Grandmas Christmas Pudding Recipes

HISTORICAL RECIPE: CHRISTMAS PUDDING

Steps:

• Cream butter and brown sugar until smooth. Add in raisins, carrot, potato and egg. Stir in flour and baking soda.
• Grease 2 small glass bowls or one large bowl. Fill with pudding. Leave about an inch between the top of the pudding and the top of the bowl to give it room to rise.
• Cover the bowl with a piece of parchment, followed by a piece of tin foil, secured with string. My grandmother used a clean piece of muslin instead of the parchment.
• The pudding can be steamed in a double boiler, or you can place the pudding in a large pot, placing the pudding bowl on a small ramekin or mason jar ring to keep it off the bottom of the pot. Pour water in the bottom to no more than 1/3 of the way up the sides of the bowl.
• Steam the pudding for 2 - 3 hours, or until a toothpick comes out clean. My small puddings are usually done at 2 hours, with a large pudding taking the full three. Add additional hot water to your pot as necessary to keep your pot from boiling dry.
• Turn the pudding out onto a plate and serve hot with brown sugar sauce.
• Brown Sugar Sauce Instructions
• Melt butter in a saucepan. Whisk in brown sugar and continue to stir constantly until boiling. Boil for two minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in milk and vanilla. Return to the heat and stir constantly until the mixture once again comes to the boil. Thin with more milk or cream if necessary. Serve warm.

GRANNY MARTIN'S CHRISTMAS PUDDINGS

Steps:

• Soak the sultanas, currants, figs, mixed peel, cherries and the apricots in the brandy in a bowl overnight if possible or for at least a few hrs (if you don't have time for this, place the fruit in a microwaveable bowl with the brandy and give it a quick blast in the microwave to plump up). In a larger bowl, mix the ginger and syrup, apples, orange juice and zest, eggs, suet, crumbs, sugar and flour. Using your fingers or a wooden spoon, mix in the soaked fruit and mixed spice.
• Butter 2 x 1.5-litre pudding basins and divide the mixture between them, filling almost to the rim. Smooth the tops and cover with 2 circles of greaseproof paper. Cover each pudding with a sheet of foil with a folded pleat down the centre, to allow the pudding to expand, and secure everything by tying it tightly with some string. Stand the puddings in a deep, large pan (or 2 if that's easier) on trivets or upturned saucers and pour boiling water around so it comes about a third of the way up. Cover the pan and steam the puddings for 5 hrs, topping up with more boiling water when necessary.
• Let the puddings cool down before removing the foil and greaseproof paper, then cover with cling film over the top and store in a cool, dry place if you aren't using them straight away. This is the time you can drizzle them with more booze in the run-up to Christmas if you have time. To reheat, steam the pudding for 1 hr more before turning out and flaming with hot brandy.

GRANDMA'S CORN PUDDING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 Degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a 2 quart casserole dish.
• In a large bowl, lightly beat eggs. Add melted butter, sugar, and milk. Whisk in cornstarch. Stir in corn and creamed corn. Blend well. Pour mixture into prepared casserole dish.
• Bake for 1 hour.

GRANDMA'S CHRISTMAS PUDDING

Steps:

• Combine the raisins, almonds, citron, apples, and brandy in a bowl, and allow to sit overnight.
• The next day, preheat oven to 300°F.
• Butter a 2-qt. pudding mold (or souffle dish).
• Combine the fruit mixture with the remaining ingredients, one at a time. Mix well, and turn into pudding mold and cover tightly with parchment paper secured with cotton string.
• Place a large roasting pan in oven on center rack. Place mold in pan and fill roasting pan with boiling water, halfway up sides of mold. Steam 7 to 8 hours, adding more water if necessary.
• To serve, loosen the side of the pudding with a knife and invert onto a serving platter.
• Serve warm, with your favorite hard sauce. (There are several variations posted here on Zaar).

GRANDMA'S BANANA PUDDING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Line the bottom of a baking dish with some wafers. Combine sugar, flour, and salt in a bowl.
• Beat yolks in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add flour mixture alternately with milk and vanilla extract, stirring constantly. Bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add butter; continue stirring until thickened to a pudding-like consistency, 5 to 7 minutes more.
• Layer a portion of banana slices over the wafers and cover with pudding. Repeat layers with remaining bananas, wafers, and pudding.
• Beat egg whites in a glass, metal, or ceramic bowl, gradually adding cream of tartar, until soft peaks form. Add sugar and continue beating on high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold in vanilla extract. Spoon meringue over the pudding.
• Bake in the preheated oven until meringue browns, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool before serving.