Yummy Christmas pudding

Christmas pudding has his origin in England, and is sometimes known as plum pudding. This is a dessert traditionally served on Christmas day, and it is a boiled pudding involving a lot of dried fruit. Although it can be served on the day it is made, you can make it in advance as it becomes more moist and flavoursome over time. You can serve the pudding hot with custard. Lovely!

• 500g dried currants
• 400g sultanas
• 200g muscatels
• 200g mixed peel
• 200g glace cherries
• 1 cups (375 ml) overproof rum
• 380g butter
• 380g dark brown sugar
• 8 eggs
• 1 tbsp mixed ground nutmeg and cinnamon
• 675g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
• salt

Method

1. Mix the fruit in a large bowl and soak overnight in the rum.
2. Cream the butter and sugar then mix in the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the fruit, rum and spices. Sift in the flour with a large pinch of salt and mix well.
3. Dust a square of washed calico (about 45cm square) with flour. Spoon the pudding mixture into the centre of the cloth, pull the corners and edges to the centre and tie well with kitchen string to secure.
4. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Immerse the pudding, bring the water back to the boil and let it bubble quietly over low heat for 6 hours, keeping the pudding completely immersed. When cooked, hang in a well-ventilated place to dry until required.
5. Before serving, boil the pudding again in a large saucepan of water for 1 hour. Unwrap and serve.

(Source: cuisine.com)