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Irish Christmas Pudding with Hard Sauce

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The longer it sets, the better it gets...that's why now's the time to start putting together the ingredients because as we all know, it'll be Christmas before we know it.

Christmas Pudding is the essence of Christmas in Ireland and no one can ever make it like one's own dear mother, but here's a recipe that's a little bit Connemara and a little bit Kilkenny with a big chunk o' Dublin for the finishing touch!


Christmas Pudding

10 eggs
1 cup white flour
4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons allspice
2 teaspoons nutmeg
4 ounces chopped almond pieces
1 finely grated apple
1 pound packed brown sugar
Rind and juice of an orange and a lemon
3 pounds raisins, use some currants, some yellow, some sultanas. The more variety in fruits, the better the pudding.
8 ounces candied cherries or natural dried cherries
11/2 lbs. stale white bread crumbs
12 ounces candied peel (candied pineapple chunks, citron, mixed peel)
1 pint of Guinness
3 oz. of Irish whiskey, I use Redbreast brand
1 pound minced suet
1 stick of butter

Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Rub the raisins and other fruits with the flour and spices. The flour adheres to the stickiness of the fruits and gives the pudin' a nice even texture. Cut the butter into fine pieces and mix well with the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl mix the liquid ingredients. When the liquids have been well stirred, add them to the bowl with the dry ingredients. Mix all together very well. The batter should be a bit loose, a little thicker than a cake mix. If it’s dry like bread dough, add more Guinness. Granny would grease a big square of unbleached muslin and pour the pudding into this, tying off the top with string. In these modern times, heat-proof bowls are an acceptable substitute for the cloth bag method...and much easier. Line the bowl with parchment paper, fill to within an inch of the top of the bowl. Cover the batter with parchment paper and use a lid for steaming. Sealing the top of the bowl with foil will work if there is no self-lid for the bowl. Fill the pot in which you are steaming the pudding to just below the top of the pudding bowl and gently boil for at least 12 hours. I use the slow cooker for this and it works very well. Depending on the size of the bowls used, you may get about three puddings from this recipe. I triple it and get at least a dozen quart-sized puddings.

When the pudin' has cooled, remove it from the bowl, dribble Irish whiskey over the top of it, letting as much sink in as possible. Seal the pudding in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil.

Let it sit for as long as possible before serving. Occasionally dribble the pudding with a shot of whatever you choose: brandy, whiskey, bourbon, etc.

Traditionally, the pudding was steamed again for an hour before serving. There are two possible methods: Remove the wrapping, return the pudding to the original bowl, and steam again for an hour. Turn it out on a heat-proof serving plate and proceed to the lighting process that follows the Hard Sauce recipe---or---unwrap the pudding, place it on the serving platter, and microwave for 10 minutes at 50 percent power.

Hard Sauce

1 cup butter
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup Irish Whiskey

Soften butter. Beat the butter with an electric mixer until it’s fluffy. Slowly add an equal amount or more of confectioner’s sugar. You will see that the mixture changes texture. Slowly add the Whiskey after this textural change in the sugar/butter blend. Beat further until the mixture becomes light and fluffy. Spoon the hard sauce into serving dishes and chill until firm. When turning the mixture into the serving dish, finish off the top by swirling it into a circular pattern with the bottom of the spoon for a decorative effect.

Garnish everything with Holly in berry if you have it.

To light the Christmas pudding, pour a generous cup of Brandy on top. There’ll be a little puddle on the plate. That should light pretty easily and the blue flames will creep up the sides.

Douse the lights in the dining room to bring in the pudding to the acclaim of all at the table. Don’t be disappointed if the flame is out quickly. That’s how it goes.

Leftover pudding is generally fried in a little butter in a cast-iron pan the next day. Mmm...Mmm...Good!