The puddings can be made up to six months in advance if kept in a cool, dark place. The armagnac butter can be made one or two days ahead and chilled.
Ingredients for the puddings
250g each of raisins, currants, sultanas, brown breadcrumbs and brown sugar
75g nibbed almonds
1 Bramley apple, cored and finely chopped
1 lemon, grated zest & juiced
1 orange, grated zest & juiced
4 eggs, organic/free range, medium, beaten
100g candied peel, chopped
50g wholemeal flour
1 tsp Chinese five spice powder
250g vegetable suet
Ingredients for the armagnac butter
150g unsalted butter
75g icing sugar
4-8 tbsp armagnac (depending on the spirit of Christmas you want - you can use rum, brandy or cognac instead)
Plus armagnac to flame
Preparing the puddings
Prepare 2 x 1-litre pudding basins by greasing them well, with extra butter, then lining the bottoms with greaseproof paper.
In a large bowl, mix all the pudding ingredients together thoroughly. Fill the basins to 1cm below the rim. Then cover each with a circle of greaseproof paper followed by a larger piece of foil. Tie this around with a piece of string, but loosely so that there is room for the pudding to expand.
Cooking the puddings
Steam the puddings for 3½-4 hours. The longer you steam them, the darker they will become. If you do not have a steamer, cook the puddings on a wire rack in a pan of boiling water. Make sure the water stays at a steady boil, and top it up from time to time.
Remove the basins from the steamer and leave to cool. Remove the puddings from the basins, wrap well with clean greaseproof paper, and store in a cool place until needed.
Making the armagnac butter
Cream the butter until white with an electric whisk. Beat in the sugar gradually. Add the armagnac little by little. Beat it in thoroughly. If the mixture shows any sign of curdling, do not add all of the alcohol as you can pour it over the pudding when serving. The butter should be white and foamy.
Refrigerate until needed.
Reheating and serving
Return the puddings to greased basins and steam them for about an hour. Turn the puddings out on to a serving dish, and decorate with holly.
Heat and flame a ladleful of armagnac, pour over the pudding and serve with the armagnac butter separately.