I found this brilliant recipe on http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/foodanddrink/Marguerite+Patten-230.html last year, when I was trying to find out if it was possible to microwave a homemade christmas pudding - anything to avoid the ridiculous (to my mind) notion of steaming it for the whole day on a hob! (Have you seen the price of fuel these days?!) 

Sure enough, the wonderful Marguerite Patten came up with this recipe (there is also a 'pudcast' if you want to watch her doing it). I made it about 3 weeks before Christmas and kept it wrapped up in a cold place until the day. It reheated in the microwave in a couple of minutes and was rich, fruity and delicious, light and not at all stodgy. Even my children loved it.  

Try it, save yourself 8 hours and in the wise old words of Why Don't You, go out and do something less boring instead.

Marguerite Patten's Perfect Christmas Pudding

This is a very special, traditional pudding but it can be cooked in 10 minutes in the microwave, the quick, modern and simple way – it’s beautifully easy!

The Ingredients

65g of Anchor,
50g of flour (preferably plain),
A teaspoon of mixed spice,
75g of soft breadcrumbs,
100g of soft brown sugar,
150g of sultanas,
75g of raisins,
50g of currents,
25g of chopped peel,
50g of soft dates, chopped up into small pieces
50g of glacier cherries,
2 tablespoons of black treacle or golden syrup,
2 eggs,
The juice of half a lemon,
Two tablespoons of orange juice,
75ml of apple juice,

Method

Put 50g of butter into a mixing bowl.

Place an additional 15g of Anchor into a basin in which the pudding is going to be cooked. Cover the basin on top with cling film or paper and put it into the microwave, for 30 seconds to soften the butter.

Mix all the remaining ingredients into a mixing bowl, and stir them all together.

With the small bit of melted butter, grease the pudding basin. Put at the bottom of the basin a small round piece of greaseproof paper to prevent the basin from sticking.

Now, spoon the mixture into the pudding basin. Put a greaseproof paper lid on top of the basin. (Make sure it is double or treble the thickness of the one used at the bottom.)

Make a few holes in the paper with a fork or scissors so that the steam can escape.

Place into the microwave. Set the microwave timer, at medium or medium to high rather than high to get a better steamed pudding.

Microwaves vary though, so take the pudding out and have a look at it after nine minutes.

Insert a skewer or a cocktail stick into the centre of the mixture, take it out and have a look at it.

If the mixture is still sticky, place the pudding back into the microwave for another half a minute or minute longer.

When there is no sticky mixture on the skewer, after doing the test, the pudding is ready.

Read more: http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/foodanddrink/Marguerite+Patten-230.html#ixzz2ja0CrcaU