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3 Comments This year, I wanted to put a true English classic on the table for Christmas; Christmas pudding or British Christmas pudding. Traditionally, a Christmas pudding is sometimes made weeks or months in advance. This gives the pudding a richer flavor, but trust me when I say it is delicious when eaten fresh. And perfect for Christmas day.
Table of contents
Christmas Pudding
You will need some time to make this amazing Christmas pudding. This is not a job to be done in between. In fact, a traditional English pudding is a steamed pudding that is steamed for about 4 hours. You can see why it is very important to wrap the pudding properly with aluminum foil. Now for making this fruity pudding you will traditionally need a pudding bowl but you can also use a bundt cake tin as I did here.
Most important thing is to make sure you brush the tin properly with enough butter or oil to make sure you can get it out of the mould after steaming.
By the way, I find the name Christmas pudding a bit strange, as it is not really a pudding. But it’s been called that for years, so I’m not going to change it. Haha.
What goes into the Christmas pudding?
The list of ingredients is quite long, but don’t let that put you off. After all, it’s not a cake you make every week (or so it seems), so it’s not cheap to make, but it’s a lot tastier than the inferior versions you can buy in the shops at this time of year.
So what goes into it:
- Dried fruit – you can use whatever you like. I used dates, apricots, cranberries and sultanas.
- Nuts – I chose almonds and pecans, but you can vary.
- apple
- Brown sugar – brown sugar is preferred here because it adds flavour!
- Butter – regular unsalted butter + extra to grease the tin
- Flour – standard white flour
- Breadcrumbs – you make this from fresh white bread. Do not use bagged breadcrumbs.
- Milk – whole milk
- egg
- orange juice
- Cognac or brandy – you can make this without alcohol too
You often come across recipes where the dried fruit is marinated in alcohol. Usually cognac/brandy. Well, I am not a fan of that, so in this recipe the cognac is only used to flambé the cake. Again, this is optional, but a nice show effect if you are serving it at your Christmas dinner.
Making the Christmas pudding
Making Christmas pudding is not complicated. First, grind the white bread and put it in a large bowl. Then add the nuts and dried fruit, mix well, grease the tin and pour the pudding mixture in the pudding basin. The pudding batter will be quite firm so press it down well and then you wrap the mould.
You do this in several layers, starting with baking paper. Then you put two layers of aluminum foil on top of that and tie everything up well with a piece of string before placing it in the steam bath.
Steaming
Next, you need a large saucepan that will fit your mould. The water level should be about halfway up the pan, but definitely not over it, so make sure you use a deep saucepan. You don’t want to make a wet pudding. The Christmas pudding should steam for about 4 hours. This also depends on the shape of the mould you’re using. Because I used a bundt cake tin, the inside will also get heat from the hot water making it cook faster than if it was a solid shape. If you have a solid form, you may need more time.
Flambé
Would you like to use the brandy to flambé your Christmas pudding recipe? Heat the brandy in a saucepan and light it with a lighter. Pour carefully over your Christmas pudding and serve on a nice plate. Perfect for the holiday season and when you want to add a bit of Christmas drama.
You can also make individual Christmas puddings if you prefer. Adjust the timing of the cook accordingly and test one before you take out the rest of the smaller versions.
Christmas Pudding Frequently Asked Questions
A traditional Christmas pudding made with alcohol in the cake can be kept for a long time. Sometimes it seems to last for years. As no alcohol is used in this version, you can’t keep it that long. 5-7 days in a tightly closed container in a cool and dark place or up to 3 months in the freezer. Make sure you wrap it tightly in plastic wrap
You probably can, but I would recommend using a different recipe. If you google baked Christmas pudding you will find variations. This one should really be steamed.
How long does Christmas pudding keep?
Can I bake the pudding?
What goes well with Christmas pudding?
How can I reheat it?
Looking for an easier Christmas dessert?
Then have a look at the below simple and delicious Christmas desserts:
Christmas Pudding
Ingredients
- 75 g bread crumbs freshly ground white
- 150 g dates
- 150 g apricots dried
- 75 g pecans
- 75 g almonds
- 1 apple
- 125 g cranberries dried
- 125 g raisins
- 75 g brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon gingerbread spices
- 150 g butter
- 150 g flour
- 200 ml milk
- 1 egg
- 1 orange
- 200 ml cognac optional
- butter to grease the mould
Equipment
- Bundt cake 2.5 litre content
How to make the Christmas pudding
- Finely grind the white bread in a food processor and place in a large bowl. Add the dates, apricots, pecans and almonds to the bowl.
- Peel and dice the apple, grate the orange zest and squeeze the orange. Add the apple and orange to the bowl with the rest of the ingredients (except the cognac) and mix well with a large spoon.
- Grease the tin well and thickly, I used a turban tin but you could use an official pudding tin.
- Pour the mixture into the tin and press down well.
- Take a piece of baking paper and cover the mould, making a hole in the middle where the opening is. Cover with two layers of tin foil (again making a hole in the middle) and tie a piece of kitchen string around it.
- The top of the turban should be well wrapped.
- Take a large pan and place the turban in it. Fill the pan with water to about half the size of the turban.
- Bring to the boil and cook for 4 hours with the lid on the pan.
- Check every hour to make sure there is still enough water in the pan.
- Pour the pudding into a serving dish. For the flambé, pour the cognac into a saucepan and heat over a low heat. Light the cognac with a match and pour over the pudding. Delicious with vanilla custard!
Nutrition Information per portion:
Disclaimer:
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
Your food photographs are beautiful, Simone. Found your website while searching for a Christmas Pudding recipe. Enjoyed your site very much. Loved the photos and found lots of great recipes I can’t wait to try. Theresa, Halfax Nova Scotia CANADA
Thanks so much Theresa! That’s such a kind comment. Hope you like the recipe!
No, it’s not quick. But worth every bit of time!