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.
