Stir up Sunday is on 29 November this year so plenty of time for you to get all the ingredients and Florame organic essential oils you need to make an unforgettable Christmas pudding. The organic cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon, tangerine and sweet orange essential oils serve to really lift the flavours and aroma of the pudding, creating an aromatic, zingy bite! The frankincense and myrrh essential oils help to create a rich, spicy undertone.
The below Christmas pudding is very traditional but to be honest I’m not that keen on a lot of the ingredients so I’ve added in my own preferred alternatives in brackets – and you should do the same. This is a great recipe for adding your own special twist!
For example I really like lots of nuts so I’ve added a few more in and I dislike raisins so I’ve suggested chopped dates as an alternative.
If you’d like to make a vegetarian Christmas pudding then substitute the traditional suet with vegetarian suet or with butte or margarine. If you want to make a vegan Christmas pudding use the vegetable suet and you’ll need to leave out the eggs. The eggs bind everything together so perhaps you could just add more alcohol - but I’m not sure it would have the same effect!
The following recipe makes one large Christmas pudding to serve 8-10 people. However you could divide it into 8 small puddings instead & give to friends & relatives. If you don’t need to make such a large Christmas pudding simple scale back the ingredients.
You should make the pudding the day before you steam it as it needs to settle & the flavours need to merge. The day you steam it, start in the morning because it takes all day.
Equipment
Day 1
Large mixing bowl
Wooden spoon
Sieve
Fork or whisk for beating the eggs
Tablespoon
Measure
Small mixing bowl
Knife
Chopping board
Apple corer & peeler
Grater
Rolling pin (to roughly smash up the nuts)
Day 2
2 pint (1.2lt) greased bowl/basin for steaming
Baking parchment
Foil
String
Large saucepan with steamer
Ingredients
4oz (110g) shredded suet (vegetarian or traditional)
2oz (50g) sifted self raising flour
4oz (110g) white bread crumbs
1 drop of frankincense essential oil
1 drop of myrrh essential oil
1 drop cinnamon essential oil
1 drop nutmeg essential oil
3 drops sweet orange organic essential oil
2 drops lemon organic essential oil
2 drops tangerine organic essential oil
8oz (225g) soft brown sugar
4oz (110g) sultanas (I’d substitute roughly chopped hazelnuts or walnuts)
4oz (110g) raisins (I’d swap for dried chopped organic apricots or grated carrot)
10oz (275g) currants (I’d substitute either chopped Eat Me dates or, if you’ve got dried dates I’d chop them, soak them in rum to soften them up then add them)
1oz (25g) candied peel
1oz (25g) chopped almonds
1 small cooking apple, peeled, cored and chopped finely
Grated zest of half an orange
Grated zest of half a lemon
2tbs dark rum
2.5floz (75ml) barley wine (I prefer ginger wine)
2.5floz (75ml) Guinness/stout (I prefer Kahlua)
2 large eggs preferably organic or free range
To Make
In the large mixing bowl add the suet, sifted flour, breadcrumbs and sugar. Mix these ingredients very thoroughly together, then gradually mix in all the dried fruit, mixed peel and nuts followed by the apple, the grated orange and lemon zests and the essential oils.
The below Christmas pudding is very traditional but to be honest I’m not that keen on a lot of the ingredients so I’ve added in my own preferred alternatives in brackets – and you should do the same. This is a great recipe for adding your own special twist!
For example I really like lots of nuts so I’ve added a few more in and I dislike raisins so I’ve suggested chopped dates as an alternative.
If you’d like to make a vegetarian Christmas pudding then substitute the traditional suet with vegetarian suet or with butte or margarine. If you want to make a vegan Christmas pudding use the vegetable suet and you’ll need to leave out the eggs. The eggs bind everything together so perhaps you could just add more alcohol - but I’m not sure it would have the same effect!
The following recipe makes one large Christmas pudding to serve 8-10 people. However you could divide it into 8 small puddings instead & give to friends & relatives. If you don’t need to make such a large Christmas pudding simple scale back the ingredients.
You should make the pudding the day before you steam it as it needs to settle & the flavours need to merge. The day you steam it, start in the morning because it takes all day.
Equipment
Day 1
Large mixing bowl
Wooden spoon
Sieve
Fork or whisk for beating the eggs
Tablespoon
Measure
Small mixing bowl
Knife
Chopping board
Apple corer & peeler
Grater
Rolling pin (to roughly smash up the nuts)
Day 2
2 pint (1.2lt) greased bowl/basin for steaming
Baking parchment
Foil
String
Large saucepan with steamer
Ingredients
4oz (110g) shredded suet (vegetarian or traditional)
2oz (50g) sifted self raising flour
4oz (110g) white bread crumbs
1 drop of frankincense essential oil
1 drop of myrrh essential oil
1 drop cinnamon essential oil
1 drop nutmeg essential oil
3 drops sweet orange organic essential oil
2 drops lemon organic essential oil
2 drops tangerine organic essential oil
8oz (225g) soft brown sugar
4oz (110g) sultanas (I’d substitute roughly chopped hazelnuts or walnuts)
4oz (110g) raisins (I’d swap for dried chopped organic apricots or grated carrot)
10oz (275g) currants (I’d substitute either chopped Eat Me dates or, if you’ve got dried dates I’d chop them, soak them in rum to soften them up then add them)
1oz (25g) candied peel
1oz (25g) chopped almonds
1 small cooking apple, peeled, cored and chopped finely
Grated zest of half an orange
Grated zest of half a lemon
2tbs dark rum
2.5floz (75ml) barley wine (I prefer ginger wine)
2.5floz (75ml) Guinness/stout (I prefer Kahlua)
2 large eggs preferably organic or free range
To Make
In the large mixing bowl add the suet, sifted flour, breadcrumbs and sugar. Mix these ingredients very thoroughly together, then gradually mix in all the dried fruit, mixed peel and nuts followed by the apple, the grated orange and lemon zests and the essential oils.
In the small bowl add the alcohol then add the eggs and beat these thoroughly together. Pour this over the ingredients in the large bowl & mix thoroughly. At this point, everyone in the family should be invited to have a stir and make a wish. You should also pop a couple of 5p pieces in at this juncture if you so desire. The mixture should have a fairly sloppy consistency – i.e. it should fall instantly from the spoon when tapped on the side of the bowl. If you think it needs a bit more liquid add a spot more stout or Kahlua or whatever. Cover the bowl and leave overnight.
The next day pack the mixture into the greased 2 pint bowl. Cover the whole bowl with a double skin of baking parchment and a single skin of foil & tie together securely with string. Then make a strong string handle on the top for easy retrieval from the steamer. Put the Christmas pudding in the steamer and steam for 8 hours on a low simmer, remembering to top up your saucepan with boiled kettle water every hour or so.
When it’s finished steaming, let the Christmas pudding get completely cold then remove the string, foil and baking parchment and replace with new ones. Store your pudding in a cool dark place until Christmas Day.
On Christmas Day the pudding will take approx 2.5 hrs to cook so don’t forget to put it on at the right time. Again, pop the pudding in the steamer once the water’s boiled, turn the heat down and let it steam for the duration. Remember to check the water ever hour and top up if necessary.
Once steamed, taking of the wrapping, slide a palette knife around the edge and turn the pudding out onto a warmed plate and decorate with whole nuts or holly. To get the brandy to flame as you pour, heat the brandy in a ladle over direct heat. Once the brandy is very hot, light it then pour over the Christmas pudding at the table.
If you’ve decided to divide the mixture into eight small 6oz (175g) Christmas puddings the method is the same but steam for 3 hrs then again for 1 hour on Christmas Day. Use metal ramekins for this.
