The seeds of Christmas are sown in early autumn. I open my battered copy of Christmas recipes from some of the great National Trust houses. This one comes from the archive at Saltram House in Devon, SW England. Puddings should be matured for as long as possible. Ours this year was 18 months old!

Hugh made these authentic pudding basins for me. The deep edge is there to hold the string which ties a cloth (or in modern times greaseproof paper) while the puddings steam for 4 hours or so.

Tradition demands that the pudding is flamed with cognac. After the Christmas meal, no one wants a huge amount of pudding but, accompanied by cream or brandy butter (or both) and sprinkled with caster sugar, it is a rare treat.

Click on the pics!