Steamed plum pudding with zabaglione sauce

Dry stale white bread in the oven at 250F, about 20 minutes per side.

Process the dried bread to crumbs; measure three cups.

Chop the currants, golden raisins and dark raisins in the food processor in small amounts; overloading the processor blitzed half to a paste.

Toss the fruit with sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and mace.

Add melted butter and work until the raisins break up; add the beaten eggs and a few drops of almond extract.

Add the bitter orange marmalade and mix until no raisins are clumped together.

Pack the mixture tightly into the mold.

Set the steamer attachment in a pot of water so the water comes a third of the way up the mold.

Cover, bring to a simmer and steam for six hours.

Leave at room temperature; it sat an hour and a half.

For the zabaglione, whisk rum, dry white vermouth, egg, egg yolk, sugar and salt in a saucepan for a minute.

Bring to low heat, whisking until thick, foamy and warm to the fingers; do not let it simmer or the eggs scramble.

Unmold the pudding onto a platter; re-steam if it has cooled.

Decorate with a sprig of holly, or rosemary.

Flambe with rum, serve with the zabaglione, and slice with a heated knife.