It is only a few days until Christmas and the preparation for delicious delicacies have already begun in full swing. From cakes to pies and puddings, there are several sweet treats that are served on the dessert platter on this special day. Celebrated on December 25 every year, Christmas marks the birth of Jesus Christ.
Just like all other festivals, this day is also incomplete without sweetmeats. The plum cake is a quintessential Christmas dessert that one cannot miss. Another classic Christmas dessert is the plum pudding. Did you know that the plum pudding doesn’t contain any plums? The practice was started by the British in the 14th Century when frumenty, as it was called, was a savoury porridge filled with mutton beef, raisins, and currants dipped in alcohol.
Gradually, it turned into a sweet pudding by the 16th Century. It was only in the Victorian era when dried fruits were no longer sparse that plums were replaced by alcohol-soaked dried fruits that looked like plums. These were added to the pudding and, hence, the Christmas-special plum pudding came into being. Here’s a recipe for this decadent pudding by Chef Sidney Dcunha, Executive Chef, Sofitel Mumbai, BKC.
Ingredients:
• 8 cranberries
• 10-12 raisins
• Almond flakes
• Brandy/rum
• Breadcrumbs
• Maida
• Baking powder
• 5-spice powder
• Unsalted butter
• Brown sugar
• 5 eggs
• Black jaggery molasses
• Orange zest
• Lemon zest
• Lemon candied peel
• Orange candied peel
Method:
• Cream the butter along with the brown sugar and gradually add the eggs.
• Take all the dry ingredients and sieve them together.
• Mix all the dry fruits which are soaked with brandy/rum.
• Slowly add the jaggery molasses. Mix all the ingredients together and fold.
• Line a small pudding mould with butter and dust with flour.
• Pour the mixture into the mould and arrange it in one tray along with a water bath. Cover it with silver foil.
• Bake the pudding on very low heat of 100 degrees for 2 hours until well-cooked.
• Serve with creme anglaise.