Christmas cake/Black pudding

[Corbin]

First, are these two things the same? I think they're both fed brandy in the cupboard for months.

Before I moved I had a great friend who was English, and her mother sent her a black pudding every year from home. Don't know how it survived the trip. Anyhow, strange as it was to me (having never had a pudding anything like it) I really enjoyed it! I've never been able to find a recipe that came out remotely the same. Does anyone have a tried and true recipe for black pudding that keeps for MONTHS and drinks up lots of brandy along the way? I don't know how my Texan husband will react, but I'd really like to make one this year and it seems like the time to do it would be around now.

Corbin, when you say black pudding, do you mean Christmas pudding made with lots of dried fruit, sultanas etc (it comes out looking black)? (I ask because what we call black pudding here in the UK is a sausage made of pigs blood, and I don't think that's what you mean!)

If it's Xmas pud, then you make it and steam it a month or so before Xmas, then on Xmas day steam it again. When you're ready to serve it, turn it out onto a plate, tip brandy over it, set it alight and bring it to the table flaming. I've got a wonderful old recipe that includes a bottle of stout (e.g. Guiness) in it and tastes wonderful -I'll post it if you want, but it does have quite a long ingredients list!

Christmas cake you do indeed hide in the cupboard and feed brandy to keep it fresh.

My mother used to make 2 puds every other year - "one for now, one for next year". They used to be fed brandy in the run up to Christmas - the 2nd one always being more alcoholic than the first!

I'm guessing that "black pudding" isn't the sausage!

Soupdragon - my mum always does the same only one year she made 4 and we had the 4th on the 4th year - it was truly fab!!!

Same with Xmas puddings ... mum used to make hers in July and just used to 'feed' it brandy every week or so. In fact ... my mum made our wedding cake as soon as we got engaged - didn't get married until 11 months later!

Corbin ... Delia Smith does a good recipe for Xmas pudding and cake ... can you get her where you are?

I can always get my mum to write down her recipes but it might take a while (she's a bit internet phobic!) Where do you live? You would have to get things like suet etc for it ... I think ...

I meant xmas cakes ...

Making it in July that is ... oh, why don't I just give up...

Hi

Black bun is a Scottish thing usually eaten at New Year. It's essentially a mass of densley packed dried fruits and is baked in the oven with a shortcrust pastry enveloping it. I've never made one but my aunt does every year. It's very rich and although (I think) has alcohol in it, doesn't get fed like Christmas cake or pudding.

HTH.

Hi

Black bun is a Scottish thing usually eaten at New Year. It's essentially a mass of densley packed dried fruits and is baked in the oven with a shortcrust pastry enveloping it. I've never made one but my aunt does every year. It's very rich and although (I think) has alcohol in it, doesn't get fed like Christmas cake or pudding.

HTH.

Corbin - Here are some definitions. Delia's website has got pictures so you can see what they look like.

Black Pudding - Blood sausage (don't think this is what you want at all!)

Christmas Pudding - A dense black dried fruit pudding which needs to be steamed twice. Often fed brandy while maturing.
www.deliaonline.com/recipes/r_0000001234.asp

Christmas cake - A dark fruit cake fed brandy for several months before eating.
www.deliaonline.com/recipes/r_0000001293.asp

Black Cake - A Caribbean rum cake in which the dried fruit is steeped in rum for several days.
www.deliaonline.com/recipes/r_0000001295.asp

I've just made my cake and pudding, from different recipes though. Let us know how you get on!
HTH

Just the thought of blood sausage turns me green. No....I'm certain that was not what I'm looking for!

I'm pretty sure it was the christmas pudding some are talking about, because I recall her calling it a pudding and thinking "this doesn't look like any pudding I've ever seen before!". I wonder if in my mind I just started calling it black pudding. It was sort of blackish in color. I was a bit afraid of the appearance but it was quite tasty.

I'm not sure who Delia Smith is (I had to search to figure out Nigella) but I betting I can find her fairly easily online. I have very plain television where I live here in the country anyhow, so I don't get many American shows either. I do just love the cooking shows though. I was so disappointed when Ainsley Harriot's show was cancelled here. He was so fun!

So back to pudding. I would LOVE a recipe for christmas pudding. Is there a big difference between a pudding and a cake? Sorry for my ignorance here. I'm just lucky I didn't wander into a restaraunt somewhere someday and order black pudding!

mmm..I love black pudding!

By the way, I hope no one minds an American hanging around asking you silly questions

Course not!

I love black pudding too Scummymummy but I'm the only person I know who does! And I'm a southerner but it comes from my Irish roots. I even ate it while pregnant.

I like black pudding too. It does seem to disgust most people though. And actually, when a colleague who used to work on a farm told me exactly how it's made I sort of went off it for a bit. Haven't bought it for a while but do like it.

Has anyone tried white pudding or is that just an Irish speciality? Don't ask me what the essential ingredient is though!

I've found a recipe that I'm going to try out for Christmas pudding, but it's left me with another question. What is the difference between sultanas and raisins? I thought they were the same thing...are sultanas what we call golden raisins, perhaps? Or currants? I really want to make this but I keep getting lost at every turn! This recipe calls for sultanas AND raisins hence my confusion!

I've never worked out what the actual difference between sultanas and raisins is either!!

I think "golden raisins" sounds likely. Currants look like really small raisins.

Just discovered that raisins are from red grapes and sultanas are from green.

I've also found this site where it says that sultanas are sultanas in UK and Oz and white or golden raisins in the US.

Hurrah!

Thank you!

Fionn I like black pudding and white pudding. I've been lucky enough to stay at the Hilton chain and you should see their breakfasts. They basically supply every breakfast item you could think of and some you wouldn't think of. Takes you all morning to decide what to eat.