Lord Randall’s pudding
According to a seventeenth century Scottish ballad, Lord Randall was a man poisoned by his lover. He tells his mother how, while out hunting, his true love served him a dish of eels and when he fed the leftovers to his hunting dogs they immediately died. He returns home to his mother to report that he has been to the wild wood: "mother, make my bed soon, For I’m weary wi’hunting, and fain wald lie down’ and eventually tells her ‘O yes, I am poisoned: mother, make my bed soon, For I’m sick at heart, and I fain wald lie down". Why this particular pudding is associated with this ballad is unclear. It certainly isn’t poisonous! As the pudding includes a topping of marmalade it may have originated in Scotland where marmalade was made in Dundee and the title of a well-known local ballad seemed appropriate.
Equipment
1 litre pudding basin
Weighing scales
Measuring jug
Baking paper
Large mixing bowl
Electric hand whisk
Kitchen foil
String
Large lidded saucepan
Preparation method
Grease the pudding basin with butter and place a buttered disc of baking paper in the bottom of the basin. This is to ensure the top of your pudding won’t stick when you turn it out.
Place the 6 apricots and 2 tbsp of marmalade at the bottom of the basin.
Place the butter and sugar in the large mixing bowl and beat with the electric hand whisk until light and fluffy.
Add the beaten egg and whisk in thoroughly.
Sift the flour and bicarbonate of soda into the mixture and fold in.
Add the milk and stir in thoroughly.
Add the marmalade and stir in thoroughly.
Add the chopped apricots and stir until evenly distributed into the mixture.
Pour the pudding batter into the prepared pudding basin. Don’t cover this with a disc of baking paper as it has a tendency to sink into the pudding as it expands.
Make a pleat in a piece of kitchen foil and cover the basin with it, ensuring that the pleat is placed at the centre of the basin. Secure the foil with string tied under the rim of the basin, making sure you create a ‘handle’ with which you can remove the pudding from the hot water.
Place the pudding in the large-lidded saucepan and fill with boiling water two thirds up the sides of the pudding basin. Bring to the boil and reduce the heat to a simmer.
Cover the saucepan and steam for 2 hours making sure you check the level of the water and top up from the kettle if necessary.
Allow to cool slightly before removing from the saucepan and turning out onto a serving dish.
Note: I tend to prefer to use a hand-held electric whisk so the recipes refer to this, but you may prefer to use a stand mixer.. Just use the beater for mixing cake batters and the whisk for egg whites and cream
For tips and step-by-step instructions, see my guide on making puddings using a basin or mould. 
