STEAMED PANETTONE PUDDING WITH ELIZA ACTON'S GOT PUNCH SAUCE

PANETTONE is an Italian fruit bread that’s sold in the UK mostly in the autumn and around Christmas time in beautifully designed boxes with carrying ribbons. If you would like a light but quite delectable alternative to Christmas pudding, this is it. I’ve tried making it in advance, freezing and then re-heating it, and it works beautifully. But don’t confine it to Christmas, as it’s a truly great steamed pudding to serve at any time, especially with Victorian writer Eliza Acton’s extremely alcoholic citrus sauce. Serves 8

For the steamed panettone puddings

300g (10½oz) panettone

175g (6oz) dried mixed fruit

3 tbsp rum

50g (1¾oz) whole candied peel, finely chopped

50g (1¾oz) toasted, flaked almonds

Grated zest of 1 orange

Grated zest of 2 lemons

50g (1¾oz) molasses sugar

275ml (9½fl oz) milk

150ml (5fl oz) double cream

3 large eggs

For Eliza Acton’s hot punch sauce

1 1 lemonlarge navel orange

110g (4oz) caster sugar

25g (1oz) plain flour

50g (1¾oz) unsalted butter, softened

2 tbsp rum

2 tbsp brandy

175ml (6fl oz) medium sherry You will need: either a double pan-steamer or a large saucepan with a fan steamer and a tight-fitting lid, eight 175ml (6fl oz) pudding basins, well buttered, eight elastic bands, plus some foil or a 1.2litre (2pt) pudding basin, well buttered, some foil and string You need to begin this by soaking the dried mixed fruit in the rum overnight.

The next day, cut the panettone into 2.5cm (1in) chunks and place them in a large mixing bowl, along with the candied peel, flaked almonds, orange and lemon zests and the soaked, dried mixed fruit, plus any drops of rum that didn’t get soaked up. Now give it all a really good stir to distribute everything evenly.

Then, in another bowl, whisk together the sugar, milk, cream and eggs and pour this all over the panettone, giving everything another good mix. Now pour the mixture into the buttered pudding basins and press everything down to pack it into each one.

Cover the tops with a small double square of foil and secure them with an elastic band. Now, boil a kettle and pour the boiling water into the saucepan, about half full, place it on a medium heat and when it comes back to the boil, fit the steamer over the top.

Now stack the puddings into the steamer, put the lid on and steam the puddings for exactly 30 minutes (two hours for a large pudding). Check the level of the water in the saucepan and, if necessary, top up with boiling water from time to time.

Meanwhile, make the hot punch sauce. First, prepare the orange and lemon zests, and to do this it’s best to use a potato peeler and pare off the outer zest, leaving the white pith behind. What you need is four strips of each zest measuring approximately 5 x 2.5 cm (2in x 1in).

Then, using a sharp knife, cut the strips into very thin, needle-like shreds. Now pop these into a medium- sized saucepan with the sugar and 275ml (9½ fl oz) water, bring everything up to a slow simmer and keep it simmering as gently as possible for 15 minutes.

While that is happening, squeeze the juice from the orange and the lemon and, in a separate bowl, mix the flour and butter together to form a paste.

When the 15 minutes are up, add the orange and lemon juice to the saucepan, along with the rum, brandy and sherry, and bring it all back up to a gentle simmer.

Now add the paste to the liquid in small peanut-sized pieces, whisking as you add them, until they have dissolved and the sauce has thickened.

Serve the sauce hot in a warmed serving jug. If you make the sauce in advance, reheat it gently without boiling.

To serve the puddings, remove them from the steamer using tongs, then take off the elastic bands and foil and let them stand for five to ten minutes, then slide a palette knife all around each one to loosen them and turn them out on to warmed plates.

Pour some of the hot punch sauce over the puddings and carry to the table, with the rest of the sauce to hand round separately.