We are at the fifth part of my Christmas Pudding Chronicles and the fourth week of maturing an English, fruit-filled, boozy cake suitable for flambéing on Christmas Day. For those just diving into it, you can read about how this fig pudding series began, how to make the cake, how to ‘harden’ it and a bit of the history of maturing desserts (sometimes in animal stomachs) in these posts. This is the last week before the big show on Christmas Day, which makes today a great day for another brandy week and ‘hard sauce’ making.

At this point, I feel like I’m taking care of a little closet buddy. I keep him in the closet where I keep my pots and pans, so we check in daily. Every time I grab a skillet from my closet, we look at each other, give each other a quick nod, and I close the door. Today is “feeding day,” so Li’l Pud gets to come out and get nourishment in the form of brandy. It’s traditional to soak the cake in a tablespoon or two of brandy once a week, but it’s an optional part of the Christmas pudding tradition. I wanted the full experience, so I went for it.

I’ve tried applying the brandy with a pastry brush, a spray bottle, and this week, a turkey baster. I was tempted to stick the baster directly into my brandy bottle, but something didn’t feel right, and I couldn’t measure it out since my baster doesn’t have that feature. Instead, I measured out a tablespoon and a half into a bowl and basted it from there. The turkey baster was satisfactory for precise application, but unless an interesting option comes up in the comments section here, I’m going back to the pastry brush; it’s the easiest way to get the job done quickly and easily.

After soaking in brandy I thought to myself, "Okay, let's dress you up," and covered my Christmas pudding again. I now know that I could never be a cattle farmer. I've already named a four-week-old fruitcake and when harvest day comes I just don't know how I'm going to take it.