Figgy Pudding
The history of figgy pudding dates back to 16th century England. The ancestor of figgy pudding (and plum pudding) is a medieval spiced porridge known as Frumenty. Today, the term figgy pudding is known mainly because of a popular Christmas carol. The carolers singing "We Wish You A Merry Christmas"
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup vegetable shortening
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons rum extract (or flavored extract of your choice)
- 2 apples, peeled, cored, and finely chopped
- 2 pounds dried figs, ground or finely chopped
- Grated peel of 1 lemon and 1 orange
- 1 cup chopped nuts
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 ½ cups dried bread crumbs
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 large egg whites, stiffly whipped
- 1 strip of bacon, finely crushed (optional; New England variant)
- 1 teaspoon of hard sauce, for drizzling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 °F. Generously grease an oven-proof 2-quart bowl or mold; set aside.
- Cream together butter and shortening.
- Gradually add sugar, egg yolks, milk, extract, apple, figs, lemon and orange peel.
- Add next 6 ingredients, mixing well. Fold whipped egg whites into mixture.
- Pour into prepared bowl or mold, place into large shallow pan, and place on middle rack in oven.
- Fill the shallow pan half-full with boiling water, and slowly steam pudding in oven at 325 °F for 4 hours, replacing water as needed.