Was it in fact his Nan's recipe?
1 teaspoon softened butter, for greasing
1 large egg
150ml of milk
400g dried sultanas and raisins
100g dried cherries and cranberries
125g suet or butter
125g plain flour
125g golden caster sugar
125g breadcrumbs
125 dates,chopped up
2 tablespoons of brandy
a pinch of salt
zest of 1 orange
3 pieces stem ginger, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground ginger
Firstly rub 1.5 litre pudding bowl with butter.
In a seperate bowl beat the egg and milk together and put to one side.
In a third bowl mix all the other ingredients together.
Pour the egg and milk mixture into this bowl and stir or mix with your hands untill everything is combined.
Spoon this mixture into the greased pudding bowl and cover with a layer of buttered grease proof paper followed by a double layer of aluminium foil.
Tie these layers in place around the rim of the bowl using a piece of string.
place the pudding bowl in a large saucespon and put cold water in the pan untill it comes half way up the side of the bowl.
Bring the water to the boil then cover with a lid and simmer for 3 hours.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Dont forget to check the water regularly making sure that it doesnt boil dry or the pan will burn and the bowl will crack.
When serving the pudding simply remove the cloth or the foil and turn it out on a plate.
Serve with brandy butter or a nice thick custard.