mid-1600s, plum pudding was sufficiently associated with Christmas that when Oliver Cromwell came to power in 1647 he had it banned, along with Yule logs, carol-singing and nativity scenes. To Cromwell and his Puritan associates, such merry-making smacked of Druidic paganism and Roman Catholic idolatry.
Superstitions say that Christmas pudding must be prepared with 13 ingredients, which are said to represent Jesus and his twelve disciples. It is also said that the mixture should be stirred in turn from east to west, by each family member, to honour the disciples' journey.
Ideally we would suggest that when the pudding is made it is steamed for 8 hours (the combined time of the first and second steamings) as the steaming is important for the flavour of the pudding. The pudding can then be microwaved to reheat it on Christmas Day.
It is key that every member of the family gives the pudding mixture a stir and makes a wish at the same time. Traditionally, a silver sixpence was stirred in to bring whoever found the coin on Christmas Day wealth and good luck in the year to come.
Make sure the base of the pudding bowl is not in direct contact with the base of the pan. -Add enough water to reach halfway up the sides of the pudding bowl. -Cover the pan tightly with the lid. Steam the pudding according to the recipe instructions.
Can you over-steam a Christmas pudding? While the pudding won't dry out if it's steamed for too long, some of the ingredients inside may be spoiled by being overcooked.
The basin is wrapped in a layer of foil to help prevent the lid from popping off during steaming. This should keep the pudding watertight, but if the water in the pan boils too hard then it can still seep into the pudding basin.
If the pudding is in a warm and humid environment (such as a steamy kitchen) then there is a risk that some mould will develop on the pudding. If you live in a warm or humid climate then it may be better to store the pudding in the fridge or to freeze it.
The pudding is ready when it's slightly puffed and dark brown. Remove the pudding from the steamer by the handle. Set on a rack until completely cool. Remove the paper, and prick the pudding with a skewer or a fork in several places.
If unrefrigerated then we would suggest no longer than 3 hours. If the battter is refrigerated then up to one day is fine, though let it stand at room temperature for about 45 minutes before steaming so that the pudding batter can come up to room temperature.
A Christmas pudding should have 13 ingredients – that represent Jesus and the 12 disciples. Traditionally, these ingredients include: raisins, currants, suet, brown sugar, breadcrumbs, citron, lemon peel, orange peel, flour, mixed spices, eggs, milk and brandy.
A silver sixpence was placed into the pudding mix and every member of the household gave the mix a stir. Whoever found the sixpence in their own piece of the pudding on Christmas Day would see it as a sign that they would enjoy wealth and good luck in the year to come.
Opened our christmas pudding as I was doing the christmas lunch and noticed it looked a bit odd and there were white marks on which upon closer inspection turned out to be mould .
These charms, among others, are a donkey, a little duck, piggie, belle (a bell), imp and spoon. A special set of plum pudding and cake jewellery for lucky charms includes a swastika (long life), bell (marriage), coin (fortune yours), piggie (good luck), bogey man (be happy) and lucky shoe.
Introduction: My name is Dan Stracke, I am a homely, gleaming, glamorous, inquisitive, homely, gorgeous, light person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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