Get stirred up for Christmas

Be all ready for Stir-up Sunday with a traditional recipe for Christmas pudding from top Scottish chef Carina Contini, writes

If you think the countdown to Christmas is suddenly speeding up, there is absolute proof of that as Stir-Up Sunday is tomorrow!

Traditionally it’s the last Sunday before Advent begins and the day to make your Christmas pudding – the rich, fruit-laden dessert that, when made in advance, will mature building up flavour and density to become a decadent treat.

It’s believed to date back as far as the 14th Century to a “frumenty” porridge made with beef, mutton, dried fruits, wine and spices, which evolved into a plum pudding that incorporated breadcrumbs and eggs, beer and spirits.

It’s thought to have been banned as a Christmas dessert (along with festive feasting generally) around 1650 by the Puritans who saw it as far too great an indulgence. Legend has it that it was brought back in the early 1700s by King George I who requested plum pudding at Christmas, becoming firmly established in its present-day form by Victorian times.