… a recipe handed down from my mother’s mother.

You will need:
1 large bowl
a wooden spoon
cloth approx 0.5m x 0.5m (calico is good)
string
a very large pan

Ingredients
175g breadcrumbs (approx 5 slices)
100g currants
100g raisins
100g sultanas
50g candied peel or grated peel of a large lemon
2 teaspoons baking powder 2 teaspoons
3 eggs, medium to large
0.5 cups milk—skim or whole
A dash of salt
A generous sprinkle of ground nutmeg
100g brown sugar
150g suet *
125g plain flour *

* or use 1 pkt of Tandaco suet and flour mix (250 gm)

Method
Mix all the dry ingredients.
Beat egg and milk. Pour into dry mix.
Blend to a soft dough with a wooden spoon.
Mix should almost glue together, not crumble.

Spray cloth with water (be sure every part of the cloth is damp! Better too much water than too little).
Sprinkle plain flour all over the cloth. (This will provide a seal after cooking.)
Tip mixture into the cloth, draw cloth up around pudding ball and tie firmly.
Trim extra cloth away.

Boil slowly for 3 hours. Keep completely submerged while cooking. Pudding should be free floating in the water not resting on the bottom of the saucepan.

Hang hot pudding freely where it can gradually dry out. (Do not let it lean on a wall, etc). As the string may break under the weight, stick a couple of strong safety pins through the loose cloth at the top and then suspend.

Reheat time is 1 hour in simmering hot water. Keep totally covered during reheat. Lift out. Unwrap and serve with custard.