Perfect Christmas recipe: Garama Masala Pudding from the Cinnamon Club

As the last weekend before Christmas comes to an end, those responsible for Christmas lunch this year frantically scour the web and back-dated recordings of cooking programmes to find the ultimate set of crowd-pleasing recipes.

We asked Indian sensation Vivek Singh of the Cinnamon Club to give us a helping hand in creating a show-stopping dessert finale this Christmas at home.

Garama Masala Pudding

Serves: 6
Prep and cooking time: 8 hours

What you need:

100g dried apricots, chopped (to about the same size as the raisins)
100g dried figs, chopped (to about the same size as the raisins)
100g dried black currants
100g seedless raisins
100g sultanas
75g candied lemon and orange peel, finely chopped
50g almonds, finely chopped
50g walnuts, finely chopped
50g pecan nuts, finely chopped
50g pine nuts, finely chopped
50g brazil nuts, finely chopped
50g cashew nuts, finely chopped
1 tsp ground garam masala
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
150ml dark rum
4 tbsp brandy
1 orange, zest and juice
1 lemon, zest and juice
225g salted butter
225g muscovado sugar
3 free-range eggs
150g plain flour
20g butter, for greasing pudding bowls

What you need to do:

1. Place all the dry fruits, nuts and spices into a large bowl and mix together thoroughly.
2. Add the rum and brandy and mix together well with your hands. Cover and leave it overnight to soak in the flavours (Vivek SIngh macerates the fruit and nuts for at least a month).
3. Cream the butter and sugar together until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time and continue mixing until all the eggs are incorporated into the mixture.
4. Fold in the flour and the soaked fruits and nuts.
5. Divide the mixture between two greased 1½ litre heatproof pudding bowls, filling almost to the rim, then smooth down the surface.
6. Cover each bowl with a large square of greaseproof paper, then cover that with a large square of aluminium foil. Tie the two sheets tightly into place under the rim with string, leaving long ends of excess string to make a handle. Loop one of the excess string lengths over the pudding basin and slide underneath the taut string holding the sheets in place on the other side. Bring up the string and firmly knot with the other piece of excess string, to form a secure handle to lift the pudding in and out of the water.
7. To cook, stand both puddings on a trivet in a large, deep, heavy-based pan (or each pudding in a separate pan). Pour boiling water into the pan(s), enough to come about halfway up the sides of the bowls.
8. Cover the pan(s) with a lid or a dome of foil and boil for seven hours. Check the water level regularly, topping it up with more boiling water as necessary to keep the bowls half submerged.
9. After seven hours, remove the bowls from the pan and leave to cool. Untie and remove the foil and greaseproof sheets and replace with clean, dry sheets of both greaseproof paper and foil.
10. Store in a cool, dry place. To reheat for the meal, return to a pan containing a few inches of boiling water, cover and steam for two hours, checking the water levels now and then, until completely heated through.
11. Serve with warm custard flavoured with nutmeg

Top tip: The longer fruit and nuts macerate, the better it will taste.

The editorial unit