Anyone got a foolproof luxury Christmas Pudding Recipe??

[Sparkleandshine]

I fancied making a Christmas pud this year - Delia, my usual go to for first time recipes, is a bit, well, normal .... If i'm making one I'd like a bit more luxury!

Any ideas???

Sorry, i don't but interested to see what people suggest!

I'm looking for a nice one for a 1L pudding bowl ....tried splitting down a recipe for one the year before last but it didn't work very well

In what way do you want to improve the pud?

Lots of fruit? You could put glace cherries on the bottom, maybe chopped stem ginger in syrup, candied pineapple, craisins ?

Or nuts- pecans, almonds, walnuts

Booze? Stout to add moisture, whisky to soak the fruit?
Or rum to make it more tropical?

Or why not do a selection of puddings?
A traditional Christmas Pudding
A steamed chocolate pudding with a chocolate sauce
A steamed syrup pudding

(I made a syrup sponge pudding last year because we don't like Christmas Pud much- and I really wanted to use my Portmerion "Holly and Ivy" pudding basin and jug.

We had an amazing Christmas pudding last year. It was Delia's, but without the almonds and with the fruit soaked in a load of brandy for a week.

You could always caramelise an orange/lemon/grApefruit and pop it in the middle.

how on earth do I caramalise an orange???? (would look fab wouldn't it!)

I think Delia is the answer and will add some luxury myself!

off to google....

www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/christmas/8155014/How-to-make-Hestons-must-have-Christmas-pudding.html

I might do a lemon....

Mary berry did a lemon or orange for one of her puddings this week on the bake off masterclass thing. Just heated it in sugary water for ages.

It would look stunning!

That sounds interesting, I might try it with dd1 since only the two of us like it

I love Nigella's "Non Conformist Christmas pudding" from Feast. It is fabulous.

Nigella's one feeds 12 so I just halve it. I also use whatever dried fruit I fancy, mixed to the quantity in the recipe.

I posted the recipe here back in 2009 it seems

NB: if you microwave the vodka for too long and then set light to it, you get a fireball and an audible Whoomph!

I use Nigel Slater's recipe, it's not as dark and heavy as some, I make puds for the whole family and everyone keeps asking me to use the same recipe (i've offered to vary the recipe I use) so I'd recommend that.

I was thinking with Heston you could make individual ones with a kumquat in the centre.

Does it need an LED teelight in the centre of the orange to make it glow like the one on the box?

Eliza Acton seems to be the top marked recipe for Christmas cake since records began?

Avoid delia IMO - she makes something that is almost ludicrously simple (mix a whole load of stuff togehter, whack a bit of foil on top and steam for 100years) into something that looks like the manual for the space landings.

Mary Berry. And replace chopped peel and glace cherries (yeuch) with dried apricots (yum) and a splash of orange juice to go with the large amounts of alcohol.