The holiday season is here and whichever way you choose to celebrate, it’s that time once again to rejoice and revisit those time-honored practices we call tradition. My own thoughts turn to Christmas. Of Christmas now and of Christmases past. And of course they turn to the food (what else?) as I eagerly revive those customs from my Bohemian culture that have been passed down in my family from generation to generation.
This year, though I ardently adhere to those customs, it has become a tradition in its own right for me to deviate just a little and to add to the menu at least one item that has not been included in any previous celebration. My aberration for this year’s feast is one that has been on my mind for weeks, and there’s still ample time to whip up a truly impressive “plum pudding.”
Plum pudding, sometimes called Christmas pudding, is a specialty of English cookery that, strange as it may be, does not contain any plums. There are numerous versions of this classic steamed dessert, some of which include a staggering array of ingredients. This is much a simpler and delicious version, adapted from a recipe by Peggy Ryan, my colleague and chef of the Fine Dining Room at Kendall College. The essential ingredient that contributes so much goodness to the pudding is the beef suet, which you can order from your butcher.
Plum pudding develops its full flavor if made a week ahead, and is often made up to a year in advance. Store the cooled pudding in its container in the refrigerator then re-steam it. You can (but do not!) substitute butter for the suet.
Yields one pudding – serves eight
1 1/3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
teaspoon salt
cup sugar
1 cup dried currants
cup unsulphured molasses
cup ground suet
1 egg
cup milk
In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, salt & sugar
In a separate bowl, beat the molasses, ground suet, egg and milk until well mixed
Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well with a fork until all is completely moistened
Pout the mixture into a well-greased 2-quart stainless steel bowl or pudding mold if you have one
Cover the bowl with buttered parchment paper, then cover again with a sheet of tin foil, turning the edges down and pressing the foil tightly around the sides to secure it
Place the bowl on a rack or trivet on the bottom of a large kettle big enough to fit the bowl
Add water to come a third of the way up the sides of the bowl
Cover the kettle with a tight-fitting lid, bring to a boil, then lower the heat to low and steam the pudding for 3 hours
Cool for 15 minutes and store in the refrigerator
2 hours before serving, resteam the pudding and unmold it onto a platter
Serve with a dollop of Hard Sauce.
Hard Sauce
cup butter
11/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon brandy (optional)
Cream the butter in a mixer or food
processor
Blend in the sugar, vanilla and brandy
Serve over the warm pudding