"Oh Bring Us Some Figgy Pudding"...only if you're over 21!

English Tudor Christmas Carolers

Back in the 18th century (and a couple centuries before) when caroler's sang out "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and implored, "Oh bring us some figgy pudding," and warned, "We won't go until we get some" and demanded, "So bring it right here," they were calling out for a Christmas pudding imbued with tradition...and quite a bit of alcohol. Figgy Pudding, AKA Christmas Pudding, AKA Plum Pudding, AKA Christmas Pottage, is brought to us from 17th century England and, as this writer can attest from personal experience, can be prepared today with as much or as little Christmas spirit (spirits) as the intended audience requires. I am sure those merry-makers of old, caroling from door to door on cold December evenings, were warmed by both the goodwill and alcohol content of their beloved pudding.

As with all things setting Christmas apart from any other time of the year, the Puritans banned Christmas Pudding (way too festive for those folks.) It came back to roaring popularity with the reign of King George I of England who loved it and who became known (along with other less endearing names, especially here in the Colonies) as the "Pudding King." The king included the pudding in his royal Christmas feast of 1714 when he first arrived from Hanover and taken the throne.

Tradition has it that each member of the family should have a hand in the preparation with each taking a turn to stir from "East to West" to represent the Magi on their journey from East to West to find and honor the Christ Child. Admittedly I am most directionally challenged so, living on the east coast of America, I suppose I would just have the stirring be done counterclockwise.

Christmas Pudding from Wikipedia

Below are directions for the pudding you can prepare yourself anytime during the season (it keeps a loooong time.) Traditional recipes include suet but this one leaves it out. Having made pudding with suet, I can assure you the pudding will be fine without it! Thanks to NPR.org and baker, Dorrie Greenspan, for this recipe. Enjoy!

Figgy/Christmas/Plum Pudding

Dorie Greenspan, author of Baking: From My Home to Yours, created this recipe for figgy Christmas pudding fo rAll Things Considered.

Makes 8 to 10 servings

12 plump dried Calymyrna figs, snipped into small pieces
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup dark rum
1/3 cup cognac or brandy
1/2 cup raisins
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 (packed) cup brown sugar
2 cups fresh white bread crumbs (made from about 8 inches of baguette)
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup dried cherries
1 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup brandy, cognac or rum, to flame the pudding (optional)

Softly whipped, lightly sweetened heavy cream, vanilla ice cream or applesauce, homemade or store-bought, for serving (optional)

Getting ready: You'll need a tube pan with a capacity of 8 to 10 cups — a Bundt or Kugelhopf pan is perfect here — and a stock pot that can hold the pan. (If you've got a lobster pot, use that; it'll be nice and roomy.) Put a double thickness of paper toweling in the bottom of the pot — it will keep the pudding from jiggling too much while it's steaming. Spray the tube pan with cooking spray, then butter it generously, making sure to give the center tube a good coating.

Put the figs and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and, keeping an eye on the pan, cook until the water is almost evaporated. Add the cognac or brandy, rum and raisins and bring the liquids back to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat, make sure it's in an open space, have a pot cover at hand and, standing back, set the liquid aflame. Let the flames burn for 2 minutes, then extinguish them by sealing the pan with the pot cover. For a milder taste, burn the rum and brandy until the flames die out on their own. Set the pan aside uncovered.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and salt and keep at hand.

Working in a mixing bowl with a whisk, beat the eggs and brown sugar together until well blended. Switch to a rubber spatula and stir in the bread crumbs, followed by the melted butter and the fig mixture (liquids included). Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and gently mix them in — you'll have a thick batter. Fold in the cherries and cranberries.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and seal the pan tightly with aluminum foil. Set the pan into the stock pot and fill the pot with enough hot water to come one-half to two-thirds of the way up the sides of the baking pan. Bring the water to a boil, then cover the pot tightly with foil and the lid.

Lower the heat so that the water simmers gently, and steam the pudding for 2 hours. (Check to make sure that the water level isn't getting too low; fill with more water, if necessary.) Carefully remove the foil sealing the pot — open the foil away from you to protect your arms and face — and then take off the foil covering the pan. To test that the pudding is done, stick a skewer or thin knife into the center of the pudding — the skewer or knife should come out dry.

To remove the pudding from the pan (a tricky operation), I find it easiest to carefully empty the water into the sink, and then carefully ease the baking pan out on its side. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let the pudding cool for 5 minutes. Detach the pudding from the sides of the pan using a kitchen knife, if necessary, then gently invert it onto the rack. Allow the pudding to cool for 30 minutes.

Flaming Figgy Pudding from Wikipedia

If you'd like to flame the pudding — nothing's more dramatic — warm 1/3 cup of brandy, cognac or rum in a saucepan over medium heat. Pour the warm liquid over the top of the pudding, and then, taking every precaution that Smokey Bear would, set a match to the alcohol. When the flames die out, cut the pudding into generous pieces. Actually, there's so much fruit in the pudding, the only way to cut neat slices is to make the slices generous.

Serve the pudding with whipped cream, ice cream or applesauce.

Alternatively, you can cool the pudding completely, wrap it very well in several layers of plastic wrap and refrigerate it for up to two weeks. When you are ready to serve, butter the pan the pudding was cooked in, slip the pudding back into the pan, seal the pan with foil, and re-steam for 45 minutes.

Have a good week, dear Reader. Thanks for stopping by...Y'all come back now!

Kate

Sing a Song of Christmas...18th century style

Bruton Parish Church, Colonial Williamsburg, VA*

~First, a brief but important (to me, at least!) announcement: If you happen to be fortunate enough to be in Edenton, North Carolina this Friday or Saturday, Dec 13 and 14 to see and participate in the free and paid events of the beautiful annual Christmas Candlelight Tour, stop by for complimentary confections from 1-5pm at the Chowan Arts Council Gallery, 504 S Broad St, where I will be having a book signing of my novel Sea Snow, the gentle haunting of a 19th century lighthouse. For more information about this special town-wide Edenton offering see:

http://visitedenton.com/christmas-candlelight-tour

(free egg nog and cookies and goodies galore!)~

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..." sings out from radios, televisions, store speakers, and cell phone ring tones but, in the 18th century, the weeks leading up to Christmas Day were times of quiet introspection called Advent. Many present-day churches still follow the same liturgical calendar encouraging their congregants to spend the four pre-Christmas Day weeks meditating upon the preparation of their hearts and souls for the coming of Christ into the world, but as soon as they step back into day-to-day life, I think most cannot ignore the festive atmosphere that surrounds us this time of year. I, for one, believe it's possible to merge faith and festivities but in parts of 18th century America, that was not the case. As a matter of fact, thanks to Puritan influences, most of 1700' s New England completely turned its back on anything that set Christmas apart from any other time of the year. BUT...in the South where the Anglican church was dominant, Christmas was celebrated, albeit more conservatively than we now do.

An integral part of 18th century Advent and Christmastide activities was the singing of songs of the season. Several of our well-loved Christmas hymns and carols were written in the 1700's. The lyrics were sometimes set to old, traditional tunes of Great Britain and Europe and the carols we sing today are sometimes set to music composed a century later. The heart of the songs, however, lies in the words themselves and today I would like to share some of them in the form of spiritual poetry. Sometimes we are so caught up in the melodic singing, we do not pay attention to the words. So, in the spirit of an 18th century Advent and Christmas, here are three songs brought to us directly from the writers of the time. In some, I have omitted the repetitious lines used when singing and I challenge you to read them without hearing the musical notes in your head (harder than you think!)

"Le sommeil de l'enfant Jésus "by Francesco Travisani, 1656-1746

"Come Thou Long Expected Jesus"

(an Advent hymn by Charles Wesley, 1701-1788,  also the author of  

"Hark! The Herald Angels Sing")

Come Thou long expected Jesus

Born to set Thy people free

From our fears and sins release us

Let us find our rest in Thee

Israel's strength and consolation

Hope of all the earth Thou art

Dear desire of every nation

Joy of every longing heart

Born Thy people to deliver

Born a child and yet a King

Born to reign in us forever

Now Thy gracious kingdom bring

By Thine own eternal spirit

Rule in all our hearts alone

By Thine all sufficient merit

Raise us to Thy glorious throne

"Oh, Come All Ye Faithful"

 (as "Adeste Fideles" by John Francis Wade, 1711-1786)

"Nativity" by Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre, 1714-1789

Oh, come, all ye faithful, 
Joyful and triumphant!
Oh, come ye, oh, come ye to Bethlehem;
Come and behold him
Born the king of angels:
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Christ the Lord.

Highest, most holy,
Light of light eternal,
Born of a virgin,
A mortal he comes;
Son of the Father 
Now in flesh appearing!
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Christ the Lord.

Sing, choirs of angels,
Sing in exultation,
Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!
Glory to God
In the highest:
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Christ the Lord.

Yea, Lord, we greet thee,
Born this happy morning;
Jesus, to thee be glory given!
Word of the Father, 
Now in flesh appearing!
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Christ the Lord.

"Joy To The World"
(by Isaac Watts, 1674-1748)

"The Holy Family" by Giuseppe Antonio Petrini, 1677-1758

Joy to the world! the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing.

Joy to the world! the Saviour reigns;
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,

And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love.

Have a good week, dear Reader. Thanks for stopping by...Y'all come back now!

Kate

*By Rainer Halama (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons