Minnesota Plum Pudding

Plum Pudding Murder

## Ingredients

* 1 twenty-ounce ***(approximate weight)*** loaf of sliced "store boughten" white bread\*\*\*
	+ \*\*\*A sandwich loaf is best because it's easier to cut off the crusts. I used Oroweat white sandwich bread. There are usually 22 slices, but you won't use the end pieces.
* 2 fifteen-ounce cans purple plums ***(I used Oregon brand)***
* 2 cups golden raisins ***(I used Sun-Maid brand)***
* 1 and ½ cups white ***(granulated)*** sugar
* 2 teaspoons cinnamon
* 1 cup melted butter ***(2 sticks, ½ pound)***
* 7 eggs
* 2 cups heavy ***(whipping)*** cream
* Sprinkling of freshly grated nutmeg

**Hard Sauce**

* ½ cup softened butter ***(1 stick, ¼ pound)***
* 2 cups powdered ***(confectioners)*** sugar ***(there's no need to sift unless it's got big lumps)***
* 2 Tablespoons ***(⅛ cup)*** brandy, whiskey, or rum

**Soft Sauce**

* ½ cup softened butter ***(1 stick, ¼ pound)***
* 2 cups powdered ***(confectioners)*** sugar ***(there's no need to sift unless it's got big lumps)***
* 2 Tablespoons ***(⅛ cup)*** milk

## Directions

* Do not preheat oven yet. This plum pudding must settle for 30 minutes before baking.
* Generously butter and flour the inside of a Bundt pan.

**Hannah's 1st Note: You can make this task easier by buttering it *(don't forget to butter the middle part,)* dumping in a quarter cup flour, and sealing the open top of the pan with plastic wrap. Then you can shake it every which way to Sunday and your flour won't fall out on the floor. *(It wont' hurt if you hold it over the sink just in case, though.)***

**You can make this task even easier by using the kind of nonstick baking spray with flour in it. *(I used Pam Baking Spray and it worked just fine.)***

* Divide your loaf of bread into thirds. ***(I used 7 slices, 7 slices, and 6 slices.)*** Stack several slices of the first third on a cutting board and cut off the crusts. Then cut the slices into 4 triangles. ***(Just make an "X" with your knife and you'll have it.)*** Repeat until the entire first third of your loaf is in triangles with no crusts.
* Arrange the bread triangles in the bottom of your Bundt pan covering as much of the bottom as you can.
* Open the two cans of pumps and drain them in a strainer. ***(My cans had 10 plums apiece.)***
* Slice open half ***(that's probably ten)*** of the plums and remove the pits. Then place the half plums cut side down on top of the bread triangles.
* Measure out one cup of golden raisins and spread them out on top of the plums in the pan.
* Sprinkle one half cup of sugar on top of the bread, plums, and raisins in your pan.
* Sprinkle the sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
* Melt one stick of butter ***(½ cup)*** in the microwave for 45 seconds on HIGH. Pour it over the bread, plums, and raisins in your Bundt pan.
* Repeat the whole thing with the second part of the bread, removing the crusts, cutting it inot triangles, and placing them on top of the first layer in your Bundt pan. Pit the remaining plums, cut them in half, and place them on the bread triangles. Add another cup of golden raisins, sprinkle on ½ cup sugar, and top it with one teaspoon of cinnamon. Melt the second stick of butter and pour it over the top.
* Remove the crusts from the last third of your bread, cut it in triangles and place them on top of the ingredients in the Bundt pan. Pres them down a little with your impeccably clean hands. Sprinkle the top with ½ cups sugar.
* Get out a mixing bowl large enough to hold 7 eggs and 2 cups of heavy cream. Crack the eggs into the bowl and whip them up with a wire whisk ***(or with a hand mixer.)*** Be careful not to over beat the eggs. You're making custard, not sponge cake.
* Add the cream and mix it in.
* Place your Bundt pan on a cookie sheet with sides, or another shallow pan that can hold any spills. Pour the custard mixture slowly over the top of your pan. It will need time to soak into the bread so don't hurry. If it threatens to spill over the top or run down the fluted tube in the middle, just wait a minute or two and when the level goes down, add more custard mixture. You may not be able to add it all to the pan. That depends on how much the kind of bread you bought will soak up. Don't overfill.

**Hannah's 2nd Note: I was able to use all of my custard mixture. The Oroweat white sandwich bread soaked it all up.**

* Once you've added all the custard mixture that you can, grate a little nutmeg over the top and let your creation sit and settle for 30 minutes.
* When 30 minutes are up, preheat oven to 350°F, rack in the middle position.
* When your oven comes up to temperature, place your Bundt pan AND the pan you're using for spills in the oven. Bake at 350°F for 70 minutes.
* Let your Minnesota Plum Pudding cool for 20 minutes and then turn it out on a pretty platter. If you're not going to serve it that day, let it cool completely, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate it. It will keep in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
* Let refrigerated Minnesota Plum Pudding come up to room temperature before serving. Dust it with powdered sugar, place a spring of plastic holly or another nontoxic Christmas decoration in the center, and carry it to your table for a wonderful finale to your holiday celebration.

**Hannah's 3rd Note: The pudding is best served slightly warm and drizzled with Hard Sauce (contains liquor), or Soft Sauce (contains no liquor). Recipes for the Sauces are below:**

**Hard Sauce**

* Beat the butter until it's fluffy.
* Continue to beat as you add one cup of the powdered sugar and 1 Tablespoon of the liquor.
* Add the final cup of powdered sugar and the final Tablespoon of liquor and beat the mixture until smooth.
* Check for consistency. This Hard Sauce should be fairly thick, but still pourable. If it's too thin, beat in more powdered sugar. If it's too thick, add a bit more liquor.
* Store the Hard Sauce in a tightly-covered container in your refrigerator until thirty minutes or so before using it on your Minnesota Plum Pudding.

**Soft Sauce**

* Beat the butter until it's fluffy.
* Continue to beat as you add one cup of the powdered sugar and 1 Tablespoon of milk.
* Add the final cup of powdered sugar and the final Tablespoon of milk and beat the mixture until smooth.
* Check for consistency. This Soft Sauce should be fairly thick, but still pourable. If it's too thin, beat in more powdered sugar. If it's too thick, add a bit more milk.
* Store the Soft Sauce in a tightly-covered container in your refrigerator. Take it out thirty minutes or so before you're ready to serve it.

**Hannah's 4th Note: Edna Ferguson, Lake Eden's expert on shortcuts, says to tell you that if you don't want to go to the bother of making Hard Sauce of Soft Sauce, just open a can of vanilla pudding and thin it with some liquor for the Hard Sauce. Make the Soft Sauce the same way, but thin it with a little milk. (You can also use instant vanilla pudding made according to the package directions and then thinned with either liquor or milk)**

**Lisa's Note: If you don't feel like making a sauce you can use heavy cream poured over a heated slice of pudding. You can also top individual slices with dollops of sweetened whipped cream, or scoops of vanilla ice cream. Herb says it's good if you cut a leftover slice of Minnesota Plum Pudding for breakfast and don't top it with anything at all.**