Our Family’s Plum Pudding 1992, 2/2

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

To steam the puddings:  Place each pudding in its own
steaming container on a rack placed over gently
boiling water (see note). Cover each kettle with a
tight-fitting lid and steam puddings - 7 hours for
pudding in a 2-quart mold (6" tall, 7" across the top)
filled 2/3 full; 6 hours for the smaller one.  Check
the water level every hour or so, replenishing with
boiling water as needed.
When the pudding has finished steaming, uncover it and
let it cool. Remove the pudding from the mold, if it
is metal, and sprinkle 2 tb. or so of brandy, sherry,
rum or fruit juice over the pudding.  Wrap it in
clean, unbleached muslin, then wrap it in foil and
store it in the refrigerator to ripen for at least
three weeks.  Open from time to time and sprinkle
judiciously with more liquor - or add it to the
pudding cloth.
When ready to serve, return to the pudding mold and
steam as before for 1 1/2 hours.
To serve: Place hot pudding on a warmed platter.
Place a sprig of holly in the center and decorate
sparingly with candied fruit or angelica. Carefully
warm several tablespoons of brandy, and pour a bit at
the rim of the platter.  Ignite brandy with a
long-stemmed match and carry flaming to the table.
Serve with hard sauce and/or brandy-flavored whipped
cream.
Yield: Each pudding serves 10 or more.  Makes 5 pounds
of pudding or more.
Note: The bottom of the pudding mold should be above
the gently boiling water at all times so that the
pudding is cooked by steam. It may take some ingenuity
to find a way to raise the pudding above the water.
Kluger wrote: "I steamed one pudding in a vegetable
blancher, placing my canning funnel upside down in the
perforated basket and placing the pudding mold on top
of that.  The second 'steamer' was contrived by
placing a flat-bottomed colander upside down in the
bottom of a hot-water-bath kettle. This made a nice
platform for the pudding to stand on - about 2" above
the bottom of the pan.  Allow ample space between the
pudding and the sides of the kettle so the steam can
circulate."
Note: If you want to freeze one of the puddings, cool
it after steaming. Wrap in moisture-vapor-proof
freezer wrap and store at 0 F. for up to 1 year.  When
ready to eat, unwrap and thaw loosely covered in the
refrigerator.  Then return to the pudding mold and
steam as directed above for serving.
To make hard sauce:  Using the small bowl of an
electric mixer, beat the butter until creamy.  Add
confectioners' sugar gradually, beating until mixture
is creamy, about 5 minutes.  Add the brandy.
Press hard sauce through a pastry bag to form
decorative shapes and decorate them with candied red
cherry halves and green fruit peels. (If the mixture
is too soft, place in refrigerator to stiffen.)
From Special Writer Marilyn Kluger's 11/25/92 "A
Dickens of a Delight: Christmas Plum Pudding is a
Holiday Treat Straight from Merry Olde England"
article in "The (Louisville, KY) Courier-Journal."
Pg. C7. Typed for you by Cathy Harned.
From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini

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