Grandmother's 1945 Recipe for Christmas Pudding

Marjorie Clarke moved out of London with her son and daughter to escape bombing and ran a pub in a place called Compton Chamberlain in Wiltshire during the war. Her grandson thinks they got the recipe from a wartime cookbook and originally it had powdered eggs.

4oz self raising flour
4oz breadcrumbs
4oz finely chopped suet or other fat
half level teaspoonful of ground cinnamon
half level teaspoonful of salt
half level teaspoonful of grated nutmeg
half level teaspoonful of mixed spice
14 oz of mixed dried fruit
1oz blanched chopped almonds or other nuts or alternatively almond flavouring
3oz sugar, preferably brown
2 level tablespoonfuls tepid golden syrup
1 tablespoonful of marmalade
2 shell eggs or reconstituted dried eggs
about three quarters gill of stout

This pudding can be made right away or at any convenient time before Christmas. If margarine, or other fat is used instead of suet melt it. Pick over and dry clean fruit, stone and quarter raisins. Chop peel in marmalade. Warm syrup before measuring. Sift together into a mixing bowl the flour, salt and spices, add breadcrumbs, fruit, including nuts, if being used, sugar, suet or melted fat, mixing well after each addition. Stir beaten eggs with tepid syrup, stir in marmalade, also almond flavouring if nuts are omitted. Stir the liquid into dry ingredients and add enough stout to make a mixture of the usual dropping consistency. Stir well to mix thoroughly. Put into a greased basin, 2 pint size, tie down with a double thickness of greased grease-proof paper, steam for 6 hours. When cold remove paper, tie down with clean paper and a cloth, store in a cool, airy place, preferably hung up. When wanted steam for two and a half hours.

Our family are still making this pudding and I always use suet. For the fruit I use just sultanas and the brown sugar. Do not use Guinness for the stout as it is too bitter.