Figgy Pudding

We have been singing about Figgy Pudding for as long back as I can remember and I have always wanted to eat it and later on make it. It has been on my bucket list for years and every year I would listen to the song and tell myself I would make it. This year while shopping for dried fruits and other cake stuff, I came across some lovely figs from Turkey and decided on the spot that Figgy Pudding would feature on our Christmas Menu. To cut a long story short, I finally made it and ate it with a brandy sauce. The verdict- Delicious. I wish I had made it earlier.

Figgy Pudding (occasionally misnomered Piggy-Pudding) is a vague term used for a class of traditional seasonal winter dishes usually forming sweet & savoury cakes, containing a sour-sweet creamy layer of honey, fruits and nuts, as well as a flavourful savoury filling of rich herbally accentuated pork sweetmeats. In later times, rum or other distilled alcohol became often added to enrich the fruitfulness of the flavour. Wikipedia

Figgy pudding (or plum, which was the name for any kind of dried fruit back in the day) originated in 14th-century Britain as a way to preserve food.

The Recipe:

250 gms. figs, chopped; 250 gms Sultanas, chopped; 1 tbsp candied orange peel; ¾ cup white breadcrumbs; ¾ cup cracker crumbs; 1 ¾ cup low-fat milk; 1/2 cup salted butter; 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour; 3 1/2 tsp baking powder;1 tsp cinnamon powder;1 tsp nutmeg powder;1 cup brown sugar; 3 eggs

For Brandy Sauce: ½ cup butter; brown sugar to taste; 4 tbsp brandy

Make this after the cake is baked, just before serving.

Melt butter and sugar on low heat till sugar is completely dissolved. Add brandy and mix. Remove from heat and whisk till thick.

Heat milk and chopped figs over medium heat to simmer ( do not boil). Simmer 15 minutes to soften figs. Mix wheat flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Whisk eggs till mixed and add butter, bread crumbs, cracker crumbs, orange peel, and warm fig mixture. Gently add the wheat flour mixture and mix together till well combined.

Pour the mixture into an 8 inch lined and greased bundt pan. Tap the pan gently to level the mixture. This mixture is not like cake batter. It is much thicker. Cover the pan with a piece of aluminum foil greased on one side, greased side down.

Place the mould in a larger cake pan and place on oven rack. Fill with hot water 2 inches up the side of the mould. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 175 Celcius or 350 F for 2 hours or until the pudding is firm and it is pulling away from the side of the pan.

Remove the pudding from the water bath. Remove the foil and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before unmoulding. Gently invert the bundt pan onto a serving plate and remove mould. It should come away easily. Pour the Brandy Sauce over it and serve topped with chopped candied orange peel.

For original recipe visit https://www.food.com/recipe/figgy-pudding-337148?soc=socialsharingpinterest

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