serves
6
prep
20 minutes
cook
3 hours
difficulty
Easy
serves
6
people
preparation
20
minutes
cooking
3
hours
difficulty
Easy
level
Ingredients
- 340 g (2 cups) dried cherries, roughly chopped
- 60 ml (¼ cup) brandy
- 100 g (½ cup) sago
- 400 ml milk
- 40 g (¼ cup) chopped glace orange peel
- 200 g (1 cup) glace cherries, coarsely chopped
- 120 g (2 cups, lightly packed) breadcrumbs from day-old ciabatta or similiar
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 150 g (⅔ cup) caster sugar
- ½ cup store-bought prepared suet mixture
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 2 tbsp water
- custard or ice cream, to serve
Soaking time 8 hours
Instructions
Combine the cherries and brandy in a bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and stand for 8 hours or overnight.
Place the sago in a mixing bowl, pour over milk and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Transfer to a saucepan and stir over a medium-low heat until sago is soft and translucent, spoon into a mixing bowl and allow to cool at room temperature.
Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil for steaming and lightly grease and flour a 2 litre (8 cup) capacity pudding basin.
Combine sago, dried cherry mixture, orange peel, glacé cherries, breadcrumbs, sugar, suet and egg together. Stir until well combined.
In a small bowl, combine the bicarbonate of soda with water then mix into the pudding mixture. Spoon into prepared basin, cover with a tight-fitting lid and steam over the prepared water for 3½ hours, adding a little extra water to the saucepan as necessary to keep the level half way up the sides of the basin. Remove from saucepan and stand for 5 minutes before removing pudding from basin. Serve hot or warm with custard or ice cream.
Photography, styling and food preparation by china squirrel.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
