Christmas Pudding Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Can I use butter instead of suet in Christmas pudding? ›

If you or someone in your family is a vegetarian and doesn't want to eat suet, look for a recipe that uses butter or margarine instead, such as this recipe for individual Christmas puddings.

The best tool for checking your Christmas pudding is perfectly cooked is an instant-read food thermometer like the Thermapen ONE.

There is a popular myth that plum pudding's association with Christmas goes back to a custom in medieval England that the "pudding should be made on the 25th Sunday after Trinity, that it be prepared with 13 ingredients to represent Christ and the 12 apostles, and that every family member stir it in turn from east to ...

What better or more traditional way to finish off Christmas dinner than with a showstopping flaming Christmas pud? Brandy works wonderfully well and we've added more punch by infusing it with fantastically festive flavourings.

If you can't find suet or you just don't want to use it, try shortening instead. One of the advantages of using vegetable shortening is that it is suitable for vegetarian dishes. Before using it, freeze the shortening until it is very firm.

Sounds wonderful, but Isabel doesn't want to use suet. To remedy that, King Arthur Flour says vegetable shortening with its similar melting point is the best substitute, but using it will change the flavour and character of the pudding.

Ideally we would suggest that when the pudding is made it is steamed for 8 hours (the combined time of the first and second steamings) as the steaming is important for the flavour of the pudding. The pudding can then be microwaved to reheat it on Christmas Day.

The pudding should be stored in a cool, dark and dry place. If the pudding is in a warm and humid environment (such as a steamy kitchen) then there is a risk that some mould will develop on the pudding. If you live in a warm or humid climate then it may be better to store the pudding in the fridge or to freeze it.

Open the lid slowly once the pressure has released, and let the pudding sit in the water for another 20 mins [if you remove too quickly, the pudding may become rubbery].

Christmas Pudding (also known as plum pudding or figgy pudding) is a dish as famous as it is misunderstood. In America, Christmas Pudding (also known as plum pudding or figgy pudding) is a dish as famous as it is misunderstood.

What is a fun fact about Christmas pudding? ›

Silver sixpences

It should be no surprise then to learn that the English add a silver sixpence (coin) into their Christmas pudding. Whoever finds the silver sixpence in their slice of Christmas pudding is said to be granted good luck for a year.

Finding a Christmas coin in your slice of pudding is believed to bring good luck and especially wealth in the coming year. This lovely tradition may date back as early as the 1300s when a dried pea or sometimes a small silver ring or crown was baked into a Twelfth Night Cake.

Once burning, the heat generated warms the liquid alcohol in the pudding, creating more vapour until eventually there is no more alcohol left to vapourise. At this point, the flame burns out and the pudding is left tasty and un-charred.

After the first 5 hours of steaming the puddings may not look that dark but do not worry as the colour deepens on the second steaming.

If wrapped properly, you can refrigerate the pudding for up to a year or more! If you want to give the pudding the second streaming, defrost the pudding at room temperature (20˚C) for 24 hours beforehand. While unrefrigerated, however, we would not suggest keeping the pudding out for more than 3 hours.

Frozen butter: Use shredded frozen butter as an alternative to suet in pie crusts. It's important to note that butter has a lower melting point than suet and will melt much faster.

It is an essential ingredient in the making of Christmas pudding, haggis, mincemeat and the crust for steak and kidney pie. The low melting point of suet makes it perfect for cooking at moderate temperatures-- such as steaming.

Mix the almonds, apples, candied peel, nutmeg, raisins, flour, breadcrumbs, light muscovado sugar, eggs and 2 tbsp brandy or cognac in a large bowl. Holding the butter in its wrapper, grate a quarter of it into the bowl, then stir everything together.

It's role is to enrich and lubricate mixtures, producing a good crust in steamed suet puddings. Suet is the compacted, flaky and fairly hom*ogenous fat that is found around animals' kidneys, protecting them from damage.