Young Strephon is the kind of lout we do not care a fig about!

Our 2019 production of Iolanthe included that immortal line. Their lordships may have not cared for Strephon, but figgy pudding on the other hand. That’s quite a different matter.

Get in the mood with this BBC recipe.

Figgy Pudding

250g pack butter softened, plus extra for the bowls and paper
750g dried figs
150ml brandy
700g mixed sultanas and raisins
3 eating apples peeled, cored and grated
175g light muscovado sugar
175g dark brown soft sugar
200g breadcrumbs
200g self-raising flour
1 tbsp allspice

Method

Butter a 500ml, a 1-litre and a 2-litre pudding bowl, then line the base of each with a circle of baking parchment. Butter 3 large sheets of greaseproof paper, lay each on a large sheet of foil butter side up, and fold a pleat in the middle of each.

Roughly chop 250g of the figs and set aside. Put the remaining figs, butter and brandy into a food processor and whizz until smooth-ish, then scrape into your largest mixing bowl. Tip in the chopped figs, mixed vine fruits, grated apple, sugars, breadcrumbs, flour and allspice.

Stir everything together, allowing as many helpers to give a stir and adding as many wishes as you like. Divide between the pudding bowls and smooth the surfaces.

Cover the puds with the buttered paper-foil sheets, tie with string and trim. Lower the puds into separate saucepans with upturned saucers or scrunched up bits of foil in the bottom (so the puds don’t touch the bottom), then fill each pan with enough boiling water from the kettle to come halfway up the sides of the bowl. Cover with a lid and simmer the small pud for 1-1 hrs, medium for 2-2 hrs and large for 3 hrs, topping up the water as needed. Remove and leave to cool.

…and finally

If giving as a gift, put a new piece of parchment on top. Will keep in a cool, dry cupboard for up to a year.


  • Singing for the Brain

    Our Ruth Helps People with Fading Memories – and so can you! Ruth is joined by her fellow singing for the brain leader Sue Binnie, with Pete Simpson on keyboard. So how does singing help? Singing is not only an enjoyable activity, it can also provide a way for people with dementia, along with their…


  • A Queenly Pudding

    A Queenly Pudding for the Fairy Queen Our 2019 production of Iolanthe set us thinking about fairies. Queen Mab is, of course, the mid-wife to the fairies in Midsummer Night’s Dream. So what better recipe to have to celebrate our production of Iolanthe than this queenly treat, Queen Mab’s pudding? Queen Mab’s Pudding 4 oz…


  • Sally Lunn

    Hippies and buns The Sorcerer and Sally Lunn, a legendary connection. Our 2013 production of The Sorcerer saw us dressing up as hippies and singing about buns. Specifically gay Sally Lunns. There are several stories about how the famous bun got its name. This is one. The Sally Lunn Legend Solange Luyon, a young Huguenot…


  • Child minding

    Alhambra enrols the infant prince into Baptisto’s childminding service. To paraphrase Don Alhambra: “I stole the Prince and left him gaily prattling, with a highly respectable gondolier…”


  • Cachucha

    Apparently “Cachucha” sounds a bit like something rude in Spanish speaking countries. We sought to uphold that tradition in our 2018 production of The Gondoliers


  • South Pacific Squeeze

    Blitz yourself a fruity squeeze from Wolverton G&S Songs from Richard Rodgers’ and Oscar Hammerstein’s “South Pacific” brought a touch of tropical romance to Showblitz! in 2018. Here’s a gentle reminder from a delicious recipe for South Pacific Squeeze. Take: 300ml orange juice 100ml pineapple juice 1 banana 6 strawberries 170g pineapple sorbet – see…


  • We do not care a fig

    Young Strephon is the kind of lout we do not care a fig about! Our 2019 production of Iolanthe included that immortal line. Their lordships may have not cared for Strephon, but figgy pudding on the other hand. That’s quite a different matter. Get in the mood with this BBC recipe. Figgy Pudding 250g pack…