All Things Considered: Dorie Greenspan, author of
Baking: From My Home to Yours, created this recipe for figgy Christmas pudding for All Things Considered.

• 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)

1. Getting ready: You'll need a tube pan with a capacity of 8 to 10 cups
2. 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.
3. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and salt and keep at hand.
4. 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
5. 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.
6. 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
7. 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.
8. If you'd like to flame the pudding
9. Serve the pudding with whipped cream, ice cream or applesauce.
10. 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.