Christmas Day can be a hectic time for the cook.
I make my Carrot Christmas Pudding in late November or early December, wrap it very well and refrigerate it. It will keep for a couple of months in the refrigerator.
A real time saver, Carrot Christmas Pudding can be re-steamed on Christmas Day.
The pudding is served with a yummy Butter Sauce (recipe follows), which can be whipped up in a few minutes.
Carrot Christmas Pudding
Print recipe| Serves | makes 1 (2 lb/.9 kg) pudding, 12 servings |
| Inspiration | modified recipe from Chatelaine Dec 1993 |
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 Cups whole glace cherries, preferably a mixture of red and green
- 1 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup mixed cut peel
- 1 1/8 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 cups dried or fresh white bread crumbs
- 5/8 Tsp baking soda
- 1/2 Tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 Tsp gound allspice or ground cloves
- 1/4 cup butter (room temperature (or soften in the microwave - 1 minute at low power should do)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp cooking molasses
- 1 Large egg
- 3/4 cups buttermilk
- 1 cup grated carrots
- 1 Recipe of Butter Sauce
Directions
| Butter 1 (6- cup/1.5 L) pudding mould. An oven safe mixing bowl of that size will also do. | |
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Combine cherries, raisins and peel in a large bowl. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup flour. Stir until evenly coated.  | |
| In another large bowl, stir remaining 1 cup flour with bread crumbs, baking soda, cinnamon and allspice. Set both mixtures aside. | |
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In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with sugar. Beat in molasses, then eggs.  | |
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Stir in buttermilk and carrots. Stir flour mixture into butter mixture just until combined. Fold in fruit mixture.  | |
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Spoon into pudding mould leaving at least a 1-inch (2.5-cm) space at top. Smooth the top.  | |
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Cover the pudding with waxed paper, then foil. Tie onto the side of the mould with string.  | |
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Place a rack or a heat proof saucer (upside down) on the bottom of a deep saucepan.  | |
| Set the mould into the pan so it sit on the saucer, not on the pan bottom. Add enough water to reach two-thirds up the side of then mould. | |
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Cover the saucepan and bring water to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 3 hours. Add boiling water as needed to maintain level.  | |
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Pudding is done when a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove the mould from the saucepan and uncover. Let sit 10 minutes, then turn out of the mould.  | |
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Serve warm with Butter Sauce. | |
| If not serving right away, turn out of the mould and seal in plastic wrap. Pudding will keep for months in a cool place or in the refrigerator. | |
| Reheat the pudding before serving. Cover the pudding tightly with 3 layers of tin foil; 2 layers from the bottom up and one layer from the top down. Tie the top layer on with string and steam, covered, for 45 minutes to 1 hour. This the the preferred method for reheating. However you can also place the pudding on a plate and loosely cover with waxed paper. Microwave on medium power for 10 minutes or until very warm. | |
Butter Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup whipping cream
- 1/2 Tsp vanilla extract
Directions
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In the microwave or on stove top, melt together the butter and white sugar until the sugar dissolves, stirring often.  | |
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Then add the whipping cream and vanilla and return to the stove top or microwave to heat through. Serve warm.  | |