Tropical Christmas Steamed Pudding

There's a popular school of thought out there that romanticizes a White Christmas as something very much to be wished for every year. Well, speaking as someone who lives in a part of the world where there is rarely any other alternative, I can say that all those people who spend their time listening to Irving Berlin songs can have my White Christmas … I'd much rather be spending my Christmas on a tropical island. So this tropical twist on the traditional steamed Christmas pudding can at least let me imagine a little bit sitting on a sandy island beach at Christmas-time surrounded by warm tropical breezes as I watch the snow drift outside my window.

The steaming of these kinds of puddings really brings out the plumpness and freshness of dried tropical fruits… any kind that you can find or that strikes your fancy. For my own pudding I used an equal mixture of mangoes, papayas, pineapples and bananas, but any combination of any sort of tropical fruit that you can like — guava or jackfruit for example — can be used here. Make sure to look for dried tropical fruits without sugar and preservatives at a specialty store like an Asian grocery or a natural food store. This is my entry to Sugar High Friday - the theme this month is pudding.

Tropical Christmas Steamed Pudding

2 1/3 cups dried tropical fruit, diced
2 tablespoons crystallized ginger, chopped
1/3 cup sultanas
1/3 cup gold raisins
2/3 cup dark rum
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1/3 cup pistachios
1/3 cup roasted cashews, chopped
1 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 cup coconut cream
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

To serve:

1/2 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon dark rum

Stir together the chopped tropical fruits, ginger, sultanas and raisins along with 1/3 cup of the rum and let stand at room temperature for at least 4 hours, or overnight, stirring once in a while.

Thoroughly grease a 2 quart (2 liter) pudding mould or heatproof bowl. Pour the syrup into the mould and sprinkle 1/2 cup of the fruit mixture on top. Stir the pistachios and cashews along with 1/3 cup of the flour into the remaining fruit mixture, and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and then beat the coconut cream into the butter until smooth. Beat in the brown sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, followed by the whipping cream and the other 1/3 cup of rum.

In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together the remaining cup of flour together with the bread crumbs, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, cardamom and cloves. Pour the coconut mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until thoroughly blended. Fold in the reserved fruit and nut mixture.

Scrape the batter into the mould, smoothing and tapping with a spatula as you pour to remove air pockets. Place a circle of parchment paper directly on the surface of the batter and cover the mould with a tight-fitting lid or with aluminum foil securely tied with kitchen string.

To steam the pudding, you will need a pot wide and deep enough to accommodate the mould or bowl comfortably with some room at both the sides and the top. Place the mould in the pot and fill the pot halfway up the sides of the mould with boiling water. Bring the pot to a boil on the stovetop, then cover and reduce the heat to a strong simmer. Simmer for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, adding water occasionally to keep it level halfway up the side of the mould. The pudding is finished when a cake tester comes out the pudding completely clean. Let the pudding cool slightly before removing the parchment paper and lid or foil.

To serve, run a knife gently down the sides of the mould and invert on to a warmed plate. Just before serving, beat the whipping cream until whipped and drizzle in the rum.

Serve in a bowl with a spoonful of the whipped cream and rum on top or on the side.

*If you are making this ahead of time, remove the pudding from the mould, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate up to a week. To reheat, unwrap the pudding and return to the mould. Cover with parchment paper and a lid or securely tied foil and repeat the steaming process in a pot as before for 1 hour. To reheat in a microwave, turn out the pudding onto a serving plate and cover with large microwaveable bowl. Heat on High until hot, 7 to 10 minutes.