Treat of the week

Figgy pudding

A kind of British paneforte that goes wonderfully with a dollop of cold softly whipped cream and some brandy butter. Serves four to six.

Cold butter, for greasing the bowl
Caster sugar, for dusting the bowl
225g dried figs
2 egg yolks
100ml ruby port
¼ tsp each ground coriander, and nutmeg
½ tsp mixed spice
75g muscovado sugar
50g walnut halves, cut into quarters
25g beef suet (or 50g melted butter)
The zest of ¼ orange
75g bread, finely crumbed

Rub a pint pudding basin with butter, put a small disc of non-stick paper in the base, and dust the inside with the sugar. Pour boiling water over the figs and leave for 10 minutes to soften, then drain and chop into quarters.

In a bowl, beat the yolks, port, spices and sugar, then stir in the walnuts, figs, suet, zest and breadcrumbs. Scrape into the basin, cover with a large piece of foil and tie tightly with string. Place the basin in a deep saucepan atop an old saucer. Add boiling water to come halfway up the basin, then simmer gently, covered, for an hour and a half, topping up with water as needed.

Cook it to this stage any time between now and the big day: as long as the foil top stays intact, you can then leave it at room temperature. On the day itself, pop it back in a pot, add boiling water as before, and simmer for another hour and a half. To serve, remove the string and foil, run a knife around the pudding, upturn on a plate and, holding the basin firmly with a cloth, shake it up and down to loosen.

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