AIBU to ask if anyone else is making there pudding tomorrow on stir up Sunday!

[qwertyuiop098]

First time making a Christmas pudding and we're planning to have our first mulled wine of the season to accompany the baking! Anyone else?

We are making our pudding, yes. Perhaps we will have mulled wine too!

I made mine last weekend but only because the fruits had been soaking for a several weeks so I thought I should get on with it. I love the tradition of a homemade pud. They are very easy and always go down well. We always had a shop bought one growing up so I quite like making a homemade one as it feels quite special. Good luck in making yours.

We made ours last weekend. We normally make one at a Victoria event near us. We only made it a week early because of work rotas. Good luck making yours!

I've always wanted to do one in a spherical mould so it's a a 'Dickensian' traditional figgy pudding, rather than basin shaped.

Definitely something warm and fuzzy about making your own!

Yes, with mulled wine, and v likely carols playing, too. Even though I don’t usually allow them until 1st December.🎄

Oh no, I wanted to make mine tomorrow but forgot about soaking fruit in alcohol. Think if I start soaking fruit tomorrow, I should be able to make the pudding next weekend instead? I got a recipe from a supermarket magazine but have it. Would love to see your recipe, if anyone has a tried and tested one and is happy to share.

That was meant to say "I've never made one before"

Yep. Fruit started soaking last Monday so should be ready for tomorrow. I love Stir up Sunday. If for some reason I couldn't do Iot tomorrow I probably wouldn't do it at all!

@honeybeetheoneandonly

Oh no, I wanted to make mine tomorrow but forgot about soaking fruit in alcohol. Think if I start soaking fruit tomorrow, I should be able to make the pudding next weekend instead? I got a recipe from a supermarket magazine but have it. Would love to see your recipe, if anyone has a tried and tested one and is happy to share.

Boil the fruit in the alcohol and let it cool. Instant soaking.

I might just do that. Think I have ingredients in.

I have a Delia recipe from the days before she was on the telly. Its very similar to the one she has on line though. I have fiddled with it a little bit though. She steams hers for hours on the stove. I pressure cook mine in my instant pot- the timings I use are different every year because I bung it on and then forget about it. It doesn't seem to make any difference though! The other thing I do is to measure the alcoholic ingredients into it absolutely exactly .... and then tip the bottle upside down and give it a jolly good glug. Seems to work!

Delia also has a recipe for home made mincemeat, many years ago I was going to try it, but when the time came to make it I was really busy and thought sod that. So I emptied a couple of jars of Robertsons mincemeat into a bowl, stirred in a chopped apple or two, the zest of an orange (ie the manky fruit no one was eating) and a very Good glug of whisky, and declared it home made whilst hiding the empty jars. It was a huge hit with the family. They declare that no one makes it like I do and I have to 'make' it every year. Funny how it has never occurred to any of them that in 25 years, they have never actually seen me do the making, it just appears in the kitchen .....

The 5 hour steam has begun!

Tesco's Finest
but I need to go and buy another one now, because I had to test the first one.
Hope still on special offer.

Every year bar the year I had no kitchen I've made a xmas pud. This year i just can't summon up the energy so I bought a waitrose one last Friday. I'm usually more enthusiastic about the christmas cooking but struggling this year.

It's a bought pud for us, but as it's Stir Up Sunday I will be making the mincemeat and Christmas cakes today (cakes plural because DP and MIL like marzipan and lots of icing and my parents and I prefer without icing - who knows whether we'll get to see any of them this year but at least it keeps well!). Mincemeat recipe is ancient, photograph of my mum's old piece of paper with my Grandmother's handwriting on. There is a hole punch right where the amount of the brandy should be so I'm never sure whether it says 1 pint / 1/2 or 1/4 pint of brandy! Logic would dictate the latter.... I always make sure to be generous though just in case.

Boil the fruit in the alcohol and let it cool. Instant soaking.

NOOOOOOO! Don't do this! The alcohol will evaporate!

Letting mix rest right now.

Thanks @PickAChew. @BlackForestCake, so what are the choices? Let fruit soak until next weekend and do it then or boil in lots of brandy for a few minutes only before letting it cool down. (Don't think it would evaporate that quickly.)
Feeling intimidated. I also don't really like Christmas pudding but I never had a proper homemade one.

My husband is making a Christmas cake today. I don’t like fruit cake, Christmas pud or mince pies, so I’ve never made any.

@honeybeetheoneandonly
No, just soak fruit in brandy overnight,or possibly over 2 nights.
I made my Christmas puds and Christmas cake in early October though.
Like PP I use a Dehlia receipe, from her first cookery course ( in 3 volumes) but have adapted it for pressure cooker based on my mum's old receipe. Dare I say, we prefer the dehlia one to my mum's !

Mine's a Delia one too.

Her Christmas cakes recipes in the "Christmas" recipe book are really good too; not just a traditional cake, but glace fruit and Creole cakes etc for people who don't like the dark traditional ones.

@78percentLindt Thanks. I might do Stir up Tuesday then. 😁 just about to go to the shops to get the ingredients. Will let them soak for a couple of nights.
Think the recipe I have is for baking not steaming/cooking. It's in the latest asda magazine.

I've got a recipe that calls for currants AND raisins AND sultanas. AIBU to think nobody will ever notice if I just use all raisins?

@BlackForestCake

Ours is purely sultanas as we had a 2 kg bag and no other fruit,I’ve added cherries and almonds so hopefully it will taste good ,the vast quantities of alcohol should help
It’s in the slow cooker now and smells amazing!

Whoa, you can do Christmas pudding in the slow cooker? Do tell @spagbog5!
On another note, I found Lidl sells brandy soaked fruit! I'm back on track. (I haven't tried it though. If I do and it's disgusting, I will need ideas to use up a ton of nuts. Fingers crossed.