Advance Preparation:
The day – or up to a week – before, toss together the raisins, cherries, and plums in a small bowl. Pour over the brandy, cover tightly, and allow to macerate until you are ready to mix the pudding.
Directions:
On Stir Up Sunday, lightly butter and flour your pudding basin, and set your pot with a few inches of water to heat on the stove. Set a kettle to boil with additional water.
Toss together the suet, flour, breadcrumbs, and salt in a small mixing bowl.
Grate the quince into a good-size mixing bowl, using a large to medium grater; you are looking for shreds, not mush. Toss the cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and sugar with the shredded quince. Add the raisin mix with all of its liquid, and the candied peel, and stir together.
Toss the flour and suet mixture into the fruit, half at a time, until evenly distributed.
Stir in the porter, and then the eggs, one at a time.
This is the traditional point at which each member of the family gives the pudding a stir and makes a wish. If you have a large family, be careful not to over mix. The batter will be very thick and look perhaps rather unpleasant. But it will smell wonderful; it is the fragrance of Christmas Yet To Come.
Place a small circle of wax paper to cover the bottom of the pudding basin. Spoon the batter into the pudding basin, smooth down the top, and cover with another round of parchment or waxed paper cut just to cover the batter surface.
This part is far more complicated to describe than it is to do: To cover the pudding basin, cut another piece of wax paper, large enough to cover the pudding basin and extend several inches down the side, and a piece of foil the same size. Lay the foil on top of the wax paper, and fold them together in the center with a pleat of about a half-inch width; think of this as the expansion joint for when the pudding is steaming. Lay this lid over the pudding, foil side up, and smooth it down over the basin, keeping the pleat folded. Using a very long piece of kitchen twine, tie this lid to the basin just under the “lip” on the side of the basin. Tie tightly, as this will protect the pudding batter from boiling water and steam. If you wish, loop up the ends of the twine to make a handle.
Place a trivet in the bottom of your pot of boiling water, put the filled and sealed pudding basin on top of that, and top up with water from the kettle so the water comes about half-way up the side of the basin, but below the lid. Cover the pot and steam for about four hours. Check occasionally to be certain there is plenty of water. Top up with boiling water from the kettle as needed.
After four hours, lift the pudding basin from the pot, and place it on a rack to cool for about a half hour.
Once it has cooled a bit, loosen the lid, move aside the parchment round, and dab or dribble about a tablespoon of brandy over the top of the pudding. Replace the parchment and lid, and store in a cool place.
Every few days until Christmas, open up the pudding and dab on another tablespoon of brandy, resealing after.
Serving:
On Christmas, place the pudding back in the steamer, being certain the lid is tied on tightly, and again steam as above for three hours, until the pudding is hot through.
Remove the lid and parchment from the basin, dry the basin, place your flame-proof serving plate upside-down on the top, then invert to unmold the pudding. Remove the small piece of paper from the now-top.
Warm a couple of tablespoons of brandy, pour over the pudding, and — observing every caution — light the pudding with a long match, then carry it flaming into the dining room. When the flames have died down, place a sprig of holly on top, then slice and serve, with a hard sauce if you wish. Do not light yourself, the furniture, or any family or friends on fire.
Variations:
Reading the Notes below, you will see that you can vary the dried fruits and liquor to make the recipe your own. We use dried cherries and plums to add a depth of flavor, and candied orange peel blends well with these and the somewhat sharp character of Spanish brandy. The stout adds a dark layer. If you, for example, use dates or dried apricots, you might then instead use candied lemon peel to add a certain brightness, and bourbon to cut their sweetness. Whatever combination you use, consider how all the flavors will blend together.
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