Do you know what figgy pudding is?

Tonight while Quent and I were playing dominoes and listening to Christmas carols the song We Wish You A Merry Christmas came on and we were signing along having a good time when Quent asked me what figgy pudding is. I said I don't know I assume it's pudding made with figs. So after he beat me twice in dominoes we decided to look up what figgy pudding is.

The following is from the wisegeek.com website:

It's amazing what a brief mention in one Victorian-era Christmas carol can do for an obscure little dessert called figgy pudding. Every year, thousands of people around the world become curious about the figgy pudding mentioned in the secular English carol "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." Apparently, the party-goers mentioned in the lyrics refuse to leave until they get some figgy pudding from their host. This must be some seriously good pudding.

In actuality, figgy pudding is more of a cake than a pudding. There have been recipes for figgy pudding since the 15th century, although its popularity as a Christmas dessert probably reached its peak during the late 19th century. Several factors have significantly hampered the wholesale expansion of the figgy pudding industry, including an interminably long cooking time, an exotic ingredients list and a cringe-inducing dependency on saturated fats for texture.

There are numerous recipes for figgy pudding, from a traditional steamed version similar to modern bread pudding to a pastry-covered blend of figs, dates, fruits and spices. Nearly all figgy pudding recipes call for three or four hours of steaming. This is accomplished by placing a metal bowl with the figgy pudding mixture into a larger bowl partially filled with boiling water.

I found the following recipe for figgy pudding just in case you want to try it.

A traditional English steamed pudding served during the Christmas holiday. This version calls for butter and shortening instead of suet, a solid white fat from the loin and kidney regions of meat animals.

Figgy Pudding with Custard Sauce

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons rum extract (or flavored extract of your choice)
• 1 apple, peeled and cored and finely chopped
• 1 pound dried figs, ground or finely chopped
• Grated peel of 1 lemon and 1 orange
• 1 cup chopped nuts
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 1/2 cups dried bread crumbs
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 large egg whites, stiffly beaten
• Custard Sauce(recipe follows)
• Sweetened whipped cream (optional)
  

Preheat oven to 325*F (160*C). Generously grease an oven-proof 2-quart bowl or mold; set aside. Cream together butter and shortening. Gradually add sugar, egg yolks, milk, extract, apple, figs, lemon and orange peel. Add next 6 ingredients, mixing well. Fold stiffly beaten egg whites into mixture. Pour into prepared bowl or mold and place into large shallow pan and place on middle rack in oven. Fill the shallow pan half-full with boiling water and slowly steam pudding in oven at 325*F (160*C) for 4 hours, replacing water as needed.

Custard Sauce:

• 2 cups milk
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon butter

In saucepan, scald milk and allow to cool. Mix together remaining ingredients, except for butter. Add to cooled milk. Cook over low heat until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in butter, mixing well. Serve pudding warm with custard sauce or sweetened whipped cream. Store unused portions in refrigerator. Makes 12 servings.

So there you have it....Figgy Pudding.