Stir It Up Sunday 2019

How many of us dash in to the supermarket last minute and grab a Christmas pudding which comes in a plastic bowl, probably wrapped in plastic too? With a little bit of forward planning we can avoid all that plastic waste and make our own. If you can source as many ingredients as possible loose you will avoid a lot of waste - Lil is here to help.

Stir It up Sunday is a Victorian tradition and a great time to gather family and friends and make wishes come true (so long as they are wishes for Christmas pudding or cake anyway). We get the kids together and all help weighing ingredients and giving it a stir. I love sharing the preparation and eating of food. It is one of my favourite things about this time of year. This year stir it up Sunday falls on 24th November so get your Bake-off head on and get ready.

Stir it up Sunday stems from the opening words of the Book Of Common Prayer, used on the last Sunday before Advent. It reads: "Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people," and so it became the tradition that this is the day to get stirring. It also happens that its a good spell before Christmas to allow your pudding and your cake to mature and get the best flavour.

Christmas is coming!

To help here’s a pudding recipe to get you started. Dried fruit and some spices are available from the Lil Pantry

Christmas Pudding with Citrus & Spice

175g each raisin, currants and sultanas

140g whole glacé cherry

50g mixed peel

50g whole blanched almond

zest 1 orange and 1 lemon

1 medium carrot, peeled and finely grated

150ml brandy

50ml/2fl oz orange liqueur, such as Grand Marnier

175g light muscovado sugar

175g fresh white breadcrumb

125g self-raising flour

1 tsp mixed spice

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

175g butter , frozen

2 eggs, beaten

butter , for greasing

holly sprig, to decorate (avoid the toxic berries)

Method

Mix the fruit, almonds, citrus zests and the carrot with the brandy and orange liqueur in a large mixing bowl. Cover and leave to soak overnight.

Mix all the dry ingredients together, then add to the soaked fruit mixture. Grate in the butter, then add the eggs and stir. Don’t forget to make a wish!

Grease a 1.5-litre pudding basin with butter and line the base with greaseproof paper. Spoon in the mixture, press down well and make a hollow with the back of the spoon in the centre. Cover the surface with a round of greaseproof paper, then cover the bowl with double-thickness greaseproof paper and foil and tie at the rim with string. Lower the pudding into a pan with an upturned saucer in the base, then fill with water until it comes halfway up the sides of the bowl. Steam for 6 hrs, topping up with water as necessary.

Alternatively, steam in the oven. Stand the pudding basin in a roasting tin filled with water, then cover with a tent of foil and cook for the same length of time at 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Check roasting tin occasionally as the water may need to be topped up.

To store, allow to cool, then store in a cool, dry cupboard. The pudding will keep for up to a year.

On the day, steam for 1 hr before turning out, decorating with holly and serving with extra-thick double cream or vanilla ice cream.

Recipe from Sara Buenfeld,Good Food magazine, December 2008