Polite Paradise

Back in May when we were just getting going here, I mentioned home made liqueurs, and CatsNCorgis asked for a recipes thread. It went on my To Do list which is, let's face it, pure fiction, but since we're making an effort to post, here we are.

I thought we could start with Christmas Pudding Rum, partly because there's still time to do one before Christmas, and partly because I was inspecting mine today. There are several recipes going around for this, and I think mine started with the Hairy Bikers one, but I've tweaked it.

400g mixed dried fruit
100g molasses sugar (or dark brown soft)
150g Demerara sugar
50g flaked almonds
Piece cinnamon bark
5 cloves
1 star anise
¼ nutmeg, grated
Grated rind and juice of 1 orange
Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
Handful of dried citrus peel (optional)
1 tsp Christmas spice or allspice or mixed spice
70cl dark rum

The supermarket cheap mixed fruit is fine for this, and the cheap supermarket brand rum too. Don't waste your money on good branded rum. Add whatever spices you like, really. I add the dried peel because I have it, but I don't think it was in the original recipe, so leave it out if you want. What I mean by Christmas spice is the jar I make up early in December of allspice, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, coriander, ginger, mace, nutmeg and black pepper, and which I then use to pep up anything that needs it. Basically, though, there are no rules here. Use whatever spices you would put in a Christmas pudding and leave out anything you don't like.

Throw everything into a large sealable container. This will just fit in a 1.5 litre Kilner type jar. Ideally use a wide necked container: the fruit is difficult to remove otherwise. Shake all together and leave for 1 month or longer. Try to remember to give it a brisk shake once a week or so to make sure that the sugar dissolves. Strain thoroughly – it's very cloudy, so I run mine through muslin and then through coffee filters, and bottle. Pick the whole spices and whole peel out and use the drained fruit for a simple cake or a sponge pudding.

It's like drinking Christmas flavours - it's very sweet so go carefully with it!