Traditional Christmas Pudding
This is a fairly basic Christmas plum pudding recipe but unlike other recipes it can actually have plums in it. Unfortunately the ingredient list is so long it isn't easy to make it in less than industrial quantities! This could prove fortunate, however, as they make great food gifts. You can substitute a mixture of fresh and dried apricots of peaches for the plums if you wish.
Ingredients
Serves: 20
- 125g wholemeal flour
- 125g fresh breadcrumbs
- 125g shredded suet
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1 small carrot, grated
- 1 apple - peeled, cored and grated
- 85g dark brown soft sugar
- 75g chopped blanched almonds
- 50g preserved stem ginger in syrup, chopped
- 2 tablespoons ground almonds
- 60g chopped walnuts
- 75g halved glace cherries
- 100g sultanas
- 50g dried currants
- 100g candied mixed fruit peel, chopped
- 4 plums, stones removed and chopped
- 1 lemon, juiced and zested
- 1 1/2 teaspoons mixed spice
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 125ml ale
Method
Prep:30min ›
Cook:5hr ›
Ready in:5hr30min
- In a large bowl, combine flour, breadcrumbs, suet, eggs, carrot, apple, brown sugar, chopped almonds, stem ginger, ground almonds, cherries, sultanas, currants, mixed peel, plums, lemon juice and zest, mixed spice, baking powder and ale. Let each family member take a turn stirring and make a wish. If you have used more dried fruit than fresh, add a little extra ale to make the mixture less stiff.
- Grease 2 large or 4 small pudding moulds. Fill with pudding mixture about 7/8 full. Cover tightly with greased greaseproof paper, then aluminium foil; secure with string. Stand pudding on a trivet in a large pot of boiling water that reaches halfway up the sides of the pudding mould. Steam puddings over medium-low heat in boiling water 10 hours for large puddings, 5 hours for small puddings, topping off water regularly until quite firm and set.
- If not serving immediately, let cool completely, then replace covers with fresh greaseproof paper and foil and store in a cool, dry place, basting from time to time with rum or brandy, for up to 3 months. To serve, reheat by steaming 2 to 3 hours.
How to steam Christmas pudding
See our How to steam Christmas pudding guide to get step-by-step instructions for steaming your pudding to perfection.
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Reviews & ratings
Average global rating:
(9)
Reviews in English (9)
Alot of ingredients but turned out very moist. I made smaller versions in 1/2 pint tubberware bowls to give away as gifts. - 10 Oct 2011
Perfecto - 30 Oct 2010
at cooking school my pastry chef was from England and we learned to make a wish not only for the pudding but also for xmas fruit cakes! thank you for sharing this tit bits. I usually replace the suet with butter and like this recipe, uses what ever in the baking pantry, including dates, plum, apricot and cranberries. I like some nuts but very finely chopped. - 04 Dec 2010 (Review from Allrecipes US | Canada)