Recipes / Ideas

  • Heating Instructions
  • Brandy Butter
  • Custard Sauce
  • Brandy or Rum Sauce
 

Flaming Your Pudding

The flaming of the pudding needs a steady hand for safety reasons.

  • Half-fill a metal ladle, or similar, with brandy and carefully heat over a gas flame or lit candle.
  • When the flame is hot enough, the brandy will light.
  • Pour the flaming brandy over the pudding. Make sure the lights are out when taking to the table for a grand entrance.
  • Once the flames have subsided, serve with a brandy butter, brandy sauce, cream or home-made custard.
Holly

Heating your plum pudding

Your plum pudding has been cooked already and only requires gentle reheating. (Actually it can be eaten at room temperature as a cake). To ensure that your plum pudding tastes its best, heating by steaming is recommended, but you can also use a microwave for convenience.

To steam

  1. Bring approximately 5cm (2in) of water to the boil in a saucepan
  2. Immerse unopened can in water
  3. Heat for 90 minutes maintaining a slow boil

Do not allow to boil dry!

To microwave
(Instructions based on a 650-watt microwave oven)

  1. Open can at both ends and free pudding from the can with a knife
  2. Empty pudding into a microwave-proof dish
  3. Pre-slice pudding into portions required
  4. Cover pudding with microwave proof bowl
  5. Heat on medium-high for six minutes

CAUTION: PUDDING WILL BE HOT
Because individual microwave ovens vary in heating efficiency and characteristics, the heating times indicated should be used as a guide only.

Enhance your dining experience with one of these delicious sauces. Click on the recipes in the left column.

Brandy Butter

Brandy butter is the perfect accompaniment to Christmas Mince Pies and Plum Pudding. Taking only 10 minutes, this brandy butter recipe is so easy and quick you'll never buy it from a shop again.

100g (4 oz) soft, unsalted butter
225g (8 oz) icing sugar
3 - 5 tbsp brandy or cognac

Preparation:

Place the soft butter into a large baking bowl. Beat with an electric hand whisk until light and creamy.

Add the icing sugar and beat again until all the sugar is incorporated.

Add the brandy or cognac to taste and stir well. If you add too much brandy the mixture may curdle. If it does, don't worry, just add more icing sugar until the mixture binds back together.

Spoon the butter into a serving dish, cover and store in the fridge until required.

The butter can be made up to five days in advance.  

Custard Sauce

2 cups milk
1 large egg
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon butter

In saucepan, scald milk and allow to cool.
Mix together remaining ingredients, except for butter. Add to cooled milk. Cook over low heat until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in butter, mixing well.
Serve your Rotary Traditional Plum Pudding warm with custard sauce and whipped cream on the side.

Brandy or Rum Sauce

175ml (6fl oz) milk
80ml (3fl oz) brandy or rum
2 egg yolks
1 level tsp arrowroot or cornflour
1 tsp light brown sugar

Blend arrowroot or cornflour with a little cold milk.

Heat the remaining milk and when boiling, stir it into the blended arrowroot or cornflour.

Return mixture to pan and bring back to boiling point.

Mix together egg yolks, brandy and sugar.

Allow the arrowroot sauce to cool a little and whisk into the egg mixture.

Cook without boiling, whilst whisking until the sauce thickens. If it becomes too thick, add a little milk or cream to slacken.

Serve hot over your Rotary Traditional Plum Pudding.