this newsletter is exactly what I was waiting for, and winter months are the perfect time to immerse yourself in food history and legends and puddings!
Hi! I was thrilled to get this post as I am making Christmas fruitcake, plum pudding, and mince pies for the first time as an adult. Perfect timing! Thanks for all of the info and background -- so interesting! I have a quandary: I just made my first plum pudding and it leeched a lot of suet as it steamed, which has me concerned. I'd wrapped my basin in a kind of foil pocket before placing it in the pot to steam and when I took that foil off, there was as pool of melted fat in the bottom. The pudding itself looks fine, but now that the whole thing has cooled, I can see that the pudding pot has a thin layer of fat on the outside. The proportions (of suet to flour/breadcrumbs) of my recipe are similar to yours above. I just want to be sure something hasn't gone wrong. Is this normal?
What gorgeous puddings! Mine was made a month ago and is safely stored! So lovely to read the history of puddings, I’m going to re-read your book over the next few days. x
Lovely to see you here and what a fabulous post! Love food + love history, so appreciate all of the background to this seasonal offering.
As a non-UK person, I don't really like eating Christmas pudding BUT I do like making it for Brit family members. I make mine vegetarian, for those who follow that diet, and use spiced rum (but I may try adding the stout or some porter for a new twist).
Nigella Lawson's Iced rum sauce is very nice accompaniment - they liked better than the custard (which was unexpected)
Until recently we lived in Brisbane, Queensland. Sub tropical summer weather is really not suited to Christmas pudding so I haven't made one for a long time. Some years ago I stumbled across a recipe for a Sri Lankan Christmas cake and have made I've baked a tweaked version of it ever since. Despite it still being a heavy fruit cake, somehow the mix of ingredients seems better suited to a summer Christmas. It's full of glacé ginger, glacé pineapple and cashews. It's flavoured with cardamom, rose water and lemon and uses semolina instead of flour.
Not so long ago we moved to Tasmania and while we still have a summer Christmas the weather is much better suited to pudding so perhaps there might be one on the table this year.
That cake sounds lush, it reminds me a bit of Jamaican Black Cake which might be an option for you as well in a warm climate! I do like a bit of Christmas pudding with vanilla or milk ice cream though to cool it a bit!
Your newsletter came in at the exact moment I was stirring my own pudding mixtures so I felt very appropriately diligent, best pupil of pudding class 😉
Super glad that you’re slogging through the digital battlefields to provide us with your knowledge. As I’m writing this both my basins are in the slow cooker for the next ten hours. The 25th of December cannot come soon enough!!
What a great read, thank you
Thanks so much Mark!
this newsletter is exactly what I was waiting for, and winter months are the perfect time to immerse yourself in food history and legends and puddings!
Thanks so much Francesca! Have followed yours too now!
Thanks to you, it's a great honour! :)
Hi! I was thrilled to get this post as I am making Christmas fruitcake, plum pudding, and mince pies for the first time as an adult. Perfect timing! Thanks for all of the info and background -- so interesting! I have a quandary: I just made my first plum pudding and it leeched a lot of suet as it steamed, which has me concerned. I'd wrapped my basin in a kind of foil pocket before placing it in the pot to steam and when I took that foil off, there was as pool of melted fat in the bottom. The pudding itself looks fine, but now that the whole thing has cooled, I can see that the pudding pot has a thin layer of fat on the outside. The proportions (of suet to flour/breadcrumbs) of my recipe are similar to yours above. I just want to be sure something hasn't gone wrong. Is this normal?
Sorry I didn't see you comment earlier, this isn't a problem, maybe a little too much suet but just wipe it off when cold!
What gorgeous puddings! Mine was made a month ago and is safely stored! So lovely to read the history of puddings, I’m going to re-read your book over the next few days. x
It's always better to start early! I think I am late because autumn has been so warm up untill now!
Lovely to see you here and what a fabulous post! Love food + love history, so appreciate all of the background to this seasonal offering.
As a non-UK person, I don't really like eating Christmas pudding BUT I do like making it for Brit family members. I make mine vegetarian, for those who follow that diet, and use spiced rum (but I may try adding the stout or some porter for a new twist).
Nigella Lawson's Iced rum sauce is very nice accompaniment - they liked better than the custard (which was unexpected)
Funny that, I know more non-Brits who love Christmas pudding, than Brits! Spiced rum is always a good idea in my book!
What a wonderful read, Regula, as always. I am so enjoying your newsletter and look forward very much to reading more.
Thanks so much for your support Debora!!
Until recently we lived in Brisbane, Queensland. Sub tropical summer weather is really not suited to Christmas pudding so I haven't made one for a long time. Some years ago I stumbled across a recipe for a Sri Lankan Christmas cake and have made I've baked a tweaked version of it ever since. Despite it still being a heavy fruit cake, somehow the mix of ingredients seems better suited to a summer Christmas. It's full of glacé ginger, glacé pineapple and cashews. It's flavoured with cardamom, rose water and lemon and uses semolina instead of flour.
Not so long ago we moved to Tasmania and while we still have a summer Christmas the weather is much better suited to pudding so perhaps there might be one on the table this year.
That cake sounds lush, it reminds me a bit of Jamaican Black Cake which might be an option for you as well in a warm climate! I do like a bit of Christmas pudding with vanilla or milk ice cream though to cool it a bit!
Your newsletter came in at the exact moment I was stirring my own pudding mixtures so I felt very appropriately diligent, best pupil of pudding class 😉
Super glad that you’re slogging through the digital battlefields to provide us with your knowledge. As I’m writing this both my basins are in the slow cooker for the next ten hours. The 25th of December cannot come soon enough!!
So glad to read you were stirring!! And I appreciate you letting me know too, so fun!!