Christmas Pudding
Ingredients
l lb of each: raisins, currants, golden raisins, breadcrumbs, brown
sugar
8oz Suet
4oz each: Mixed peel, glace cherries chopped, almonds chopped
1 each: Lemon - grate rind, orange - grate rind, carrot - grated,
apple - grated
1 tbs Flour
1 tsp mixed spice
Pinch salt
6-8 Eggs
10oz stout (bottle) or dark beer (Guiness is good)
OR 5 ozs each brandy & milk.


Preparation
Mix dry ingredients first then mix with lightly beaten eggs & liquid.
Grease the bottom of a bowl large enough to hold pudding and press
mixture into it. Place wax paper over the top and then foil over that,
crimping it around the edges to keep firm. Either cook for 2 hours in
pressure cooker with about 2 inches water or put in pan with water on
stove for 4 hours. Keep checking water in pan to prevent burning.
Store well wrapped for as long as possible for better flavor. Some
people make them one year to eat the next. Donated by sister Margaret
Hawksley Serve with hot custard, cream, or brandy sauce.

Why steam for so long? Christmas puddings are quite dense because of
all the fruit, nuts, etc. they contain. Steaming is the best method of
cooking because it allows a slow cooking which ensures a moist and
palatable result (cakes being less dense can cook for less time and
still remain moist, so baking is the best method). If you used a
faster cooking method for a Christmas pudding you would get a crusty
pudding. A pudding steamed for 2 hours, rather than 4, would probably
still have some uncooked mixture in the center. So, while the cooking
time obviously depends on the size of the pudding. (This is when it is
cooked on the stove - not the pressure cooker)