I never made Christmas pudding over the years because it always seemed to look like a rock when it came out of the oven. It was reminiscent of the sad fruitcakes we see today. THIS one is full of real fruit, moist and delicious. Make it a few days before Christmas so the flavors have a few days to realllly soak into the cake.
Ingredients
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped, dried apricot
1/2 cup chopped, dried cherry
2 cups dark rum
2 cups fresh bread crumbs
1 cup almond flour
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2/3 stick of softened butter
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 cup orange marmalade
1 large egg
1 tsp honey
1/2 cup hard apple cider
Method
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Soak raisins, apricot and cherry in the dark rum for an hour or two. Remove the fruit with a slotted spoon and put in a large bowl (save the rum). Add bread crumbs, flours, brown sugar, butter, allspice and marmalade. In a small bowl, whisk the egg with honey, cider and a half cup of the rum marinade. Pour small bowl into large bowl and stir to combine. Grease a small-ish glass bowl about six inches in width. Add the filling. Cover with parchment and then aluminum foil, tying with kitchen twine if necessary. Put a small rack in a large pot with a couple inches of boiling water in it. Put the bowl on the rack. Cover the pot and place in the oven. Check every 30 minutes to see if it needs more water. Steam in oven for 4 hours and 45 minutes. Be careful removing! If your oven mitt gets the boiling water on it, you will have a nasty burn. Allow to cool and invert onto a plate, brush with the remaining rum until it’s absorbed and leave in bowl and keep in fridge covered for several months, if necessary.
Elizabeth Dougherty has been a food writer for over 10 years, attended culinary school and holds a Bachelor’s degree, Magna Cum Laude in Hospitality, Business and Labor Relations from NYIT. She has been a talk show host of nearly 150 episodes of Food Nation Radio which airs each Saturday afternoon at 4 on WWBA AM820 News and other stations. You can read her articles and hear previous shows on her podcast page on the Food Nation Radio Network website and on Facebook.
