Old-fashioned Christmas pudding

Traditionally a few tickeys are placed in the pudding, supposedly they bring luck
to the recipient.

175 g raisins
125 g currants
200 g sultanas
250 g chopped dates
125 g mixed peel
225 g dried apricots, chopped
300 ml Guinness beer
60 ml rum
grated rind and juice of a lemon
grated rind and juice of an orange
225 g butter, at room temperature
350 g soft brown sugar
1 green apple, cored and grated
30 ml molasses or treacle
3 large eggs
125 g self-raising flour
5 ml ground mixed spice
10 ml ground cinnamon
2 ml freshly grated nutmeg
10 ml ground ginger
225 g fresh white breadcrumbs

Place the raisins, currants, sultanas, dates, mixed peel and apricots into a large
mixing bowl. Pour over the beer, rum, lemon rind and juice, and the orange rind
and juice. Cover the bowl and set aside to soak overnight. Cream together the
butter and sugar until light. Stir in the grated apple and molasses. Beat the eggs
in one by one, adding 15 ml self-raising flour to help prevent the mixture from
curdling. Fold in the remaining flour and spices. Add the breadcrumbs and gently
fold mixture together. Stir in soaked fruit, then all make your wishes. Grease and
line 2 x 1 kg pudding basins or 4 x 500 g pudding basins. Spoon in the mixture.
Cut round lids out of doubled greaseproof paper, allowing a little overhang.
Fold a 1 cm pleat down the centres of the greaseproof circles and cover basins,
tying in place with string under rim. Pleat a piece of foil or muslin in the same
way and secure over basins. Steam for 4 hours, topping up with boiling water as
required, or cook in a pressure cooker for 2 hours. Store pudding until needed,
then steam for a further 2-4 hours, or 2 hours in a pressure cooker. Serves: 24