*This is a sponsored post for Itha's Puddings. I was provided a traditional pudding and a jar of brandy butterscotch sauce to sample and review.*
Ah, Christmas pudding. Bring to mind black and white movies where the perfect family of 4 sit down to a turkey, and finish the evening with a pudding, perfectly coated in custard and a sprig of holly.
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For my family, if we bothered to have one, it was always a flaming pudding.
Growing up, I thought the Christmas Pudding was simply something we set on fire at the end of the meal for the hell of it. Somehow, setting fire to food didn't worry me - I was more concerned that my cousins had scoffed the trifle while I was watching the adults incinerate dessert.
I never stuck around to eat it because I didn't fancy a bowl of ashes. It's fair to say I never waited long enough to get the full picture.
When I was approached to review a traditional christmas pudding, I did have visions of burning our home to the ground. I've never been very successful at anything requiring an open flame, unless you were specifically wanting ashes and gravy for dinner. In which case, I am a goddess!
Thankfully, Itha's Pudding arrived and it stated that flaming the pudding was optional. I could feel the house breathe a sigh of relief at the news.
Having never actually eaten a pudding before, I decided the entire family should take part on the review, to make sure I got a fair, well rounded opinion. The Man loves fruit and peel in things. I don't. I buy fruitless hot cross buns because fruit and peel in anything is enough to make me gag.
This review is more from him than me.
Itha's puddings are all handmade with fresh ingredients and a recipe dating back to 1912. The traditional pudding features a mix of vine fruits, mixed peel, matured brandy, nutmeg and cinnamon and smells lovely. It came wrapped in a cloth, and vacuum sealed - modern on the inside, traditional on the outside!
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It's worth noting that Itha also has a range of modern puddings available, such as Macadamia and Apricot or triple-choc-twist. Itha had me at triple choc.
The Man stated that the fruit to peel balance was spot on, but the brandy was very strong, so if you're not a fan of liquor then the traditional pud is probably not for you. The brandy butterscotch sauce was a winner for me, but the brandy flavour was a little strong for my taste.
However Itha does have sauce for those of us who like our ingredients a little less boozy, such as vanilla bean custard, mocha, creamy caramel and very, very chocolate. For a full list of available products visit www.ithaspuddings.com.au
www.choice.com.au listed Itha's puddings as number one out of the four finalist puddings in their higher end category for 2013.
Overall, The Man gave the pudding a 4 out of 5 and the sauce received as 4.5 out of 5. Worthy praise indeed since this is a man who is so fussy about his liquorice, it needs to be sourced from one specific confectionery boutique in South Australia!
So, if you're looking to impress the family with a flaming centrepiece, or just a pudding that will take your grandparents back to their youth, Itha's Puddings is certainly worth a look.
(and The Man)
