Warm English Christmas pudding with Brandy Crème Anglaise

150 grams of currants

150 grams of sultana raisins

150 grams of roughly chopped prunes

175 ml of Pedro Ximenez sherry

100 grams of all-purpose flour

125 grams of fresh breadcrumbs

150 grams of suet

150 grams of dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon of ground cloves

1 teaspoon of baking powder

Grated zest of 1 lemon

3 large eggs

1 medium apple, peeled and grated

2 tablespoons of honey

500 ml of milk

25 ml of heavy cream

3 oz of sugar

10 egg yolks

12.5 ml of brandy

Note: Begin your recipe at least the day before you plan to serve the dish.

You will need a large heatproof plastic pudding basin with a lid, and also a sprig of holly to decorate.

Put the currants, sultana raisins, and chopped prunes into a bowl with the Pedro Ximénez sherry, stir, then cover and leave to steep overnight or for up to one week.

When the fruits have steeped, put a large pan of water on to boil and butter your heatproof plastic pudding basin, remembering to grease the lid too.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all the remaining pudding ingredients.

Add the steeped fruits, scraping in the liquor with a rubber spatula, and mix to combine thoroughly.

Scrape and press the mixture into the prepared pudding basin, squish it down and put on the lid. Then wrap with a layer of foil so that the basin is watertight, then either put the basin in the pan of boiling water (to come halfway up the basin) or in the top of a lidded steamer and steam for 5 hours, checking regularly that the water hasn’t bubbled away.

After five hours, remove carefully and unwrap the foil, and put the pudding in its basin.

Before serving, rewrap the pudding (still in its basin) in foil and steam again, this time for 3 hours.

While the pudding is steaming, prepare your sauce. Heat the cream and milk. Mix the egg yolks and sugar, then add the milk and cream and cook delicately. Add the brandy.