Christmas Pudding Recipes (2024)

Christmas puddings as we now serve them are another 'tradition'invented by the Victorians. In medieval England puddings were popularand eaten all year round and not just at Christmas time. Made with suet, dried fruit and sugar, a traditional Christmaspudding keeps extremely well and can be made several weeks or evenmonths in advance of Christmas.

The recipes I use are from Michael Barry's Cookery Year, oneof my best-loved cookery books and one of the first ones I've everbought in England. Sadly, it's now out of print. But if you happen tofind a copy, grab it! Michael Barry's traditional Christmas pudding recipe isapparently the one that's been used by the Royal Family since thebeginning of the 18th century. It's very rich, but keeps very well.

The other recipe I like is the one for a no-fat Christmas pudding.With all the festive foods around during December, something thatdoesn't add inches to my waistline while I look at it is very welcome.It's much lighter and also Vegetarian, but - because of that lightness -doesn't keep.



Christmas Pudding Recipes (1)Christmas Pudding: the end to a fabulous Christmas meal © freeskyline | 123RF.com

One item worth having when making Christmas Pudding...

Christmas Pudding Recipes (2)

...is a pudding mould.

You can, of course, use a bowl, wrap it in several layers of foil and a dishcloth, tie it with string and then set it carefully into the water bath to steam... only to do the whole exercise in reverse, only now with a steaming hot pudding!

A pudding mould with a close-fitting lid and a convenient handle takes care of all this and makes sure your pudding doesn't accidentally end up on the floor.

And if you thought you'd never use a pudding mould at any other time... try steamed treacle sponge pudding, or apple flapjack pudding, or even Sussex pond pudding. Your family will love you for it!

Traditional Christmas Pudding

This one is so rich, it should definitely remind you of Christmas past, but it keeps up to a year in a cool place, so if you make too much, you can be sure your puddings won't spoil.

The recipe makes enough for 1.5 kg of pudding. It will fill two medium-sized (16in) pudding basins, or a large (20in) one.

  • 175g (6oz) shredded suet
  • 175g (6oz) soft brown or demerara sugar
  • 175g (6oz) seedless raisins
  • 175g (6oz) stoned prunes
  • 175g (6oz) self-raising flour
  • 100g (4oz) chopped mixed peel
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp mixed spice
  • 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
  • 4 large eggs
  • 150ml (5 fl oz) milk

Christmas Pudding Recipes (3)Christmas Pudding © robertsre | 123RF.com

Mix all the dry ingredients together.

Beat the eggs and the milk until frothy, then stir into the driedingredients until thoroughly mixed. Allow to stand in a cool place (notthe fridge) for 12 hours.

Put mixture into pudding basins and cover with a layer of folded greaseproof paper. Tie with string.

Cook, covered in a water bath, for 3 hours. Keep 4-5cm (1-2in) simmering water in the pan at all times. If using a pressure cooker, cook for 1 1/4 hours.

Allow to cool and store in a cool, dark place.

Before serving, steam for an hour in a saucepan (or for 30mins in a pressure cooker). Flame with brandy and serve with all the usual asides.

No-fat Christmas Pudding

As mentioned above, this pudding is much lighter and completelyfat-free. It's also vegetarian, so make this one if you havenon-meateaters coming round. This pudding will not keep for very long. So don't make it more than 2-3 weeks before Christmas.

To serve four:

  • 2 medium-sized apples
  • 2 bananas
  • 50g (2oz) walnuts
  • 50g (2oz) almonds
  • 50g (2oz) hazelnuts
  • 4 eggs
  • 150ml (5 fl oz) milk
  • 450g (1lb) mixed dried fruit
  • juice and grated rind of 1 lemon
  • 1 tsp mixed spice
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 450g (1lb) freshly made wholemeal breadcrumbs
  • 50g (2oz) soft brown sugar

Grate the apples without peeling them. Peel and roughly chop the bananas and nuts. Break the eggs and whisk with the milk.

Mix all the ingredients together and stir well.

Place into one or two well-greased pudding basins and cover with folded greaseproof paper. Tie round with string.

Steam for 3-4 hours in a covered pan with 5cm (2in) simmering water.Check the water level at intervals and don't allow to boil dry. Thencool and store.

To re-heat, steam for an hour before turning out.

Christmas Pudding Recipes (4)

Other Essentially England Christmas Food Pages...

Bread Sauce

Cranberry Sauce

Cumberland Sauce

Chestnut Soup

Brussels Sprouts

Roast Goose

Yule Log

Mulled Wine

Christmas Pudding

Yorkshire Pudding

Mince Pies

Mincemeat



For more Christmas recipes, return from the Christmas Pudding page to the recipes page.

Christmas Pudding Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Why isn't my Christmas pudding dark? ›

The pudding will not be particularly dark in colour after the first steaming but darkens on the second steaming. If you cooked the pudding in a slow cooker then sometimes the temperature isn't high enough to fully melt the suet and you should do the second steaming in the regular way.

What alcohol is best for Christmas pudding? ›

Brandy works wonderfully well and we've added more punch by infusing it with fantastically festive flavourings.

Can I use butter instead of suet in Christmas pudding? ›

It's best not to. Suet is a very hard fat, which melts slowly through a mixture during the cooking, whereas butter melts very easily and quickly through a mixture. They are different types of fats and shouldn't be substituted for each other.

Why is my Christmas pudding soggy? ›

Make sure you cover the basin well with the parchment and foil, if the water gets in then your Christmas pudding will be soggy. And be sure to make a pleat in your lid to give the pudding space to rise.

Why won t my Christmas pudding light? ›

To set a Christmas pudding alight, the liquor must be warmed beforehand - otherwise there will be no vapour to ignite. Once burning, the heat generated warms the liquid alcohol in the pudding, creating more vapour until eventually there is no more alcohol left to vapourise.

How to tell if your Christmas pudding is cooked? ›

To test if the pudding's cooked, pierce the foil and paper with a skewer and wiggle it to make the hole bigger, or it will be wiped clean of any mixture when you pull it out.

Does alcohol burn off in Christmas pudding? ›

Conclusion: Christmas puddings contain ethanol that does not all evaporate during the cooking process. However, the rise in BAC after ingestion of a typical slice of Christmas pudding was negligible and unlikely to affect work performance or safety or impair a health care worker's ability to make complex decisions.

Why put breadcrumbs in Christmas pudding? ›

Though in older times the choice was more to do with economy, breadcrumbs give the pudding a much lighter texture. And again, use just enough flour to hold the mixture gently together. Not too many eggs, and more egg yolk that white if you can.

What to use instead of brandy in Christmas pudding? ›

We would tend to err on the side of using a spirit with a higher alcohol content (such as rum or whisky) but a fortified wine with a long shelf life, such as a sweet Marsala or Madiera could also be used.

Can you use Crisco instead of suet? ›

Our answer. It is possible to make Nigella's Ultimate Christmas Pudding using vegetable shortening (such as Crisco, Trex, Flora White, Cookeen or Copha) instead of suet (which is made from beef fat). You use exactly the same quantity in vegetable shortening but it needs to be coarsely grated before you use it.

What is figgy pudding made of? ›

Much like a “full breakfast,” Mervis says the ingredients used in figgy pudding can often be a source of contention, but the dish is typically made with dried fruit (traditionally raisins, sultanas, currants and figs), brown sugar or treacle, mixed spices, breadcrumbs, suet, eggs, and alcohol (often brandy, sherry or ...

What's the difference between plum pudding and Christmas pudding? ›

Why is Christmas pudding also known as plum pudding? The interesting thing is, plum pudding does not contain any plum! This goes back to the Victorian practice of substituting dried plums with other dried fruits, such as raisins.

Is it better to boil or steam Christmas pudding? ›

Ideally we would suggest that when the pudding is made it is steamed for 8 hours (the combined time of the first and second steamings) as the steaming is important for the flavour of the pudding. The pudding can then be microwaved to reheat it on Christmas Day.

Can you eat a 10 year old Christmas pudding? ›

Some Christmas puddings, made with dried fruit in the traditional way, are fine to be eaten as much as two years after they were made. "Bear in mind if the pudding is alcohol-free, of course, it will last a good while with the sugar content, but it will not last as long without alcohol to preserve it," stresses Juliet.

Do you steam Christmas pudding with the lid on or off? ›

Steamed puddings need to be properly sealed before cooking to prevent them from going soggy. This is possible even if you don't have a special pudding dish with a dedicated lid. -Lay a sheet of aluminium foil over a sheet of greaseproof paper (these need to be large enough to wrap generously around the pudding bowl).

Why is my steamed pudding not cooked in the middle? ›

If the pudding has a very big dip in the centre then it could be that it was not cooked quite thoroughly enough and this could happen if the water was not kept at a brisk simmer or if the pan was allowed to boil dry at any point.

What gives black pudding its color? ›

Well, black pudding is made mainly from pigs blood cereal, fat, herbs and spices.. It's called black pudding because it's black. We also have white pudding, which doesn't include blood. Both are served at breakfast time along with a fry-up.

What do you put on Christmas pudding to light it? ›

How do I flame the Christmas pudding? Turn out the steamed pudding onto a serving plate with a good-sized rim around the edge to catch any spirit. The important thing is to get the spirit really hot. Pour 2-3 tablespoons of brandy, rum or whisky into a long-handled metal ladle and heat it over a gas flame until hot.

Why do they light Christmas pudding? ›

The flaming brandy is said to represent the passion of Christ. Christmas puddings were traditionally boiled in a “pudding cloth”, although today are usually steamed in a bowl. Presented on the table with a sprig of holly, they are then doused in brandy and set alight.

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