Nearly everyone who has ever hummed along to any version of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” in an elevator or sang the classic song in a school or church concert has one question: What the heck is figgy pudding.

Rose Morgan, who owns Central Perc European Cafe in Oakwood with her husband Mike, said the traditional English dessert is worth its weight in boozy goodness.

“This is a steamed pudding that is out of this world,” the baker said. “A lot of people don’t like it. I love it.”

Morgan said the pudding (pudding is a catch word for a variety of English desserts) is packed with spices such as nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger, and contains a whole lot of rum or brandy.

“You pour brandy on top so you have even more alcohol,” said Morgan, who hails from the Wirral peninsula in northwest England. “When you carry it into your dining room it is flaming.”

Many varieties of the dessert also known as “Christmas pudding” and “plum pudding” contain raisins, lemon peels, flour eggs and suet, beef or mutton fat, she said.

The fruitcake-like dessert is served with brandy sauce, brandy butter or whipped cream.

“It is very dense. It is very rich and you always serve it hot,” Morgan said.

She said the pudding is typically made in October to give the ingredients the chance to develop before the holiday.

“It is really good,” Morgan added.

A sixpence is put inside. It is said to bring good luck to the person who finds it.

Morgan admits it is an acquired taste.

She and her husband plan to spend the holidays with a group of 10 others originally from England. She said only two people in that group are fans of figgy pudding.

People should give the dessert a chance, Morgan said.

Dorothy Lane Market in Oakwood sells 4 oz pieces of plum pudding for $6.49 each.

The product is available at other DLM locations as well, a manager said.

Morgan said the pieces can be steamed to be reheated.

“Don’t put it in the microwave,” she said, adding that doing so would ruin the dessert.

Are you considering serving figgy pudding at your Christmas party this year? Here’s author Dorie Greenspan’s recipe for 8 to 10 servings of figgy pudding published on NPR.org. 

Figgy Pudding (serves 8-10)

What you'll need:
- 12 plump dried Calymyrna figs, cut into small pieces
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup dark rum
- 1/3 cup cognac or brandy
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- three large eggs
- 1 (packed) cup brown sugar
- two cups fresh white bread crumbs
- 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 cup dried cherries
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1/3 cup brandy, cognac or rum, to flame the pudding (optional)
- softly whipped, lightly sweetened heavy cream, vanilla ice cream or applesauce, homemade or store-bought, for serving (optional)

What to do:
1.) You’ll need a tube pan with a capacity of 8 to 10 cups — a Bundt or Kugelhopf pan is perfect here — and a stock pot that can hold the pan (If you’ve got a lobster pot, use that; it’ll be nice and roomy). Put a double thickness of paper toweling in the bottom of the pot — it will keep the pudding from jiggling too much while it’s steaming. Spray the tube pan with cooking spray, then butter it generously, making sure to give the center tube a good coating.

2.) Put the figs and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and, keeping an eye on the pan, cook until the water is almost evaporated. Add the cognac or brandy, rum and raisins and bring the liquids back to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat, make sure it’s in an open space, have a pot cover at hand and, standing back, set the liquid aflame. Let the flames burn for 2 minutes, then extinguish them by sealing the pan with the pot cover. For a milder taste, burn the rum and brandy until the flames die out on their own. Set the pan aside uncovered.

3.) Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and salt and keep at hand.

4.) Working in a mixing bowl with a whisk, beat the eggs and brown sugar together until well blended. Switch to a rubber spatula and stir in the bread crumbs, followed by the melted butter and the fig mixture (liquids included). Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and gently mix them in — you’ll have a thick batter. Fold in the cherries and cranberries.

5.) Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and seal the pan tightly with aluminum foil. Set the pan into the stock pot and fill the pot with enough hot water to come one-half to two-thirds of the way up the sides of the baking pan. Bring the water to a boil, then cover the pot tightly with foil and the lid.

6.) Lower the heat so that the water simmers gently, and steam the pudding for 2 hours. (Check to make sure that the water level isn’t getting too low; fill with more water, if necessary.) Carefully remove the foil sealing the pot — open the foil away from you to protect your arms and face — and then take off the foil covering the pan. To test that the pudding is done, stick a skewer or thin knife into the center of the pudding — the skewer or knife should come out dry.

7.) To remove the pudding from the pan (a tricky operation), I find it easiest to carefully empty the water into the sink, and then carefully ease the baking pan out on its side. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let the pudding cool for 5 minutes. Detach the pudding from the sides of the pan using a kitchen knife, if necessary, then gently invert it onto the rack. Allow the pudding to cool for 30 minutes.

8.) If you’d like to flame the pudding — nothing’s more dramatic — warm 1/3 cup of brandy, cognac or rum in a saucepan over medium heat. Pour the warm liquid over the top of the pudding, and then, taking every precaution that Smokey Bear would, set a match to the alcohol. When the flames die out, cut the pudding into generous pieces. Actually, there’s so much fruit in the pudding, the only way to cut neat slices is to make the slices generous.

9.) Serve the pudding with whipped cream, ice cream or applesauce.

Alternatively, you can cool the pudding completely, wrap it very well in several layers of plastic wrap and refrigerate it for up to two weeks. When you are ready to serve, butter the pan the pudding was cooked in, slip the pudding back into the pan, seal the pan with foil, and re-steam for 45 minutes.

Click here for more on Greenspan’s recipe.

What is your favorite Christmas dish?

Contact this columnist at arobinson@DaytonDailyNews.com or Twitter.com/DDNSmartMouth

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