Christmas Pudding Recipe

Christmas Pudding

Love it, or hate it, Christmas Pudding is an integral part of British Christmas celebrations. It’s a deliciously dark, sticky, dried fruit studded dessert with a complex, warming flavour often served with brandy custard, brandy butter or cream.

Traditional Christmas Pudding is more like a heavy cake than what you might think of as a pudding. It is made with raisins and other dried fruit and flavoured with brandy or stout (sometimes both). It can contain nuts as well.

At the end of Christmas lunch or dinner, the pudding is garnished with holly and doused in warmed brandy, or other alcohol, which is then lit. Not only does this create a spectacle, especially when the lights are low, it also flavours the pudding.

Ingredients:

For the soaked fruit mixture:

250g raisins

250g currants

150g sultanas

100g mixed peel

100g glace cherries

1 apple, grated

Zest and juice of 1 orange

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

100ml brandy or rum

2tsp vanilla extract

For the Pudding Batter:

125g plain flour

1 tsp mixed spice

1-2 tsp cinnamon (to taste)

1tsp ground ginger

50g+ breadcrumbs (as required)

125g suet (vegetarian or traditional)

125g soft dark brown sugar

50g chopped almonds

3 large eggs

150ml stout or dark beer

Christmas pudding ingredients laid out on a wooden table

Method:

Soak the Fruit:

  • The day before, combine the raisins, currants, sultanas, mixed peel, grated apple, orange and lemon zest, and juice in a large bowl.

  • Stir in the brandy/rum and the vanilla seeds or powder. Cover and leave to soak overnight.

Mix the Batter:

  • In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, mixed spice, ginger and cinnamon.

  • Stir in the suet, sugar, and almonds.

Combine Everything:

  • Add the soaked fruit mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix well.

  • Beat the eggs with the stout and pour into the mixture. Stir until fully combined.

  • Add breadcrumbs as required.

Stir-up Sunday Tradition:

  • Gather your family and let everyone take turns stirring the pudding for good luck! Make a wish as you stir.

Christmas pudding mixture beaten together in a white bowl with recipe notes in the background

Prepare for Steaming:

  • Grease a 1.5-litre pudding basin. Spoon the mixture into the basin, pressing it down firmly.

  • Cover with a double layer of greaseproof paper and foil, tying securely with string.

Steam the Pudding:

  • Place the basin in a large saucepan with enough water to reach halfway up the sides. Cover and steam for 6 hours. Top up the water as needed.

Store:

  • Allow the pudding to cool, then replace the coverings with fresh greaseproof paper and foil. Store in a cool, dark place until Christmas Day.

On Christmas Day:

  • Steam the pudding again for 2 hours before serving.

Serve:

  • Turn the pudding out onto a plate, drizzle with warm brandy, and flambé for a festive touch. Serve with brandy butter, custard, or cream.

Beautifully steamed Christmas pudding that's been cut into on a serving plate
Robyn SalterSalters Events