• 1/2 cup hazelnuts (filberts)
• 1/2 cup dried cherries
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1 cup chopped dried peaches
• 1 cup chopped dried pears
• 1 cup chopped dried pitted dates
• Finely grated zest of 1 orange
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 3/4 cup ale
• 1 cup sifted flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 cup fine dry bread crumbs
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1/3 cup unsulphured molasses
• 3 Tablespoons brandy
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
  
  Preheat oven to 350° F. Toast hazelnuts until lightly browned and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Place in clean tea towel and rub vigorously to remove skins. Place in food processor and finely chop. Set aside.

Meanwhile, combine dried fruits, orange and lemon zests, and ale in large saucepan. Bring to simmer over high heat, cover, and let stand 20 minutes.

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, spices, and breadcrumbs and set aside. In large bowl of electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together until fluffy. Beat in eggs, beating one at a time, until well incorporated. Beat in molasses, flour mixture, dried fruit mixture and hazelnuts. Liberally grease two 1-quart molds or metal bowls and divide batter between them. Cover entire bowls with double thickness of foil.

Set bowls on racks in pans and fill pans with boiling water to come halfway up sides of puddings. Cover and place  in oven. Keep water simmering, adding additional water as needed. Steam 4 hours.

Cool puddings on rack, still covered. Uncover and spoon brandy over. Re-cover and refrigerate until needed. To  serve, steam again in same manner 1 hour or until hot. Whip cream with sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form and serve with pudding.