Plum pudding has always been a tradition in our family (even though it's summer). Grandma's gone now and sadly none of us have been able to match her standards, so we buy ours but it always brings back memories of the year Grandpa lost his one Christmas Day job. Grandma would prepare the pudding well ahead of time, adding extra fruit & love, so that come Christmas Day, all that had to be done was to boil it. Grandpa's one job was to keep the pot boiling and keep topping up the water, while Grandma made magic happen with a traditional hot roast with all the trimmings. Anyway, THAT year, we had all had our main meal and sat excitedly around the table as Grandma grandly cut the twine and started peeling back the calico for the big reveal ... then ... shock horror ... it was a soggy mess! Grandpa had let the pot go off the boil and the water got in. We did enjoy some nice hot custard, whipped cream and icecream for dessert that year and Grandpa never, ever, had to tend the pudding again.
Hope you all have a delicious day :)