The Old Manor House Traditional Victorian Christmas Pudding

"I discovered this recipe in an old Victorian scrapbook that I bought in a second hand book shop; the original recipe dates back to 1880, and was the prized Christmas Pudding recipe of the Cook at a Manor House in the North of England. I have made it many times and given smaller versions away as gifts to friends - the lovely thing about this pudding is that it IS fruity and boozy, but it is NOT heavy and stodgy, it is very light for a steamed pudding; this is due to the fact that the recipe does not use flour, but uses bread or cake crumbs instead. The traditional day to make your puddings for Christmas is "Stir-Up Sunday" which is the 5th Sunday before Christmas Day and the Sunday before Advent. You would even be reminded of the fact at the Sunday morning church service, as it was believed that puddings made on this day carried God's blessings to all who partook of it! I always put a lucky silver "sixpence - sixpenny piece" in my pudding - lucky silver charms are also used, and these can still be bought in the UK. Halve the quantities for one large pudding. Merry Christmas!"
 
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photo by French Tart photo by French Tart
photo by French Tart
photo by French Tart photo by French Tart
photo by French Tart photo by French Tart
photo by French Tart photo by French Tart
photo by French Tart photo by French Tart
Ready In:
10hrs 15mins
Ingredients:
17
Yields:
2 Large Christmas Puddings
Serves:
12-16
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ingredients

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directions

  • Mix all the dried fruit together, and then add the citrus peel, flaked almonds, spices, ground almonds and salt - blend thoroughly.
  • Work in the breadcrumbs, sugar and softened butter, mixing well.
  • Stir the beaten eggs into the mixture and then gradually add the brandy or rum and the stout. Mix thoroughly until a soft dropping consistency has been achieved.
  • Butter two large (2 pint) pudding bowls and spoon half the mixture into each bowl - smoothing down the surface slightly.
  • Cover with greaseproof paper and muslin pudding cloths or aluminum foil, and tie them down around the rims, making a loop for a handle to lift the pudding basins out of the steamer later!
  • Boil the puddings in an open pan or in a steamer for 6 hours - making sure that the water is topped up when necessary.
  • You can also steam these puddings in a pressure cooker - please follow your manufacturer's instructions.
  • Remove the greaseproof paper, cloths/ aluminum foil and cover with fresh greaseproof paper and a clean pudding cloth or foil.
  • Store in a cool place for up to 2 months, although I have kept these puddings for nearly a year!
  • On Christmas day, boil or steam for a further 4 hours.
  • To flame the puddings: Turn out the puddings onto a plate. Heat up a tablespoon or two of brandy in a small saucepan until it is warm but NOT boiling, and then pour the hot brandy into a ladle - take the pudding to the table with the ladle and light the ladle with a match - BE CAREFUL! Pour the burning brandy over the pudding and remember to turn the lights out for maximum ooohs and ahhhhs!
  • Serve with Brandy Butter, Rum Sauce, Custard or Cream. Don't forget the sprig of holly too!
  • Each pudding serves 6 to 8 people.

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Reviews

  1. OMG! I adore this pudding and I adore you for bringing it to my kitchen! Made it this year, actually three smaller puddings and I can't rave enough about it. I have two left over and I'll be devouring one tomorrow for New Year's Day. It's one of those recipes that you aren't sure you want anyone else liking it...so there's more for you! LOL! Peace!
     
  2. This was wonderful and, as you said, nice and light and fruity. I halved the recipe with no problem. I used a non alcoholic beer in place of the stout and brandy and only needed a little over 2 fluid ounces to get to right dropping consistency. I was a little concerned after the first steam as it looked very pale and sickly! I wasn't too worried because none of the guests would know what it was meant to be like anyway! However after the second steam it darkened up nicely. I'm not a fan of traditional Christmas pudding recipes but this one is keeper. I froze half as I wasn't sure how well it would do without any booze. I'll pop back again and give you an update on how it turns out. Thanks again FT for a great recipe.
     
  3. Well this certainly looks like it takes a lot of work, but by the sounds of it, it must be worth it. Its sounds absolutly delicious. I'm going to give it a try tomorrow. Sure hopes it turns out as nice as yours looks. Thanks for sharing Frenchie.
     
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Tweaks

  1. This was wonderful and, as you said, nice and light and fruity. I halved the recipe with no problem. I used a non alcoholic beer in place of the stout and brandy and only needed a little over 2 fluid ounces to get to right dropping consistency. I was a little concerned after the first steam as it looked very pale and sickly! I wasn't too worried because none of the guests would know what it was meant to be like anyway! However after the second steam it darkened up nicely. I'm not a fan of traditional Christmas pudding recipes but this one is keeper. I froze half as I wasn't sure how well it would do without any booze. I'll pop back again and give you an update on how it turns out. Thanks again FT for a great recipe.
     

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<p><strong><span>The sunflowers in the field behind my house in SW France:</span></strong></p> <p><img title=Sunflowers src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/DSCN8221.jpg alt=Sunflowers width=640 height=480 /><br /><strong><span><br /><br />I am British (English-Scottish), but I was born in South Africa and have lived all over the world, including Hong Kong, Germany, Cyprus, USA &amp; Singapore. I have also been very fortunate to have travelled extensively over the years.........I still have wanderlust! <br /><br />I used to be an English Literature &amp; Art History teacher &amp; lecturer; before that, I trained and worked as a Graphic Designer for many years. I now live in France with my husband &amp; my daughter who has just started university in September 2006. We also have one very chatty Burmese cat Willow, who allows us to live with her here! (I used to have three cats, I recently lost Monty, a beautiful seal point Siamese and before that, Rama, who was a debonair blue point Siamese cat - I would love to have another Siamese cat or cats in the future!)</span></strong></p> <p><em><strong><span>This is my Burmese Cat, Willow, sunning herself on the log pile in the kitchen garden:</span></strong></em></p> <p><strong><img title=My src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/ABaconButtyandSundryFoodPhotos34.jpg alt=My width=640 height=480 /></strong></p> <p><strong><span>Here is my lovely Monty, a seal point Siamese, and Willow, sitting&nbsp;in the kitchen garden last year, and a few months before Monty died; he was 18yrs old:</span></strong></p> <p><img title=Monty src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/AbsolutelySinfulStickyToffeePudding.jpg alt=Monty width=640 height=480 />My</p> <p><strong><span>This is my wonderful old boy, Rama, a blue-point Siamese, who died when he was 20yrs old - excuse the old and much sellotaped photo:</span></strong></p> <p><img title=Rama src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/Rama1stOctober2004164.jpg alt=Rama width=517 height=639 /></p> <p><strong><span>My favourite pastimes are: reading, writing, painting &amp; drawing, photography, gardening, anything creative, walking, travelling, dining out and of course COOKING! I love all types of cuisine, but especially Traditional British - and NO it is NOT all bad!! I particularly love food associated with the changing seasons plus traditional feasts &amp; festivals, as well as Slow Cooking. I also enjoy French &amp; North African cuisine, come to think of it, there isn't much I don't like! <br /><br />My husband &amp; I run a Chambres D'Hotes, (Bed and Breakfast) called Auberge de la Fontaine here in beautiful South West France; we specialise in Gourmet Food &amp; Wine Breaks, French Antiques &amp; Restoration courses, French Language courses and French Cookery classes. Our home is completely furnished with Antique French furniture that we have rescued &amp; restored ourselves. Our charming village has one of the oldest Churches in the region &amp; it is famous for its connection with the St.Jacques de Compostella Pilgrimage route, as well as being within the Cognac &amp; Bordeaux wine growing area. <br /><br />We have a wonderful garden where we grow ALL of our own herbs and most of our fruit and vegetables. I specialise in rare, unusual and old-fashioned herbs, which I grow in our walled garden. As well as growing herbs, I also grow many different varieties of lavender, old-fashioned shrub roses and heirloom fruit and vegetables. <br /><br />We have lived overseas for many, many years now - but we both still love going home to Northern England, near Scarborough &amp; York, to visit our family &amp; friends. 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