Make a Christmas Pudding
What would we do at Christmas without Christmas pudding? For all the fans out there, this is a recipe to die for. Rich, moist, full of flavour and colour and simply scrumptious. Enjoy this delicious Christmas pudding recipe.
Contents
Ingredients
- 500 g / 1 lb currants
- 500 g / 1 lb raisins
- 500 g / 1 1b golden raisins
- 500 g / 1 lb bread crumbs
- 500 g / 1 lb brown sugar
- 250 g / 8 oz suet – get it from a butcher; if you can't find it, substitute with solid vegetable shortening
- 120 g / 4 oz mixed peel
- 120 g / 4 oz glace cherries, chopped
- 120 g / 4 oz almonds, chopped
- grated rind of 1 lemon
- grated rind of 1 orange
- 1 carrot, grated
- 1 apple, grated
- 1 Tbsp flour
- 1 tsp mixed spice (pudding spice) – it's a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice, and sometimes includes mace, cloves, ginger, coriander, caraway, and/or Cayenne pepper; you can mix your own to taste, or follow the recipe for garam masala and substitute
- 6 eggs
- 300 ml / 10fl oz Guinness
- a pinch of salt
- a knob of butter, for greasing
- 5 Tbsp brandy – optional
Steps
- Mix the dry ingredients. Into the large bowl, put the following: raisins, golden raisins, currants, breadcrumbs, suet, brown sugar, mixed peel, grated carrot, glace cherries, lemon peel, orange peel, chopped almonds, mixed spice, flour, grated apple and the pinch of salt.
- Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon.
- Beat the eggs. Crack all six eggs into a bowl and beat them lightly with a fork.
- Add the eggs and Guinness. Pour the eggs and Guinness over the dry mix.
- Combine well with your hands.
- Grease the bowl. Coat the inside of the glass bowl with the knob of butter.
- Transfer. Put the pudding mix into the bowl, pressing it down lightly and giving a final pat to make it level.
- Cover and seal. Place the circular piece of parchment paper over the mix, and gently press it down and around the edges.
- Follow by the tin foil and seal tightly.
- Make a Bain Marie. Place the bowl into the saucepan.
- Pour in enough water to fill up to three quarters, making a Bain Marie, which means a water bath or double boiler.
- Cook the pudding. Place the saucepan onto a high heat and bring the water to a boil. Once it is boiling, turn it down to a gentle simmer and allow to simmer for roughly 4 hours.
- It's very important that you keep topping up the water, which will be approximately every hour. Remember to bring it back to the boil and then turn it back down to a simmer.
- Remove the pudding from the heat after this time. Take off the tin foil.
- Remove the sheet of parchment paper.
- Place a large plate on top of the bowl.
- Using cloths to grip the plate better, very carefully flip the pudding onto the plate to sit upright.
- Serve. Your Christmas pudding is now ready to serve! As an optional extra, ladle over some brandy, along with some delicious Make Brandy Butter! Merry Christmas.
Tips
- The great thing about this recipe is that it can be made two months in advance and it will only improve the flavour! If you do, store it in a cool, dry place.
- Some traditions provide that coins can be included in the pudding. If you do this, make sure that the coins are food-safe (some mints sell pudding coins) and warn guests that the coins are in the pudding in case they accidentally swallow one.
- You can substitute a favourite stout for the Guinness.
Things You'll Need
- 1 large bowl
- 1 fork
- 1 wooden spoon
- 1 glass bowl
- 1 circle of parchment paper, cut to size of bowl
- 1 square of tinfoil
- 1 wide saucepan
- 1 ladle
- 1 jug
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