Christmas Pudding

Figgy’s Luxurious Christmas Pudding

November 18, 2014 by admin

We usually make our Christmas Puddings each year. This is not because I think that everything has to be home made or that my Christmas Puddings are anything special but I just don’t think that bought puddings taste as good.

Most bought puddings are stodgy and have nuts in them that you could crack your teeth on. At least this is what I thought until I had a chance to review Figgy’s Christmas Pudding last weekend. Figgy’s Christmas Puddings are handmade in small batches. They use ten-year-old Somerset Cider Brandy and award-winning port stout, presented in a ceramic pudding bowl. The bowl is wrapped in a cotton pudding cloth, allowing the pudding to breathe and the flavours to mature in the traditional way.

There is lovely taste of the rich cider brandy and port stout but this does not overshadow the wonderful fruit taste from the Californian raisins, sultanas and brambly apples. Instead of large nuts to crack your teeth there are ground almonds to give a wonderful texture and flavour.

The cloth wrapped pudding is tied with ribbon and label making it the perfect gift, especially if you are going to friends or family for Christmas.

The outer packaging is well designed, secure and keeps the pudding from getting damaged in the postage. I love it when a producer has thought of everything!!

I can honestly say if I hadn’t already made my puddings for this year I would be buying their largest size pudding for Christmas Day and I am certain all the family would be delighted with it. In fact I was so impressed I’m going to add this to my December time saving tips for people who haven’t made their own Christmas Puddings.

Figgys Christmas Pudding Received in the Post

Figgy’s have a lovely website where you can order their Christmas puddings either for yourself or they can include a gift card if you want to send them as a Christmas present to someone else. At the time of writing their prices range from £10 for their smallest pudding to £20 plus p&p for their largest which in my opinion for a product of this quality is really good value for money.

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Getting Ready for the August Bank Holiday Weekend

August 21, 2011 by admin

I’m just planning what I need to buy in for next weekend. It’s going to be busy as I’ve decided to break with tradition this year and instead of waiting for Stir-up Sunday, I’m going to make my Christmas Cake and Christmas Puddings over the August Bank Holiday weekend. A friend did this last year and it worked really well. The cake and puddings certainly benefited from the extra standing time. I always keep a Christmas pudding to have over the Easter weekend and I always notice how much deeper and smoother the flavours have become by then, so the extra maturing time really makes a difference.

Giving the Christmas Puddings and Cake the extra time to mature is reason enough for making them early. Running a busy household, business and attending numerous social functions and church events between September and Christmas I find anything I can do early can make an enormous difference to the stress levels in the run up to Christmas, which should after all be the most enjoyable and special time of the year.

If you like the idea of having an early Stir-up Sunday best to get the Christmas Cake and Christmas Pudding ingredients on order now for next weekend.

Have a good week.

Linda

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Are you ready for stir up Sunday?

November 20, 2010 by admin

For various reasons I knew I would be really busy this Christmas so I made my Christmas cake and Christmas Pudding back in October. I’m slightly sad that I wont therefore be keeping up the tradition of Stir Up Sunday this year.
The season of Advent which is the time of preparation for the coming of Christ at Christmas and the start of the liturgical year, begins on a different date each year. Stir Up Sunday is traditionally on the Sunday before Advent Sunday which this year is November 28, 2010, making tomorrow Stir Up Sunday. If you haven’t made your Christmas Cake and Christmas Puddings yet then tomorrow would be a good day for it. Many cooks would argue that a good pudding really needs longer to mature so every day counts now.

I love the idea that years ago, long before Christmas cards and decorations were on sale in the store in September, Stir Up Sunday was the start of the Christmas celebrations. There is nothing like the smell of freshly grated nutmeg and spices in the kitchen followed by the smell of the cake cooking and the pudding bobbing about in the pan as they steam to really make it feel like Christmas. I don’t know what the weather has been like where you live but here in Norfolk the fog has hardly lifted all day and I relish the thought of spending Sunday in a nice warm kitchen preparing for Christmas with the Archer omnibus on in the background.

My Christmas Pudding recipe is available here.

Whatever you are doing I hope you have a lovely weekend.

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This Christmas will be a good time to enjoy a glass of Champagne.

September 6, 2009 by admin

Following on from my Christmas Pudding recipe a few days ago I was pleased to see a report in todays Observer about a glut of Champagne on the market this Christmas. Apparently with the credit crunch and the recession over the past year, cases of Champagne have been piling up as people turned to lower cost alternatives such as Cava and Prosecco. Wine experts may not agree but my family have always enjoyed Champagne at Christmas. There is something so delicious about a cool, sparkling glass of Champagne while enjoying your rich Christmas Pudding, or on Christmas Day evening with a slice of Christmas Cake.

The Observer article suggests that this year we could see good bottles of Champagne being sold off for as little as £10 to £15. They go on to warn that this year French vineyards have been ordered to throwaway upto 50% of their harvest in response to our reduced consumption of Champagne during the recession. This means that by Christmas 2010, the price of a good bottle may be somewhat higher. Champagne doesn’t store that well in the home, but if you know you have special occasions over Christmas, New Year or during 2010 it may be worth stocking up on Champagne now.

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