Of course, here at Craft Gin Club, we love celebrating the festive season with our favourite tipple, whether it’s in a delicious gin and tonic or a yummy Christmas cocktail. Did you know, though, that gin can be just as fun - and tasty - to cook with? And what could be a better place to start than with that most festive recipe of all - the classic Christmas pudding?

For this recipe, we’ve infused our Christmas pudding with Copperfield’s London Dry Gin Volume 3 - because its winter spice notes and subtle hints of orange lend it perfectly to a traditional-flavoured Christmas pudding! (However, you could use any similar spiced London dry gin.)

The recipe is a little fiddly, as you have to candy the orange first, but how amazing is the idea of hiding a candied orange inside a Christmas pudding?! And surely, if there’s one occasion when it’s worth spending a bit more effort on pudding, it’s this!

Bonus: any leftover syrup from this process can be used to create a stunning cocktail for the festive season!

---

 Copperfield’s Gin and Orange Christmas Pudding

Serves 8-10

 For the candied orange:

1 small, seedless orange
400g white granulated sugar (it must be white for colour)
2 tbsp orange liqueur
2 tbsp Copperfield Gin London Dry Volume 3 Dry

For the pudding:

130g raisins
130g sultanas
130g currants
120g glacé cherries, halved
50g dried figs, chopped
50g blanched almonds, chopped
1 medium bramley apple, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped
50ml orange liqueur
150ml Copperfield Gin London Dry Volume 3
Zest and juice of 1 orange
140g melted butter, plus extra for greasing
175g dark muscovado sugar
175g fresh white breadcrumbs
140g self-raising flour
1 heaped tsp ground mixed spice
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
2 large egg, beaten
1 tbsp black treacle

1.    Pop the orange in a small pan and cover with water. Bring to the boil the simmer for 30 minutes, or until tender. Keep the water level is topped up.

2.    Remove the orange from the saucepan and save 250ml of the cooking liquid. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved.

3.    Now prick the orange all over with a cocktail stick and pop it back into the saucepan with the cooking water, the gin and the orange liqueur. Bring the liquid to a boil, turn down to a simmer, cover with a piece of baking parchment and cook for around 45 minutes, turning over halfway through. The orange should be dark and translucent.

4.    Leave in the syrup overnight to cool.

5.    Whilst preparing the orange, place all the remaining dried fruit, cherries and almonds, apple and orange zest and juice in a bowl, together with the gin and orange liqueur. Cover and allow to sit overnight.

6.    To make the pudding, grease a 1.5-litre pudding basin. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Melt the butter, and fold into the fruit with the dry ingredients, followed by the eggs and black treacle.

7.    Fill the basin one-third full with the pudding mix, then pop the orange into it. Add the rest of the pudding mix around and on top of the orange and smooth over.

8.    Cover the pudding with a pleated sheet of buttered parchment, then a pleated sheet of oil, and tie firmly around the rim with string.

9.    To cook the pudding, steam for 6 hours, topping up the water occasionally, or place in a slow cooker, pour hot water halfway up the side of the basin and cook on high for 8 1/2 hrs. Leave the pudding to cool. To reheat, steam in a pan for 1 hour. You can microwave for 10 mins on medium power, first remove foil and parchment then cover with cling film, but steaming gives a better result.

Serve with custard, cream (or, even better, gin-infused cream)!

---