Steamed christmas pudding - take it from the mould hot or cold?

[smilesandsun]

Hi Ive just finished steaming my christmas pudding.... now do I take it from the mould warm/hot or leave it to cool completely?

thx

I would leave it to cool completely. You may need to just warm the mould slightly to loosen any syrup stuck to the side when you remove it later, but at least the pudding itself will be cold.

thanks

Leave it in the pudding dish.

Let cool completely, then unwrap completely, prick with a skewer and pour your choice of liqueur over it.

Let it soak in, then lay a circle of fresh greaseproof paper on the pudding and wrap the pudding with a fresh piece of foil. Replace the string, too.

Put it in a cool, dark place until you're ready to reheat and eat it. Only turn it out of the dish when it's ready to eat.

Actually, I would take slight issue with the last poster. Wrap entirely in greaseproof paper before wrapping in foil because the acids from the dried fruit (which may leach out after you have pricked the pudding and poured alcohol over it) can eat into the foil. The greaseproof paper will act as a barrier.

My way, no foil touches the pudding, either.