Christmas pudding time

I have been making Christmas cakes and puddings for as many years as I can remember.  The first attempt at making puddings was many years ago, the first year I was married.  I was 17.   I took the recipe from my high school cookery book "Commonsense Cookery Book".

This book came from the days when every one had big families, and the quantities were enormous.  I can recall adding the ingredients, and the mixture getting so large that I ended up putting it into a plastic bucket to continue the mixing, and sitting on the floor with it between my legs.

I had a long post last year about my Christmas Cooking which you can have a look at, so I won;t repeat the same photos.  This years I ended up making 4 puddings and not the fruit mince pies. I decided to use the fruit mixture in the extra puddings and give them to friends.  My kitchen looks like a commercial cookery with them hanging around.  They have to left to dry, and then boiled again on Christmas day for several hours before serving, with brandy custard.

However, I have found out about reheating them in the micro-wave.  I have not tried it, but willing to give it a go.  It is something like putting them on medium for 5 minutes, for each 500g, but I had better find the slip of paper where I jotted it down.  Must have put it some safe place, as I can't find it now.

Found it!  Just as well, had it all wrong.  60 seconds, for 500g on medium.  phew!  I would have had it burnt to a crisp.  If you boil to reheat, then you leave it in the cloth in the water for 1 hour for 1 kg.  If you microwave then it is out of the cloth.