Cynthia J Anderson asked: Does anyone have a recipe for Figgy Pudding?

Here you are! You've heard the Christmas Carol "We Wish You A Merry Christmas", and the second verse which says "Now bring us some Figgy Pudding..." Well, this is the Figgy Pudding that they're singing about. It is also the dish that Mary Cratchit serves her family for Christmas dessert in Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol". After you've tasted it you will understand why the carolers are demanding it - it is wonderfully delicious! The only time-consuming part is chopping the figs, so settle in for that one part then enjoy the rest.

Figgy Pudding
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Pudding Ingredients:
16 oz dried Calimyrna figs
1.75 cup milk
1.5 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
3 large eggs
.5 cup margarine or butter (1 stick), melted and cooled slightly
1.5 cup fresh bread crumbs (3 to 4 slices white bread)
1 Tbsp grated orange peel (a bottled spice)

Once the Figgy Pudding has been prepared, there is a wonderfully delicious sauce that accompanies it. This is the crowning part of the dish! Brandied Hard Sauce

Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 2.5 quart metal pudding mold or fluted tube pan. Now cut the stems from the figs, and cut figs into small pieces. In a 2 quart saucepan over medium-low heat, cook figs and milk, covered, 10 to 15 minute, stirring occasionally (mixture may look curdled). Be careful not to let mixture boil!

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. Next in a large bowl, with mixer at high speed, beat eggs 1 minute. Reduce speed to low; add margarine or butter, bread crumbs, orange peel and warm fig mixture. Gradually add the flour mixture that was put together at the first of this step; beat until just blended.

Spoon the fig mixture into the greased mold, smoothing the top. We use PAM in the mold, which seems to work well. Use the spoon to push the mixture into all the cracks and crevices of the mold, and try to get the top as even as possible. Next, cover the mold with a sheet of greased foil, greased-side down.

Place the mold in a deep roasting pan and place on the oven rack. Pour hot tap water into the roasting pan to come 2 inches up the side of mold. Bake the pudding for 2 hours or until it is firm and it pulls away from the side of the mold.

While it is baking, it's time to mix the Hard Sauce

Remove the pudding from water bath; remove foil and cool on wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert it onto a serving plate, and remove mold. Serve warm.

As each piece is sliced, top it with the Hard Sauce. You can tell your guests about the Christmas Carol that boasts this dessert, but this dish is so good that you're going to feel like one of the more-decadent Roman Emperors as you feast upon it, no matter what.