Ingredients
Fruit
- 250 graisins
- 250 gsultanas
- 250 gcurrants
- 100 gmixed peel
- 100 gglacé cherries, halved
- 1apple, grated
- zest and juice of 1 orange and 1 lemon
- 150 mlbrandy, plus more for feeding
Batter
- 200 gshredded suet
- 150 gdark brown sugar
- 150 gfresh breadcrumbs
- 100 gplain flour
- 3eggs
- 2 tspmixed spice
- 1 tspground cinnamon
- ½ tspgrated nutmeg
- ¼ tspsalt
- 100 gchopped almonds
- 1 tbspblack treacle
To serve
- brandy, for flaming
- brandy butter or cream
Directions
- Combine all the dried fruit with the peel, cherries, grated apple, zests, juice and brandy, cover, and leave to steep overnight or for up to three days.
- Mix the suet, sugar, breadcrumbs, flour, spices, salt and almonds together in a very large bowl.
- Beat in the eggs and the treacle, then fold in the soaked fruit along with every drop of its liquid.
- Traditionally each member of the household stirs the mixture and makes a wish, stirring from east to west, on Stir-up Sunday, the last Sunday before Advent.
- Pack into a greased 1.5 litre pudding basin, pressing down firmly to drive out air pockets.
- Cover with a pleated round of parchment and then a pleated sheet of foil, and tie it down with string under the rim.
- The pleat is essential. The pudding expands as it steams, and a flat cover either splits or lifts and lets water into the basin.
- Steam for 6 hours in a covered pan with the water coming halfway up the basin, topping it up as it goes.
- Never let the pan boil dry, and never top it up with cold water, which stops the cooking dead and can crack the basin.
- Cool completely, re-cover with fresh parchment and foil, and store somewhere cool and dark for at least a month and up to a year.
- Feed it with a spoonful of brandy through the top every few weeks.
- On the day, steam it again for 2 hours to heat it right through.
- To flame it, warm a ladleful of brandy first and then set it alight and pour it over. Cold brandy will not catch, which is why the ritual so often fails.
- Serve with brandy butter or cream.
Technique
- Pleat the cover, steam long, and age it. A pudding eaten the week it is made tastes raw and boozy rather than deep.
- It descends from medieval plum pottage, which was a savoury spiced meat and fruit stew. Victorian cooks fixed the round steamed sweet form we now recognise.
- If you bake a silver coin into it, tell whoever is eating. It is a charming custom and a genuine choking hazard.
Substitutions
- Vegetarian suet, or butter frozen and grated, in place of beef suet.
- Stout or dark ale in place of some of the brandy.
- Orange juice throughout for an alcohol-free pudding, which will not keep as long.
Variations
- With extra glacé fruit for a lighter, sweeter pudding.
- Made as several small puddings, steamed for 3 hours.
- Served with a hot custard rather than brandy butter.
History
Descended from medieval plum pottage; Victorian cooks fixed the round steamed form, and stirring the mix on Stir-up Sunday became a family ritual.
Frequently asked questions
What is Christmas pudding?
Christmas pudding is a dessert from United Kingdom: dense steamed dried-fruit pudding, doused in brandy and set alight. Descended from medieval plum pottage; Victorian cooks fixed the round steamed form, and stirring the mix on Stir-up Sunday became a family ritual.
How long does Christmas pudding take to make?
Christmas pudding takes 45 min plus overnight steeping and a month ageing of preparation and 8 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 1 large pudding, 10 servings. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Christmas pudding?
Yes, within limits. Vegetarian suet, or butter frozen and grated, in place of beef suet. Stout or dark ale in place of some of the brandy. Orange juice throughout for an alcohol-free pudding, which will not keep as long.
What is the most important thing to get right in Christmas pudding?
Never let the pan boil dry, and never top it up with cold water, which stops the cooking dead and can crack the basin.
