Mary Cratchit's
Christmas Figgy Pudding




Pudding Ingredients:
16 oz dried Calimyrna figs
1.75 cup milk
1.5 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
3 large eggs
.5 cup margarine or butter (1 stick), melted and cooled slightly
1.5 cup fresh bread crumbs (3 to 4 slices white bread)
1 Tbsp grated orange peel (a bottled spice)


Once the Figgy Pudding has been prepared, there is a wonderfully delicious sauce that accompanies it. This is the crowning part of the dish!
Brandied Hard Sauce Ingredients:
1.5 cup confectioners' sugar
.5 cup margarine or butter (1 stick), softened
2 Tbsp brandy
.5 tsp vanilla extract

Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 2.5 quart metal pudding mold or fluted tube pan. Now cut the stems from the figs, and cut figs into small pieces. In a 2 quart saucepan over medium-low heat, cook figs and milk, covered, 10 to 15 minute, stirring occasionally (mixture may look curdled). Be careful not to let mixture boil!

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. Next in a large bowl, with mixer at high speed, beat eggs 1 minute. Reduce speed to low; add margarine or butter, bread crumbs, orange peel and warm fig mixture. Gradually add the flour mixture that was put together at the first of this step; beat until just blended.

Spoon the fig mixture into the greased mold, smoothing the top. We use PAM in the mold, which seems to work well. Use the spoon to push the mixture into all the cracks and crevices of the mold, and try to get the top as even as possible. Next, cover the mold with a sheet of greased foil, greased-side down.

Place the mold in a deep roasting pan and place on the oven rack. Pour hot tap water into the roasting pan to come 2 inches up the side of mold. Bake the pudding for 2 hours or until it is firm and it pulls away from the side of the mold.

While it is baking, it's time to mix the hard sauce. In a small bowl, with the mixer at medium speed, beat all sauce ingredients until creamy. Refrigerate if you're not serving right away. Makes about 1 cup, which should be enough for this recipe. If you go a bit lenient when you're spooning on the sauce, you may need to make more.

Remove the pudding from water bath; remove foil and cool on wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert it onto a serving plate, and remove mold. Serve warm.

As each piece is sliced, top it with the Hard Sauce. You can tell your guests about the Christmas Carol that boasts this dessert, but this dish is so good that you're going to feel like one of the more-decadent Roman Emperors as you feast upon it, no matter what

There is a Figgy Pudding!

People probably shouldn't say brandied hard sauce in public, and certainly not in front of her folks

(sorry)
[Edited 12/17/04 9:25am]

You are making me a pudding?

Now that's sweet....

i am making this for our Yule/Solstice gathering/ritual next week !!

also ...

WASSAIL


** sings ** her we come a wassailing among the leaves so green !!!!!

Mach said:

I made wassail once, but the recepie I had was so sickly sweet it was undrinkable
[Edited 12/17/04 9:46am]

brandied hard sauce brandied hard sauce brandied hard sauce

paintsprayer said:

Why did you try to dink it?

You should really lay off the Valium.

sag10 said:

sag10 said:

My sentiments exactly.

FunkMistress said:

That does it, I'm really leaving this time
(and I was gonna share my Trader Joes garlic stuffed olives)

DiamondGirl said:

paintsprayer said:

Please, baby, you know I didn't mean it!

FunkMistress said:

Maybe later, I've got somewhere to go
people to dink

its gonna be a FAGAN PEAST

paintsprayer said:

Fine, I'll go to TJ's myself.

FunkMistress said:

can i come ?