Christmas Pudding

Day 1: Any pieces of fruit that are not in small pieces, cut down. Toss the dried fruit, juice, and alcohol together, then let stand overnight.

Day 2:
Beat the butter until pale, about 2 minutes.

Add the brown sugar and beat until fluffy.

Pour in the molasses. Beat in the eggs one at a time along with a spoonful of flour.

Sprinkle on the remaining flour, spices, baking powder, orange zest, and breadcrumbs, then mix until well blended.

Dump in the soaked fruit mixture along with any liquid and the diced apple and mix until evenly combined.

Grease the pudding basin then pack the mixture in.

Cover with parchment and foil, tying it tightly with string under the lip of the basin to secure.

Bring a kettle of water to a boil. Place a metal jar lid in the center of the Dutch oven.

Place the pudding inside of the pot, sitting it on top of the jar lid.

Pour boiling water halfway up the side of the basin. Turn the heat on under the Dutch oven and bring the water back to a simmer.

Refill the kettle and keep it hot.

Cover the Dutch oven with the lid and cook for 8 hours. Adjust the heat as needed to just maintain a simmer; you should see a small amount of steam escaping the lid, but it should not be rattling or dripping. Check it every hour and add more water to keep the level halfway up the basin.

Uncover, turn off the heat, and let cool just enough that you can safely remove it. Remove the basin to a wire rack and remove the parchment and foil.

Let it cool completely, then re-cover it with fresh parchment and foil. You may also want to add a layer of plastic wrap to your pudding to ensure it doesn't dry out. Store in the coolest, darkest place in your house for 4 weeks (for many people this will be the fridge).

Serving:
Remove the plastic wrap and put the pudding in your Dutch oven and steam as before, for 1 hour.

Remove, uncover, and turn out onto a serving platter.

Use a sieve to shake powdered sugar over the pudding and top with the holly.

Serve slices with hard sauce.