CHRISTMAS PUDDING
Serves 10–12 70cm square of unbleached calico* 375g mixed dried fruit 180g raisins, roughly chopped if large 180g sultanas 30g crystallised ginger, chopped ¼ cup rum 1½ cups plain flour ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda 1 teaspoon cream of tartar 250g butter, softened 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla essence 4 large eggs 1 cup dried (packaged) breadcrumbs extra ⅓ cup plain flour, for dusting vanilla custard, to serve
Place calico in a saucepan of boiling water and boil for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, combine mixed dried fruit, raisins, sultanas, ginger and rum in a medium bowl. Set aside. Sift flour, bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar together into a bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar and vanilla for about 5 minutes or until pale and creamy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition until combined. Add flour mixture and beat until well combined. Add breadcrumbs and dried fruit, and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined. Set aside. Using tongs, remove calico from boiling water. Wearing rubber gloves to protect your hands, squeeze excess water from calico. Lay calico square on a clean work surface. Place extra flour in centre of calico. Rub with your hand in a circular motion to spread a thin layer of flour over cloth, about 50cm in diameter. Spoon pudding mixture into centre of floured calico. Gather calico together at top to enclose pudding mixture, then tie tightly with wet kitchen string close to pudding mixture. Bring a large saucepan of water to boil. Place a heatproof plate on base of pan. Lower pudding onto plate, so boiling water covers pudding. Cover with a lid and gently boil for 4 hours, topping up water with boiling water from kettle, if necessary. Carefully transfer pudding to a colander and set aside for 5 minutes to drain. Place pudding on a wooden board, remove string and gently peel off calico. Transfer pudding to a serving plate and serve warm with custard. *If calico is new, soak in a bowl of cold water overnight. NOTE This Christmas pudding will develop a richer flavour over time. To store, cook the pudding according to the instructions above. Immediately hang the pudding (in the calico) in an airy, sunny place for 2–3 days or until the calico is dry. Loosely wrap the pudding, in its calico cloth, in a clean, dry tea towel and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 months, changing the tea towel weekly. To reheat, remove the pudding from the refrigerator the night before serving. Boil, according to the instructions above, for 2 hours.