½ pound seedless raisins ½ pound Valencia (very large) raisins ½ pound golden raisins ½ pound currants ½ pound flour with ½teaspoon baking powder 2 teaspoons of mixed spice (e.g., ½ teaspoon each cinnamon, ginger, and allspice, plus a heaping ¼ teaspoon of powdered cloves and a few grinds of black pepper) 1 teaspoon nutmeg ¼ pound blanched almonds, chopped ½ pound bread crumbs ½ pound dark brown sugar ½ pound butter ¼ pound mixed candied peel, finely chopped grated rinds, 1 orange and 1 lemon 1 teaspoon almond essence 1 large apple, grated 1 large carrot, grated 4 eggs 1 tablespoon molasses 1 cup Guinness or dark beer
Wash the raisins and currants and dry thoroughly. Mix flour, spice, nutmeg, almonds, bread crumbs, sugar, butter, and peel together. Add the raisins, currants, rinds, almond essence, apple, and carrot, and stir well. Beat eggs and molasses together and stir into the mixture. Stir in the Guinness until the mixture has a soft consistency, i.e., it falls off the spoon easily when the spoon is tapped sharply against the side of the bowl. Put the mixture into well-greased basins, cover tightly with foil, and tie to seal. Steam for 6 hours. (To do this, stand the basins on a trivet or piece of wood in a large pan of water that comes ¾ of the way up the sides. Cover the pan and let the water simmer. As it evaporates, refill to the original level with more boiling water.) After steaming, leave the covers on. Store for at least 6 weeks and steam again for 2 hours before serving. Serves 8.