PIRATE'S PLUM PUDDING

Steps:

• The night before stirring up the pudding, combine the candied fruit, nuts, raisins, currants, dates, dates/dried fruits, lemon peel and orange peel.
• Pour 1/2 cup rum over the top of the mixture. Cover and let it soak overnight.
• Add apple, carrot, beef suet, flour, bread crumbs, brown sugar, soda, cinnamon, mace, cardamom, and allspice.
• Mix the ingredients thoroughly.
• Whisk together the eggs, fruit juice and 1/4 cup rum in a small bowl. Pour over the fruit/flour mixture, and mix lightly until all ingredients are moistened.
• Spoon into two buttered pudding molds. Cover top of each pudding with buttered foil.
• Cover top of each pudding mold with a cloth dish towel. Tie the cloth tightly to the top using a loop of kitchen twine.
• Place puddings in steamers and steam for 6 hours.
• Remove from steamers and store in a cool place until Christmas Day or New Years' Day.
• Return the pudding to the steamer and steam for 2 hours more.
• To make hard sauce, combined butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and 2 tablespoons rum to make a thick paste. Chill 1 hour.
• Form the hard sauce into a two balls (one for each pudding) and wrap in waxed paper and store in refrigerator until ready to serve the pudding.
• To serve the pudding, place the hard sauce ball on the pudding, and stick the holly sprig through it to anchor it to the top of the pudding.
• Pour warm 2 tbsp rum over the pudding, and touch the surface with a lighted match to flame the pudding. Carry it flaming to the table while everyone cheers.