The secret to any good dessert is undoubtedly in the liberal application of sugar, fat and alcohol. So for the first time ever, I have attempted to honour my half-English heritage by making a Real Christmas Pudding!

For those not in the know: Christmas Pudding consists of a load of dried fruit, sometimes nuts, mixed together with sugar, flour, fat (traditionally suet but I used coconut fat), eggs and some kind of booze. My version included stout and some brandy. The sticky stuff is then put in a heat-proof bowl and steamed for approximately 6 hours. SIX HOURS! I wonder who came up with that. The pudding is then cooled and stored for 1-2 months (this is why I made it so early), to improve the flavour. It is also a good idea to “top it up” with brandy from time to time. 🙂

With the help of a copy of Taste Britain (which my wife was kind enough to bring home one day) I managed to end up with quite a satisfactory-looking pair.