Expert guide to the secret to the perfect Christmas pudding recipe (2024)
By Alison Tyler for MailOnline Updated:
View comments
It's Stir-up Sunday tomorrow, the traditional pud-making day, so we called in an expert.
The secret to a perfect pudding is all in the fruit, explains Paul Gray, who is master cake-maker at Bettys, the famous bakery and tea shop in Harrogate, Yorkshire.
'Don't use dried sultanas you've found at the back of the cupboard,' he says. 'Buy the freshest and best quality fruit you can afford.'
Proof is in the pudding: The secret to a vibrant Christmas pudding is adding the freshest, best-quality dried fruit
He should know - he's made millions of cakes during his 20 years at Bettys. Today, I'm at their equally famous cookery school making my own Christmas pudding, along with other festive treats.
We start the pudding at 10am - although the kitchen fairies have soaked the fruit in brandy overnight for us. Along the way we learn many tips, such as always juicing and zesting fruit that is at room temperature - this give you double the amount.
Likewise, eggs should always be room temperature to prevent curdling (it's the change in temperature that causes it).
The day is a revelation, accompanied by friendly banter, good company and delicious treats for snacking - plus, you get to take home all your Christmas cooking.
After five hours of steaming, the pudding is ready to cool and then be put away for at least four weeks (longer if possible) to mature before the big lunch.
Christmas pudding perfected in just one day - what could be easier? Well, cheating and buying a Bettys pudding (www.bettysbypost.com, tel: 0845 345636), if you really must ask.
Makes 1 pudding, serves 6-8 people
INGREDIENTS
230g (8oz) raisins
50g (1 1/4oz) currants
75g (2 1/2oz) sultanas
50g (1 3/4oz) glace cherries
15g (1/2oz) flaked almonds
100ml (3 1/2fl oz) brandy
Zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon
Freshly squeezed juice of 1/2 orange and 1/2 lemon
50g (1 3/4oz) vegetable suet
30g (1oz) wholemeal breadcrumbs
50g (1 3/4oz) plain white flour
90g (3oz) light brown sugar
2g (1/2tsp) mixed spice
1g (1/4tsp) each of ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon, ground cloves
5g (1tsp) salt
2 medium eggs, beaten
METHOD
The day before, place all the dried fruits and flaked almonds in a bowl. Pour over the brandy and add the lemon and orange zest and juice. Mix together lightly. Cover with clingfilm and leave overnight.
Put all the remaining ingredients and the pre-soaked fruit in a large mixing bowl. Mix lightly with a wooden spoon, so as not to break up the fruit. Place a small disc of baking parchment in the base of a 1 1/2pt pudding basin and then fill it with the mixture. Smooth the top down evenly. Place another, larger disc of parchment on top. Cover the basin with foil and seal tightly.
Stand the filled pudding basin on a strip of foil long enough to make a handle (to help you lift the pudding out of the pan once it is steamed). Place the basin on top of a trivet in a deep-sided pan. Pour hot water into the pan, so it comes halfway up the pudding basin. Place a lid on the pan and bring back to the boil. Lower the heat and keep the water at a steady simmer. Steam the pudding for 5 hours. Check the level of water in the saucepan during cooking and top up if necessary.
Remove the pudding from the pan and allow it to cool completely. Remove the foil. Wrap the pudding basin in a piece of greaseproof and a layer of foil. Store in a cool, dark place for at least 1 month to mature. The longer the better.
On Christmas Day, steam the pud for 2 hours in a pan of water, as before. Warm some brandy in a ladle until it ignites and pour over the pudding to flambe.
The one-day Christmas cakes and pudding course costs £160, www.bettyscookeryschool.co.uk.
Most watchedNews videos
Dramatic moment armed police swoop on gang after DPD driver murder
Earl Spencer's daughter does Easter egg hunt while riding a horse
Quiet moments in Dover after the Easter break traffic
Quiet moments in Dover after the Easter break traffic
Brit skier and friend stuck in chairlift swung by wind at ski resort
Exclusive: Thugs attack jewellery store owners with hammers
Men loot and set fire to a KFC chicken restaurant in Pakistan
Well wisher tells King to 'keep going strong' after Easter service
Moment an airport ceiling collapses amid heavy rainfall in India
Alica Schmidt and Michelle Janiak spot thief stealing their stuff
Austin Hunter Turner is tased by police during arrest
Moment police escort away pro-Palestinian protesters at London demo
{"status":"error","code":"499","payload":"Asset id not found: readcomments comments with assetId=1229274, assetTypeId=1"}
Christmas pudding is traditionally soaked with alcohol, preferably brandy, for flavour maturation. However, many people prefer rum and whisky spirit with high alcohol content.
It was common practice to include small silver coins in the pudding mixture, which could be kept by the person whose serving included them. The usual choice was a silver threepence or a sixpence.
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.
Though in older times the choice was more to do with economy, breadcrumbs give the pudding a much lighter texture. And again, use just enough flour to hold the mixture gently together. Not too many eggs, and more egg yolk that white if you can.
Conclusion: Christmas puddings contain ethanol that does not all evaporate during the cooking process. However, the rise in BAC after ingestion of a typical slice of Christmas pudding was negligible and unlikely to affect work performance or safety or impair a health care worker's ability to make complex decisions.
Adding silver coins into plum pudding is a fun Christmas tradition. The notion being that whoever finds the coin will have good luck. The tradition may date as far back as early as the 1300s when several small items like dried peas and chicken wishbones were added to the pudding mixture.
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.
Much like a “full breakfast,” Mervis says the ingredients used in figgy pudding can often be a source of contention, but the dish is typically made with dried fruit (traditionally raisins, sultanas, currants and figs), brown sugar or treacle, mixed spices, breadcrumbs, suet, eggs, and alcohol (often brandy, sherry or ...
There is also a slight risk that the puddings may be a little dry in comaprison with the regular Christmas pudding. As steaming is a gentle, humid method of cooking this may be less of a concern but you could try "feeding" the puddings with a little alcohol (if freezing, before you freeze them) to help them along.
Some Christmas puddings, made with dried fruit in the traditional way, are fine to be eaten as much as two years after they were made. "Bear in mind if the pudding is alcohol-free, of course, it will last a good while with the sugar content, but it will not last as long without alcohol to preserve it," stresses Juliet.
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.
We would tend to err on the side of using a spirit with a higher alcohol content (such as rum or whisky) but a fortified wine with a long shelf life, such as a sweet Marsala or Madiera could also be used.
We would tend to err on the side of using a spirit with a higher alcohol content (such as rum or whisky) but a fortified wine with a long shelf life, such as a sweet Marsala or Madiera could also be used.
A sweet marsala or Madeira wine are good alternatives but if you only have a bottle of rum, whisky or brandy on hand then one of these could also be used.
The pudding is dark and can be saturated with whiskey or brandy, dark beer, or other alcohols. They used to be boiled in a “pudding cloth,” but today they are usually made in pudding bowls.
Hobby: Gunsmithing, Embroidery, Parkour, Kitesurfing, Rock climbing, Sand art, Beekeeping
Introduction: My name is Roderick King, I am a cute, splendid, excited, perfect, gentle, funny, vivacious person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.