On Christmas Eve, a Christmas cake is usually made in British households. Although the British call it Christmas Pudding, it has nothing to do with a cooked sweet milk-based dessert. On the contrary, it is a juicy biscuit filled with dried fruit and soaked in an alcoholic beverage such as whiskey.

You don’t have to be in the UK to enjoy this dessert. You can also prepare it in your own home with a little willpower and patience. In order for the cake to have a delicious taste, the fruit needs to be soaked in alcohol at least the evening before baking.

Ingredients:

700 grams of dried fruit (raisins, figs, apricots, cranberries, etc.)

220 grams of muscovado sugar

220 grams of butter

150 ml of whiskey

110 grams of flour

110 grams of bread crumbs

100 ml of orange juice

4 eggs

1 and ½ teaspoon baking powder

1 large orange

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoons of nutmeg

a pinch of salt

Preparation:

1. The evening before preparing the cake: chop the fruit into roughly the same pieces, then mix them with the whiskey and orange juice. Add a little grated orange peel. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. If you are not a fan of whiskey, you can also use brandy or even rum.

2. Using a mixer, beat the sugar and butter into a smooth mixture. Beat the eggs, then gently stir them into the butter mixture.

3. Add the fruit and any remaining liquid in which it was marinated. Stir well.

4. Add the flour you mixed with the baking powder and a pinch of salt.

5. Add bread crumbs that will "drink" excess liquid from the mixture, and all other spices.

6. Transfer the prepared mixture to a round refractory dish that you have previously greased. Press the contents well, then cover with aluminum foil and further stabilize it with twine.

7. In a large pot, place a fireproof dish with Christmas pudding. Pour heated water up to about half of the pot, then cover everything together and place on the stove.

8. When the water boils, reduce the temperature to the lowest and let the pudding heat-steam for about four hours. Occasionally and as needed add hot water to the pot to never evaporate completely.

9. Carefully remove the bowl from the pot - it will be very hot - and cool the pudding well before serving. Good apetite!