Pioneer
Christmas Plum Pudding
The great NB Christmas tradition
IODE Fort Monckton Cook Book, Moncton NB, 1941No New Brunswick Christmas was complete without a steamed plum pudding — dark, dense, and heavily fruited. This recipe from the 1941 IODE Fort Monckton cookbook was made weeks in advance, wrapped in cloth, and brought out on Christmas Day to be flamed at the table.
Source: IODE Fort Monckton Cook Book, Moncton NB, 1941
Ingredients
- 1 cup suet, finely grated (or cold butter, grated)
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp cloves
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp allspice
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 cup currants
- ½ cup mixed peel
- ½ cup brandy or dark rum (plus more for flaming)
- 2 tbsp molasses
Instructions
- Combine suet (or butter) with sugar. Beat in eggs and molasses.
- Sift together flour, baking powder, and spices. Stir into the egg mixture.
- Add breadcrumbs, raisins, currants, mixed peel, and brandy. Mix thoroughly.
- Grease a 1½-quart pudding basin or large heatproof bowl. Fill with the batter and cover tightly with buttered foil.
- Steam for 5–6 hours over simmering water, checking water level every hour.
- Cool completely, then wrap in brandy-soaked cheesecloth and store in a cool place for at least 2 weeks.
- On Christmas Day, steam for 2 more hours to reheat. Unmold onto a warm plate.
- To serve: warm a tablespoon of brandy, ignite it, pour over the pudding, and carry flaming to the table.
✦ Kitchen Notes
- From the IODE Fort Monckton Cook Book, Moncton NB, 1941.
- The longer this pudding keeps, the better it gets. Many families made it in November for Christmas.