To my knowledge, the dense, rich plum pudding is only eaten in Great Britain at Christmas time.  I do not know why but this pudding is not widely known on the North American continent.  

 

It is easy to make but a medium-to-big pudding takes up to 6 hours to cook.

 

 

 

First:  all dry ingredients are mixed together: flour, dried fruit, sliced almonds, sugar, a little salt, bread crumbs, spices.

 

Second:  shredded suet (the fat of beef) is mixed thoroughly into the mixture; with eggs, stoned, halved plums, the grated rind and juice of an orange and a lemon, and a peeled, cored and diced apple;

 

and brandy until the mixture has enough coherence to stick together but not so much that it is gurgling drunk. 

 

Sixpence coins were mixed in, when I was a child, to allow the finder a very special, secret wish. 

 

 

 

Placed in a well-buttered pudding tin with a tight lid,  the tin sits in a water bath which is brought to a boil and allowed to simmer for 5 to 6 hours.

 

 

 

Flamed with additional brandy when cooked and eased onto a platter,  it is served traditionally with butter whipped with brandy. Cream or ice cream often substitute today.

 

 

 

A rich dessert for Christmas

whose satisfactions I try to recreate at Christmas- time in an afterlife of my wandering in lands with no history of plum puddings.