Help needed re Chrsitmas Puds!

I use my MiL's recipe handed down from her grandmother who was a cook in some big house somewhere. It's been sized down by eight but still makes four big puds. One for Christmas, one for Easter, one to eat with ice cream during the summer and one for next Christmas - and that's the best one. This year I shall be making my puds around Feb/March time!

I have to say the pressure cooker made the best ones - really dark and moist - but the pressure cooker died a few years ago and hasn't been replaced, so it's quite a marathon now. Perhaps I should look at a new one in the sales.

Good.

Bet they will be lovely.

Well - they look good and smell good so hopefully will taste good on the day - Annie

When I do make Christmas puddings, I use a Fanny Craddock recipe that can be made as late as 4 days before Christmas and is really tasty. It takes 6 hours to boil first time and then 4 hours on the day you serve it. I used to take orders for it but haven't made it for a while.

Frannygranny A Tunis cake is a plain cake made a bit like madeira cake with ground almonds and butter. It has a layer of chocolate on top and then a little decoration of piped butter cream and often marzipan fruits. McVities used to do one, not sure if they still do. My Mum always made on at Christmas and I have carried on the tradition. Although , in our family it is know as Nannys' TUNA cake as that's what our three girls though it was called when they were small.

I won my Christmas pudding in raffle - sorted!

ginny what is a Tunis cake? I've never heard of it.

I use an old Women's weekly recipe. So old it only has imperial measurements but it has never failed me. The mixture makes two good sized puddings and I only have to make them every second year as they mature beautifully over the year. Might be something to do with the amount of Brandy I keep pouring in!! I also try and make them in October to give them time to mature. I also use a macrame type string bag to boil them in, I think I bought them in Lakeland but I have had them for many years now. Looking forward to Christmas 2014 for the extra matured one. Good luck pinkannie I'm sure you'll love it.

Always make mine . I steam it in a steamer with a timer and just top up the water each time the timer pings. I have also done it in a slow cooker. The longer you steam it the more the flavour and the lovely dark colour develops. Wouldn't trust myself to microwave it. To those who can't believe that any one makes their own, it is so easy. All ingredients in a bowl, mix and cover then steam. I also make my own Christmas cake, mince pies , sausage rolls, stuffing, Tunis cake, chocolate log and shortbread. To be honest none of them take very long and they taste so much better.

Thanks Aka - sounds good - ingredients are much the same as Delia's but less time on cooking!

Reheating them takes about 45 mins - but cooking them beforehand takes longer, though not nearly as long as boiling the boogers on the stove (that dates me!) I'm used to the pressure cooker - the modern ones are much easier to use I couldn't be without mine - I use it to make chicken soup, bolognese sauces etc as well as Christmas pud

Aka! You use grams?! Horrible things. Can't do 'em. Recipe sounds good though.

I always cooked mine in a pressure cooker before I started using the microwave. It took about 45 minutes.

try this link Pinkannie

They are not really scary so long as you remember to actually put water in them, as you would if you were steaming stuff in a pan. You can't get steam without water, you just get burnt food.

Like the microwave version!

Rowantree, pressure cookers sound really scary!

Aka - How do I find your recipe? Maybe next year!!!
Annie

For anyone interested I've put my recipe in recipe section under Aka's Microwavable Christmas Pudding. We don't like stodgy pudding and this is a family favourite. Be warned it makes loads, so you might want to tweak the ingredients and just make a half or a third.

I love making my Christmas pudding. I do it every year - usually Delia's recipe. I then put it into a boilable plastic bowl, cover with greaseproof and foil and a muslin happy (Yes, honestly...!) tied at the top for a handle (to hoik it out again). I then cook it in the pressure cooker - half an hour steaming, then about 3 hours at high pressure. I'm used to the beast so it works well for me. HOWEVER....I'm ashamed to add that this year, first time ever, I forgot about it and allowed it to boil dry - disaster with the pressure cooker! The bowl melted and I had to chuck the pud and bowl into the bin Made another, kept an eye on it and it worked a treat. Makes a rich, dark, fruity pud which keeps really well

Bit! Not "butt"

#kindle fire

It's not Xmas if you don't suffer a butt in the run up.

Maybe next year!

I've got Heston's orange ball thing in the cupboard.

I'm obviously not a domestic goddess

From scratch? !!

Go on! It's not to late.