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Countdown to Christmas

If it's Christmas it must be gingerbread pudding

CELEBRATORY Gingerbread Christmas Pudding

There is more to Christmas than turkey, roast chicken and cakes. The Christmas pudding. Arzooman Irani, Executive Chef of Taj Green Cove Resort, Kovalam shares his special recipe.

Gingerbread Christmas Pudding

(Makes 8 to 10 servings)

Ingredients

For sauce
Unsalted butter (room temperature) - half cup
Powdered sugar - One-and-a-half cup
Grated orange peel - 1 tsp
Brandy - 2 tbsp
For pudding
Nonstick vegetable
oil spray
Flour - One and one-fourths cup
Ground ginger - 1 tbsp
Ground cinnamon - 2 tsp
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Salt - half tsp
Baking soda - half tsp
Ground cloves - quarter tsp
Unsalted butter (room temperature) - 6 tbsp
Sugar - three-fourths cup
Orange marmalade - half cup
Eggs - 3 large
Mild-flavoured (light) molasses - quarter cup
Grated orange peel - 1 tsp

Method

Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl; stir to blend well. The sauce can be made four days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.

For pudding

Coat inside and centre tube of six-cup or eight-cup pudding mould or Bundt cake pan with oil, then generously with butter. Sift flour and next six ingredients into medium bowl. Using a electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until well blended. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then marmalade, molasses and orange peel. Add flour mixture and beat just until blended. Transfer batter to prepared mould. Cover mould tightly with foil. Place steamer rack in a large pot. Place pudding mould on rack. Fill pot with enough water to come halfway up the sides of the mould. Bring water to boil. Reduce heat to medium. Cover pot and steam pudding until it is cooked. To see if it is cooked, insert a tester inserted near the centre, if it comes out clean the pudding has be cooked. Add more boiling water to maintain level of water till the pudding is cooked. It takes about 75 minutes.

Using oven mitts, remove the mould from the pot. Uncover and let stand for 10 minutes.

Cut around the top centre and sides of the pudding to loosen it from the mould. Turn the pudding out on to a rack and cool for 20 minutes. The pudding can be made a day ahead. Cool completely. Return to mould; cover and chill.

Resteam 45 minutes to heat through, then turn out of mould. Transfer pudding to platter. Cut pudding into wedges; serve with sauce.

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