Tried and Tested Recipe for the Best 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 01/02/19
Traditional Christmas Pudding

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

No British Christmas is complete without a Christmas pudding. Despite reports that the traditional Christmas pudding has fallen out of favor​ for lighter desserts, it is as popular as ever.

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.

Don't be put off by the number of ingredients in this recipe, although it may seem daunting, just assemble all your ingredients in advance, and the rest is easy. All that is left then is to make a wish.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound/450 g mixed dried fruit
  • 1 ounce/25 g candied peel (mixed varieties, finely chopped)
  • 1 small apple (cooking apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped)
  • 1 tablespoon orange zest
  • 1/2 tablespoon lemon zest
  • 2 tablespoon orange juice
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 4 tablespoon brandy (plus a little extra for soaking at the end)
  • 2 ounces/55 g flour (self-raising, sifted)
  • 1 teaspoon mixed spice (level, ground)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (ground)
  • 4 ounces/110 g suet ( beef or vegetarian, shredded)
  • 4 ounces/110 g brown sugar (dark, soft)
  • 4 ounces/110 g bread crumbs (white, fresh)
  • 1 ounce/25 g almonds (whole, shelled, roughly chopped)
  • 2 large eggs (fresh)

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients. 

    British Christmas Pudding ingredients

  2. Lightly butter a 2 1/2 pint pudding basin.

    Butter a pudding basin
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  3. Place the dried fruits, candied peel, apple, orange, and lemon juice into a large mixing bowl. Add the brandy and stir well. Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and leave to marinate for a couple of hours, preferably overnight.

    Add dried fruit and brandy. Cover and let sit
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  4. Stir the flour, mixed spice, and cinnamon together in a very large mixing bowl. Add the suet, sugar, lemon and orange zest, breadcrumbs, nuts and stir again until all the ingredients are well mixed. Add the marinated dried fruits and stir again.

    Add dry ingredients to another bowl and add dried fruit mixture
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  5. Beat the eggs lightly in a small bowl then stir quickly into the dry ingredients. The mixture should have a fairly soft consistency.

  6. Now is the time to gather the family for Christmas pudding tradition of taking turns in stirring, making a wish and adding a few coins.

  7. Spoon the mixture into the greased pudding basin, gently pressing the mixture down with the back of a spoon. Cover with a double layer of greaseproof paper or baking parchment, then a layer of aluminum foil and tie securely with string wrapping the string around the basin, then loop over the top and then around the bowl again. This will form a handle which will be useful when removing the pudding from the steamer. 

    Add pudding mixture to pudding basin and cover with foil
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  8. Place the pudding in a steamer set over a saucepan of simmering water and steam the pudding for 7 hours. Make sure you check the water level frequently, so it never boils dry. The pudding should be a dark brown color when cooked. The pudding is not a light cake but instead is a dark, sticky and dense sponge.

    Steam pudding in saucepan
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  9. Remove the pudding from the steamer, cool completely. Remove the paper, prick the pudding with a skewer and pour in a little extra brandy.

    Remove pudding and let cool
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  10. Cover with fresh greaseproof paper and re-tie with string.

    Cover pudding with paper and string
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  11. Store in a cool, dry place until Christmas day.

    Traditional Christmas pudding, ready to serve
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  12. Enjoy!

Kitchen Notes

  • The pudding cannot be eaten immediately; it 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.
  • On Christmas day, reheat the pudding by steaming again for about an hour. Serve with brandy or rum sauce, brandy butter, or custard. Leftover Christmas pudding can be reheated by wrapping tightly in aluminum foil and heating through in a hot oven.