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hidden orange christmas pudding

Print Recipe
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 7 hours
Total Time 8 hours
Course Dessert
Cuisine English

Equipment

  • 1 pudding basin
  • pan big enough to comfortably hold the pudding basin, plus lid

Ingredients
  

For the candied orange:

  • 1 large orange
  • 250 g sugar
  • 10 g liquid glucose
  • 200 g marmalade

For the pudding:

  • 125 g suet beef or vegetable
  • 125 g breadcrumbs
  • 250 g brown sugar
  • 75 g self-raising flour
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon mixed spice any combination of sweet baking spices will do
  • 500 g mixed dried fruit such as currants, cherries, raisins, cranberries
  • 25 g mixed nuts
  • 50 g mixed citrus peel
  • 50 g glace cherries
  • 150 ml cider preferably orange flavoured, but any will do
  • 4 tablespoons Cointreau any booze will do but the orange liqueur seems appropriate
  • 2 eggs

Instructions
 

For the candied orange:

  • Prick the orange all over with a toothpick. Combine the ingredients in a pan with the orange and cover with water. Stir really well to combine. Cover and simmer gently for an hour. Turn off the heat and leave to sit, covered, for a further hour. Then reheat and simmer for yet another hour to really break the orange down. Remove the orange and set aside to cool.

For the pudding:

  • In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients, stirring well. Then add all the wet ingredients, fruits and nuts and stir very well. You want something that will drop off the spoon slowly. Add a touch more flour or cider if needed.
  • Grease a 1 litre pudding basin well. Add about a third of the pudding mix, then nestle your orange in. Pack the rest of your pudding mix around the orange and press down with the spatula. Gently tap your basin to remove air pockets.
  • Add a layer of baking paper, then cover with foil. Tie around the neck with string. Put a plate at the bottom of a pan large enough to fit your basin, pop your pudding in and bring boiling water up along the sides and cover. Simmer for 7 hours, topping up with more water as required. Allow to cool. You can eat straight away, or microwave for a couple of minutes before serving.

Video

Notes

Serve with custard, ice cream, brandy sauce, or brandy butter. Scales up really well and difficult to get wrong.