In Great Britain, the Christmas dessert is planned well in advance. If to make a log, you can do it the day before New Year's Eve, to prepare the Christmas pudding, you have to start no later than November. More precisely before the last Sunday before the Sunday of Advent. Because yes, it is a dessert that should age like a good wine. Tradition obliges.
To make this incredible cake, you will need a large number of ingredients:100 g butter, 50 g flour, 1 half sachet of yeast, 110 g breadcrumbs, 225 g brown sugar, 500 g raisins, 1 apple diced, 1 lemon and orange zest, 2 tablespoons of rum, 1 teaspoon of 4 spices, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, 15 cl of brown beer and 2 eggs. Start the recipe the day before cooking:mix the soft butter with the sugar, flour, baking powder, breadcrumbs and spices. Add the raisins, citrus zest, diced apples and rum. In another container, mix rum, beer and eggs. Pour the liquid into the previous preparation and mix well. Cover the bowl with cling film and leave to rest overnight.
This dessert, decidedly unlike any other, is cooked in a bain-marie. Butter a Pyrex bowl, pour the mixture into it, then cover with several layers of aluminum foil, tightly closed with an elastic band, to ensure that the dish is airtight. Make a string handle to fish it out after cooking. Cook in a pot filled with water for 8 hours, adding water regularly so that the level is constant. Store the pudding in a cool, dry place until Christmas. On D-Day, cook it again for 2 hours then serve it (finally!) covered with brandy butter or custard.
