The Magpie’s Traditional Christmas Pudding Photos

The Kids and I have been making this pudding since the moment they could help in the kitchen, so here is a photo round-up of all the years we have been doing this!

Ingredients Needed For Christmas Pudding

1 c up of coarsely grated carrots
1 cup of grated raw potato
1/2 cup of butter
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of flour
2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup of seedless raisins
1 cup of sultana raisins
2 rounds of candied pineapple
1 cup candied cherries

You will also need a small glass bowl to put the pudding in to steam, and a trivet and a lidded pot to accomplish said steaming!

Start by chopping up the candied cherries and pineapple rounds. Little hands are great helpers, this was one of my favorites pictures from the day.Ah heck, they were all my favorites….

…because this one makes my heart happy, my children helping for the fourth or fifth year (for my son) in a row to prepare my grandmothers Christmas pudding. Because she’s no longer with us to help make it, traditions like this help to connect her to my children, my son slightly remembers her but my daughter doesn’t at all. Preparing a dish together that generations of my family has prepared before us is eerily deep and meaningful, saturated with happy memories but with a little chest-clenching sadness thrown in for good measure.

While the adorable children are chopping, mom and dad should be grating the potato and carrot.

And then of course, Mom and Dad just can’t behave themselves, and make a proper pudding. Wait, that sounded like it could possibly be loaded with innuendos so, let’s just leave it at the big kids couldn’t behave.

Since my son can read proficiently this year, he read the instructions to us off the card, which are……

1. Cream the butter and sugar together.

2. Add in the carrots and half of the potatoes.

3. Mix in the flour, salt and spices.

4. Add in your fruit and raisins.

5. Dissolve the baking soda into the last half of the potatoes, and then add to the mixture last.

Cover, and steam in a small glass bowl for 4-5  hours. I use my smallest in my set of nesting Pyrex bowls, it is exactly the right size. I then place it in a large pot on a trivet to keep the bottom of the bowl off of the water, add an inch of water or so, put the lid on and steam away. You do have to refill the water since it takes a few hours. Freeze and serve for Christmas dinner, vanilla ice cream and a brown sugar sauce are amazing on it!

 

I hope you enjoy this recipe, as I love above all else to share the ones my grandma shared with me, it’s passing her love of cooking and baking on to others and helps me to remember all the amazing times I had with her.