Christmas Pudding
The dark, dense, fruit-packed heart of a British Christmas dinner, steamed for hours and made weeks ahead so the flavors can marry. Serve it warm with brandy butter and the table goes quiet.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Christmas Pudding, in 5 ideas
- Time is an ingredient. The mix rests overnight before steaming, and the finished pudding matures for weeks, getting darker and rounder as it waits.
- Suet is traditional, frozen grated butter works. Either way the fat should stay in small pieces, melting slowly through the long steam to keep the crumb moist.
- The steam must never stop. A steady simmer and a kettle of boiling water for top-ups keep the pudding cooking evenly for the full six hours.
- Stout and treacle build the color. Dark beer, black treacle and brown sugar are why a Christmas pudding is nearly black, with a flavor to match.
- It is steamed twice, and that is the point. Once to cook and keep, once on the day to serve, so Christmas Day itself stays calm.
What you need
Ingredients
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 cup currants
- 1 cup golden raisins
- 1/2 cup candied mixed peel, chopped
- 3/4 cup suet or frozen grated butter
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 cup fresh white breadcrumbs
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp mixed spice (pumpkin pie spice works)
- 1 apple, peeled and grated
- Zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 2/3 cup stout or dark ale
- 2 tbsp black treacle or molasses
- 3 tbsp brandy, plus more for serving
How to make it
Method
In a very large bowl, mix the raisins, currants, golden raisins, peel, suet, sugar, breadcrumbs, flour, spice, grated apple and both zests. Stir in the eggs, stout, treacle and brandy until everything is evenly dark and damp. Cover and rest overnight; the fruit will drink up the liquid.
Grease a 1.5 quart pudding basin (or a heatproof bowl) and line the base with a small parchment disc. Pack in the mixture, pressing down to remove air pockets, leaving 1 inch at the top. Cover with a pleated layer of parchment, then foil, and tie securely with string, making a string handle.
Set the basin on a trivet or upturned saucer in a large pot. Pour in boiling water to come halfway up the basin. Cover and steam over a gentle simmer for 6 hours, topping up with boiling water whenever the level drops. The top should feel firm and the pudding will have darkened deeply.
Lift out, cool completely, then remove the foil and parchment and cover with fresh layers. Store in a cool dark cupboard for up to 6 weeks; it improves every week it rests. Feed it a tablespoon of brandy once a week if you like.
On serving day, steam again for 2 hours by the same method, topping up the water as before. The pudding should be piping hot and very dark.
Turn out onto a warm plate. Warm 3 tablespoons of brandy in a small pan, pour it over the pudding, and light it if you want the traditional blue flame. Carry it to the table still flaming, and serve with brandy butter or hard sauce.
No pudding basin: a tempered glass or ceramic mixing bowl works fine. Just be sure the foil cover is pleated (the pudding swells as it steams) and tied tight enough that no water sneaks in.