Plum Pudding with Orange-Mace Hard Sauce

Chop half of raisins into pieces roughly same size as currants. Combine chopped and whole raisins and currants in large, heavy-bottomed saucepan; add water. Cover and bring to boil; uncover and simmer briskly, stirring frequently, until nearly all liquid has evaporated, 15 to 18 minutes. Remove pan from heat, recover, and let cool to room temperature, at least 2 hours.

Combine bread crumbs, brown sugar, flour, spices, and salt in workbowl of food processor. Process until brown sugar is completely pulverized, about 15 seconds. Add butter and pulse until mixture is consistency of coarse bread crumbs, about ten 1-second pulses. Be careful not to allow mixture to clump. Whisk eggs in large bowl until foamy, then beat in sherry and 1/3 cup brandy. Stir in crumb mixture. Add cooked fruits and their juices and citron, if using, and stir until well blended.

Very thickly grease 2 1/2- or 3-quart mold with shortening. Following illustration 1 below, fill mold with pudding batter, leaving at least 1 inch space between batter and rim to allow for expansion. If mold has cover, grease inside of cover and snap in place. Otherwise, cut piece of heavy-duty foil 1 inch larger than mold. Crimp foil over rim of mold with as little overhang as possible down sides (water tends to travel up overhanging foil).

Following illustration 2, arrange cake rack. In bottom of large pot and set mold on top. Pour enough boiling water into pot to come halfway up sides of mold. If mold does not have its own cover, place upside-down plate over foil and cover pot (illustration 3). Turn heat to high and return water to boil as quickly as possible to set outside of pudding and prevent sticking. Lower heat to maintain brisk simmer and steam for 3 1/2 hours, replenishing pot with additional boiling water as needed.

Following illustration 4, remove mold from pot and let pudding cool until tepid. Shake mold back and forth to loosen pudding, then unmold onto large sheet of heavy-duty foil. Wrap pudding tightly, then wrap in second sheet of foil or enclose in zipper-lock plastic bag. Let pudding stand at cool room temperature for 3 days, then refrigerate for at least 1 week and up to 2 months.

When ready to serve, return pudding to original mold that has been well greased and steam 2 to 3 hours, until center registers 160 degrees on instant read thermometer, or knife plunged in center comes out hot. (Once reheated, pudding can be left in pot, with heat shut off, for 1 to 2 hours before serving.) Invert pudding onto platter and unmold. If you wish to flambé pudding, warm 1/4 cup brandy in small saucepan until barely tepid. Drizzle brandy over pudding and then, standing back, ignite with long wooden match. Cut into wedges and serve with Fluffy Orange-Mace Hard Sauce.

For Hard Sauce:

Combine butter, sugar, zest, mace, and salt in large bowl with electric mixer set at low speed; gradually increase speed to medium-high and beat until mixture is fluffy and looks almost white, 7 to 10 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Combine brandy and sherry in liquid measuring cup. With mixer running, very slowly dribble in spirits until well combined. Turn mixture into airtight container and refrigerate for up to 1 week. Bring refrigerated sauce to room temperature before transferring to serving dish or it will separate.

Combine brandy and sherry in liquid measuring cup. With mixer running, very slowly dribble in spirits until well combined. Turn mixture into airtight container and refrigerate for up to 1 week. Bring refrigerated sauce to room temperature before transferring to serving dish or it will separate.