Gordon Elliott Christmas Pudding

1. Grease 3 medium or 2 large basins. Mix together all dry ingredients, reserving 1/4 cup flour. Toss reserved flour with prepared fruit, almonds, and grated carrot. Mix suet through dry ingredients; add fruit and nut mixture. Mix egg, milk, orange and lemon rind and orange juice together. Mix the moist ingredients and dry ingredients together well. Stir in 3 silver coins. Place mixture in basins allowing a little room at top of basin for pudding to swell. Place two thicknesses of foil on top of basins and tie securely. If preferred puddings may be cooked in a prepared pudding cloth. Place puddings in boiling water in large saucepan or boiler and boil steadily for 5 hours for large pudding and 3 hours for small. As water boils away replace with more boiling water. On the day the pudding is to be served, boil for 1 hour more. Serve with ice cream or custard sauce. When serving flame with brandy.;

Custard Sauce:

1. Make the milk hot in double saucepan or in a jug standing in a saucepan of boiling water. Beat 1 egg and yolk with 2 teaspoons sugar until well mixed, pour hot milk on, stirring quickly. Return to saucepan or jug, stir with a wooden spoon until it thickens and coats the spoon. Strain at once into a cold basin, add essence when cooled, and pour into a glass dish. Grate a little nutmeg over the top. If you like, whip *egg white stiffly, add 1 teaspoon of castor sugar, and spoon in heaps on top.;