Cranberry, Almond, and Orange Christmas Pudding

Written by
Elaine Lemm
Elaine Lemm is a renowned British food writer, classically trained chef, teacher, and author with over 25 years of experience writing about British food and cooking.
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Elaine Lemm
Updated 07/25/19
Cranberry almond and orange Christmas pudding recipe

The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska
  • Total: 8 hrs 45 mins
  • Prep: 45 mins
  • Cook: 8 hrs
  • Marinating Time: 12 hrs
  • Yield: Serves 8

Christmas pudding plays such a large part in the traditional Christmas dinner. This cranberry, almond, and orange Christmas pudding is a slightly lighter version than the original, yet it's filled with flavor just the same.

Christmas pudding is best made well in advance to allow it to mature which traditionally is made on Stir it up Sunday, the Sunday before Advent around the end of November.
There may be a large number of ingredients in this recipe, which seems a little daunting, but simply assemble all your ingredients in advance. The rest is easy.

Ingredients

  • 150 g currants
  • 150 g dried cranberries
  • 150 g golden raisins (or sultanas)
  • 25 g mixed candied peel (finely chopped)
  • 4 tablespoons amaretto
  • 4 tablespoons Cointreau
  • 55 g self-raising flour (sifted)
  • 1 teaspoon ground mixed spice
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 110 g shredded suet (beef or vegetarian)
  • 110 g dark brown sugar
  • 110 g fresh white breadcrumbs
  • 25 g shelled almonds (roughly chopped)
  • 2 large eggs

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for cranberry almond and orange Christmas pudding
    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  2. Lightly grease a 1.4 L/17 cm pudding basin.

    Butter dish
    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  3. Place the dried fruits and candied peel into a large bowl.

    Place dried fruits in bowl
    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  4. Add the amaretto and stir well. Cover the bowl and leave to soak for a few hours, overnight if you can.

    Add amaretto
    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  5. In another large bowl, stir together the flour, mixed spice, and cinnamon.

    Stir flour and mixed spice
    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  6. Add in the suet, sugar, breadcrumbs, and almonds. Stir again until all the ingredients are well mixed.

    Add in suet
    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  7. Add the Cointreau, then finally add the marinaded fruits and stir again.

    Add Cointreau
    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  8. Beat the eggs lightly with a fork in a small bowl. Add the eggs to the dry ingredients and the fruits and stir well. The mixture should have a loose consistency, if it is too dry, add a little milk to soften.

    Add eggs
    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  9. Spoon the mixture in to the pudding basin, gently pressing the mixture down with the back of a spoon to make sure there are no gaps or air pockets.

    Spoon mixture into pudding basin
    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  10. Cover the basin with a double layer of greaseproof paper or baking parchment, then cover with a layer of aluminum foil.

    Cover basin
    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  11. Tie the paper and foil onto the basin with string. This will ensure the steam doesn't get into the pudding. 

    Tie bowl
    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  12. Place the pudding into a steamer and set over a large saucepan of simmering water and steam the pudding for 7 hours. Make sure you check the water level often to make sure it never dries out. The pudding is cooked when it is slightly risen in the paper and solid when gently pressed. The pudding is not a light cake but instead is a dark, sticky, and dense sponge.

    Place pudding in steamer
    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  13. Remove the pudding from the steamer and leave to cool completely.

    Remove pudding
    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  14. Remove the paper, prick the pudding with a skewer, and pour in a little extra amaretto.

    Remove paper
    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  15. Cover with fresh greaseproof paper and retie with string. Store in a cool dry place until Christmas day.

    Cover with wax paper
    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  16. On Christmas day, reheat the pudding by steaming again for about an hour.

    Remove paper
    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska
  17. Serve pudding
    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

Tips


  • The pudding shouldn't be eaten immediately. It really does need to be stored and rested then reheated on Christmas Day. Eating the pudding immediately after cooking will cause it to collapse and the flavors will not have had time to mature.
  • Left over Christmas pudding can be reheated by wrapping tightly in aluminum foil and heating through in a hot oven.

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