Betty's Christmas Pudding

This is the Pudding my mother made every Christmas, with shillings and all. She tied hers in muslin, however I have found it worked really well in the DineRite 7 litre and double boiler insert.   Please note this does take some time to prepare and cook, so read the recipe carefully to allow enough time otherwise you will be up until 2 am like we were.

Enjoy making this, it's totally worth the effort.

Put all the dried fruit and peel into a basin (dates and prunes chopped finely). Pour over brandy and stir well. Cover and soak several hours or overnight. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add four of the eggs, one at a time, beating each in well. Stir in sifted flour, soda and spices, then add the extra egg. Mix in the breadcrumbs, almonds, soaked fruit plus brandy, and the grated carrot. Stir evenly until mixed . Cover and stand for an hour or two, or store in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours (handy to know if you haven’t had time to cook the pudding).

 Grease your double boiler and place a small circle of baking paper in the bottom. Pack in the pudding mixture then cover with another circle of baking paper to fit the top of the double boiler. Cover with two sheets of foil and tie securely with string, create a small handle for easy lifting later. Lower into the 7 Litre saucepan of boiling water (water should come up ¾ the way up side of the double boiler). Cover pot, simmer pudding for about 5 hours. Cool then store in the refrigerator. Serve with vanilla ice cream and custard. The pudding can be made up to three months before Christmas and kept refrigerated, or made up to one year ahead and frozen.