Baking A Fruity Pudding

It has been months since Christmas, and yet I never got around to sharing my recipe for a fruity Christmas pudding with all of you. This pudding is filled to the hilt with fruit and is sure to touch the hearts of all the fruit cake lovers out there. It seems intricate, but is actually very easy to make. I show you how in a few simple steps in today's blog.

Chop 200 g dates finely.

Finely chop 200 g raisins.

Add 750 g cherries and 25 g lemon rind.

Combine all of the fruit in a pot.

Add 3 teaspoons (15 ml) bicarbonate of soda as well as 300 ml boiling water. Do not boil the fruit, but simply allow it to sit in the water to soften.

Melt 250 g (250 ml) butter or margarine.

Measure 250 g (280 ml) castor sugar in a large mixing bowl.

Add one egg and 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla essence.

Add the melted butter/margarine and mix thoroughly. (The melted butter should have been allowed to cool before adding, or it will cook the egg).

Add 400 g (700 ml) cake flour and 20 g (20 ml) (4 teaspoons) baking powder to the mixing bowl.

Mix well.

Now add the contents of the pot with the fruit and water and mix well.

Add about 100 g of roughly chopped walnuts. (Replace with any other nuts if walnuts are not available, but walnuts would be my first choice).

Prepare a bunt tin with non-stick spray.

Scoop the mixture evenly into the tin. Bake at 180 °C for 45-60 minutes. The cake is ready when it starts pulling away from the sides and when a skewer comes out clean.

Roughly 10 minutes before the cake is ready to come out, you can start preparing the caramel sauce for it. Measure 100 ml hot water, 95 ml sugar, 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla essence and 50 g (50 ml) butter/margarine in a pot.

Melt the mixture at medium temperature and turn the pot to low. Do not stir after the margarine has melted. Leave on a low temperature and wait for it to caramelize.

Not yet ready, but getting there.

It is ready once it has caramelized. Remove from the heat.

Remove the cake from the tin and allow to cool slightly on a wire rack.

Once you can handle the cake with bare hands, slowly pour the sauce over the cake and allow it to soak into the cake, rather than run off it.

A couple of cherries and walnuts is all that is necessary to finish it. Just before serving, you can pour 30-50 ml brandy over the cake and set it alight to delight your guests, if you like. I serve my pudding with fresh cream that has been whipped up. I add 50 ml icing sugar to 250 ml fresh cream and about 20-30 ml brandy. This makes for a wonderful accompaniment to the pudding!

Marietjie Uys (Miekie) is a published author. You can buy the books here:
You can purchase Designs By Miekie 1 here.

Jy kan Kom Ons Teken en Verf Tuinstories hier koop.
Jy kan Kom Ons Kleur Tuinstories In hier koop.
Jy kan Tuinstories hier koop.
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