While most of us have sang about figgy pudding since our kindergarten christmas days, my guess is that most of us have never set eyes on it talk more of eating it.
Even though figgy pudding is a somewhat popular christmas dish in america n britain, virtually nothing is heard abt it in Nigeria, so perhaps this is a good time to start the figgy pudding revolution.
Are u tired of eating rice n stew through out christmas period ? Then u should try figgy pudding

12 plump dried Calymyrna figs snipped into
small pieces
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup dark rum
1/3 cup cognac or brandy
1/2 cup raisins
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 (packed) cup brown sugar
2 cups fresh white bread crumbs (made from
about 8 inches of baguette)
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and
cooled
1 cup dried cherries
1 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup brandy, cognac or rum, to flame the
pudding (optional) Softly whipped, lightly sweetened heavy cream,
vanilla ice cream or applesauce, homemade or
store-bought, for serving (optional) Getting ready: You'll need a tube pan with a
capacity of 8 to 10 cups —
and a stock pot that can
hold the pan. (If you've got a lobster pot, use
that; it'll be nice and roomy.) Put a double
thickness of paper toweling in the bottom of the pot — it will keep the pudding from jiggling too
much while it's steaming. Spray the tube pan with
cooking spray, then butter it generously, making
sure to give the center tube a good coating. Put the figs and water in a saucepan and bring to
a boil. Lower the heat and, keeping an eye on the
pan, cook until the water is almost evaporated.
Add the cognac or brandy, rum and raisins and
bring the liquids back to a boil. Remove the pan
from the heat, make sure it's in an open space, have a pot cover at hand and, standing back, set
the liquid aflame. Let the flames burn for 2
minutes, then extinguish them by sealing the pan
with the pot cover. For a milder taste, burn the
rum and brandy until the flames die out on their
own. Set the pan aside uncovered. Whisk together the flour, baking powder,
cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and salt and
keep at hand. Working in a mixing bowl with a whisk, beat the
eggs and brown sugar together until well blended.
Switch to a rubber spatula and stir in the bread
crumbs, followed by the melted butter and the fig
mixture (liquids included). Add the dry
ingredients to the bowl and gently mix them in — you'll have a thick batter. Fold in the cherries
and cranberries. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and seal
the pan tightly with aluminum foil. Set the pan
into the stock pot and fill the pot with enough
hot water to come one-half to two-thirds of the
way up the sides of the baking pan. Bring the
water to a boil, then cover the pot tightly with foil and the lid. Lower the heat so that the water simmers gently,
and steam the pudding for 2 hours. (Check to
make sure that the water level isn't getting too
low; fill with more water, if necessary.) Carefully
remove the foil sealing the pot — open the foil
away from you to protect your arms and face — and then take off the foil covering the pan. To
test that the pudding is done, stick a skewer or
thin knife into the center of the pudding — the
skewer or knife should come out dry. To remove the pudding from the pan (a tricky
operation), I find it easiest to carefully empty
the water into the sink, and then carefully ease
the baking pan out on its side. Transfer the pan
to a cooling rack and let the pudding cool for 5
minutes. Detach the pudding from the sides of the pan using a kitchen knife, if necessary, then
gently invert it onto the rack. Allow the pudding
to cool for 30 minutes. If you'd like to flame the pudding — nothing's
more dramatic — warm 1/3 cup of brandy,
cognac or rum in a saucepan over medium heat.
Pour the warm liquid over the top of the
pudding, and then, taking every precaution that
Smokey Bear would, set a match to the alcohol. When the flames die out, cut the pudding into
generous pieces. Actually, there's so much fruit
in the pudding, the only way to cut neat slices is
to make the slices generous. Serve the pudding with whipped cream, ice
cream or applesauce. Alternatively, you can cool the pudding
completely, wrap it very well in several layers of
plastic wrap and refrigerate it for up to two
weeks. When you are ready to serve, butter the
pan the pudding was cooked in, slip the pudding
back into the pan, seal the pan with foil, and re- steam for 45 minutes.

Picture or it didn't.......