Stir-Up Sunday 2017 – Make Your Christmas Pudding

Stir-up Sunday is the last Sunday of November before advent starts which this year is 26th November. Traditionally this is the date you’re supposed to make your Christmas pudding, hence the name Stir-Up Sunday!

It gets its name from the beginning of the collect for the day in the Book of Common Prayer, which begins with the words, “Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people”. But it has become associated with the custom of making the Christmas puddings on that day.
Wikipedia

Not many of us bother making a Christmas pudding these days because it’s so much easier, and cheaper to buy one from the supermarket.
I decided Stir-Up Sunday was a nice tradition and one I think Kaycee and Ella should know about so this year we’re making our Christmas pudding 🙂

The recipe is from a cookbook Ant has had many years. It’s The Complete Farmhouse Kitchen Cookbook from Yorkshire Television. It’s a bit battered, in fact, it’s falling apart but Ant loves it, just like I love my Delia Smith cookery book that’s also falling apart! We could get new copies of both books easily from the charity shop but we’re attached to our battered copies!

Ant, Kaycee and Ella making our Christmas pudding mix for Stir Up Sunday

Christmas Pudding Recipe

Serves 10

You will need a 1.2 litre/2 pint basin or two 600ml/1 pint basins or four 300ml/1/2 pint basins.

Stir up Sunday ingredients

Ingredients

  • 175g plain flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp mixed spice
  • 1/2 tsp powdered cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
  • 125g fresh breadcrumbs
  • 125g shredded suet
  • 75g demerara sugar
  • 125g raisins
  • 225g currants
  • 225g sultanas
  • 50g chopped candied peel
  • 1 medium-sized apple, grated
  • 1 medium-sized carrot, grated
  • Juice and grated rind of 1 lemon and 1 orange
  • 1 level tablespoon dark treacle
  • 2 beaten eggs
  • 200ml/ 1/3 pint stout

Method

  1. Remove any stalks or stones from the fruit
  2. Sieve the flour, salt and spices into a large bowl
  3. Add crumbs, suet, sugar and fruit and mix well together
  4. Add grated apple, carrot, rind and juice of lemon and orange, treacle, eggs and stout. Mix well.
  5. Leave several hours, or overnight. Stir again. Place in a greased basin (or basins), leaving 2.5cm at the top.
    Cover securely with two layers of greased proof paper and one layer of foil, tucking each layer neatly under the rim of the basin.
  6. Stand on a trivet or upturned saucer in a pan with boiling water halfway up the basin.
  7. Steam as follows:
    1.2 litre / 2 pint basin – 8 hours
    600ml / 1 pint basins – 6 hours
    300ml / 1/2 pint basins – 4 hoursKeep water on the boil, replenishing with boiling water when necessary.
  8. When required, steam 3 hours for 1.2 litres / 2-pint pudding, 2 hours for smaller puddings.

Stir up Sunday - Ant, KayCee and Ella mixing ingredients

Christmas pudding

 

 

For more recipes, click here