225g shredded suet
225g breadcrumbs (grated or whizzed in the blender)
110g self raising flour
1 heaped teaspoon mixed spice
half a teaspoon grated nutmeg
quarter of a teaspoon ground cinnamon
450g soft brown sugar
250g raisins
250g sultanas
500g currants
50 mixed peel (Waitrose have a really nice ready chopped one in their cook ingredients range)
75g blanched and skinned almonds chopped (I cheat and buy them ready chopped)
1 eating apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped
grated rind of both 1 orange and 1 lemon
4 eggs
4 tablespoons rum
150ml barley wine
150ml stout
Grab a BIG bowl and put the suet, breadcrumbs, spices and sugar in, stirring before adding each ingredient. Then mix in the fruit, bit by bit. Then add the peel, nuts, apple and orange and lemon rind.
In a jug beat the eggs then stir in the rum, stout and barley wine. Pour this over into the ingredients in the bowl and stir for as long as you can (or use a mixer). The mixing is really important but hard work!
Leave the bowl overnight, covered by a tea towel so the fruit can soak up all the lovely booze.
Grease your pudding bowls with some butter and fill them up (not all the way to the top as they will rise a little on steaming). Cover the bowls with greaseproof paper and then some muslin.
Steam for 8 hours for a 2lb(900g) pudding bowl or 5 hours for a 1lb(450g) pudding bowl. Keep checking the water levels.
When they are cooked (and still hot) clean the sides of the bowl with a little kitchen paper and then cover with fresh greaseproof paper and muslin.
Store somewhere cool and steam for a couple of hours on Xmas day or cook in the microwave until hot all the way through.
