Finely chop the dried fruit. Put in a bowl with the peel, raisins,
sultanas, currants, ale, rum, rind and juice.
Cover and leave overnight. Mix the fruit with the remaining
ingredients and a pinch of salt. Leave for 10 minutes. Cut an 80cm square from a piece of
calico, place in a large saucepan of boiling water and simmer for 20
minutes. Remove and wring out well. Cover the pan and keep at a simmer.
Spread out the calico and cover with a
generous, even layer of plain flour, using about 1/4 cup, leaving a
border around the edge. (This forms a seal and prevents the pudding
absorbing water). You will need to flour-coat enough
calico so that the pudding mixture can be completely enclosed by the
floured area.
Spoon the pudding mixture into the
centre of the cloth. Bring the points of the cloth together
over the top and gather in the excess material, keeping the pleats
as small and neat as possible. Pat into a nice round shape. Leave a small amount of room at the
top for expansion, and tie tightly with string so there is no gap
where water can get into the pudding. Tie another length of string around
the top, long enough to tie to the handles on either side of the
saucepan to suspend the pudding.
If your pan doesn't have suitable
handles, suspend a wooden spoon across the top and tie the string to
that. Carefully lower the pudding into the
simmering water. The pudding should float, without
touching the bottom. Tie the string tautly across the pan
to the handles. Cover, weigh down the lid if possible,
and boil the pudding for 5 hours. Replenish with boiling water when
necessary, ensuring that the water remains at a constant, low boil.
Remove the pudding from the water and
hang in a well-ventilated, dry place where it will not touch
anything. Hook up the calico ends or open up and
place loosely on top of the pudding. Leave hanging overnight to dry. Untie the cloth and if there are damp
areas at the top, spread it out until dry. When it is dry, re-wrap and tie with a
new piece of string. The pudding will store, hanging, in a
cool, dry place for up to 4 months. To serve, boil for 2 hours then hang
for 15 minutes. Remove from the cloth and cut into
wedges.
