Stir up Sunday!

The last Sunday before advent is always a fairly quite affair for retail, as all over Merry Olde England, people are busily cooling their hands to better grate the suet. And then sifting flour and weighing sugar, zesting lemons and toasting and crushing nuts. Bottles of both strong dark stout and rich Barley Wine are poured into jugs so that their great foaming heads might settle enough for them to measured out for the pudding. Dark chunks of bitter, spiced chocolate are grated into the bowl, along with ginger, and nutmeg, and cinnamon, all manner of dried fruits are chopped and macerated in Rum or Brandy. And now, the secret ingredients, passed down from one generation to another, go into both cake and pudding, (which also gets some tiny silver symbols of luck.) Beaten eggs are added to the Christmas cake mixture and finally the glorious thick batter is ready to be poured into the cartouched and buttered cake tin, which is then quickly despatched to the oven, where it will remain undisturbed for the next three and a half hours.

For the briefest of moments the cook may rest and perhaps finish up the Stouts and Barley wines not needed now in either pudding or cake. Then back to the great pudding, which must be well stirred (and always from East to West.) to ensure an even mix.

A pudding basin is thickly greased with rich yellow butter and the pudding batter is gently spooned in. Pleated, grease-proof paper and a double layer of muslin cloth are quickly applied to the basin and tied tightly in place and the whole neat package is carefully lowered into a great steel steamer.

And now the cooks final job, the baking and steaming times for both cake and pudding are duly noted, and the kettle is filled, to top up the steamer. Finally! The time has come to take a proper drink!

A Merry Christmas to one and all!