I opened today's Times and read Heston's My Hidden Orange Christmas Pudding, sadly because of the pay wall I can't link it. Blanching and cooking an orange several times seems rather a guddle, even to an aged BBC Masterchef Finalist but if you are keen, Rose Prince shows you how to make it on this video
Living in the Scottish outback means that I rarely frequent Waitrose, where you could have purchased Heston's pudding and you can still buy Delia's classic Christmas cake with the ingredients individually packaged for you (wee eco footprint sigh). However, I can buy all of the ingredients for this suet free pudding which I have made for years, in the Co-op of the Glens.We try to make it on Stir Up Sunday (the Sunday before Advent) but now that my children are away at boarding school, we often make it later and it still tastes just as good.
All that my delicious pudding needs is some homemade custard made by the only Bird girl.
Makes one large( 3pint ) and two individuals which are ideal for Grandparents.
What to find:
100g chopped cherries
100g chopped apricots
75g crushed Amaretti biscuits
225g wholemeal breadcrumbs
50g chopped almonds
225g sultanas
225g raisins
100g candied peel
1tsp cinnamon
1tsp ground cloves
1tsp mace
1tsp ground nutmeg
2 tbsps marmalade
4 eggs
juice and grated rind lime
juice and grated rind orange
150ml Cointreau
Butter for greasing
What to do:
1.Ask younger children to chop the cherries and apricots (a cutlery knife and chopping board works well).
2.Put the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix well with washed hands.
3. Put the marmalade, eggs, fruit juices and Cointreau in another bowl and mix together.
4.Pour the wet ingredients over the dry, stir well, cover and leave to stand overnight.
5.Butter the pudding basins and spoon in the mixture (the pudding is flourless so you can fill it to almost the top of the basin). Cover with pleated greaseproof paper and secure with string.
6. Put the basin on a trivet (up turned saucer) in a large pan and half fill the pan with boiling water. Cover and bring to the boil and simmer for 6 hours topping up water as required.
7.Allow to cool completely and then re-warp in greaseproof paper and store in a dry place.
Steam for 2 hours before serving.
CopyrightFionaBird2010
I am just as far away from Waitrose as you so I completely understand. All the fuss about Heston's pudding went whooshing over my head. Your pudding recipe is wonderful, however, and all ingredients readily available near Laurel Canyon. Thank you!
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