Plum Pudding with Orange-Mace Hard Sauce

Name: Plum Pudding with Orange-Mace Hard Sauce
Yield: Serves 16
Ingredients: 2 2/3 cups, dark raisins (1 pound); 2 cups, dried currants (10 ounces); 2 cups, water; 1 cup, fresh bread crumbs; 1 cup, packed dark brown sugar (7 ounces); 3/4 cup, unbleached all-purpose flour (3 3/4 ounces); 2 teaspoons, ground cinnamon; 2 teaspoons, ground ginger; 1/2 teaspoon, ground cloves; 1 teaspoon, table salt; 1/2 pound, cold unsalted butter (2 sticks), cut into 1/4-inch pieces; 4 , large eggs; 1/2 cup, cream sherry (or amontillado); 1/3 cup, brandy or cognac, plus 1/4 cup for flaming pudding, optional; 1/4 cup, candied citron (finely chopped), optional; , vegetable shortening for greasing mold; 1/2 pound, unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened; 3 cups, confectioners' sugar (12 ounces); , orange zest, finely grated from 1 orange; 1/2 teaspoon, mace; 1/4 teaspoon, table salt; 1/3 cup, brandy or cognac; 2 tablespoons, cream sherry (or amontillado)

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Desserts or Baked Goods

Puddings, Custards, Gelatins, & Souffles

Plum pudding was once the star of Christmas dinner, but its old-fashioned flavor and heaviness has caused it to fall out of flavor. Could we make it shine again?

SERVES16

Plum Pudding with Orange-Mace Hard Sauce

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

We wanted a simpler, more modern plum pudding recipe that would not require months of aging. We used a little less butter in place of the suet, which gave us a rich but much lighter-textured pudding. To skip the expense of a classic pudding...

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