Christmas Pudding

This Christmas Pudding Recipe is a traditional English dessert served on Christmas Day. Best made weeks ahead of time so you can feed the pudding with Brandy, this classic, traditional dessert is always a winner. Step-by-step photos teach you how to make this Christmas pudding.

Growing up my mother always did a lot of cooking and baking during the Christmas season. Some of the staples made were pickled onions, mince pies, sausage rolls, shortbread, and this Christmas Pudding!

You've probably never had anything quite like a Christmas Pudding, this is an incredibly rich, dense, pudding filled with lots of dried fruits and spices then the cake is "fed" with brandy as the weeks leading up to Christmas. The way we cook this dessert is to steam the puddings in a large pot filled with water over the stove.

Since the pudding itself is so rich you just need a small slice, so it goes a long way. Some people enjoy Christmas pudding with custard, cream, brandy sauce, or brandy butter. Either way, this is sure to be a real treat!

Ingredients

The ingredient list may look long for this pudding recipe but the process is pretty much dumping everything together and mixing, super easy!

This recipe is on the larger side as when I make Christmas pudding I like to just make a big batch so I can give Christmas Puddings as gifts to some people I love. Out of this recipe, I make two (48oz) size puddings as well as 6 (3-inch) individual puddings.

• Fresh White Breadcrumbs. Please don't use store-bought! To make fresh breadcrumbs take white bread and tear it into smaller pieces and pulse in a food processor until crumbs are formed, you want some thicker crumbs.
• All-Purpose Flour. Also known as plain flour this is necessary to help bind everything together.
• Salt. The salt helps bring out all of the other flavors and balance all the fruit nicely, don't skip it!
• Spices. All of the warm spices give Christmas pudding it's iconic flavor, don't skimp on these! For this recipe, you will need a mixture of ground ginger, ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon, and mixed spice. If you cannot get ahold of the British spice- Mixed spice- you can use pumpkin pie spice instead. Here is a recipe for Pumpkin Pie Spice.
• Sugar. For the best flavor and texture, I like to use a combination of dark brown sugar and regular granulated white sugar.
• Mixed Candied Peel. I like to use a combination of candied orange peel and candied lemon peel, just make sure you finely chop the peel! 
• Currants. Also known as zante currants
• Sultanas. Sultanas are golden raisins.
• Seedless Raisins.
• Chopped Almonds. I find it easiest to chop almonds by placing them in a food processor or placing them in a plastic bag and whacking them with a rolling pin!
• Apples. You'll need two cooking apples or here in the states I normally use Granny Smith Apples for cooking.
• Orange and Lemon. You'll want the zest and juice of both citrus'. I use this Microplane zester that makes you feel like you are zesting butter it's so easy to use!! The orange zest and lemon zest add so much flavor!
• Large Eggs. The eggs will add moisture, flavor, and ultimately bind everything together.
• Liquor. Traditionally Christmas pudding is made with brandy, but I also love using Cointreau. Many others enjoy the flavor of cider and rum as well. If you are going to "feed the Christmas pudding" after cooking then you'll need extra alcohol, about two tablespoons every week you feed it.
• Milk. The milk also helps bind the ingredients together and moisten the pudding.
• Fat. Traditionally suet has been used but these days we just use salted butter and love the flavor just as much. If you want to be traditional then feel free to do an equal substitution for suet, and you can buy vegetarian suet.

Instructions

In a large stockpot add the breadcrumbs, flour, salt, spices, sugars, candied peel, currants, sultanas, raisins, almonds, apples, and the zest and juice of the lemon and orange. Use a large heavy spoon as the mixture is large and heavy. Mix until well combined.

In a separate container whisk together the eggs and Brandy.

Pour the egg mixture into the large dry ingredients and stir until evenly combined,

It will take a couple of minutes to really get everything moistened.

Next, mix in the milk.

Finally, add the butter and warm over low heat for 5 to 10 minutes for the butter to melt and all the flavors and ingredients meld together, making sure to mix it a few times to ensure the butter is evenly distributed.

Portion out the pudding mixture into pudding basins and use a butter knife to spread it into an even layer.

You could also use these mini pudding basins, I use these for my mini sticky toffee puddings recipe too! At this point you could wrap in plastic wrap and store in the fridge then cook in a few days.

When ready to cook start by preparing the parchment paper. Take a large piece of parchment paper and fold it so that there is a little overlap/ fold in the center then place it over the top of the pudding, this is easiest done with two people.

Next, take a piece of twine and wrap it around the top of the pudding, twice to securely keep the parchment paper in place. Creating the parchment fold in the center helps you easily move the pudding.

Tie the twine into a tight knot then cut off the excess parchment paper. We have also done this with large rubber bands. Some people like to then cover the parchment in aluminum foil but I don't find it necessary.

Put the pudding basin into a large saucepan and fill it halfway up the sides of the pudding basin with warm water, turn the heat on high, once you have boiling water, reduce the heat to low, and steam for 8-9 hours.

Make sure to keep checking the water level and adding more water every 30-60 minutes depending on how large your saucepan is. The Christmas pudding should look very dark when it is done. Be careful when removing the pudding basin from the saucepan and let it cool.

Once cool remove the pudding from the basin, I find it easiest to use an angled spatula to help ease out.

Wrap the pudding parchment paper then flip over and wrap again then I use two rubber bands to secure it in place. Store in a cool, dry place. 

You can serve the pudding as is or if you prefer you can feed the pudding with Brandy once a week until ready to serve on Christmas Day.

How to make individual Christmas puddings

To make individual Christmas puddings butter some individual pudding basins and fill them with the pudding mixture. Place a parchment round on top then wrap up with aluminum.

Place them in a 9X13 pan and fill with hot water halfway up the sides and bake at 400F/204C for 3-4 hours, or until they have reached the dark, rich color.

How do you feed Christmas pudding

To feed the Christmas pudding you can use a small skewer to poke holes into the cake and use a pastry brush to brush the pudding with a tablespoon or two of brandy, cider, or rum each week. Make sure you wrap the pudding tightly after each feeding.

How do you serve Christmas pudding

When ready to serve the Christmas pudding on Christmas Day, I suggest steaming it again for an hour or warming it in the microwave will not affect the quality.

Serve on a heatproof dish and if you'd like you can carefully pour slightly warmed brandy on top of the pudding and carefully light the pudding on fire with a long match for a special Christmas presentation! Wait for the fire to extinguish before serving the pudding.

Serve with fresh whipped cream, English Custard, or room temperature Brandy Butter.

How to freeze

Make sure the Christmas pudding is tightly wrapped in plastic wrap then a layer of aluminum foil and freeze for up to one year. Let thaw on the counter until ready to serve.

More Christmas Recipes

For another make-ahead Christmas dessert, I love my Gingerbread Cheesecake recipe, the creamy cheesecake pairs beautifully with spicy gingerbread flavor.

You can't celebrate Christmas without some cheeky chocolate truffles, these sea salt chocolate truffles are easy to make with the kids and so delicious!

My friend Hayley makes these delicious Christmas sugar cookie bars!

★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!

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Recipe adapted from The Good Housekeeping Step-by-step Cookbook 1980