Royal family falls in for the Christmas pudding effort
Veterans at Buckingham Palace for the Royal British Legion’s Together at Christmas initiative
FOR many families, it is an essential preparation for the festive season, the stirring and mixing of the Christmas pudding before it is put away to mature.
It was no different for the Queen and her family, who were last week photographed mixing four special Christmas puddings in the Music Room at Buckingham Palace.
The puddings were prepared by the Queen, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge and Prince George as centrepieces of a special initiative by the Royal British Legion to help tackle loneliness among veterans at Christmas.
Buckingham Palace released a rare picture of the Queen and her three successors in line to the throne.
The four puddings are among 99 to be distributed across the charity’s network in the UK and the Commonwealth for Christmas 2020, marking the charity’s 99th year.
A new recipe was created for the launch, with the Royal family adding poppy seeds to the mixture, in a nod to the charity’s symbol of Remembrance.
The mixing session was led by Alex Cavaliere, one of the Royal British Legion’s care home chefs and a veteran of the Army Catering Corps, and attended by four veterans – Colin Hughes, Liam Young, Lisa Evans and Barbara Hurman.
Mr Hughes, 71, spent almost 10 years as a Piper with the 1st Battalion Queen’s Own Highlanders in Aberdeen, serving on operations in Northern Ireland. After leaving the military, Colin went to Liverpool University to retrain as a social worker, a job he did for 26 years.
The third generation in his family to serve in the military, Mr Young, 33, served in Iraq and Afghanistan. While on tour in Afghanistan in 2007 he was injured on patrol and suffered longterm complications and was medically discharged from the Army in January 2014. He now works for the USAF as a hazardous cargo inspector.
During her 10-year service, Mrs Evans, now 35, was a movement controller helping to move troops, including injured soldiers and equipment.
Mrs Hurman, 93, is a Second World War veteran who served in the ATS as a sergeant from 1943-1947. At the underground communication centre in
Portsmouth, she would handle messages regarding troop movementss. Following D-Day, she volunteered to go abroad and joined the Central Mediterranean Forces. She was serving in Italy when news of VE Day broke.
Charles Byrne, the Royal British Legion’s director general, said: “The extra support the legion can give, and the camaraderie of our get-togethers can make a big difference to our community’s well-being.”
Ingredients 120g suet 10g crystallised ginger
150g apples 80g mixed peel 120g sultanas 20g prunes 1 orange Half a lemon 60g flour Pinch of salt 2.5g mixed spice
120g currants 120g raisins 80g breadcrumbs
80g brown sugar
10g ground almonds
Pinch of poppy seeds 1 large egg 2.5ml milk 75ml stout 5ml rum 5ml brandy 12.5ml Madeira 12.5ml sherry
Method
Chop the suet and ginger.
Peel, core and finely chop the apples.
Wash and dry the dried fruit. Stone and chop the prunes.
Grate the zest and squeeze juice from orange and lemon.
Sieve together flour, salt and mixed spice. Add other dry ingredients; dried fruit, suet, breadcrumbs, ginger, apple, mixed peel, prunes, brown sugar, ground almonds, poppy seeds, orange and lemon zest.
Make a bay in the centre. Mix the egg with the milk, stout, rum, brandy, Madeira, sherry, orange and lemon juices, and pour into the bay.
Mix together thoroughly, then cover with a cloth and leave in a cool place for 24 hours.
Oil pudding basins and three quarters fill each one with the mixture.
Cover with greaseproof or silicone paper and steam or boil for four hours.
Remove from steamer. If not for immediate use, cover with fresh paper and store in a cool dry place. Later, reboil or steam for a further two hours.
Makes 8-10 portions.