Last Sunday, November 23rd, was Stir Up Sunday.
The final Sunday before the Advent commences on the first Sunday of December.
Stir Up Sunday is traditionally the day to make and steam your Christmas
Puddings. The Book of Common prayer of Church of England has a prayer allotted to
this day:
"Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy
faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works,
may by thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen".
I must admit that this is a quaint tradition I have only
just heard about via ABC 702 Sydney and Christmas is a time of year where
tradition and ages old customs bind many. Do I comply with Stir Up Sunday? No I
do not. Sorry to disappoint, folks J (plus I found the Prayer on Wikipedia).
When making your own Christmas puddings you need to be
mindful of the maturing period to allow flavour and texture to develop. The
maturing period is when the sugars in the fruit and the fat, spices and alcohol
in the pudding ripen to add depth of flavour and colour. In a warm climate such
as Sydney, the Stir Up Sunday date provides an adequate five to six week period
to mature your pudding. In colder Northern Hemisphere climates, the maturing
period can be up to three months.
When maturing your pudding, room temperature is ideal. In
Sydney, I remove the pudding from its damp steaming muslin and leave it on a
rack for a day to dry prior to wrapping in fresh muslin and hanging in an internal
room which is well ventilated but without direct sunlight to prevent
temperature fluctuations. If you get some mould, it is usually yeast growth, is
harmless and can be trimmed prior to reheating. Don’t wrap a pudding in plastic
cling wrap as it needs to breath and don’t wrap it in foil as the acid in the
dried fruit will dissolve the foil leaving a metallic tasting taint. Don’t refrigerate
as this defeats the purpose by stalling the maturing process.
My Christmas Pudding recipe is a lighter version of a recipe
from Farmhouse Cookery, a Readers Digest book on Great British cookery that I
have had for Donkeys years. I have replaced fluoro Glace Cherries fruits, and a
percentage of dried grapes with apricots, cranberries, figs and dates. Tinker
to add your preferred fruits too. Mixed spice is easily prepared in a grinder,
I use a recipe from Christine Mansfield’s Spice book. Its aromatic flavour is
superior to a shop bought mixed spice because the oils are still active and
have not staled. This recipe uses 225g suet, as a vegetarian option substitute
it for 150g coarsely grated butter.
Day One: 225g
currants, 300g sultanas, 50g dried cranberries, diced 100g dried apricots, 200g
dried figs, 200g dates, 1 apple and carrot (coarsely grated), finely grated
zest and juice of 1 lemon and 1 orange. Mix altogether in a bowl with approx
300ml dark stout/ Guinness ( approx ½ pint). Cover and leave this to soak
overnight.
Day Two: Line
three basins with damp muslin, large enough to fold over the top and cover the
puddings, allowing them room to expand. (Wash under the tap, the muslin to
remove any loose fibres).
225g Self raising flour, 225g Suet, 225g fresh white
breadcrumbs, 225g soft dark brown sugar, 1 level teaspoon salt, 4 level teaspoons
mixed spice. Stir these dry ingredients together.
Beat together 6 eggs. Combine with the fruit and dry
ingredients, stirring till thoroughly mixed. Your mix should be a soft dropping
consistency. Add extra stout if needed. Drink what’s left.
Divide between the three bowls and close the muslin over the
top. Wrap the bowls well with glad wrap. Place in a steamer and simmer for
seven hours. (You can reduce the time using a pressure cooker but the raising
will be hindered by the increased pressure, I have an old Fowlers Vacola urn
that holds multiple basins).
Day Three: After
steaming remove puddings from steamer and allow them to cool in the basin. Then
prepare for maturing as in the introduction.
When serving: Steam the pudding for a minimum of two hours.
A tip for flaming brandy or rum when serving: heat the alcohol in a small pan
or ladle before pouring over your hot pudding and ignite with a match.
Bon Appetite!
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