With origins in 15th-century England, plum pudding is one of the oldest yuletide treats, and it’s remained a classic holiday capper around Toronto since the city’s birth. No wonder: packed with nuts and fruit (but not so much as its distant, oft-disdained cousin, fruitcake), soaked in liquor and set alight at the table, it’s the perfect antidote to a cold Christmas night. Brick Street Bakery serves the most decadent English-style pud this side of the pond. Brit expat Simon Silander makes some 300 each August so they have time to steep for Christmas. Using a 19th-century recipe, he marries almonds, pecans, exceptionally sourced fruits (Thompson raisins, sultanas, apples, etc.), spices and, yes, beef suet, with five types of booze—barley wine and Guinness among them. (No, there are no plums—”plum” is Old English for “prune,” or dried fruit.) The aroma is heady, and every mouthful—enlivened with Silander’s homemade brandy butter, included with each pudding—is as rich as Midas. Pre-ordering is a must.

Of course, some traditions evolve over time. The English (either settlers or slave traders) most likely brought plum pudding to the Caribbean in the mid-1600s. Called rum cake, fruitcake and, when burnt sugar is added, black cake, the Caribbean take on plum pudding is dark, dense and wild with rum. The decadent black cake at Mr. Jerk (209 Wellesley St. E., 416-961-8913) is topped with swags of white icing, joyous sprinkles and enough cane sugar booze to warm even the frostiest holiday heart. Best not to eat and drive.