Chocolate Christmas Pudding

I made this pudding in October and let it mature until last week- when I turned it out, doused it in whiskey and set it on fire.

And ate it.

Yes I ate Christmas pudding before Christmas. What of it? (I have a bûche de Noël planned for the actual day, anyway.)

It was just an experiment, really- I originally wanted to make Paul A Young's 'Three Chocolates Christmas Puddings' from his book Adventures with Chocolate, but I only wanted to make a small one, and some ingredients you can only buy in a certain quantity- like Guinness. I hate beer, and I'd only need a dash of it in a scaled-down recipe, so I'd be stuck with most of a bottle of beer. In the end, I just used the recipe as vague guidelines.

The texture was beautiful- moist and surprisingly light for a Christmas pudding, but not fluffy and lacking substance. The chocolate worked really well with the fruits and spices.

I just wish I hadn't drowned it in booze.

In the original recipe, you feed your pudding with a tablespoonful of brandy once a week- this should also be enough to stave off mould. Unfortunately I lost my nerve and started doing it every day, resulting in a pudding that could get you sozzled before you even opened the drinks cabinet after dinner. It did taste good, but it was quite... potent. It would have definitely tasted better without about half of the alcohol that went into it.

On the upside, it burned like a beauty.

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